The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle Series Book 6)

Although I'm a big fan of the first three books of the Earthsea series, I think that this latest book (as was the case with Tehanu), was both overrated and underwhelming. It weighed in at just over 200 pages, which is somewhat anemic, and the book plods along at a slow pace ... and is unfortunately somewhat dreary and predictable.

IMHO, this series should have remained the trilogy that the author first envisioned it as ... books 4 and 5 are just anemic tack-on stories that lack the magesty and wonder of the original three books. There's neither wonder, nor savor, in these latest offerings. I found book 5 to be somewhat more satisfying than book 4, but that's not saying much, because I didn't really care for book 4.

Kudos to the authoress for typing up a philosophical loose end regarding the concept of death and afterlife in her world ... but she could, and should, have covered the same material by combining books 4&5, pulling a plot comb through it, and getting the combined book down to 300 pages.

I love Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea novels, but I think the earlier ones were the best. In those, LeGuin seems to have been following her instinct more than her politics (though, even when I first read "A Wizard of Earthsea" in the late 1960s, I thought that Ged's final confrontation with the Gebbeth was a little contrived). In the later ones LeGuin seems to have altered the world of Earthsea seems to have been altered to fit the author's politics. The politics aren't bad, nor her view of women, but I feel that she betrays the honesty in of the earlier books in her revelation that the male wizards have created their power by rejecting the feminine principle and, with it, the reality of death. Also, it makes me sad that she resolves this conflict by bringing "The Art Magic" to an end in order to resolve the problem.

That is not to say that the later books and the issues they bring up are not valid, but in the older books, when humans tried to avoid death, magic and beauty languished, and they were brought back to life when the man representing the urge to live forever was defeated; but in the later books, magic, dragons and magical creativity have to be given away along with the willingness to allow life to end at death. This is a strange inversion of structure of the original stories and one I find depressing.

This is a fitting ending although the story is more episodic than the earlier books and it made me wonder whether the author had a recent tragic loss in her own family. It was a very personal book, sometimes confusing, but ending well and fittingly....

The whole Earth Sea series is wonderfully written and beautifully descriptive of an alternative, fantasy world with magic and dragons. However, unlike Tolkien or other great series, her books jump from timeline to timeline, missing great spans of time and leaving the reader to question how the characters got from point A to C.

I was delighted to see another Earthsea Cycle book. With this one it helps to have read the first four books, but you can enjoy it even without reading them, I read them so long ago that I had to re-learn the early plots, and I did that straight from this book.

Such a good book, and a worthy end to a classic series. Thank goodness Earthsea will remain with us, like Oz, Middle-Earth, and so many worlds fantastic. Loved this book, and finally was able to get my hands on it, read it (will be rereading soon) and savor it as truly all fantasy readers should. Great afterward by the author. If you haven't read the Earthsea Cycle you must start at the beginning - you will not be sorry.

If you loved the first three books then you will likely be disappointed by this one. Apparently LeGuin suddenly decided to rewrite history of Earthsea to include more women. It reads like these stories were just tacked on.

The last, it appears, of the Earthsea novels; this was written nearly forty years after the first one but the voice, the cadence, the characters and the background assumptions all ring true.
LeGuin provides many worthy life lessons for all of us through her fantasy writing.

The Earthsea Cycles stand at the top of Science fiction as does LeGuin as creator. If you love this series, check out Patricia McKillips' Riddle Master triology, another classic. All have beautiful language, imaginative plots, and alternative perspectives on life.

