The Wind's Twelve Quarters is a collection of short stories by Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...

 first published by Harper & Row in 1975.

Le Guin describes the collection as a retrospective. It includes many stories which had been published previously or expanded into novels. Others take place in locations that feature in her full-length novels. Semley's Necklace became the prologue to Rocannon's World

Rocannon's World

Rocannon's World is Ursula K. Le Guin's first novel. It was published in 1966 as an Ace Double, along with Avram Davidson's The Kar-Chee Reign, following the tête-bêche format. Though it is one of Le Guin's many works set in the universe of the technological Hainish Cycle, the story itself has many...

. The Word of Unbinding

The Word of Unbinding

"The Word of Unbinding" is a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the January 1964 issue of Fantastic, and reprinted in collections such as The Wind's Twelve Quarters. In this story, the Earthsea realm, which was later made famous by A Wizard of Earthsea, was first introduced...

and The Rule of Names

The Rule of Names

"The Rule of Names" is a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the April 1964 issue of Fantastic, and reprinted in collections such as The Wind's Twelve Quarters. This story and "The Word of Unbinding" convey Le Guin's initial concepts for the Earthsea realm, most importantly its...

both take place in Earthsea

Earthsea

Earthsea is a fictional realm originally created by Ursula K. Le Guin for her short story "The Word of Unbinding", published in 1964. Earthsea became the setting for a further six books, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, and continuing with The Tombs of Atuan, The...

. Winter's King takes place on Gethen, the same planet which is the stage of The Left Hand of Darkness

The Left Hand of Darkness

The Left Hand of Darkness is a 1969 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is part of the Hainish Cycle, a series of books by Le Guin all set in the fictional Hainish universe....

. The Day Before the Revolution is a companion to The Dispossessed

The Dispossessed

The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia is a 1974 utopian science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, set in the same fictional universe as that of The Left Hand of Darkness . The book won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1974, both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1975, and received a nomination for...

.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a 1973 short story by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is a philosophical parable with a sparse plot featuring bare and abstract descriptions of characters; the city of Omelas is the primary focus of the narrative."The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" was nominated for...

won the Hugo Award

Hugo Award

The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...

 for best short story in 1973. The Day Before the Revolution won the Nebula Award

Nebula Award

The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...

 in the same category in 1974.

Contents

• "Foreword"
• "Semley's Necklace" (standalone prologue to Rocannon's World
  Rocannon's World
  Rocannon's World is Ursula K. Le Guin's first novel. It was published in 1966 as an Ace Double, along with Avram Davidson's The Kar-Chee Reign, following the tête-bêche format. Though it is one of Le Guin's many works set in the universe of the technological Hainish Cycle, the story itself has many...
  
  )
• "April in Paris"
• "The Masters"
• "Darkness Box"
• "The Word of Unbinding
  The Word of Unbinding
  "The Word of Unbinding" is a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the January 1964 issue of Fantastic, and reprinted in collections such as The Wind's Twelve Quarters. In this story, the Earthsea realm, which was later made famous by A Wizard of Earthsea, was first introduced...
  
  "
• "The Rule of Names
  The Rule of Names
  "The Rule of Names" is a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the April 1964 issue of Fantastic, and reprinted in collections such as The Wind's Twelve Quarters. This story and "The Word of Unbinding" convey Le Guin's initial concepts for the Earthsea realm, most importantly its...
  
  "
• "Winter's King
  Winter's King
  "Winter's King" is a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, originally published in the September 1969 issue of Orbit, a fiction anthology. The story is part of the Hainish Cycle and explores topics such as the human effect of space travel at nearly the speed of light, as well as religious and...
  
  "
• "The Good Trip"
• "Nine Lives"
• "Things"
• "A Trip to the Head"
• "Vaster than Empires and More Slow"
• "The Stars Below"
• "The Field of Vision"
• "Direction of the Road"
• "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
  The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
  "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a 1973 short story by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is a philosophical parable with a sparse plot featuring bare and abstract descriptions of characters; the city of Omelas is the primary focus of the narrative."The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" was nominated for...
  
  "
• "The Day Before the Revolution
  The Day Before the Revolution
  "The Day Before the Revolution" is a Nebula Award-winning short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in 1974.It is considered a short story prologue to The Dispossessed and represents an idealized anarchy by following the character of "Odo", the semilegendary woman who led the revolution...
  
  "

External links

• A review of The Wind's Twelve Quarters