Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Earthsea, entertainment, Left Hand of Darkness, neil gaiman, science fiction, Ursula Le Guin

Neil Gaiman Talks Ursula K. Le Guin

Radio 4 is celebrating the life and work of the doyenne of science fiction Ursula K. Le Guin with three programmes:

Ursula Le Guin at 85, a documentary presented by Naomi Alderman and two dramas: The Left 

Naomi also hears from fellow writers including Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere) and David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas). For David, Ursula is one of the major influences on his career. When he discovered her books they were more real to him than the room he was reading in, and spurred him on to become a writer. Neil, meanwhile, was also deeply influenced by her work – reading The Left Hand Of Darkness at age 11 changed the way he looked at the world and made him a feminist.

Left Hand of Darkness, the first dramatisation of Ursula Le Guin's 1969 gender challenging novel.

In a snow-changed city in the middle of an Ice Age on an alien world, one young man prepares for the biggest mission of his life. Alone and unarmed, Genly Ai has been sent from Earth to persuade the world of Gethen to join The Ekumen, a union of planets. But it's a task fraught with danger. Genly is shocking to the natives. This is a world in which humans are ambigendered – everyone can be a mother, and everyone can be a father.

First Minister Estraven is the only person who champions Genly's cause, but their relationship is deeply incomprehensible and troubling. Genly's life is at risk and he must decide who to trust.

With Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Genly Ai; Lesley Sharp as Estraven; Toby Jones as Argaven; Louise Brealey as Tibe; Noma Dumezweni as Faxe; Ruth Gemmell as Ashe; Adjoa Andoh as Ong Tot; Stephen Critchlow as Shusgis; David Acton as Obsle; David Hounslow as Driver; and Rhiannon Neads as Guard.

And Earthsea, her series of short stories,

Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

You can discover more here.

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