牧童雀鹰天生拥有法力，他渴求更强大的力量和更深奥的知识，于是选择离开故乡，前往传奇的巫师学院学习，以求出人头地。为了证明实力，他当众施展禁忌法术，召唤亡灵，却铸成大错。他召唤出的恶灵追捕着他，太古的邪恶诱惑着他。为了弥补过错，他步上了一段从未有人完成的追寻之旅，直到海洋的尽头、世界终结之处……

在遥远的星球上，住着一群绿毛、大眼睛的原住民。
他们喜爱做清明梦，依靠森林，过着与世无争的生活。
一天，一群贪婪的殖民者来到这里，破坏了原有的一切。
绝望的原住民，开始报复。
然而，对入侵者的每一次报复，也是对自己人性的一次摧残。
他们一步一步，离昔日的自我越来越远。
杀戮一旦开始，没有人能再回到原点。
宇宙深处有一面镜子，可以看见真正的自己。

一切纷乱均从失去力量的咒语发端……
巫师不识真言，无法操控力量；工匠抛弃技艺，歌者遗忘诗歌；人们恍惚度日，不求谋生，却苦寻不朽。地海大法师格得带著年轻热忱的英拉德王子亚刃，启程追寻邪恶的根源、乱象的症结，却不知前方有什么在等候他们。他们只能一径向边陲航行──从神秘未知的龙屿，到漂流民的海洋游群，再到一无活物的死域，最终抵达无人涉足的极远彼岸。
在那彼岸，等待着他们的将是最后的艰苦试炼……

在本卷中，地海的世界已重归完整，黎白南于黑佛诺正式加冕为王，然而地海各处仍百废待兴，一时间世相艰险、邪恶盛行。
曾是峨团陵墓第一女祭司的恬娜，如今只是个孀居的中年妇人。一日她与遭受虐待、身负火伤的孤儿瑟鲁相遇，两人相依为命，共同度过艰苦生活；曾经的大法师格得，如今力量尽失，已成一个平凡之人，甚至受人欺辱、无力还击。在这黎明前的黑暗中，灾厄与患难接二连三地袭向主角们，邪恶的迫害令他们命悬一线，在这千钧一发的时刻，意想不到之人向他们伸出了援手，地海世界的终极真相在众人面前悄然揭开……

“地海传奇”系列是人类历史上最伟大的奇幻小说之一，自1968年出版以来，被译成20多种语言， 深受全世界读者的喜爱。本书是系列的最后一本，曾获得2002年世界奇幻奖、美国亚马逊书店2002年最佳图书等多项荣誉，《出版人周刊》《经济学人》等多家媒体也对其大力推荐。这本书带读者回到了格得、恬娜、黎白南的地海世界，也由全新的角色引出了一系列更加惊心动魄的故事。
术士“赤杨”每晚梦见亡妻站在生死之界的矮墙呼唤他，他看着矮墙逐渐被亡魂拆除，却无力阻止。如果墙破，亡灵将入侵地海世界。王与巫师们要如何才能化解足以摧毁地海的危机？他们又该如何修正远古祖先犯下的错误，为地海的生者与亡灵带来真正的和平？前五本故事中的所有征兆与伏笔终于在这里爆发，地海真正的结局即将显现。

“地海传奇”系列是人类历史上最伟大的奇幻小说之一，自1968年出版以来，被译成20多种语言，深受全世界读者的喜爱。本书是系列的第五本，曾获得努力号奖、轨迹奖等多个奖项，共收录五篇中短篇小说和一篇《地海风土志》。
这里有创建柔克学院的悲壮过程，有地海流传的动人爱情故事，有弓忒大地震的真相，有格得担任大法师时期的惊险战斗和他老师欧吉安年轻时代的遭遇，不仅完整地展现了地海世界的历史、地理、住民、风俗与魔法，将地海世界的前世今生娓娓道来，更将开启一场波澜壮阔的崭新冒险。
《寻查师》：很久很久以前，在动荡的年代，有一群人曾默默对抗高压暴政，以勇气与远见创建了地海巫师学院。
《钻石与黑玫瑰》：是终生守贞，成为巫师；还是放弃力量，追求真爱？一个发生在地海的动人爱情故事，也是关于选择和勇气的故事。
《大地之骨》：格得第一位老师欧吉安年轻时代的故事。在大地震面前，为了保护岛屿，曾有一个人献出自己的生命，成为大地之骨。
《高泽上》：一个遭人欺凌的“乞丐”，竟是曾令大法师格得也无法招架的强者。
《蜻蜓》：承接《地海传奇4：地海孤儿》与《地海传奇6：地海奇风》的故事。一位不甘于传统的女孩想挑战巫师学院对女性的禁令，却给柔克带来了几乎倾覆的危机。
《地海风土志》：介绍地海世界的历史、地理、住民、风俗与魔法，是您畅游地海世界的最佳导览。