I loved the _Earthsea_ trilogy. I read the series as a child, and wore my first copies to death. I don't think there's a finer fantasy series - one more mythic in nature; one more exacting in its prose.
The series was complete in three volumes. It was written by a younger author, and Ursula K Le Guin should not have revisited it. There were objectionable elements, but they were part of Earthsea itself.
In _Tehanu_ and more recently in this volume, Ursula has revisted her world for what seem frankly political reasons. We learn that magic (denied to women in the original volumes) was only restricted because of mysogyny. In fact, it turns out that the best magic users are women. And lesbians too - I have no idea why Ursula needed to tell us this. The Old Powers were the source of evil in the first books; in the current ones they are the helpful and healing source of women's magic.
_Tehanu_ concluded with a deus ex machina. It destroyed the integrity of the first volumes without resolving any of the issues it had raised. There's another story here which reprises that ending - I felt cheated.
This book should not have been written. It's a terrible thing, to destroy something as beautiful as _Earthsea_ was. I have the impression that the admitted mysogyny of the first books weighed so heavily on the author that she was determined to pull it down. To cite only one more example: the original trilogy was sparsely sketched in; things were casually mentioned which were part of the background but never used. In this volume Ursula felt it necessary to supply a lumbering appendix giving the sort of tedious minutiae which you might find in a guidebook - history, biology, etymology and so forth.
I wish I hadn't read this book, or _Tehanu_. If you haven't read either you will probably be happier leaving the latter ones unread. The original books were flawed but uniquely beautiful. These ones are just your standard fantasy stories, written by an accomplished author.

This is the book that puts the earlier books on Earthsea in perspective (especially Farthest Shore and Tehanu). It explains the origins of the dry land behind the wall and the origins of art magic. Without spoiling the plot, but what seems right in the previous books turnsout not to be so rigidly right but even wrong...

Good read - and catches up its pace after 35% in the book

Great ending to a great series. Moved along nicely and kept my attention. Highly recommend it to anyone whose read the Earthsea trilogy. Note there are two other books that come before this one making a total of 6.

I never thought I would have such mixed feelings about a Le Guin novel. Written almost 30 years after the original trilogy, there are subtle differences in the style but these don't impede our imagination until later when suddenly we feel ourselves slipping out of high fantasy mode into a line of ideological notions. Other reviewers have noticed this too. Le Guin's philosophically naive beliefs mar our satisfaction and ultimately rob us of pure literary enjoyment. This is shocking because earlier in her career the author argued forcefully for a key ingredient that makes for successful and profoundly significant fantasy. This genre is capable of portraying the deepest moral tensions. That has been substituted in this novel by a propagandistic end.

Great ending to a great series. Moved along nicely and kept my attention. Highly recommend it to anyone whose read the Earthsea trilogy. Note there are two other books that come before this one making a total of 6.

I never thought I would have such mixed feelings about a Le Guin novel. Written almost 30 years after the original trilogy, there are subtle differences in the style but these don't impede our imagination until later when suddenly we feel ourselves slipping out of high fantasy mode into a line of ideological notions. Other reviewers have noticed this too. Le Guin's philosophically naive beliefs mar our satisfaction and ultimately rob us of pure literary enjoyment. This is shocking because earlier in her career the author argued forcefully for a key ingredient that makes for successful and profoundly significant fantasy. This genre is capable of portraying the deepest moral tensions. That has been substituted in this novel by a propagandistic end.

A worthy addition to the Earthsea set. I do not like the religious implications. LeGuin once called herself a congenital non-Christian, which is nonsense, but the ideas are certainly outside the range of our inherited ideologies, at least as I know them. This is rather like C.S. Lewis, but as for another religion, and perhaps for slightly older children.

I read this book.with trepidation only because I don't like saying goodbye to friends. I fell in love with this series and her writing in my early 20s. I connected with Ged's fierceness and his growth. Tenant was definitely his match. I feel as if I've grown with the characters.

Its sad that this is the end of our visit to Earthsea. LeGuin's writing flows so well; all her stuff is a fast and engaging read. She can tell an epic adventure in 150 pages that takes modern writers thousands of pages and it still feels greater with higher stakes.

Thus, it is complete. For now anyway. Le Guin claims this is the end of the cycle, that this is Earthsea. But I don't know if I believe her. Maybe I just don't want to believe her. I'm not sure she can stay away, and I'm thinking (hoping) that someday soon we'll see a return to the Archipelago, and the magic of Earthsea.

