Series

Hainish Cycle series in reading order

The Hainish Cycle series has 8 books.

Published between 1966 and 2002. The publication order differs from the reading order — both are below.

An ethnologist stranded on a medieval world must navigate warring cultures and lost technology to warn of an approaching threat. Le Guin's first novel in the Hainish Cycle combines sword-and-planet adventure with anthropological precision, introducing the multi-world civilization she would explore a

All 8 books, in reading order

• 1. Rocannon's World (1966) — Ursula K. Le Guin / Stefan Rudnicki
• 2. Planet of Exile (1966) — Ursula K. Le Guin · 134 pages
• 3. City of Illusions (1967) — Ursula K. Le Guin · 160 pages
• 4. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) — Ursula K. Le Guin · 320 pages
• 5. The Dispossessed (1974) — Ursula K. Le Guin · 400 pages
• Four Ways to Forgiveness (1989) — Ursula K. Le Guin · 248 pages
• The Birthday of the World and Other Stories (2002) — Ursula K. Le Guin · 384 pages
• The Telling (2000) — Ursula K. Le Guin · 264 pages

Hainish Cycle in publication order

1. Rocannon's World (1966) — Ursula K. Le Guin / Stefan Rudnicki
2. Planet of Exile (1966) — Ursula K. Le Guin
3. City of Illusions (1967) — Ursula K. Le Guin
4. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) — Ursula K. Le Guin
5. The Dispossessed (1974) — Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Four Ways to Forgiveness (1989) — Ursula K. Le Guin
7. The Telling (2000) — Ursula K. Le Guin
8. The Birthday of the World and Other Stories (2002) — Ursula K. Le Guin

The Books Oracle — track the series you are partway through, and see what to read next.