同一个恒星系中，人类定居的两颗行星互为月亮，盈盈相望，却被不同的自然条件与社会形态隔绝成两个截然不同的世界。
阿纳瑞斯：贫瘠，荒芜。恶劣的自然条件迫使人类组成一个集体至上的社会，唯有这样才能保证人类的生存和延续。社会的约束虽然实现了对全体成员的保障，却渐渐成为一种禁锢。
乌拉斯：富足的资源为社会发展提供了强劲的动力，进而形成了激烈的竞争。鼓励竞争的世界富于创造性，但也造成了个人、集团的对立和鲜明的贫富差异。
本书体现了勒古恩对人类社会发展前景的深刻思考。主人公谢维克毅然脱离阿纳瑞斯，投奔乌拉斯，却在发现乌拉斯社会丑陋的一面后再次逃离，成为两个世界的叛离者。人类应该往何处去？勒古恩没有、也不可能提供明确的答案。
最优秀的科幻小说能让读者掩卷长思——也许答案就在读者的思索之中。

《变化的位面》这本书是一个新型写作方法的实验品，它以一种精心设计的格式将异世界的游记和异形生物的调查报告有机地组合在一起，整本书的可读性非常强……书中充斥着斯威夫特式的讽刺，而幻想的部分则与道格拉斯·亚当斯的《银河系漫游指南》有异曲同工之妙……作者似乎轻轻巧巧地突破了类型作家的局限，书中遍布各种各样的新奇故事：有富于教育意义的寓言，也有介绍异界风俗的逸闻，还有凄凉的恐怖故事和栩栩如生的喜剧，每个故事都能引人深思。《变化的位面》中的每一篇小文章都能满足那些喜爱富于想象力和智慧的小说的读者。这是一部非常有趣的著作，而作者则是全世界最富智慧和最有创造力的作家……或者我们应该说，不管在哪个世界，我们这位叫勒奎恩的作者都是最棒的。

天賦，是恩賜的禮物，但如果這個禮物足以毀滅世界，你要怎麼與它共存？
這是一片貧瘠孤立的高地；居民如這片土地，嚴酷、兇猛。為了擴張領土，爭取生存空間，鄰近氏系爭戰不休。唯有「天賦」制衡彼此，維持氏系間脆弱的和平。歐姆世家能縱火燃燒；考林世家能搬移重物；摩各世家有?內視力?，你想什麼，他們看得一清二楚；提柏世系的男人可以操控人心，按他的意志行事；波瑞世系的女人能提取心智，使人變成一只空殼。
在這裡，聰敏緘默的少女桂蕊繼承召喚動物的天賦，但無法狠心遵照家族傳統，喚動物來讓獵人捕獵；敏感纖細的少年歐睿繼承消解的天賦，僅一個注視、手勢，就使生命灰飛湮滅，但這股強大力量不受控制。不顧父親的嚴厲反對，歐睿蒙起雙眼，讓狗兒黑煤兒與心愛的桂蕊成為他的眼睛。他以為自己能抵抗命運，但在這塊苛刻之土，有無法放下的原始責任，與難以化解的仇恨糾葛。
身為族長之子，歐睿必須負起延續純正天賦血統的職責，他與異族之女通婚，無法自由與心愛的女孩相守；還必須戰勝心魔，解開蒙住的雙眼，為族人貢獻他的天賦。在他以為自己的命運已經註定，未來卻在這時急轉彎，氏族之爭越演越烈，歐睿的世界出現巨大裂痕……
當人生開始失控，陪伴身邊的親人與愛人是最後扶持；當無力改變環境，找出共處之道是唯一出路。願用天賦照亮世界的黑暗角落，雖困難重重，但終有一絲光明。

