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One of Le Guin's early books, which I had not previously heard of; I thought it was rather impressive, though. Set in a far future depopulated American continent, the protagonist, Falk, has appeared out of nowhere with no memory and goes on a quest to recover / discover his identity. The first half of the (short) book is an Odyssey-style journey across the continent, the second half, after his arrival in Es Toch (the city of illusions in the books's title), is his attempt to outwit the sinister Ching and fulfill his quest. It is a little pulp-ish in design and execution, but I really am surprised not to have heard more about this as part of Le Guin's œuvre. ( )

City of Illusions is an early book from Le Guin (published 1967). It is set in her Hainish worlds, however. The story takes place on future Earth, after some kind of apocalypse has wiped most of humanity out and the rest live down to earth under the rule of the Shing.

A mysterious alien man appears from the woods. He's lost his memory and learns a new life like a child. Is he a Shing, a tool of the Shing or a friend? He wants to find out and eventually sets out to the city of Shing.

The book is divided into two parts: first is the man's journey through the Northern American plains to the Shing city Es Toch - the city of illusions. There he starts to unravel his past and decipher what the Shing actually want. It's a web of lies and deceit and quite an challenge.

While City of Illusions is far from being Le Guin's greatest work, it is a pleasant little book that offers solid entertainment.

(Original review at my review blog) ( )

This is SF written more in the style of epic fantasy, though at only 217 pages it's limited in scope. An amnesiac sets out to discover the truth about his identity and discovers a plot to dominate and subdue the human race in the process.

I enjoyed this, though I felt it ended a bit abruptly. What happened next?!? Perhaps she's written other books in the same world? I'll have to look into it. ( )