Scythe vs The Left Hand of Darkness: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Science Fiction, Fiction
Scythe
Thou shalt kill. A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do…
vs
The Left Hand of Darkness
[Comment by Kim Stanley Robinson, on The Guardian's website][1]: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin (1969) One of my favorite novels is The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K Le Guin. For more than 40 years…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Left Hand of Darkness is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 8 for Scythe.
- Scythe has the widest readership — 1826 ratings behind its score.
- The Left Hand of Darkness runs the darker storyline; Scythe stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Want a one-evening read?
The Left Hand of Darkness
≈ 6h vs 8h for Scythe
New to the genre?
Scythe
Light vs Challenging for The Left Hand of Darkness
In the mood for something dark?
The Left Hand of Darkness
a darker storyline than Scythe
Want something lighter?
Scythe
an easier tone than The Left Hand of Darkness
Scores by source
| Scythe | The Left Hand of Darkness | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.3 (262) |
| Hardcover | 4.2 (1053) | 3.0 (2) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (1826) | 4.5 (576) |
Reception
| Scythe | The Left Hand of Darkness | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 1826 | 576 |
| Editions | 21 | 91 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 502 |
| Reading it now | — | 15 |
| Written reviews | — | 27 |
| Wikipedia attention | 8575 | 34258 |
| Pages | 448 | 329 |