"The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin is one of the classics of Science Fiction. In fact I am ashamed that I have not read it before now. Sometimes, when I enjoy a book by an author, I strangely feel disinclined to read more of her work. I suppose in case the next book does not live up to my expectations.

Well, in this case the earlier "book" was the Earthsea trilogy (as it was then ...). After a gap of about 30 years I am very pleased to have come back to Le Guin's work and I fully intend to read more of her grown-ups books. I am also planning a re-read of the Earthsea books to prepare me for reading the ones that were not available when I was a kid (Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind).

This book really doesn't need any comment from me. I loved the way Le Guin explored the idea of Utopia in this novel and the character of Shevek was fascinating.

"So You Want to Be a Wizard" by Diane Duane

I had already heard of Diane Duane as an author of Start Trek novels. As readers of this earlier post will know, the first of Duane's Rihannsu books is on my "to read" list.

I don't think I had heard of this book until I read the mention of it on Jo Walton's blog over at Tor.com. As readers of this blog will know, I really enjoyed Among Others and so Walton's recommendation of a book by an author I was already planning to read was perfectly timed.

The main character, Nita, is 13. The story gets going quickly when she finds a book in a library called "So You Want to Be a Wizard", and starts to learn how to perform magic.

The image on the cover shows Nita and her friend Kit (also a wizard) walking across a bridge that Nita has made from air (plus whatever dust and other particles happen to be swirling around up above the streets of New York city).

This book seems to be far better known in the USA (222 reviews on amazon.com) than it is in the UK (8 reviews on amazon.co.uk). I think this is a shame, as it is a wonderful book. The way that Duane handles the magic is really inventive. I loved how Nita and Kit have different specialities which help them in the situations they encounter throughout the book.

The other main character is called "Fred" and he is a really fascinating creation. I hope I am not spoiling things if I say that this book involves an alternate New York, the manipulation of time and a dragon suffering from dementia! The ending is very strong, Nita is a very emotionally mature girl and makes some very moving choices a key moments (I am trying so hard not to spoil!).

I loved this. I will definitely be reading more of Duane's books, both from this series and her Star Trek work.