The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Maganimously, I, the czar of book club did not throw a fit about us picking my least favorite author (come fight me). We will be reading the classic The Left Hand of Darkess. The Left Hand of Darkness is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Published in 1969, its popularity established Le Guin's status as a major author of science fiction.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheLeftHandofDarknesscitenote-FOOTNOTESpivack198444%E2%80%9350-8) The novel is set in the fictional universe of the Hainish Cycle, a series of novels and short stories by Le Guin, which she introduced in the 1964 short story "The Dowry of Angyar". It was fourth in writing sequence among the Hainish novels, preceded by City of Illusions and followed by The Word for World Is Forest. The novel follows the story of Genly Ai, a human native of Terra, who is sent to the planet of Gethen as an envoy of the Ekumen, a loose confederation of planets. Ai's mission is to persuade the nations of Gethen to join the Ekumen, but he is stymied by a limited understanding of their culture. Individuals on Gethen are ambisexual, with no fixed sex; this situation has a strong influence on the planet's culture, and it creates a barrier of understanding for Ai. Substack: https://substack.com/@megadodopublications (Fake) ETF: https://www.megadodopublications.bio/