When I first read A Wizard of Earthsea, not long ago really, I commented on the Balance of the world. A balance that must be carefully maintained. Over the course of this series that balance has been skewed, slowly but surely. In The Other Wind an attempt is made to finally restore that Balance. And it is a good story.

I'm leaving this one with 4 stars, though I think it would also fit the 3.5 that I've left the previous two with. I enjoy these stories, and I'm glad to have read them. But there was always something keeping me from a 5 star rating. I really can't put my finger on it, but I feel it. It's something about the way the story is told. I've tried to put it into words in my other reviews of the series but found that I couldn't. I still can't, but this is my last change to try. The closest I can get is to say that it feels almost impersonal at times, like you're too far above the characters and situations playing out. As I said though, I can't really put what I mean into words, so this isn't entirely accurate. Especially because I feel like I can easily contradict myself by staying that these stories are very personal at times. The stories of Ged, Tenar, Lebannen, Tehanu, Alder, Ogion, Irian, and the rest are personal ones. So what do I mean? I'm really not sure. Maybe I will be able to better articulate it after some future reread. But for now know that I am satisfied with my stay in Earthsea, and hope to return.

WARNING: Review contains spoilers.

I fell in love with the Earthsea books when I came across a used, battered copy of "A Wizard of Earthsea" earlier this summer. Enchanted by a unique fantasy world that manages to be something other than a Tolkein clone, I devoured every book in the original trilogy (the aforementioned "Wizard" as well as "The Tombs of Atuan" and "The Farthest Shore") and found myself moving on to the newer books. "Tehanu" proved to be a disappointment, and "Tales From Earthsea" feels like the author desperately trying to retcon previous books to add a feminist twist. So it was with marked trepidation but wary hope that I moved on to "The Other Wind," hoping it would at least be a decent send-off to the series.

While not quite as wonderful as the original trilogy, I found "The Other Wind" to be a refreshing return to form. It explores other cultures of Earthsea and returns us to the magic that captivated us.

"The Other Wind" introduces us to a new character -- Alder, a sorcerer with a gift for mending things. When his beloved wife dies, he has a startling encounter with her in his dreams... and ever since that fateful night he finds himself visiting the land of the dead, the Dry Land, in his sleep every night, watching as the dead struggle to breach the wall separating living from dead. Desperate to escape these nightmares, he sets off on a journey that leads him first to the legendary Sparrowhawk, who points him toward the king of Earthsea for aid -- a king who is facing his own problems as dragons raid the islands and a hostile nation sends its princess in the hopes that he will wed her. Soon an unlikely band of heroes is assembled -- King Lebannen, the burned girl Tehanu, the dragon-woman Irian, a Kargish princess, a Roke-trained wizard, an island sorcerer, and Alder himself -- and together they set sail for the mage's school on Roke. There, in the Immanent Grove that is the heart of both Earthsea and its magic, perhaps they can repair the balance of Earthsea, and set right what has gone wrong.

After finding myself annoyed by the feminist agenda that seemed to be rammed down my throat in "Tehanu" and "Tales From Earthsea," it was refreshing to find the message understated in this book. In fact, I daresay this book was the message done right -- instead of trying to retroactively twist the history of Earthsea or hammer home how men are terrible, this book instead gives us four fascinating female characters, each strong in their own right and each with their own fears, dreams, and goals. And it was refreshing to find that Tehanu and Irian, who both seemed rather flat and thinly characterized in their introductory tales, get actual personalities in this book.

The writing in this book is several steps up from its predecessors as well. It's as if, during "Tehanu" and "Tales," LeGuin forgot about the magic of her world, but after writing for Earthsea a little longer she regained her stride and the writing style that made the world so enchanting. Once again I found myself sucked in, eager to drink in more about this world, its people, and its culture. It returns to its mythic, almost fairy-tale-esque roots, giving us a story that I hope will remain as much of a classic as "Lord of the Rings."

