The Sword and Laser discussion

You know, I'm sure it's just me. Either that or we weren't all reading the same book.

I just found the whole experience a bit .... dull. Great swathes of the audiobook just washed over me without making any kind of impact. What did that interminable journey across the ice add to the book, for example, apart from word-count?

For all that the alien physiology of Winter/Gethen's inhabitants is academically interesting, I didn't honestly see how gender issues had any real impact on the story. (Beyond the main protagonist finding it hard to relate to a race of aliens, because they weren't like him? Not that surprising!) I'm struggling to see how this supposedly feminist work of literature really earns that title.

I stopped reading about page 50. I just could not get into it. No specific reason other than I was bored.

it was the kind of book that i found kind of dull to listen to at times (I read it via audiobook), but then when I'd put it down I'd think about it a lot. I also loved the folk stories scattered throughout.

I too found it dull. The story was really there as a empty canvas for the theme of the lack of gender to be drawn onto. I agree about the protagonist finding it hard to relate to the people on that world, and vice versa. The journey across the ice seemed to be to show how trust can slowly start to build understanding. Ultimately, at the end of the protagonist feels more a part of Gethen than his own people. But this idea of not understanding aliens and slowly then understanding them has been done in a more exciting way I think, but I'm not sure if that is true of the contemporaries of this novel.

The ideas are definitely better than the execution. It's one of those books that has influenced other writers, so it's good to read.

I certainly enjoyed it... but I'm wondering from reading other threads if maybe the audiobook doesn't do it justice? I've seen a few other people say they didn't like the narrator much. (I read it in dead-tree format).

The early parts I found rather dull. The section starting with Genly being arrested and being transported to prison through to the end was the best part of the book.

I'd rate it about a 2.5 Stars.

Trike wrote: "The ideas are definitely better than the execution. It's one of those books that has influenced other writers, so it's good to read."

Influenced as in 'don't write boring crap like this' :)

I am having a hard time finishing. It's so BORING! I am just not interested in the character or in the world. Much of the worldbuilding is confusing to me. And the politics. Ugh.

It is slow. I read at night just before bed and this book knocks me out after 5 or 6 pages. Halfway through and the local meetup is in a few days. I am in deep poo.

Stephen wrote: "It is slow. I read at night just before bed and this book knocks me out after 5 or 6 pages. Halfway through and the local meetup is in a few days. I am in deep poo."

I dare you to 'Lem' it:)

I read this book when it was first published and, while the implications of a society where folks are androgynous most of the time and might become male or female about once a month was interesting, I was bored for most of the book.

Nearly 50 years later I find my impression has not changed. But I've never been that interested in books about political intrigue and not much else. For instance, Dune was a tough slog for me.

I thought then, and still think that cutting this book down to novella length would have improved it greatly.

But to each his own.