It is with a heavy heart and a saddened soul that I write this tonight. Ursula K. Le Guin, renowned author of The Earthsea Cycle series and literally scores of other works like The Left Hand Of Darkness, has shuffled off this mortal coil. She died on Monday at her home in Portland, OR, according to the New York Times. She was 88.

While no cause of death was given, her recent failing health was no secret, though this news still comes as a shock to the literary world. She wrote often about magic, balance, and always layered in a sense of compassion to her works.