Planet of Exile
Encyclopedia
Planet of Exile is a 1966 science-fiction
novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
in her Hainish Cycle. It was first published as an Ace Double following the tête-bêche
format, bundled with Mankind Under the Leash by Thomas M. Disch.
, the third planet of the Gamma Draconis system. The planet has an orbital period of 60 Earth years, and is approaching its correspondingly long winter. The main characters belong to one of two major groups: Wold and his daughter Rolery are members of the Tevarans, a tribe of humanoid extraterrestrial indigenous to the planet. Jakob Agat is a young man from a dwindling colony of Earth humans that have been effectively marooned on the planet. Although both populations share a common genetic heritage in the Hainish people, the difference is significant enough to prevent interbreeding (at least, so it is believed at the beginning of the story).
The relationship between the two groups has long been tense and characterized by limited interaction. However, with the approaching dangers of winter and mauraders, the visit of curious young Rolery to the colony becomes a sign of coming changes.
The Gaal: Nomadic native tribes who migrate south during the harsh Winter. They share a common language with the Tevarans.
Jakob Agat Alterra: The de-facto leader of the Council in Landin; he is a middle-aged,wise man. Like all colonists, he has bluish-black skin.
Rolery: The protagonist of the story who a native of the planet. She has a precocious and independent spirit, and remains single, largely as a consequence of being born out of season. Like the natives of Tevar, she is light-skinned with golden eyes. She has the rare ability of Mindspeech.
Seiko Esmit: The last member of a great family line who lives in Landin; she is a middle-aged, delicate and nervous woman.
Ukwet: One of Wold's grandsons who happens to be older than Umaksuman; he ambushes Jakob Agat, but is later killed in a duel with Umaksuman.
Umaksuman: One of Wold's Spring-born sons who enjoys war and battle.
Wattock: An Alteran bone-setter who works alongside Rolery to tend to those injured in battle.
Wold: Rolery's grandfather. He is a wise, willful, and misogynistic tribal elder in the city of Tevar.
Snowghoul: Tall, thin, white-furred creatures with long necks that sway from side-to-side. They possess short but powerful clawed forearms and large snapping mouths lined with sharp teeth. They are quick, deadly, and hunt in packs.
Stormbringer: Taloned, pure white birds with silver eyes and a wingspan larger than a man's height. Their appearance in a southward migration signals the coming of Winter.
. The Gethenians of The Left Hand of Darkness
are believed to have been genetically engineered, as are several other peoples, but the Alterrans are not mentioned in this context.
Descendants of the earth human/Trevarian mix would eventually rescue a conquered Earth from alien conquerors who could mind lie - which they used to conquer the telepathic League of All Worlds. This is the 'backstory' to City of Illusions
. The reunification is mentioned in The Left Hand of Darkness, though no story has yet given us any details.
The planet called Werel in Four Ways to Forgiveness
is a completely different world from the planet of the Alterrans.
and City of Illusions
in a volume called Three Hainish Novels and in 1996 with the same novels in a volume called Worlds of Exile and Illusion.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
in her Hainish Cycle. It was first published as an Ace Double following the tête-bêche
Dos-à-dos binding
In bookbinding, a dos-à-dos binding is a binding structure in which two separate books are bound together such that the fore edge of one is adjacent to the spine of the other, with a shared lower board between them serving as the back cover of both...
format, bundled with Mankind Under the Leash by Thomas M. Disch.
Plot summary
The story is set on WerelWerel (Alterra)
Werel is a fictional planet of the star Gamma Draconis, in the 'Ekumen' science fiction stories of Ursula K. Le Guin. It is one of two planets of this name in that series.-History:...
, the third planet of the Gamma Draconis system. The planet has an orbital period of 60 Earth years, and is approaching its correspondingly long winter. The main characters belong to one of two major groups: Wold and his daughter Rolery are members of the Tevarans, a tribe of humanoid extraterrestrial indigenous to the planet. Jakob Agat is a young man from a dwindling colony of Earth humans that have been effectively marooned on the planet. Although both populations share a common genetic heritage in the Hainish people, the difference is significant enough to prevent interbreeding (at least, so it is believed at the beginning of the story).
The relationship between the two groups has long been tense and characterized by limited interaction. However, with the approaching dangers of winter and mauraders, the visit of curious young Rolery to the colony becomes a sign of coming changes.
Key characters
Alla Pasfal: A member in the Council of the colonist city of Landin. She is a frail elder, but wise and sharp-witted.The Gaal: Nomadic native tribes who migrate south during the harsh Winter. They share a common language with the Tevarans.
