Ursula Le Guin's best?

[Azash]

I have only read the first two books of the earthsea trilogy and would recommend them to anyone.

[Brown Rat]

The Left Hand of Darkness is my favorite. I've read it many times, delighting in LeGuin's prose and admiring how she unapologetically immerses her readers in the world, minus expository cliffnotes, so that our experience is akin to Genly Ai's first contact--everything at once, swamped with alien mystery, so that from the very first we have to puzzle our way along, piecing together the layers of significance and meaning. And when we shift to Estraven's native point of view, and see Estraven puzzling over Genly, and then shift to the Gethenian folklore, and layers build on layers of meaning, and the two characters come together, struggling to connect--oh, I'm swept away. That's what I love about the best science fiction: it takes me there.

Though I've read (and own) most of her short fiction and nonfiction collections, none of her short stories stick in my mine except for one that's been mentioned above: "Those Who Walk Away from Omelas," which, although beautiful, I remember mostly because it's often reprinted in college anthologies.

[Trimac20]

Only read the Earthsea Quartet - which was brilliant - and the 1972 pulp fiction, but certainly not 'pulp' in quality - 'The World For World is Forest' - which I think is somewhat overlooked, considering it won the Nebula aware for sci-fi. I've also read other short stories by LeGuin, whom is one of my personal faves.

[Paige Turner]

I'm going to chime in with the crowd and go for The Left Hand of Darkness for best novel.

For best short story, I really liked Nine Lives.

[Denie Alconn]

I`d definately vote for the Earth Sea trilogy. I think it must have been the first fantasy series I ever read.
The fourth book was a bit too gloomie for my taste, maybe she was having her midlife crises then...

[Nesacat]

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas wins hands down for short story and is up there on my top 10 list of short stories along with Shirley Jackson's Lottery and Ray Bradbury's Foghorn.

As for novels, I'd have to go with the Earthsea Quartet. I've read them several times over the years and they still bring a great deal of joy. She had wonderful characters and developed them very well indeed and of course there were the dragons.

[j. d. worthington]

Nice to see someone mention "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas"... Very good story, and one that quite fittingly led off (with Ellison's "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream") Leonard Wolf's massive Complete Book of Terror.

[The Wanderer]

The 'Left Hand of Darkness' and 'The Disposessed' the second of which is one of my 10 best Science Fiction Novels, a true masterpeice

I enjoyed Earthsea and shall read it again sometime

[Fried Egg]

The Earthsea trilogy is one of my favourite Fantasy stories I've ever read.

I loved the dispossessed and the left hand of darkness but I think that planet of exile and city of illusions deserve mentions too.

[Robert M. Blevins]

'The Lathe of Heaven' is my personal favorite. They made a low-to-medium budget film from the book starring James Caan as the psychiatrist.

The movie stunk, basically. In order to make a film from a book with the huge concept of 'Lathe', you need Steven Speilberg or forget about it...

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Robert M. Blevins

'The Lathe of Heaven' is my personal favorite. They made a low-to-medium budget film from the book starring James Caan as the psychiatrist.

The movie stunk, basically. In order to make a film from a book with the huge concept of 'Lathe', you need Steven Speilberg or forget about it...

Actually, the earlier film, made for PBS, is quite good (though not a literal adaptation of the book), and, despite the quite limited budget (and therefore, limited special effects) had an enormous amount going for it as a thought-provoking and eerily effective piece. The performances by Bruce Davidson and Kevin Conway, especially, were quite notable.

The Lathe of Heaven (1980) (TV)

[HardScienceFan]

Originally Posted by Fried Egg

The Earthsea trilogy is one of my favourite Fantasy stories I've ever read.

I loved the dispossessed and the left hand of darkness but I think that planet of exile and city of illusions deserve mentions too.

I have fond memories of these three AND 'Rocannon's world'
Uhhmmm I've yet to read Always coming home*probably never will*,would value the opinion of LeGuin readers on that one

[j. d. worthington]

Always Coming Home... Not gone through that one since it first came out. If you can find the original, with the cassette recording of the music and such, it enhances the effect considerably, I think. Much drier than others of her work, but I quite liked it... and felt it had an interesting depth (I might feel completely differently at this late date....)

[isacked]

I have only read a few of them, but the short story 'Omelias' was the one that affected me most. I read it when I was 15, and I was in an elite, snobbish school then. It made me think about what we will sacrifice to have our privileges/ wealth

I think the effect of an author is also correlated with age/ life experience of the reader. Certain stories are more effective at certain times.

[CBellenis]

The Disposessed is one of my all time favourite novels. and The Left Hand of Darkness is also very thought compelling.

I found the Lathe of Heaven too nihilistic (If I remember it right)

Can anyone help me with the one she wrote about people being male at birth, becoming female in their late 20s? It was fascinating in the same way as LHoD as it questions sex and gender roles.