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King Dog
originally published as part of Dostoevsky: A Screenplay & King Dog: A Screenplay (Capra Back-to-Back Series). Now available as a stand alone e-book, and subtitled A Movie for the Mind's Eye.
127 pages, ebook
First published December 1, 1985
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About the author
Ursula K. Le Guin
1,045 books30.2k followersUrsula K. Le Guin published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. She lived in Portland, Oregon.
She was known for her treatment of gender (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems (The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as "Solitude" and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways.
She was known for her treatment of gender (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems (The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as "Solitude" and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 2, 2022
This is an interesting piece of writing by my favorite author. It’s a “screenplay”, which started out life as an epic poem (a bad one according to UKL). Lavish descriptions of the landscapes, the scenes, the people and their dress.
It starts out in an historical-like setting (bronze-age said explicitly) of a king deciding to go to war (although he would rather not). The king is an interesting character and a true Le Guin character. I love how he grappled with the many forces in his life not least his own wants and desires.
This story made clear to me how much more I prefer SF to Fantasy. It starts out very much in the Fantasy vein, but there is a spark of something that is obviously SF and instantly my attention sprang to life. My favorite section was the last for that very reason.
Many people will not appreciate this story, because it is anything but conventional or easy. It grew on me as I read and I’m glad to have read it.
Closing in on nothing new by UKL to read anymore.
It starts out in an historical-like setting (bronze-age said explicitly) of a king deciding to go to war (although he would rather not). The king is an interesting character and a true Le Guin character. I love how he grappled with the many forces in his life not least his own wants and desires.
This story made clear to me how much more I prefer SF to Fantasy. It starts out very much in the Fantasy vein, but there is a spark of something that is obviously SF and instantly my attention sprang to life. My favorite section was the last for that very reason.
Many people will not appreciate this story, because it is anything but conventional or easy. It grew on me as I read and I’m glad to have read it.
Closing in on nothing new by UKL to read anymore.
September 26, 2014
My least favorite of anything Le Guin has written. It is experimental writing that does not work for me.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews