The Wind's Twelve Quarters, Volume 2

The Wind's Twelve Quarters #2

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Here, in this brilliant collection of stories by one of the world's most talented writers of science fiction are two which have won Ursula Le Guin Hugo and Nebula Awards.

Stories:

"Things"
"A Trip to the Head"
"Vaster Than Empires and More Slow"
"The Stars Below"
"The Field of Vision"
"Direction of the Road"
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"
"The Day Before the Revolution"

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Anthologies, Speculative Fiction

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Ursula 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.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Average rating: 3.87

Eight short stories, good ones. While two of them were a reread for me (both Amazing: Vaster Than Empires and More Slow and Direction of the Road), the others were nice and it seems they all need a re-read at some point to grasp the deep essences underlying them. All of them have a philosophical bent somewhere, which is something Le Guin is well-known for.

This was my third book-read of her short story compilations and yet still, I have to confess, I haven't been able to understand some of her short stories completely as one should. There is something much deeper to look out for in these ! :)

[Jelka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course - it's Le Guin - but a lot of these were so so good!!

[Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some real gems in this second part of a collection of Ursula K. Leguin short.

Things - 3⭐
When the world is ending, are things important enough to matter anymore?

A Trip to the Head - 1⭐
A not very enjoyable or engaging psychadelic science fiction story story best summed up by this question "How can I say who I am when I can't say what I am?"

Vaster than Empires and More Slow - 4⭐
A Hainish Cycle Hugo Award and Locus Poll nominee. A volunteer group embarks on an exploratory mission to a distant planet, preparing to colonize it if they don't find any intelligent life. Is this a science fiction surreal exploration survival horror tale? Or an examination of what men and aliens will do when confronted by something new? Either way, it's compelling, with real gems of wisdom.

The Stars Below - 3⭐
Guenner, an astronomer, is hidden in a mining cave system after his observatory is burned to the ground by religious nuts. Down in the dark, without his work, his mind starts to wander, as does the reader's ... in unexpected directions.


The Field of Vision - 4⭐
Did 3 other astronauts go nuts after seeing the face of God?

Direction of the Road - 5⭐
A surprisingly profound story told from the perspective of an Oak Tree, who grew from a small tree into a large one, staying stationary as the world goes on around it, looming over the side of a highway.

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - 5⭐
In the seemingly utopian city of Omelas, happiness and perfection comes at a high price. Too high, for some.

The Day Before the Revolution - 3⭐
In this prequel to The Dispossessed, an elderly woman reminiscing on her lost love and events leading to her starting an anarchist revolution. "True Voyage is Return."

[Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid collection of fairly early(ish) stories from one of the greats of SF, one who did a lot to show that it could be more than pulp and could be real literature. Here, we have stories like Things, which has one man refusing to acknowledge the End of Things; The Stars Below about an early scientist who runs afoul of the religious authorities of his age and finds shelter in a worked-out mine; and, of course, The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, possibly one of the most famous SF short stories. Hauntingly beautiful, we're led from the description of a happy, prosperous city, step by step to the dark secret that underpins it all.

In amongst these beautiful pieces, there are more journeyman works. Vaster Than Empires and More Slow has a great premise and tackles interesting issues, but the psychological analyses are of its time. The Field of Vision is another very interesting story but I must confess that it rather lost me by the end. The Day Before the Revolution is a prequel to The Dispossessed, telling the story of Laia Odo, one of the key figures in the society of the novel. There's also space for some more fun work. Direction of the Road is a humorous piece that I've read before and enjoyed every time. The only real misfire for me in this collection was A Trip to the Head, which seems to have themes of memory and identity, or maybe just drugs, I really wasn't sure.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collections offers some early stories from one of the greeters American writers. While these are not all masterpieces, there are several that are brilliant narratives. The Day Before the Revolution and Vaster than Empires But More Slow are both tales from the Hainish Cycle and as probably two of Le Guin better short stories; but The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is possibly one of the finest examples of fiction illustrating the cost of Utopia and leaves each reader wonder if paying the price of utopia is worth the attainment. Le Guin deals with the interior spaces of science fiction: the costs to our humanity and the costs of our society. Are we worthy of what we've attained?

