Reddit mentions of The Earthsea Quartet

I'm surprised no one has brought it up yet, but I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring for Ursula K. Le Guin and the Earthsea Quartet. Le Guin is a master of writing character-driven fantasy with a focused message that extends beyond the worlds she creates, though those worlds are fascinating in their own right.

I think the best way to express how impactful her writing has been in my life is with a part of the introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness, wherein she discusses just why she writes fiction:


> A metaphor for what?

> If I could have said it non-metaphorically, I would not have written all these words, this novel; and Genly Ai would never have sat down at my desk and used up my ink and typewriter ribbon in informing me, and you, rather solemnly, that the truth is a matter of the imagination.