Jakob Agat Alterra: The de-facto leader of the Council in Landin; he is a middle-aged,wise man. Like all colonists, he has bluish-black skin.
Rolery: The protagonist of the story who a native of the planet. She has a precocious and independent spirit, and remains single, largely as a consequence of being born out of season. Like the natives of Tevar, she is light-skinned with golden eyes. She has the rare ability of Mindspeech.
Seiko Esmit: The last member of a great family line who lives in Landin; she is a middle-aged, delicate and nervous woman.
Ukwet: One of Wold's grandsons who happens to be older than Umaksuman; he ambushes Jakob Agat, but is later killed in a duel with Umaksuman.
Umaksuman: One of Wold's Spring-born sons who enjoys war and battle.
Wattock: An Alteran bone-setter who works alongside Rolery to tend to those injured in battle.
Wold: Rolery's grandfather. He is a wise, willful, and misogynistic tribal elder in the city of Tevar.
Native fauna
Haan: Sheep-like animals that are domesticated to provide food and clothing for the Tevarans and the citizens of Landin.Snowghoul: Tall, thin, white-furred creatures with long necks that sway from side-to-side. They possess short but powerful clawed forearms and large snapping mouths lined with sharp teeth. They are quick, deadly, and hunt in packs.
Stormbringer: Taloned, pure white birds with silver eyes and a wingspan larger than a man's height. Their appearance in a southward migration signals the coming of Winter.
Role in the Hainish Cycle
The peoples of the various worlds in Le Guin's space fiction are descendants of an ancient settlement from HainHain (planet)
Hain is a fictional planet that plays an important background role in the science fiction novels of Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle. It is described more closely in some later short stories. It is the oldest culture in both the League of Worlds and later the Ekumen and is about 140 Light Years...
. The Gethenians of The Left Hand of Darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness is a 1969 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is part of the Hainish Cycle, a series of books by Le Guin all set in the fictional Hainish universe....
are believed to have been genetically engineered, as are several other peoples, but the Alterrans are not mentioned in this context.
Descendants of the earth human/Trevarian mix would eventually rescue a conquered Earth from alien conquerors who could mind lie - which they used to conquer the telepathic League of All Worlds. This is the 'backstory' to City of Illusions
City of Illusions
City of Illusions is a 1967 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, set on Earth in the distant future in her Hainish Cycle. City of Illusions is significant because it lays the foundation for the Hainish cycle, a fictional world in which the majority of Ursula K...
. The reunification is mentioned in The Left Hand of Darkness, though no story has yet given us any details.
The planet called Werel in Four Ways to Forgiveness
Four Ways to Forgiveness
Four Ways to Forgiveness is a collection of four short stories or novellas by Ursula K. Le Guin. All four stories are set in the future and deal with the planets Yeowe and Werel, both members of the Ekumen, a collective of planets used by Le Guin as part of the background for many novels and short...
is a completely different world from the planet of the Alterrans.
Literary significance and criticism
One science fiction scholar points out that Planet of Exile, along with Rocannon's World and City of Illusions exhibits LeGuin's struggle as an emerging writer to arrive at a plausible, uniquely memorable and straightforward locale for her stories.Publication History
Planet of Exile was reissued in 1978 along with Rocannon's WorldRocannon's World
Rocannon's World is Ursula K. Le Guin's first novel. It was published in 1966 as an Ace Double, along with Avram Davidson's The Kar-Chee Reign, following the tête-bêche format. Though it is one of Le Guin's many works set in the universe of the technological Hainish Cycle, the story itself has many...
and City of Illusions
City of Illusions
City of Illusions is a 1967 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, set on Earth in the distant future in her Hainish Cycle. City of Illusions is significant because it lays the foundation for the Hainish cycle, a fictional world in which the majority of Ursula K...
in a volume called Three Hainish Novels and in 1996 with the same novels in a volume called Worlds of Exile and Illusion.
Translations
- RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: ("Planet of Exile"), 1980, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2006 - ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Il Pianeta dell'esilio - GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Das zehnte Jahr ("The Tenth Year"), German by Birgit Reß-Bohusch, no obvious translation problems in my source: Hainish, Heyne 06/7035, ISBN 3-453-21347-5 [Überarbeitete Neuausgabe 2002, incl. Rocannon,Exile,Illusions] - FinnishFinnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
: Maanpakolaisten planeetta, translated by Jyrki Iivonen, published by Avain, 2011.