I was a bit disappointed to find that, once again, the wizards of Earthsea are made out to be the villains, so to speak, in this book. After seeing them do great and heroic things in the previous trilogy, it leaves something of a bad taste in my mouth to see them made responsible for mucking up the balance of the world. Also, the revelation regarding the Dry Land came out of nowhere, and feels like the undoing of a neat bit of mythology regarding the world. Just personal quibbles, however...

A great return to form for LeGuin, and a satisfying conclusion to a wonderful series. I enjoyed this voyage through the land of Earthsea, even if it had some bumpy spots along the way, and I do not regret picking it up.

Finally the Earthsea Cycle draws to a close with The Other Wind. This book builds on the situations created in the third and fourth books in the cycle (The Farthest Shore, and Tehanu, respectively) and their characters, also referencing to the short story "Dragonfly" from the fifth book, Tales From Earthsea. Ged and Tenar, the main characters of the first two (and best) books of the series are only minor characters in this tale, and Ged hardly appears at all; he is also entirely inactive, other than listening to Alder's tale and recommending him to visit King Lebannen in Havnor.

The tale is one of court life and philosophical discussions, abstract changes, unifying concepts, and general inactivity. Hardly anything happens in the book, but then again so much happens; in this way, the book is very similar to Tehanu, which has nearly no activity or development until the closing pages, but it is still a better book than Tehanu as we get plenty of new characters, fine character development, and also a sense of closure to the Earthsea cycle. But be sure to pay close attention to the book as you read, or you'll miss important developments, or just generally get lost; it's not an easy book to read, despite being lumped into the category of young adult fiction (which may have been true of the first two books, but hasn't been the case for a long time).

Le Guin, in an afterword, hints that there are more stories from Earthsea, but in many ways they are not necessary.

I've got mixed feelings about this book.

Spoilers.

Perhaps I would have been more thoroughly satisfied (as I generally am with Le Guin, a wonderful writer) if I had have read `Tehanu' - the only book in the series I've missed. There, I presume, she developed Tenar, her relationship with Ged, and her daughter, and this would have made this book work better for me. Maybe. But without that I found Tenar a tad clichéd, I don't know, just a bit too `happily ever after'. A curious thing with Le Guin: she can be quite preoccupied with gender and sexual relationships, and she's a beacon as a woman writing in a male dominated field (although can you still make this comment post Harry Potter?), yet while I find some of her musings poignant and honest, I find her resolutions in this area to be relatively twee. That's here with storybook Ged and Tenar, Alder and his perfect lost marriage, and, of course, with all the condescending chuckling going on with Lebannen, the princess, and the inevitability of love they amusingly deny (and did I miss something vital in `Tehanu' that explains why all of a sudden it's OK to share your true name with anyone: when did that lose all its power in this world? Makes a mockery of, for example, the sacrifice and trust of giving your name up to be allowed to enter the school on Roke). Seserakh is so clichéd: high-spirited (makes me think of a French ingénue in the one Georgette Heyer I've read, or of Ce'nedra (?) in the Belgariad), Barbie-doll, arrogance just waiting to be turned to aggressively adorable devotion.

Not so long ago I read Le Guin's SF short story collection, `The Birthday of the World'. Hopefully I'll get around to a more thorough review soon, but running with this line, again for so many stories centred on explorations of marriage, love, romance, inter-gender relationships, once couples get over the hurdles to recognising their mutual affection - in whatever form this takes - the story for Le Guin appears to be over. There are plenty of other writers who explore this sort of thing too, with a much wiser acknowledgement that while a moment of realisation and declaration of mutual love is a big deal, it's the beginning of something way more textured and complex than Le Guin tends to offer.

