Scan barcode
A review by crasscasualty
Powers by Ursula K. Le Guin
4.0
This young adult novel is the final installment in the Annals of the Western Shore trilogy, but essentially acts as a stand-alone. Unlike most young adult fiction, this book does not assume teenagers are fucking morons and actually has sophisticated style and thoughtful philosophical undercurrents.
It’s solid, insightful, and entertaining. But Ursula K Le Guin is a boss so of course everyone should already know this. Le Guin always embeds thought experiments (which I think is speculative fiction’s most awesome form) and she didn't decide to dumb things down for the chillins. IT’S ALMOST LIKE SHE RESPECTS THEIR INTELLIGENCE.
She raises some interesting questions about agency and the degree to which we can be complicit in our own lack of agency. That’s a lot more interesting than I make it sound. Promise.
Though this is a YA novel, I don’t need to give it two (adult and target audience) ratings. It is objectively a great novel for all ages.
It’s solid, insightful, and entertaining. But Ursula K Le Guin is a boss so of course everyone should already know this. Le Guin always embeds thought experiments (which I think is speculative fiction’s most awesome form) and she didn't decide to dumb things down for the chillins. IT’S ALMOST LIKE SHE RESPECTS THEIR INTELLIGENCE.
She raises some interesting questions about agency and the degree to which we can be complicit in our own lack of agency. That’s a lot more interesting than I make it sound. Promise.
Though this is a YA novel, I don’t need to give it two (adult and target audience) ratings. It is objectively a great novel for all ages.