星际组织埃库盟的观察员萨蒂被派往一个由笃信唯物主义政府掌权的阿卡星。那里的专制政府禁绝了所有旧有风俗与信仰。萨蒂作为一名来自地球的女性，却又刚刚逃离地球上的原教旨主义分子控制的专制国家。
在现代化的阿卡星的首都里，观察员一举一动都受到严密监视。但萨蒂却出乎意料地获得官方的允许，她离开首都，顺着河流来到了乡村地带，远离响声震天的喇叭，接近乡间柔声叫唤的牲口。萨蒂在找寻阿卡星被禁文化的遗迹中，渐渐了解并喜欢上了身边的阿卡星人，开始明白他们独特的宗教——诉真道。最终，她加入了他们的朝圣之旅，到达远处雪山深处之中的最后一块圣地。
《倾诉》折射出当代世界政治与宗教的纷争，讲述了在一块陌生而又熟悉的土地上的灵魂之旅。
厄休拉·勒奎恩的文字清新而又睿智。她能将小说提升至诗歌的高度，而又将其浓缩至寓言般精粹——在《倾诉》中，她精彩地完成了两项使命。
——乔纳森·勒瑟姆，《布鲁克林孤儿》作者
《倾诉》是一部姗姗来迟的经典之著。厄休拉·勒奎恩在将自己纯粹的讲述者的天赋发挥到极致的同时，还融入了睿智且饱含热情的心灵，外加以一名真正哲学家才具备的才智，不断地质疑人们旧有的荒谬的观念。在她的故事中，厄休拉创造了一种未来的社会人类学。
——彼得·毕格尔，《最后的独角兽》作者
勒奎恩的这部新作印证了外界对她的诸多赞誉：她是一名行文瑰丽的文学大师，她的作品句句饱含诗意，她的著作让阅读者沉思，令思想家阅读。小说雅致而略带伤感，情节丰富而又显凝练……让每一位读者为之所动。没有主流畅销书快捷的行文节奏，但不失古典小说优雅而含蓄的叙事风格。
——简·尤伦，《石南玫瑰》作者，“创神奇幻文学奖”得主
厄休拉·勒奎恩的小说与技术型的科幻著作（那些走科学路线的科幻小说）相比能让读者感受到另类的震撼，因为她的关注点在于人类社会本身。
——埃克哈德·克努尔 Ekkehard Knörer，德国知名媒体评论家

