Earthsea
Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guinby Ursula K. Le Guin
Shares rank 8 of 41 fantasy novels by recommenders
Admired fantasy series whose philosophy and ideas readers find powerful and thoughtful. Critics find it slow, with a plot that struggles to move forward.
Admired fantasy series whose philosophy and ideas readers find powerful and thoughtful. Critics find it slow, with a plot that struggles to move forward.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 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
Philosophy and ideas that resonate
“The philosophy underlying that world is exactly the kind that resonates especially well with East Asian readers”
Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “Zen and the Art of Machine Learning Research” “describe acts of kindness as the biggest miracles, is great”
Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “Zen and the Art of Machine Learning Research” “always struck me as such a powerful phrase”
Comment from 19 Jun 2026 in “Zen and the Art of Machine Learning Research” Enjoyed by longtime readers
“I enjoyed The Left Hand of Darkness and Earthsea”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “Curating a Show on My Ineffable Mother, Ursula K. Le Guin” “I really enjoy the original Earthsea books.”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “There Will Come Soft Rains (1950) [pdf]” Strong admiration for Le Guin
“I discovered Le Guin relatively late in life and I'm so glad I did.”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “Curating a Show on My Ineffable Mother, Ursula K. Le Guin” “Agree completely on Le Guin”
Comment from 2 Aug 2026 in “Ursula K. Le Guin: A Rant About "Technology" (2005)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Plot struggles to go anywhere
“it seems like a very mediocre fantasy novel with a plot that struggles to actually go anywhere”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “Curating a Show on My Ineffable Mother, Ursula K. Le Guin” “It goes on and on with explaining things that happen without the showing part.”
Comment from 2 Aug 2026 in “Ursula K. Le Guin: A Rant About "Technology" (2005)” Explains too much, shows too little
“It goes on and on with explaining things that happen without the showing part.”
Comment from 2 Aug 2026 in “Ursula K. Le Guin: A Rant About "Technology" (2005)”
Other fantasy novels people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien | 66 | 11 | 86% | 12 | 15 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien | 49 | 13 | 79% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman | 48 | 6 | 89% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky | 19 | 17 | 53% | 7 | — | — |
| Earthseaby Ursula K. Le GuinThis page | 7 | 2 | 78% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It goes on and on with explaining things that happen without the showing part.”
“Agree completely on Le Guin”
“describe acts of kindness as the biggest miracles, is great”
“The philosophy underlying that world is exactly the kind that resonates especially well with East Asian readers”
“always struck me as such a powerful phrase”
“it seems like a very mediocre fantasy novel with a plot that struggles to actually go anywhere”
“I enjoyed The Left Hand of Darkness and Earthsea”
“I discovered Le Guin relatively late in life and I'm so glad I did.”
“I really enjoy the original Earthsea books.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.