A guide to speculative fiction

Reading lists

A photo of some buildings in silhouette against a dusky blue sky with a sign saying 'Hogwarts' next to a lamp

Article-Card-Update-Books-For-Harry-Potter-Fans.jpg

Children's reading lists

12 magical books for Harry Potter fans

An image of a selection of children's books that feature fictional schools. The book covers are on top of a light pink background with two darker pink shapes with a star pattern inside of them.

Article-Card-Fictional-Schools-Update

Best fictional schools in kid’s literature

3 BBC Radio full cast dramatisations

The Complete Earthsea Series & The Left Hand of Darkness

The dazzling BBC Radio adaptations of Ursula K. Le Guin's famous fantasy saga and her ground-breaking science fiction masterpiece - plus bonus material 
 
Ursula K. Le Guin was one of the most revered and influential writers of the 20th Century. Her 'Earthsea' books have sold millions of copies and been translated into numerous languages, while her trailblazing novel The Left Hand of Darkness was a landmark in feminist science fiction and ranks among the greatest SF novels of all time. This BBC collection brings together the magical radio retellings of both these seminal classics. 
 
Set on an immense archipelago where magic is a part of life, Earthsea tells the stories of Ged, a young, reckless wizard, and Tenar, taken from her home as a child to become Arha, guardian priestess of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. Meeting for the first time deep within the tombs, their destinies become intertwined, and they unite to bring peace to their troubled world. Years later, their paths have diverged - but when Ged returns to Tenar's island on a dragon's back, they are caught up in an epic battle for the future of Earthsea itself. Starring James McArdle, Shaun Dooley and Robert Glenister as Ged, and Aysha Kala, Vineeta Rishi and Nina Wadia as Tenar with Toby Jones and Noma Dumezweni. 
 
The Left Hand of Darkness takes place on an alien world in the grip of an Ice Age. Genly Ai has been sent from Earth on a mission to persuade Gethen to join a planetary union, the Ekumen. But his task is fraught with difficulty. For this is a world whose people have no fixed gender, and Genly's encounters with the natives are marked by mutual incomprehension and mistrust. In coming to terms with their otherness and their sameness Genly must let go of his fixed ideas about identity, and embark on a dangerous journey across the snow plains with his only ally, First Minister Estraven. The stakes are high to save a world from war. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith stars as Genly, with Lesley Sharp as Estraven. 
 
Also included Ursula Le Guin at 85, in which novelist Naomi Alderman interviews Le Guin, with contributions from Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell and Karen Joy Fowler. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Ursula K.Le Guin 
Adapted by Judith Adams 
 
Earthsea 
Ged - James McArdle/Shaun Dooley/Robert Glenister 
Tenar - Aysha Kala/Vineeta Rishi/Nina Wadia 
Young Ged - Kasper Hilton-Hille 
Young Tenar - Nishi Malde 
Ogion - Paul Hilton/Michael Bertenshaw 
Manan - Zubin Varla 
Cob - Toby Jones 
Nilgu - Noma Dumezweni 
Other Cast: Souad Faress, David Hounslow, Adam Thomas-Wright, Mark Edel-Hunt, Jessica Turner, Lucy Hutchinson, Stephen Critchlow, Sam Dale, Ayesha Antoine, Richard Linnell, Jack Kane, David Acton, Chris Pavlo, Will Featherstone, Jude Akudwudike, Laura Elphinstone, Rosie Boore, Elizabeth Counsell, John Lightbody, Ryan Early, Stephen Hogan, Sean Murray, Emma Handy, Lauren Cornelius, Kerry Gooderson, Ryan Whittle, Steven Robertson, Joseph Ayre, Narinder Samra, Tom Vanson, Sabrina Sandhu 
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko 
Original music by Jon Nicholls. Sound design by Caleb Knightley. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4 Extra, 27 April-5 May 2015 (Series 1), 15-22 October 2018 (Series 2) 
 
The Left Hand of Darkness 
Genly Ai - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith 
Estraven - Lesley Sharp 
Argaven - Toby Jones 
Other Cast: Louise Brealey, Noma Dumezweni, Ruth Gemmell, Adjoa Andoh, Stephen Critchlow, David Acton, David Hounslow, Rhiannon Neads, Sam Dale, Ayesha Antoine 
Directed by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12-19 April 2015 
 
Ursula Le Guin at 85 
Presented by Naomi Alderman 
With Ursula K. Le Guin, David Mitchell, Neil Gaiman and Karen Joy Fowler 
Reader: Ayesha Antoine 
Produced by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 April 2015 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The dazzling BBC Radio adaptations of Ursula K. Le Guin's famous fantasy saga and her ground-breaking science fiction masterpiece - plus bonus material 
 
Ursula K. Le Guin was one of the most revered and influential writers of the 20th Century. Her 'Earthsea' books have sold millions of copies and been translated into numerous languages, while her trailblazing novel The Left Hand of Darkness was a landmark in feminist science fiction and ranks among the greatest SF novels of all time. This BBC collection brings together the magical radio retellings of both these seminal classics. 
 
