Perhaps my expectations were a little off when I approached Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. I wanted to read an author's conception of a genderless society, and found myself nodding when I read Le Guin's introduction: for her, science fiction functions as a platform for thought-experiments. However, the story turns out to be more mythology, international political intrigue, and lots of unfamiliar terms as I followed Genly Ai, the lone human male emissary to the remote planet Winter (Gethen in native tongue) to convince them to join an intergalactic alliance...

But I enjoyed the book immensely. I got used to the story's shifting perspectives by chapter: sometimes it is narrated by Ai, others by another character or a document related to the mission. Although the book wasn't a detailed analysis of gender -- Gethenians are completely androgynous until they enter kemmer, or heat, either as male or female each time -- it dealt with topics equally poignant, such as bonds of friendship, between individuals and places, and between different aspects of oneself. Thus, Le Guin did address my original interests, obliquely, by telling a tale of how these things transcend gender. Its reputation as a groundbreaking work and winning of the Neubula and Hugo Awards (for best science fiction novel of the year, 1969-1970) are much deserved.