I enjoyed the opening of this book, and was really looking forward to getting back to Earthsea. Trekking along with Alder worked beautifully as a way to open a new story and reintroduce Ged in a new role. And as a friend pointed out to me, there's not too many other heroes that get to have such a satisfactory retirement, particularly in the way he really does step aside. The everyday characters were also given individuality, with an awareness of how little some great events and people impinged on their lives. However, as the story went on I became less engaged - particularly with the dragons. Previously I'd relished the power and mystery Le Guin had evoked around her dragons, but, sorry, here's a couple of girls that can just occasionally turn into dragons. Isn't that nice for them. And that whole cosmos shaking truth - that people seeking an afterlife is the source of all woe - as something that any Karg has just known forever, and it's some sort of surprise to all the wisest, with all their lore and exhaustive study, is just too breathtakingly implausible for all the weight given to it. Seserakh casually drops in the truth of the ages, as if there's never been any interaction between Kargs and people of the archipeligo in the last, what, few millennia. A Karg is one of the Nine chief wizards of Roke: what, is he meant to slap his forehead and go, "Oh, yeah, that's right," after all the exchanges of the changes going on in the land beyond the wall. The `just let go of any yearning for an afterlife' message also fits with the novella of `The Birthday of the World' - Le Guin manipulating her invented worlds to preach a pretty unsubtle message of condemnation to any who believe in life after death.

So Le Guin still has an impressive array of evocative skills, but this story hinged on some plot devices and characters that I couldn't enjoy.

The four Earthsea books that come before this collection of long-ish short stories vary widely in quality, from the fascinating first two books, an okay third book, and a completely unreadable fourth book. The stories in this book are nearly the same, with some that are great and some that are not-so-great (although it's only the introduction that is really terrible). Le Guin spends a fair amount of time repressing her female characters so that she can talk about double standards, hypocrisy, and women's liberation (Earthsea style) in a way that I can't help but feel is a bit contrived, but at least she's dealing with Big Ideas as she weaves her tales of fantasy...

The first story, The Finder, tells the tale of Otter and the women in his life, how he tries to sabotage the ships of pirates, then becomes a magical slave, a wizard, and eventually one of the founding teachers of Roke; his return to his home is interesting, deadly, and the tale has all the charm (and nearly the length) of the original Wizard Of Earthsea, including an epic double double-cross. Great!

"Darkrose And Diamond" is an interesting love story about a young wizard and a witch's daughter. It's light, and unexpected, and quite charming.

"The Bones Of The Earth" is a less satisfying tale, as it deals a lot with a wizard wandering around in the forest, looking after his chores, thinking about life... and averting an earthquake.

"On The High Marsh" is an much better tale; it starts off very pastoral and pedestrian, but eventually becomes terrifyingly intense... somehow. Real magic in this tale.

"Dragonfly" is another long-ish tale, this time about a mysterious woman who wears a man's clothing, Yentl-like, to enter the school on Roke. Amazing things occur when this happens that tie it in (somehow) with the ending of Tehanu! The tale introduces interesting new characters, it's not bad.

At the end of the book is some sort of "Description of Earthsea" appendix, which is a bit boring to read through, as it talks about the history, languages and cultures of Earthsea. It's decent as reference material, although anyone who's read the five books so far would have been able to piece together on their own most of what is contained here; one thing that is remarkable, though, is how Le Guin writes that the runes of Earthsea resemble Chinese ideograms, referencing for the first time in an Earthsea book anything from our own world.

A nice book, better even than The Farthest Shore, in parts nearly as interesting as A Wizard Of Earthsea or The Tombs of Atuan.

First things first: I adore Ursula Le Guin's work. I've enjoyed every book I've read of hers so far, and I usually read them shortly after purchasing because I can't wait to find out where her imagination will take me next. The latter point explains why I was shocked when I couldn't recall a thing about Tales From Earthsea, even though I swore I'd read it a couple years ago. Now I have, and I can say with confidence that it's found a place in my heart and bookshelf next to Le Guin's full-length novels.

Tales From Earthsea expands the Earthsea universe with five short stories taking place before and in between Le Guin's previously written novels. Two novellas bookend the collection: "The Finder," which recounts the life of the mage Medra, including his role in the founding of the prestigious wizardry school on Roke Island; and "Dragonfly," where the eponymous heroine defies the long-held "Rule of Roke" (prohibiting women from receiving formal training on magic) while discovering her true identity. The other three stories explore a young man's desire to follow his heart instead of others' expectations ("Darkrose and Diamond") and bring back beloved characters such as the wizard Ged ("On The High Marsh") and his first mentor Ogion ("The Bones of the Earth"). Finally, "A Description of Earthsea" is Le Guin's equivalent to Tolkein's Middle-Earth appendices, presenting some of the author's world-building and history of the lands she's so vividly created.

