The Beginning Place
#8163.53 adjusted 3.62 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1980 Reading commitment Low Ursula K. Le Guin Last reviewed 2026-09-28
Overview
Ursula K. Le Guin's 1980 short novel, published in Britain as Threshold, follows two young adults from the dreary suburbs of an unnamed American city who separately find a gateway in a wood into a country of perpetual twilight where time runs slow. Hugh, fleeing an empty life and a disturbed mother, finds it first in the story; Irene has been crossing for years and has a second home and a second language in the mountain town of Tembreabrezi. Told in alternating chapters, it turns from refuge to quest when the townsfolk, terrified of a shadow on the roads, look to the strangers for help. A separate world from Le Guin's other universes in this canon.
Portal fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Beginning Place (1980) core · 3.53 (3,768 ratings); Harper & Row, 1980; published in the UK as Threshold. A separate world from Earthsea and the Western Shore.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Beginning Place? The Beginning Place's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Beginning Place finished? Complete (1980).
- How much reading does The Beginning Place take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~183 pages).
- How is The Beginning Place ranked? #816 in this site's official ranking, based on 3,768 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #816?
Ranked #816 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.53 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (3,768 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #815, Farlander (Heart of the World) (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 4k ratings · Ranks #816 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No award could be confirmed for this novel.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what The Beginning Place and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- A Snake Falls to Earth Mythic fantasy / Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.94
- O Ceptro de Aerzis Epic fantasy / Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.56
- Magids Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.02
- Magic Moon Portal fantasy / Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Low commitment · 3.85
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.53 across 3,768 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: The Beginning Place (Ursula K. Le Guin) accepted 2026-09-28
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
- Ursula K. Le Guin (official site) Tier 1
Last reviewed: 2026-09-28
Rule: Core Canon = The Beginning Place (1980) only, standalone.