The Left Hand Of Darkness is one of the first major works of science fiction to win the double, winning both the 1969 Nebula and 1970 Hugo awards. shortly after its publication. This work also helped catapult its writer, Ursula K. LeGuin, into the Science Fiction big league.
Winter is an Earth-like planet with two major differences: conditions are semi artic even at the warmest time of the year, and the inhabitants are all of the same sex. Tucked away in a remote corner of the universe, they have no knowledge of space travel or of life beyond their own world. And when a strange envoy from space brings news of a vast coalition of planets which they are invited to join, he is met with fear, mistrust and disbelief…’The Left Hand of Darkness’ is a ground-breaking work of science fiction, an imaginative masterpiece which poses challenging questions about sexuality, sexism and the organisation of society itself.
