Worlds of Exile and Illusion (Paperback)

City of Illusions in the last in Ekumen chronology, after the Ekumen has been destroyed. It is about the rediscovery of Earth by two men from a far planet - one of whom is mind-wiped and dumped in the forest by the Shing. The Shing are aliens who have conquered or destroyed the Ekumen because of their ability to lie telepathically.

The Exile novella is the direct predecessor to City of Illusions - about an Ekumen settlement that gets cut off and learns to make common cause with the local people, finally uniting with them.

The unifying factor in these three stories is telepathy - or 'bespeaking', as Le Guin puts it. Rocannon's World introduces telepathy to humanity, and City of Illusions studies the effects of an alien race that are able to exploit it. Like the Old Tongue in the Earthsea quartet, Bespeaking binds a human to the truth. Like the dragons in Earthsea, the Shing are able to misuse it - with the 'mindlie'.

None of these stories reach the visionary level of the Left Hand of Darkness, which should still be seen as one of the masterpieces of SF. Rocannon's World is a journey-adventure which begins with a powerfully evocative demythology of a Rip-van-Winkel type story, entitled 'Semley's Necklace'. It finishes with one of the finest endings in SF, which still brings a tear to my eye.

Planet of Exile is a slighter work. It's better than 'the Word for World is Forest', but not up to the level Rocannon's World. It forms a pleasing introduction to City of Illusions.

City of Illusions is the main work in this collection. It begins from the same premise as Asimov's 'The Currents of Space' - about an adult who has been mindwiped and tries to rediscover his identity and his destiny. The context, though, is much more compelling. LeGuin again returns to the idea of a sparsely populated world where mankind must struggle to survive. It is woven together with a strong backstory which is only gradually made clear as the novel develops. Like Rocannon's World, and the main section of The Left Hand of Darkness, it is a journey-adventure.

All in all, these stories are a very enjoyable read. In my opinion LeGuin's best books are the first two of the Earthsea Quintet, the Left Hand of Darkness and the Lathe of Heaven. This collection does not quite reach these heights. There's no denying, though, that LeGuin is a major artist, even in the minor works.

It's pointless to discuss the various plots - if you've read LeGuin before (dispossed, Lathe of Heavan, Left Hand of Darkness) then you are in for a treat. In these three short novellas she is at the height of her powers - combining breathtaking science fiction and minute and sympathetic examanination of the human condition (albeit through the prism of a world based in the future).

Each of the stories is excellent in its own way, and heightened by the underlying theme of subervsion of a future terran civilisation.

But for my money, the final story - City of Illusions - is without any doubt the best sci fi short story LeGuin has ever written.

Get this book, lock yourself away for a day or two and enjoy you will not be able to put it down !