The Word for World is Forest
Readers rate it 4.1 (301 on Hardcover)
160 pages · Released May 15, 1989 · Ace
Content report card
The Word for World is Forest parent’s guide: what’s inside
LGBTQ+ themes
Substance use
What it offers
A note for parents
This is a serious science fiction novella exploring colonization, environmental destruction, and cultural conflict through the lens of a peaceful indigenous society confronting violent military occupation. While not graphically brutal, it contains themes of slavery, oppression, and warfare that require maturity to process; the narrative is reflective and philosophical rather than action-driven, making it suitable for thoughtful teens but challenging for younger readers. Le Guin uses the story to examine imperialism and moral responsibility, offering strong anti-colonial perspectives alongside genuine ethical complexity.
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From the publisher
Centuries in the future, Terrans have established a logging colony & military base named “New Tahiti” on a tree-covered planet whose small, green-furred, big-eyed inhabitants have a culture centered on lucid dreaming. Terran greed spirals around native innocence & wisdom, overturning the ancient society. Humans have... Centuries in the future, Terrans have established a logging colony & military base named “New Tahiti” on a tree-covered planet whose small, green-furred, big-eyed inhabitants have a culture centered on lucid dreaming. Terran greed spirals around native innocence & wisdom, overturning the ancient society. Humans have learned interstellar travel from the Hainish (the origin-planet of all humanoid races, including Athsheans). Various planets have been expanding independently, but during the novel it’s learned that the League of All Worlds has been formed. News arrives via an ansible, a new discovery. Previously they had been cut off, 27 light years from home. The story occurs after The Dispossessed, where both the ansible & the League of Worlds are unrealised. Also well before Planet of Exile, where human settlers have learned to coexist. The 24th century has been suggested. Terran colonists take over the planet locals call Athshe, meaning “forest,” rather than “dirt,” like their home planet Terra. They follow the 19th century model of colonization: felling trees, planting farms, digging mines & enslaving indigenous peoples. The natives are unequipped to comprehend this. They’re a subsistence race who rely on the forests & have no cultural precedent for tyranny, slavery or war. The invaders take their land without resistance until one fatal act sets rebellion in motion & changes the people of both worlds forever.
Shelved under
- noteworthy & awarded Science fiction
- Hainish Cycle
- resource conservation
- rebellion
- Science fiction
- Fiction, science fiction, general
- Children's fiction
- Fiction, science fiction, action & adventure
- Ps3562.e42 w67 2010
- 813/.54
- Unloveable Characters
- A mix driven
Books in the Hainish Cycle series
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ISBN 9780441909155 · Ace