Ursula K. Le Guin is best known as a science-fiction writer whose work has been recognized by the mainstream literary establishment, a writer whose work includes not only adult science fiction but also a series of fantasy novels for young adults, children's books, and experimental "speculative fiction" that sometimes takes place in the present time or in recognizable locales (often the West Coast of North America). Only recently has her work also begun to be recognized as significant in its ecological and environmental emphasis; yet, a reader who considers her work in relation to "ecocriticism," the newly emerging field of literary criticism with a nature-oriented emphasis, comes to realize that much of Le Guin's work can be illuminated by such a focus.

In "The Non-Alibi of Alien Scapes: SF and Ecocriticism" (2001), Patrick D. Murphy offers a useful critical basis for reading science fiction ecologically, one that is helpful...