Containing seven stories of Hain written in the early 90s, these are explorations of science fiction concepts alongside social or anthropological studies. The first three stories, 'The Shobies' Story', 'Dancing to Gardam' and 'A Fisherman of the Inland Sea' all deal with what Le Guin calls 'cherting': the ability to travel instantaneously across space (like the wrinkle in L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time). The first two are "harder" SF than Le Guin usually writes, with a focus on understanding cherting and what it might mean for our consciousness to go from one place to another in an instant. 'A Fisherman of the Inland Sea', the longest of the three, gives a more considered character study, set on the planet O, from which Hideo travels light-years away to study, and comes to regret it. This is an atmospheric, moving story, that untangles a number of different SF concepts.

The following two stories also take place on O, 'Unchosen Love' and 'Mountain Ways', dealing with Le Guin's four-way marriage system, and how these marriages work over time and from different perspectives. These stories are playful and atmospheric, and also function as a study of gender, and the arbitrary way in which we determine what gender means. They also embrace homosexual love in a radical and gentle way, which would have seemed much more unusual when they were published but now makes them feel very modern. The final two stories in the collection, 'The Matter of Seggri' and 'Solitude' are both social studies. 'Seggri' is an unabashedly feminist story, set on a world in which women outnumber men 16:1, and in which men have absolutely no power and no opportunities. This reimagining of gender inequality demonstrates the ways in which misogyny has damaged our societies, and also functions as a powerful, emotional and devastating story about injustice. It's one of her best and most memorable: highly recommended. 'Solitude' is an entirely different kind of story, set on a world of introverts, in which speech is restricted and relationships are kept at a remove. Its main character is from Hain and is brought to the planet as part of an anthropological study, but finds she cannot leave because she has embraced the principles of silence and meditation too deeply. A lovely piece of escapism.

A very interesting collection, demonstrating Le Guin's range of interests as well as her sensitivity and radical thought.