Thoughtful and thought provoking

From the summary of the book:
"On the planet Winter, there is no gender. The Gethenians can become male of female during each mating cycle, and that is something other cultures find incomprehensible.

The Ekumen of Known Worlds has sent an ethnologist to study the inhabitants of this forbidding, ice bound world..."

This book speaks at different levels. It is a tale of politics and war. It is a tale of contact between two species, It is also a commentary on gender and gender roles. Being science fiction, it talks about technology and other scientific aspects of the tale such as biology and evolution as well.

There is no romanticising of any of these aspects in the book, which makes it something less than a breezy read. Le Guin takes her time to flesh out the landscape and characters (the landscape could very well be considered a character in it's own right). However, the same quality also makes it intelligent and thought provoking. Unsurprisingly, the last quarter of the book is the most rewarding as the story rushes to a climax. Even in that, it never sacrifices the harshness of the writing, one that edges on brutality. The harshness is reflected in the permanent winter of the planet where the story is set.

This is what all great science fiction should aspire to be.

10/10