◎本書榮獲
〈賽亟黎星球情事〉獲小詹姆斯．提普翠獎
〈荒山之道〉獲軌跡獎、小詹姆斯．提普翠獎
〈孤絕至上〉獲星雲獎
〈世界誕生之日〉獲軌跡獎
假如我們有異星同胞，我們會照見怎樣不同的人生？
「地海」系列、《黑暗的左手》重量級作家
八個思索生命開始與終結、個體與群體、冒險與流浪、愛與恨、性與欲的人生詩篇
打破我們對自身人性想像的侷限，真正進入無限可能的宇宙
在瀚星世界中，人類移民太空已有很長的歷史，許多殖民星球已發展出與祖星瀚星或地球大為不同的社會文化制度，甚至連生理結構也演化出異變。星際聯盟「伊庫盟」致力探索散步宇宙各處的人類移民社會，在學者與使者的努力下，忠實記錄人類文明的種種可能面貌：
在格森星的雙性同體人類社會中，孩子轉大人，首次面對自身生理的巨大變化與勃發的陌生情慾－－那會是什麼樣的成年儀式？
賽亟黎星社會的性別制度是另一種相當倒反的關係，女男生活嚴格分隔，女性擔起整個社會的運作大任，男性除了各式體能競賽與表演之外，僅有提供性愛與生育的功能。當外星文化終於介入，這層嚴格的分際與規範是否受到衝擊？
如果一個社會徹底崇尚孤絕、獨立，致力避免以任何形式介入個人生命，會是什麼景況？一位來自瀚星的人類學家母親，帶著一對子女試圖融入這樣的社會，以期進行深入的調查研究，卻沒有想到這個獨特的孤絕文化對她的兒女各自造成什麼影響。這是一種文明退化閉鎖現象，還是性靈發展至極端的一種可能？
一艘移民太空船已航行宇宙長達五個世代。船上的移民無時無刻不為未來可能的登陸做準備，一切設施、制度、生活方式、教育方向都導向這個目標；然而，不同的聲音慢慢形成。新生代完全在人工環境中成長、學習、生活，「母星」只是種種知識的綜合體或模擬影像。這群人如何選擇、創造自己的未來？心目中的新故鄉、新樂園究竟何在？
八個異星紀事，帶我們航向宇宙最深處，也讓我們在離家最遠的地方返回最真實、最多樣的自我。
美國科奇幻代表作家娥蘇拉．勒瑰恩，充分運用科幻類型的無限想像特性，將人類社會型態發展的諸多可能，充分地演繹表達在這八個雋永的故事之中。勒瑰恩最擅長的乃以擬人類學田野觀察筆記與記錄側寫，將想像虛構的社會文化風貌，及其底下的現實人性問題，深刻地呈現出來，且毫無斧鑿痕跡，即便說教也說得趣味與餘韻十足。可以說，勒瑰恩從《黑暗的左手》與《地海巫師》開始至今所想要藉由文學去挖掘、思索、探討的諸多複雜議題，本書中的八個故事不僅是文字風格還是形式結構上，都堪稱典範。
「勒瑰恩的作品總是帶領我們超越對性別認知的尋常侷限，這部小說集也不例外。」
－－《紐約客》雜誌
「她是少數幾位能成功從科幻類型作家一躍成為重要作家的人。」
－－華盛頓郵報
「她筆下的人物性格豐富令人難忘，她的文筆更是以優雅不失強勁而著稱。」
－－時代雜誌
「勒瑰恩是位極為睿智且機智的作家，高明的說書人，幽默與力道堪比馬克吐溫。」
－－波士頓環球報
「再一次，勒瑰恩力道十足的作品證明：科幻小說不必然是逃避現實的東西，性別研究不一定都是尖澀刺耳的聲音，娛樂也不盡然是無腦的內容。」
－－洋蔥雜誌
「一道純粹的星光。」
－－科克斯評論
「勒瑰恩在本書所完成的，只能以「美」來形容。她探索了種種關係：我們可能對彼此感到陌生，甚至有如外星異客，但仍相愛。讀著讀著我甚至不知不覺流下淚來，我只知道我深深受到感動。」
－－牙買加裔加拿大科幻小說家、《午夜盜賊》作者／娜洛．霍普金森
「這是最偉大的科幻小說大師所寫的八篇睿智美妙的故事所集結而成的小說集，優美，深刻，令人著迷。」
－－美國科幻小說名家／羅伯．席維柏格

話語文字的刀刃，有時比刀劍武力更為鋒利。
阿茲人用武力輕易毀滅安甦爾城，然而，話語文字的力量何以令他們恐懼？
安甦爾城，人稱「慧麗安甦爾」，城中聳立孕育知識的大學、保存文化與智慧的圖書館、壯麗宏偉的高塔建築，以及千百座大理石建造的大小神廟。安甦爾深受神諭眷顧。
然而，現在的安甦爾，是一座到處斷垣殘壁，充斥飢餓、恐懼與絕望的破敗之城。入侵的阿茲人認為文字是邪惡的魔法，藏書萬千的安甦爾城更是罪無可赦。
玫茉系出高華氏系，解讀神諭、為安甦爾城指點迷津本該是高華家的職責，但神諭沉寂已久。十七年來，玫茉學習閱讀祕室中最後的藏書，文字滋潤她的心；但家園被毀、親人受盡折磨，讓她心中仇恨不斷滋長；她只知道，阿茲人是永遠的敵人，她要殺光阿茲人。
知名的詩人歐睿久聞安甦爾文風鼎盛，他受阿茲人之邀，與妻子馴獸人桂蕊一同到來。阿茲人雖視文字為惡魔，卻熱愛詩人講述的故事，意料不到的是，歐睿講述的故事不僅娛樂了阿茲人，也擾動了潛伏於安甦爾城底下的暗流。
安甦爾人失去信仰與文字，在被壓迫的沉默中度過十七年。
延續已久的仇恨與戰爭，該如何結束？
沉默了二百年的神諭，何時會再重新發聲？
當你被迫面對深惡痛絕的敵人，竟發現他們並不全然殘忍可恨，你該視而不見地對他們採取報復手段，或是說服自己忘卻仇恨、寬恕敵人？
勒瑰恩《沉默之聲》如她以往的作品恬淡、優雅，但也為族群衝突頻傳的世代提供了一種解釋，唯有盡可能地了解、認識，才有和平共處的可能。