Overall, I enjoyed Tales From Earthsea, though two of its tales touched me more deeply than I would have ever imagined. I really connected with Medra in "The Finder," as he evolved from a vengeful untrained boy-wizard to a courageous, empathetic man who respected and feared his gift. When Medra was in danger, I was terrified for him; and when the darkness and suffering he endured had broken him down to his state in the final "chapter," my heart wept for him. "On The High Marsh" evoked a similar reaction from me with Otak / Irioth. He comes across as kindly yet deeply troubled at first, but it's not until late in the story that I understood his discreet search for self-redemption and prayed for his success. The only tale that didn't resonate with me was "The Bones of the Earth." It bored me after a few pages, though in hindsight I've had a hard time pinpointing why.

What I love most about Le Guin's work, though, is her distinctive writing style. Graceful yet clear, concise yet at times abstract, it strikes a delicate balance between imagery, wisdom, and the soul. While writing short stories requires a different knack than writing novels, the prose in Tales From Earthsea doesn't suffer from the shorter length or timespan covered or the snappy pacing. It's similar to the ease Le Guin shows when switching between fantasy and science fiction - and witnessing such consistency from a versatile writer is a rare delight.

And when an author you love continues to surprise you each time - or spark possible short story ideas for your own work (*raises her hand high*) - you know they're a master of their craft. Tales From Earthsea is yet another jewel to add to Le Guin's writing crown. She offers new glimpses into the people, settings, and conflicts of Earthsea, while maintaining the spirit that makes this beguiling universe - and Le Guin's writing in general - so unique and beautiful. Long-time "visitors" of Earthsea will relish this volume and its insights. For newbies, however, I recommend reading the first four Earthsea books (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, and Tehanu) before reading Tales From Earthsea because of the returning characters and concepts from the earlier novels.

NOTE: The Studio Ghibli / Goro Miyazaki film "Tales From Earthsea" isn't based on the book Tales From Earthsea. Instead, it's loosely adapted from Ursula Le Guin's third Earthsea novel The Farthest Shore and contains elements and characters from other Earthsea novels.

In the late 60s and early 70s, Ursula Le Guin wrote a trilogy of novels about the wizard Ged. After finishing his story in The Farthest Shore, it appeared as if Le Guin has said all she needed to say about him and his world. Eighteen years later, she continued Ged's story in Tehanu, subtitled, The Last Book of Earthsea. This, too, was a false conclusion, for Le Guin was enticed into writing short stories of Earthsea, which were collected in 2001 and inspired her to write a fifth novel, The Other Wind.

The novel begins with a visit by the mender Alder to Ged to understand why he is not only able to visit the land of the of the dead, but also to interact with the dead, most especially his wife. Although Le Guin uses the meeting to set both Alder's journey and her plot in motion, the main thrust of The Other Wind is more philosophical. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the various stories and legends told by the different cultures of Earthsea only reflect portions of the truth they attempt to explain. Furthermore, Le Guin is more than happy to imply that even by combining the different legends, the reader will be unable to form the ultimate truth, which differs from the way in which Earthsea had previously been presented.

One concept that is repeated throughout the novel, whether in the depictions of the main events or in the recounting of Earthsea legends, is the idea that people must make choices and then accept the consequences (or make choices to attempt to alter those consequences). This is most notable, perhaps in the discussions featuring the veiled princess Seserakh, who is a stranger to the islands of the archipelago and who brings the fresh perspective of one from the land of the Kargs. Not only does Seserakh present a fresh and disturbing portrait of the archipelago, but she also allows Le Guin to show a clash of cultures and legends.

