'Changing Planes' by Ursula K Le Guin

Reviewed by Pranav Minasandra

03 May 2024

This book is Ursula K Le Guin showing off her world-building skills. Since this is Le Guin we are talking about, this book is unputdownable. The dizzying jumps between different planes of existence described in this book are just as thought-provoking as the writing is candidly hilarious.

It’s difficult for me to review this book without spoilers, but spoiling any part of this book would be criminal. If you liked The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas, this book is almost a dozen stories in the same vein. The story about the Island of the Immortals is probably the best story in here, and is freely available to read online.

Le Guin is the master of environmental story-telling, wherein aspects of the world-building develop and drive the main plot. This writing is extremely fun, and her wit is enchanting. It would have been so very nice if Ursula Le Guin ever wrote for Doctor Who.