[Chris Sudall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because it was a 2nd volume of stories and I'd read the first for the Earthsea stories. Ever the completist!
I'm not generally a fan of short stories tend to evidence the author trying to be clever and not really succeeding in many cases. Lots of dystopian futures, flawed heroes, pointlessly tangled plotlines.
Some authors pull it off quite well, like Harry Harrison, but so many just use them as a vehicle to try and be clever. Lots of darkly open endings and ambiguous meanings. Le Guin is woefully guilty of this.
Things: Everyone thinks the World is ending, try to get to the promised land. Ambiguous, probably dark, ending.
A Trip to the Head; Confusing psychedelic nonsense.
Vaster than Empires and More Slow: Story of a bunch of 'special' people space travelling. Dark, but at least interesting and made sense.
Stars Below: Man goes potty underground. Dark ending.
The Field of Vision: People come back from seeing a miraculous vision. Go mad, Dark ending.
Direction of the Road: tedious story about a tree, dark ending.
The Ones who walk away from Omelas: Dark psychomyth on the state of humanity. Just dark really.
The Day before the Revolution: Old lady who'd begun the anarchist revolution crumbles into dark ending.
It's all just a bit dark, usually with a deliberately obscure beginning so it takes a while to work out what the heck is going on.
I get enough darkly confusing experiences with my 3 year old.
Some interesting stuff in places, but not really worth the read.

[Belinda Mellor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fabulous collection. Special mention to ‘The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas’. The extra star I would have given for that one and ‘Things’ made up for the one that could have been lost for typos! Couple of really bad ones in this, including poor Gerry in the (otherwise excellent) ‘Field of Vision’ being referred to once as ‘Terry’, which totally threw me and had me looking back to see who Terry was! I can’t believe I hadn’t read this before, but I was delighted to read it new now.

[Fer De La Gándara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pese a cuatro estrellas, en verdad es una breve antología que te deja con ganas de leer más a Úrsula. Tiene relatos más o menos interesantes, como el mítico de Omelas o uno sobre la necesidad de irse de un sitio pese a que el camino no parezca existir.

Breve y legible incluso en inglés para no nativos, recomendable lectura ligera, ciencia ficción y fantasía de la que a mí me gustan, nada técnicas, más excusa para hablar de otras cosas que para hablar de ellas mismas.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wind's second six quarters.

**** Things (1970)
**** A Trip to the Head (1970)
***** Vaster Than Empires and More Slow (1971)
***** The Stars Below (1974)
***** The Field of Vision (1973)
**** Direction of the Road (1973)
***** The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (1973)
***** The Day Before the Revolution (1974)

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

If they wish to see death visibly in the world, that is their business, not mine. I will not act Eternity for them. Let them not turn to trees for death. If that is what they want to see, let them look into one another's eyes and see it there. (from "Direction of the Road")

Ursula K. Le Guin is more than a science fiction writer. Yes, her stories have won Hugo and Nebula awards, but she is also the recipient of a number of literary prizes including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Her complete collection, The Wind's Twelve Quarters (1975), includes "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" which won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1974. Her collection includes introductions to each piece, which describe her experiences and inspirations which influenced each story. I particularly like her introduction to "Omelas" which tells us that the name was inspired by seeing "Salem, Oregon" backwards in her rear view mirror. "[… People ask me] 'Where do you get your ideas from, Ms. Le Guin?' From forgetting Dostoyevsky and reading road signs backwards, naturally. Where else?"

The particular edition I read is The Wind's Twelve Quarters, Vol. 2. It contains eight of the seventeen stories found in the hardback edition. Apparently Granada Publishing wanted to get as much out of the property as they could and divided the paperback edition into two volumes. These stories explore everything from human values and emotions to basic survival to explorations of outer space and the inner man. Le Guin's work is, on the whole, lyrical and provocative. She is hard to classify. Her stories are more speculative than science, though she does use science to advantage when needed.

If all of the stories were as stunning as "The Stars Below," "Direction of the Road," and "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" then this would be a five-star book, no question. "Vaster than Empires and More Slow" and "Field of Vision" are also quite good, though not (for me) as affecting. Many readers also cite "The Day Before the Revolution"--but I found it (even as a short story) long and my attention was easily distracted. I couldn't put the book down on any of the previously mentioned stories. ★★★ and a half for the entire collection.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Matt Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a Hugo winner and a Nebula winner included in this collection, they're the last two stories and I was really looking forward to getting to them. To be honest though, I think they were the weakest in the collection, still good, but not the best. Makes me wonder what else was on the shortlists throughout the 60s & 70s. Apparently I have a lot more books to read!

This is a great collection of stories demonstrating the breadth and depth of Le Guin's talent. They're all introduced by the author with a few paragraphs about them which was really interesting.

[Aubrey]

Recommended by Jo Walton in "Among Others"

[Stelios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favourite stories: "Things", "The Stars Below" and "The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas".

[Wolverina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last four stories in this are especially strong.

[Matthew]

Fantastic vintage LeGuin