WHEN YOUNG TENAR is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away -- home, family, possessions, even her name. For she is now Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. While she is learning her way through the dark labyrinth, a young wizard, Ged, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic, and together, he and Tenar escape from the darkness that has become her domain. With millions of copies sold, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere. Complex, innovative, and deeply moral, this quintessential fantasy sequence has been compared with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and has helped make Le Guin one of the most distinguished fantasy and science fiction writers of all time. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

世上最幸福快樂的城市，住著最悲慘可憐的孩子――《離開奧美拉城的人》
那孩子小小的手中捧著一個木盒，微笑著說，裡面裝的是黑暗――《黑暗之盒》
一式十型的複製人不幸死去九個，剩下的那人，將會如何？――《死了九次的人》
在科學等同黑魔法的世界，對知識的單純渴求竟招致殺身之禍？――《師傅》
無人知曉山下巫師的真實身分，直到另一名屠龍巫師出現，他們才發現真相――《名的規則》
《風的十二方位》由勒瑰恩自選17個短篇，收錄自我點評與花絮、起源與軼事。故事設定從中古世紀延伸至遙遠未來；有偶然拾起的靈感，也有未來長篇的起源。勒瑰恩向來善於以優美犀利的筆觸，刻畫衝擊既定印象的情節。於她筆下，所有世俗界線皆可挑戰與破除。透過這本短篇自選，我們將在作者帶領下踏上一趟回溯之旅，一點一滴深入她以文字開闢的科幻疆土，探索豐沛故事力量的源頭。
來自遠方、來自朝夕晨昏／來自蒼穹十二方位的風，
說吧，我必回應；告訴我，我能如何幫助你；
在風自十二方位吹來／我踏上無盡長路之前。

In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately grasps the power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself as Dr. Haber becomes adept at manipulating George's dreams for his own purposes."The Lathe of Heaven" is an eerily prescient novel from award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin that masterfully addresses the dangers of power and humanity's self-destructiveness, questioning the nature of reality itself. It is a classic of the science fiction genre.

擁有天賦的力量，並不代表自由唾手可得。
唯有經過撕心裂骨的覺醒，
才能學會為自己奮戰，並為自己的選擇負責。
葛維過目不忘，偶爾還能在「視象」中回憶起「未來」的片斷，他活在他所在之處，也活在他不在之處；但這種內在力量無從解釋，也無法掌控。因此，他在姊姊明智的建議之下藏起天賦，平凡度日。
葛維從有記憶以來就是奴隸，一個快樂、知足的奴隸，不曾想過奴隸之外的生活，困在粉飾太平的牢籠中而不自覺，直到城市遭逢戰亂，他向來相信的一切、他的整個世界，一夕之間破碎崩毀。
悲慟至極的葛維關閉了心門，選擇忘卻他已失落的，因為他並不曾擁有過。他踏上危險旅程，邁向空無一物的前方，探尋一個他並不明瞭的目標。從表面太平的城市到看似自由的森林，他的身體自由了，卻找不到心靈的歸屬；從森林再到孤絕封閉的沼地，天賦的力量與過去卻仍如鬼魅般糾纏不去。
葛維的旅程究竟會將他帶往何方？是追尋自由？是追尋他的原鄉族人？還是針對他奇特的內在力量，追尋其真正用途？

