Essentially, the entire novel is a report from our main character (Ai) talking about how he attempts to persuade a ruler of another planet (King Argaven of Gethen) to join the Ekumen (an intergalactic federation of some kind that is comprised of many planets in this universe). Long story short, it takes a long time to convince the King and after an unsuccessful attempt the book ends with Ai getting the Gethenians to join the Ekumen. Personally, I can't stand this kind of novel. It's a lot of notes on customs on a foreign planets, and has a lot to do with the politics of the world that's being created. The book seems to drone on and on and maybe it's because everything is so Alien to me or because I'm not a big sci-fi kinda guy, but I found it very hard to relate to and I was dredging through the text in order to finish it.
I think the most interesting thing for me was the supplementary legends and story's from the homeworld that were included in the text to foreshadow/complement other events in the book.
All in all, I can see why other people would be a fan. The novel is well written and it finds it's place in the science fiction genre. The book has some pretty interesting characters as well as thought out history and politics. However, it's just not my cup of tea so I don't think I'll be venturing back to Gethen any time soon.
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