Set on an immense archipelago where magic is a part of life, Earthsea tells the stories of Ged, a young, reckless wizard, and Tenar, taken from her home as a child to become Arha, guardian priestess of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. Meeting for the first time deep within the tombs, their destinies become intertwined, and they unite to bring peace to their troubled world. Years later, their paths have diverged - but when Ged returns to Tenar's island on a dragon's back, they are caught up in an epic battle for the future of Earthsea itself. Starring James McArdle, Shaun Dooley and Robert Glenister as Ged, and Aysha Kala, Vineeta Rishi and Nina Wadia as Tenar with Toby Jones and Noma Dumezweni. 
 
The Left Hand of Darkness takes place on an alien world in the grip of an Ice Age. Genly Ai has been sent from Earth on a mission to persuade Gethen to join a planetary union, the Ekumen. But his task is fraught with difficulty. For this is a world whose people have no fixed gender, and Genly's encounters with the natives are marked by mutual incomprehension and mistrust. In coming to terms with their otherness and their sameness Genly must let go of his fixed ideas about identity, and embark on a dangerous journey across the snow plains with his only ally, First Minister Estraven. The stakes are high to save a world from war. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith stars as Genly, with Lesley Sharp as Estraven. 
 
Also included Ursula Le Guin at 85, in which novelist Naomi Alderman interviews Le Guin, with contributions from Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell and Karen Joy Fowler. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Ursula K.Le Guin 
Adapted by Judith Adams 
 
Earthsea 
Ged - James McArdle/Shaun Dooley/Robert Glenister 
Tenar - Aysha Kala/Vineeta Rishi/Nina Wadia 
Young Ged - Kasper Hilton-Hille 
Young Tenar - Nishi Malde 
Ogion - Paul Hilton/Michael Bertenshaw 
Manan - Zubin Varla 
Cob - Toby Jones 
Nilgu - Noma Dumezweni 
Other Cast: Souad Faress, David Hounslow, Adam Thomas-Wright, Mark Edel-Hunt, Jessica Turner, Lucy Hutchinson, Stephen Critchlow, Sam Dale, Ayesha Antoine, Richard Linnell, Jack Kane, David Acton, Chris Pavlo, Will Featherstone, Jude Akudwudike, Laura Elphinstone, Rosie Boore, Elizabeth Counsell, John Lightbody, Ryan Early, Stephen Hogan, Sean Murray, Emma Handy, Lauren Cornelius, Kerry Gooderson, Ryan Whittle, Steven Robertson, Joseph Ayre, Narinder Samra, Tom Vanson, Sabrina Sandhu 
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko 
Original music by Jon Nicholls. Sound design by Caleb Knightley. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4 Extra, 27 April-5 May 2015 (Series 1), 15-22 October 2018 (Series 2) 
 
The Left Hand of Darkness 
Genly Ai - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith 
Estraven - Lesley Sharp 
Argaven - Toby Jones 
Other Cast: Louise Brealey, Noma Dumezweni, Ruth Gemmell, Adjoa Andoh, Stephen Critchlow, David Acton, David Hounslow, Rhiannon Neads, Sam Dale, Ayesha Antoine 
Directed by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12-19 April 2015 
 
Ursula Le Guin at 85 
Presented by Naomi Alderman 
With Ursula K. Le Guin, David Mitchell, Neil Gaiman and Karen Joy Fowler 
Reader: Ayesha Antoine 
Produced by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 April 2015 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The First Four Books: A Wizard of Earthsea * The Tombs of Atuan * The Farthest Shore * Tehanu

Earthsea

Discover Ursula Le Guin's passionate and enthralling story of a young boy sent to a school of wizardry to learn the ways of magic in the opening quartet of the Earthsea story. 
 
'One of the literary greats' Margaret Atwood 
 
A Wizard of Earthsea * The Tombs of Atuan * The Farthest Shore * Tehanu 
 
Ged is but a young goatherd on the island of Gont when he comes by his strange powers over nature. Sent to the School of Wizards on Roke, he learns the true way of magic and proves himself a powerful magician. 
 