Throughout the novel, Le Guin refers back to events which were described in the previous novels and stories about Ged and Earthsea, however, while knowledge of those books is helpful, it is not necessary for the enjoyment of understanding of The Other Wind. Le Guin's use of these referents is such that the allusions provide all the backstory the reader needs, which hinting that additional details are available for those who wish to pursue the events she describes.

If The Other Wind does suffer, it is because the themes Le Guin is developing in this novel (and which follow rather naturally from themes developed in the earlier books), have a tendency to upstage the plot and characterizations Le Guin is portraying. This combination makes The Other Wind less of a juvenile novel than the original trilogy, but more substantial from the point of one who truly wishes to contemplate the complexities of legend and death as Le Guin presents them.

I suppose there was a real symmetry to my feelings about these five stories: I enjoyed the middle three, and relished the first as much as I was disappointed by the last.

Spoilers.

The opening story, `The Finder', is set deep in Earthsea's past, and Le Guin does a great job of painting nobility amongst nightmare fear, corruption, and petty robber-Lords.

As with most of her romance plots, I found `Darkrose and Diamond' a bit twee, and with Darkrose I never quite get Diamond's insistence on sacrifice - why wizardry is seen to demand chastity and misogyny, even by seemingly wise, respectable characters who know women can do magic (Ged's own teacher Ogion, we find, for example, was taught magic by a man who's teacher was a woman). Le Guin does address this in the interesting afterword `Description of Earthsea', saying that, "The belief that a wizard must be celibate was unquestioned for so many centuries that it probably came to be a psychological fact." Moreover the central relationship breakup seems more like a silly misunderstanding, a spat, so I lost some of the sense of the grandeur of the reconciliation. Still, there are pleasures to be had in the way Le Guin ably sets up the characters and sets the scenes.

`The Bones of the Earth' and `On the High Marshes' are as good as anything else in the Earthsea mythos (and that means pretty damn) at setting apart her wizards as special - power isn't cheap, and it changes who you are, at best purifying you, setting you apart from the blind grasping of the every day. Probably there's a Ph.D. out there somewhere detailing Le Guin's presentation of the peasantry: I suspect for the most part they're nasty, bigoted and childish, with the occasional utter paragon thrown in.

`Dragonfly'. Ugh. And from Le Guin, of all people. It just feels so daydreamy - like a little boy, "And just when the bad guy was about to get me, I used my (inexplicable, ex-nihilo) super-special powers and punched him right over the street." Like any of those inferior fantasies where the hero with appalling predictability finds his amazing fighting/wizarding talent from nowhere just at the last possible minute. So on p. 261 the baddie says to our lone girl heroine (who until now has exhibited no powers, nothing to warrant her special treatment except a few wizards feeling there's something odd there), "Learn your place, woman." Booo. This is so in your face panto. And then two pages later - stone me if just at the critical moment she doesn't just turn out to be A DRAGON who incinerates uberbaddie in a heartbeat. Yaay! Phew, that was lucky. One of the greatest merits of Earthsea over many other fantasy worlds is the way she paints the cost of wizardry, so it's not just a nifty daydream trick, "Hey, look at me, I can fly - wheeee!" But then with the same abandon that, say, David Eddings throws immortality out to anyone, Le Guin just throws in some grrrl power to Tehanu and Irian - who just get to slip into `God' mode, bam. How do you admire that? Might as well admire someone for being tall or whatever. In our own world the story of how women reformers did carve out suffrage and greater respect and equality *without* miraculous superpowers is a world more impressive.

Where is the wisdom - that the power that some men crave and squabble over actually reduces them - and the trust and community that some women have is of greater value that some of these guys will never actually even comprehend. You haven't defeated misogyny by becoming a dragon, you've just become a bigger man. You haven't challenged the system, you've just confirmed it. What's the lesson here? You've moved from, 'Women are essentially contemptible,' to, 'Women are essentially contemptible. There are only maybe one or two exceptions in each generation - because they are not *merely* women, but also badass dragons.' Reminds me of the doublethink in more openly misogynist times that bizarrely threw up female monarchs, so Spensor's Faery Queen (cf. Elizabeth), or Victoria, are female *and* objects of worship, sure, but seen as a different species to the women you actually live with. It's very much in line with criticisms of Tolkien's women only being Goddesses (Eowyn aside), in an entirely different category to, say, Tolkien's own wife. Le Guin can be so insightful and counter-cultural, so maybe it hurts me all the more when she, of all people, is the opposite. As here and in the more dragony bits of The Other Wind. Thank goodness - from the reviews - I've never read Tehanu.

