The slender book is fairly simplistic, but it's still compelling and thought-provoking. (SFX)It's a compact tale, a masterclass by a powerful writer who fashions a lean narrative where others might have produced a much larger, bloated tome, and yet for all the brevity Le Guin delivers not just a narrative but a believable alien world and society in short yet compelling scenes. (FORBIDDEN PLANET)When the inhabitants of a peaceful world are conquered by the bloodthirsty yumens, their existence is ...