Always Coming Home
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guinby Ursula K. Le Guin
Shares rank 108 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Readers recommend it for its rich, varied and humane writing and for how deeply it stays with them years later. One critic found it misandrous.
Readers recommend it for its rich, varied and humane writing and for how deeply it stays with them years later. One critic found it misandrous.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Rich, varied, humane writing
“Such a rich and varied and humane book.”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “Curating a Show on My Ineffable Mother, Ursula K. Le Guin” Lasting personal influence on readers
“I read _Always Coming Home_ about 30 years ago now, and ever since, "heya" has been my default greeting.”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “Curating a Show on My Ineffable Mother, Ursula K. Le Guin”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Felt misandrous to one reader
“I disliked _Always Coming Home_, substantially because it felt misandrous”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Science Fiction Is Dying. Long Live Post Sci-Fi?”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Always Coming Homeby Ursula K. Le GuinThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I disliked _Always Coming Home_, substantially because it felt misandrous”
“I read _Always Coming Home_ about 30 years ago now, and ever since, "heya" has been my default greeting.”
“Such a rich and varied and humane book.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.