I was sad to hear the news today about Ms. LeGuin. I haven't read much from her, but A Wizard of Earthsea is, to me at least, the greatest work of fantasy outside of Tolkien. It's also one of the few books that I actively reread again and again. Last autumn I nearly began reading The Left Hand of Darkness, but held off only because I was starting my graduate school program and would never have time for it. The genre lost one of its pillars today. Rest in Peace.

(And to hell with you, Christopher Paolini, you uncreative %$#@! Everyone knows Eragon stole from George Lucas and J.R.R. Tolkien, but the fact that you so shamelessly stole Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea magic system is the crime that readers should remember you for the most).