Ursula K. Le Guin is the one modern science fiction author who truly needs no introduction. In the half century since The Left Hand of Darkness,
her works have changed not only the face but the tone and the agenda of
SF, introducing themes of gender, race, socialism, and anarchism, all
the while thrilling readers with trips to strange (and strangely
familiar) new worlds. She is our exemplar of what fantastic literature
can and should be about.Her Nebula winner The Wild Girls,
newly revised and presented here in book form for the first time, tells
of two captive “dirt children” in a society of sword and silk, whose
determination to enter “that possible even when unattainable space in
which there is room for justice” leads to a violent and loving end.
Plus: Le Guin’s scandalous and scorching Harper’s
essay, “Staying Awake While We Read,” (also collected here for the
first time) which demolishes the pretensions of corporate publishing and
the basic assumptions of capitalism as well. And of course our
Outspoken Interview, which promises to reveal the hidden dimensions of
America’s best-known SF author. And delivers.