Over the years and distances, he hones his craft and helps the High Priestess Tenar escape the labyrinth of darkness. But it is as Archmage Sparrowhawk that Ged witnesses true magic and the ancient ways submit to the forces of evil and death. Will he too succumb, or can he hold them back? 
 
'Le Guin's words are magical. Drink this magic up. Drown in it. Dream it' David Mitchell 
 
'One of the greats. A literary icon' Stephen King 
 
'A colossus of literature, a trailblazer' China Mieville 
 
Previously titled The Earthsea Quartet.

Thrilling, wise and beautiful... Every word is perfect, like the spells Ged has to master

One of literature's best-written fantasy worlds. I adored A Wizard of Earthsea, which I read and reread until my ratty old paperback copy required emergency surgery. Le Guin's words are magical. Drink this magic up. Drown in it. Dream it

Genre cannot contain Ursula Le Guin: she is a genre in herself

One of the major works of fantasy in this century

One of the literary greats of the 20th century

Composed sparely, shaped by narratives so basic they must be inscribed upon our cells, they read as if they were not written but found, dug out like jewels from rock

Ursula Le Guin was born in Berkley, California, in 1929, daughter of the writer Theodora Krober and the anthropologist Alfred Krober. Her published work includes twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, three collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation. The Earthsea books have been translated into many languages around the world and are global bestsellers.

A Wizard of Earthsea * The Tombs of Atuan * The Farthest Shore * Tehanu 
 
Ged is but a young goatherd on the island of Gont when he comes by his strange powers over nature. Sent to the School of Wizards on Roke, he learns the true way of magic and proves himself a powerful magician. 
 
Over the years and distances, he hones his craft and helps the High Priestess Tenar escape the labyrinth of darkness. But it is as Archmage Sparrowhawk that Ged witnesses true magic and the ancient ways submit to the forces of evil and death. Will he too succumb, or can he hold them back?

A Wizard of Earthsea

A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

'One of the literary greats of the 20th century' Margaret Atwood 
 
The first book of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin is a tale of wizards, dragons and terrifying shadows. 
 
The island of Gont is a land famous for wizards. Of these, some say the greatest - and surely the greatest voyager - is the man called Sparrowhawk. As a reckless, awkward boy, he discovered the great power that was in him - with terrifying consequences. Tempted by pride to try spells beyond his means, Sparrowhawk lets loose an evil shadow-beast in his land. Only he can destroy it, and the quest leads him to the farthest corner of Earthsea.

Ursula Le Guin was born in Berkley, California, in 1929, daughter of the writer Theodora Krober and the anthropologist Alfred Krober. Her published work includes twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, three collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation. Among her novels are the The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, both winners of the Nebula and Hugo awards, Always Coming Home, winner of the 1985 Kafka Award, and Four Ways to Forgiveness. In 2009 she won her sixth Nebula award for Powers. She died in January 2018 aged 88. 
 
Penguin/Puffin published the first volume of the Earthsea books, A Wizard of Earthsea, in 1971. The Earthsea books have been translated into many languages around the world and are global bestsellers.

The first book of Earthsea is a tale of wizards, dragons and terrifying shadows. 
 
The island of Gont is a land famous for wizards. Of these, some say the greatest - and surely the greatest voyager - is the man called Sparrowhawk. As a reckless, awkward boy, he discovered the great power that was in him - with terrifying consequences. Tempted by pride to try spells beyond his means, Sparrowhawk lets loose an evil shadow-beast in his land. Only he can destroy it, and the quest leads him to the farthest corner of Earthsea. 
 
'One of the literary greats of the 20th century' Margaret Atwood

Ursula Le Guin

Ngadi Smart

Praise for The Tombs of Atuan (book two) 'A fantasy adventure that's actually a feminist horror thriller.'

'One of the literary greats of the 20th century' - Margaret Atwood 
 
Earthsea: The First Four Books is a collection of one of the most beloved and influential fantasy works of all time. The series follows two main characters: Ged, who grows from an arrogant boy to one of the most powerful mages Earthsea has ever known; and Tenar, who escapes her fate as a child-priestess, and must fight for a life of her own. 
 
Filled with soaring, dangerous and beautifully-spun magic; evocative, sweeping settings; and extraordinarily vivid, emotionally complex characters, once read, the Earthsea series will never be forgotten.

Ursula Le Guin

Praise for Earthsea: The First Four Books

Praise for The Tombs of Atuan (book two) 'A fantasy adventure that's actually a feminist horror thriller.'

Books by Ursula Le Guin

Articles featuring Ursula Le Guin

A guide to speculative fiction

12 magical books for Harry Potter fans

Best fictional schools in kid’s literature

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter