Audiobooks Narrated by James McArdle

The Left Hand of Darkness: BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

The first ever broadcast dramatisation of Ursula Le Guin's seminal science fiction novel. On an alien world in the middle of an Ice Age, one man prepares for the biggest mission of his life. Alone and unarmed, Genly Ai has been sent from Earth to persuade the people of Gethen to join the Ekumen, a union of planets. But it's a task fraught with danger. Genly is shocking to the natives, for Gethen is a world in which humans are ambigendered everyone can be a mother, and everyone can be a father. First Minister Estraven is the only person who champions Genly's cause, but their relationship is deeply incomprehensible and troubling. As the duo embark on a journey that will take them to the edge of their physical and emotional endurance, the stakes are high to save a world from war, and save their own lives. Ursula Le Guin's award-winning masterpiece was one of the first feminist SF novels, and this compelling dramatisation is both a subtle exploration of gender and a thrilling tale of love, betrayal and survival in a landscape of endless snow and ice. It stars Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey), Toby Jones (Dad's Army) and Louise Brealey (Sherlock).. Duration: 2 hours approx.

Ursula K. Le Guin, Ursula Le Guin (Author), , James McArdle, James Mcardle, Toby Jones (Narrator)

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Earthsea: BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation, based on the first three books in Ursula Le Guin's bestselling 'Earthsea' cycle. Set on a vast archipelago of islands, where magic is a central part of life, 'Earthsea' tells the intertwined stories of Ged and Tenar. Ged is a boy from the island of Gont, born with innate magical talent and a reckless nature, who tampers with long-held secrets and releases a terrible shadow into the world. He must risk everything in order to restore the balance… Meanwhile, Tenar, a girl from the island of Atuan, is taken from her home and family to become Arha, the Priestess Ever Reborn, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. Deep within the Tombs, Ged and Tenar encounter one another and seek a way of bringing peace to the troubled archipelago. Ursula Le Guin's 'Earthsea' series have sold millions of copies and been translated into sixteen languages, and this epic dramatisation of 'A Wizard of Earthsea', 'The Tombs of Atuan' and 'The Farthest Shore' will take you deep into a rich fantasy world of sorcery, wizards and dragons. Among the cast are Shaun Dooley (Broadchurch) and Toby Jones (Dad's Army. Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes approx.

Ursula K. Le Guin, Ursula Le Guin (Author), , James McArdle, James Mcardle, Toby Jones (Narrator)

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