Ursula K. Le Guin on the absurdity of denying your age: “If I’m ninety and believe I’m forty-five, I’m headed for a very bad time trying to get out of the bathtub.”
On cultural perceptions of fantasy: “The direction of escape is toward freedom. So what is ‘escapism’ an accusation of?”
On breakfast: “Eating an egg from the shell takes not only practice, but resolution, even courage, possibly willingness to commit crime.”
Ursula K. Le Guin has taken readers to imaginary worlds for decades. Now she’s in the last great frontier of life, old age, and exploring new literary territory: the blog, a forum where her voice—sharp, witty, as compassionate as it is critical—shines. No Time to Spare collects the best of Ursula’s online writing, presenting perfectly crystallized dispatches on what matters to her now, her concerns with this world, and her unceasing wonder at it: “How rich we are in knowledge, and in all that lies around us yet to learn. Billionaires, all of us.”
Praise for NO TIME TO SPARE
A TimeOut Book to Cozy Up to This December
A Real Simple Best Book to Read in December
A Bustle Best Book to Read in December
One of Southern Living's Unputdownable Reads to Curl Up with in December
A Harper's Bazaar Best New Book to Read in December
A Most Anticipated Title of the Fall from Vulture
A Book Riot Must-Read Book for December
“This delightful book [is] inquisitive and stroppily opinionated in equal measure…In even these miscellanies, composed in [Le Guin’s] off hours, the sentences are perfectly balanced and the language chosen with care. After all, she writes, ‘Words are my matter—my stuff.’ And it’s through their infinite arrangements…that Ms. Le Guin’s extraordinary imaginary worlds have been built and shared.”—Wall Street Journal
“There are shades of Adrienne Rich here…At the end of ‘No Time to Spare,’ having enjoyed all the Annals of Pard and the Steinbeck anecdotes, the stories about the Oregon desert and the musings on belief, all I could think was: I want Le Guin to keep going, on and on. I want to read more.”—Michelle Dean, The Los Angeles Times
“‘No Time to Spare,’ deriving from Le Guin’s online essays, covers just about anything that crosses her mind, from 'lit biz' to cats to the Oregon landscape…Might there be truth to the commonplace that science fiction writers are prophets?...A year ago I argued that Le Guin deserved a Nobel Prize in literature. In fact — what a fantasy! — she ought to be running the country.”—The Washington Post
“In 'No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters,' Le Guin shows that elders have plenty to teach…[She] finds inspiration in the everyday and makes it sparkle with her prose…In step with her legacy, [she] challenges us to reconsider what we automatically accept…“No Time to Spare” will leave readers hoping that Le Guin is given a bit more time to share her observations — on aging, art, our world — and to remind us of things we mustn’t forget.”—Newsday
“[No Time to Spare is] erudite, witty and…wise…even in pieces about her cat, or about answering fan mail, [Le Guin] makes the reader continually conscious of the ways that her age is a part of her life. That subtle coherence gives the book a special feeling, to borrow her words…a ‘steady, luminous ethical focus’…Deep down there: that is where Le Guin has taken readers for decade after decade, and where, these essays show, she is capable of taking them still.”—The Chicago Tribune
“Le Guin’s new book, No Time To Spare…feels like the surprising and satisfying culmination to a career in other literary forms…Even in the familiar relationship of an old woman and her cat, Le Guin finds an ambit for challenging moral insight and matter for an inquisitiveness that probes the deep time of evolution...Blogs may not be novels, but a blog by Le Guin is no ordinary blog, either. It is a comfort to know, as reality seems to grow more claustrophobic and inescapable, that she remains at her desk, busily subverting our world.”—The New Republic
“The more you re-read this collection of blog posts by science fiction Grandmaster Le Guin, the more you're convinced of Oliver Wendell Holmes's quip that for the true thinker, nothing is trivial… [No Time to Spare] is delivered in the core-drilling, clear, thoughtful language of somebody who's been crafting English for more than half a century – but the entries on the craft of writing itself are, perhaps predictably, the best things in the book.”—Christian Science Monitor
“[Le Guin’s] clever observations and sharp, nimble prose provide a window into the interior life of the award-winning novelist.” —Harper’s Bazaar
"[No Time to Spare] touches on...everything from feminism to swear words in fiction. Each entry is filled with warmth, insight, and humor."—Real Simple
“[An] altogether fantastic collection No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters…[is] a magnificent read in its tessellated totality.”—Brain Pickings
“Le Guin is a natural storyteller, and these snippets from her life are inarguably delightful. She is certainly a lioness in winter here, as focused as she has ever been on the things that matter most to her. Old age is not for the young, she posits—and it is a slogan not intended as complaint, but rallying cry. Spend a little time with octogenarian Ursula K. Le Guin, and the prospect of growing old becomes a bit less daunting.”—BookPage
