The Left Hand of Darkness vs The Silverado Squatters: Which Should You Read?
The Left Hand of Darkness
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[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 Silverado Squatters
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Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) traveled to California in 1879 in pursuit of Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, the Oakland woman with whom he had fallen in love in France. The two were married in the spring of 1880 and…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Left Hand of Darkness highest: The Left Hand of Darkness 4.4 · The Silverado Squatters 3.5.
- The Silverado Squatters is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 6 for The Left Hand of Darkness.
- The Left Hand of Darkness has the widest readership — 576 ratings behind its score.
- The Left Hand of Darkness runs the darker storyline; The Silverado Squatters stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| The Left Hand of Darkness | The Silverado Squatters | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.3 (262) | 3.4 (330) |
| Hardcover | 3.0 (2) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (576) | 4.0 (19) |
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Reception
| The Left Hand of Darkness | The Silverado Squatters | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 576 | 330 |
| Editions | 91 | 53 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 502 | 391 |
| Reading it now | 15 | 72 |
| Written reviews | 27 | 49 |
| Wikipedia attention | 34258 | 221 |
| Pages | 329 | 112 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Left Hand of Darkness or The Silverado Squatters?
The Left Hand of Darkness has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Left Hand of Darkness 4.4/5, The Silverado Squatters 3.5/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Left Hand of Darkness or The Silverado Squatters?
The Silverado Squatters is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Silverado Squatters (112 pages, ≈ 2 h 04 m); The Left Hand of Darkness (329 pages, ≈ 6 h 06 m).
Which is harder to read: The Left Hand of Darkness or The Silverado Squatters?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Left Hand of Darkness: Challenging; The Silverado Squatters: Challenging.