Changing Planes

256 pages

Langue : English

Publié 26 juillet 2005 par Ace.

ISBN :
978-0-441-01224-4
ISBN copié !

Voir sur OpenLibrary

ARMCHAIR TRAVEL FOR THE MIND: It was Sita Dulip who discovered, whilst stuck in an airport, unable to get anywhere, how to change planes - literally. By a mere kind of a twist and a slipping bend, easier to do than describe, she could go anywhere - be anywhere - because she was already between planes ...and on the way back from her sister's wedding, she missed her plane in Chicago and found herself in Choom. The author, now armed with this knowledge and Rornan's invaluable Handy Planetary Guide - although not the Encyclopedia Planeria, as that runs to forty-four volumes - has spent many happy years exploring places as diverse as Islac and the Veksian plane. Changing Planes is an intriguing, enticing mixture of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS and THE HITCH HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY; a cross between Douglas Adams and Alain de Botton: a mix of satire, cynicism and …

2 éditions

Lighter, but still a lot to think about

Lighter than most Le Guin I’ve read, Changing Planes is a Gulliver’s Travels for the present era, the social satire made possible through interdimensional travel. (When you’re stuck in a dismal airport between planes, well, you’re already between planes, right?)

Some chapters are told first person as the narrator explores a new reality (sometimes sticking to the tourist spots, sometimes going off the beaten path). Others read more like magazine articles or encyclopedia entries. Still others mix first- and second-hand accounts with the narrator’s reactions to them.

There’s a lot of whimsy, humor and sarcasm. It’s not particularly deep (especially compared to her major works), but it does give you a lot to think about.

(Cross-posted from my website.)