"Le Guin is 88 and shows no sign of slowing down in this essay collection, dispensing serious wisdom about our world, politics, literature, aging, and more."—Book Riot
“Reading the latest book from Portland writer Ursula K. Le Guin…is a bit like having a one-way conversation with a funny, cranky, keen-eyed old friend…Even when you want to quibble with her, Le Guin keeps you thoroughly engaged…It can be fun. It can be startling. It can get your back up… As you might expect from an author whose career has been devoted to imagining alternative worlds in close detail, she has a knack for stepping back from life on Earth and seeing it for the strange thing it is.”
—The Oregonian
"Rife with insight [and] humor."—The Columbus Dispatch
“A delightfully random bouquet of musings on aging, writing, the moral character of the United States, Homer, her cat Pard, and everything in between…Following LeGuin’s penetrating mind as she thinks about the problems of our world and puzzles of language makes No Time to Spare a more than worthwhile read for fans and new readers alike.”—The Riveter
“Le Guin is a thoughtful and careful writer, and so her opinions are thoughtfully and carefully organized. She knows what she thinks, and she writes so well that you’ll want to return to these candid essays…like returning to an older, wiser friend.”
—Omnivoracious
“No Time to Spare presents the best of Le Guin's blog: sharp-eyed, big-hearted, idiosyncratic and highly enjoyable…Both Le Guin's eye for detail and her dry wit are on full display here…Readers will find much to think about in this wise and eloquent collection.”—Shelf Awareness
“To Le Guin…what truly matters are the words she thinks about, rigorous in her examination. Her expression of these thoughts reads more like mini-essays than blog posts and invite close reading, which always reaps rich rewards, the true gift of this lovely book.”—Booklist
"Spirited, wry reflections on aging, literature, and America's moral life...An entertaining collection...Thoughtful musings from a deft and sharply insightful writer." —Kirkus
“Short, punchy, and canny meditations on aging, literature, and cats…[Le Guin] offers her many fans a chance to share her clear-eyed experience of the everyday.” —Publishers Weekly
Praise for Ursula K. Le Guin
“There is no better spirit in all of American letters than that of Ursula Le Guin.” —Choire Sicha, Slate
"As a deviser of worlds, as a literary stylist, as a social critic and as a storyteller, Le Guin has no peer. From the time of her first published work in the mid-1960s, she began to push against the confines of science fiction, bringing to bear an anthropologist's acute eye for large social textures and mythic structures, a fierce egalitarianism and a remarkable gift of language, without ever renouncing the sense of wonder and the spirit of play inherent in her genre of origin." —Michael Chabon
"One of the most original imaginations ever to grace American letters...Through decades and scores of books, the genre Le Guin made her own has itself grown up — writers from David Mitchell to Salman Rushdie have walked through the door Le Guin opened...To sit and talk with Le Guin is to engage a powerful mind that has responded to ideological entrapments or career bumps by carpentering a new space for itself. She is brisk and funny, but unsparing when asked to comment on something which, in her mind, does not measure up...She shows that stories that stand the test of time can come from something as simple as fellowship: like a family, like an extraordinary body of work, like a house built from a kit, standing proudly on a hill, more than a hundred years later." —John Freeman, Boston Globe
“Le Guin, of course, has long been one of our most powerful writers of conscience.” —David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times
"It’s hard to think of another living author who has written so well for so long in so many styles as Ursula K. Le Guin." —Scott Timber, Salon
“She never loses touch with her reverence for the immense what is.” —Margaret Atwood
“Ursula K. Le Guin’s prose breathes light and intelligence. She can lift fiction to the level of poetry and compress it to the density of allegory.” —Jonathan Lethem
“There is no writer with an imagination as forceful and delicate as Le Guin’s.” —Grace Paley
“Le Guin is a writer of enormous intelligence and wit, a master storyteller with the humor and force of a Twain. She creates stories for everyone from New Yorker literati to the hardest audience, children. She remakes every genre she uses.” —Sarah Smith, Boston Globe
"[Le Guin] is frequently referred to as 'the best of' for all manner of things—like best fantasy writer, best science fiction writer, best female writer—all of which is silly, as she both defies and accepts all categorization. Her influence on generations of readers and writers, from George R.R. Martin to Jennifer Egan to David Mitchell, is as evident as it is impossible to overstate. Admired for her quiet daring, her structures, and her inventions, most of all she is revered for her sentences." —Choire Sicha, Interview Magazine