# The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/dispossessed/

20 people recommended The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 15 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its believable anarchist society and its use of science and technology to tell its story.

Summary written by Claude from 18 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Called a favorite or masterpiece (4 comments in the sample): "there was a solid decade of my life where I'd have probably said this was my favorite sci fi book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47782498)) "One of my favourite books of all time is by her: The Dispossessed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49148073)) "it's one of my favourite novels" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45865050))
- Believable anarchist society (3 comments in the sample): "An absolutely triumph for how it manages to portray a believable anarchist society." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46398558)) "I always liked the model in The Dispossessed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46231330)) "examples of anarchy in fictional action" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48051803))
- Praised alongside other Le Guin novels (3 comments in the sample): "If you’d like to read novel length LeGuin, “The Left Hand Of Darkness” and “The Dispossessed” are excellent." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46490535)) "I love the left hand of darkness, the dispossessed, all the hainish books" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46952902)) "If you like that one, you'll like the rest of her work." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49148142))

## Other science fiction novels people recommend

- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight/): 78 recommend, 18 mixed, 23 criticize
- [Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/children-of-time/): 64 recommend, 1 mixed, 4 criticize
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando/): 63 recommend, 7 mixed, 8 criticize
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division/): 57 recommend, 34 mixed, 28 criticize

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0063382938)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/book/9780063382930)

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin", https://hackerapproved.com/p/dispossessed/ (20 recommend, 1 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.