This is one of the best books, by the best author I know. I've probably read it ten times, and I know I'll read it again, just to watch her skill at letting the story unfold. LeGuin is so graceful at laying out the story and its motifs - then calling them up again in key moments, when all their weight seems to just vault the story to another level. It was especially thrilling to see the Kargs and the dragons emerge as the wise ones of Earthsea - in previous books, the wizards and kings had seemed the wise ones, the Kargs barbaric, the dragons selfish and short sighted. But now the wizards' determination to defeat death becomes not a thing of power, but a thing of shadow and smallness, and a thing that threatens their own existence and the existence of all Earthsea's inhabitants. Not with a war or magical spells or the other devices fantasy generally turns to, but just by the playing out of their reliance on power and hunger for life, for hundreds of years, to its logical ending, and ending that no one - not even Ged - saw coming. "All is changing" Ged says, and in the final scenes, there is such a mixture of love and loss and promise that "satisfying" really doesn't do the story justice.

I don't know if I'd have enjoyed it as much if I hadn't read all the other Earthsea books first. I do know this one is so shiningly good that if you have to read the others (all wonderful books on their own), I'd advise you do it, for the pleasure this book will give you.

I love the beginning of "The Other Wind." We are handed an interesting new character--Alder--who comes to Ged in search for guidance. It seems that Alder is being lured to the Dry Land in his dreams each night. Why do the dead want the wall around the Dry Land knocked down? Why do they ask him for help? Alder wants Ged to help solve these mysteries, but Ged passes the young man on to ask Tenar and Tehanu for help.

We return to this mystery by the end of the book, and the conclusion of Alder's mystery wraps up loose bits from the other Earthsea novels, as well. This conclusion is very satisfactory, although I think the pacing is a bit quick.

The real problem with this book (which you'll find by far the weakest writing of the series), is the murky middle. The pacing is all wrong, and LeGuin keeps shifting perspective between different characters in a way we do not see in any other Earthsea novel. It doesn't work here--we don't want to know what's in Tenar's head or Lebannen's even if they are old friends to us from the other novels. We want to know what is going on with Alder. We hardly hear from him in middle third of the novel, but we want to. It's his mystery we want to solve, after all.

It's been a long time since I've been as entranced with a fictional world as I became with Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea -- and it's been a long time since I've been so dramatically disappointed as a series has progressed, too. The original Earthsea trilogy had so much promise, a world that was unique among fantasy worlds and had very valuable things to say about maintaining balance in the world, and about how death is just as much a part of life as, well, life itself. Years later Le Guin chose to continue the series with "Tehanu"... and I felt that "Tehanu" was a drastic misstep, a book that spoiled some of the more excellent aspects of Earthsea. Still, I've kept reading, in the hopes that the series would improve and "Tehanu" was just a bump in the road.

Sadly, it feels like Le Guin wants to go back and apologize for her previous trilogy, and this book feels like a sloppy attempt to go back and "fix" what she sees as wrong with the originals. And sadly, her sudden feminist stance ends up retroactively wrecking the world she built.

"Tales from Earthsea" is a collection of novellas and short stories about Earthsea, ranging from the distant past to a point just beyond "Tehanu's" conclusion. "The Finder" tells the story of Otter, a young man with a gift for finding things and who, with help from a secret organization, founds the mage's school on Roke. "Darkrose and Diamond" is a love story between a merchant's-son-turned-mage's-apprentice and a witch's daughter, and the hard decision the young mage must make between his magic and his love. "The Bones of the Earth" brings back Ogion, Sparrowhawk's mentor, and covers a story only mentioned in the original trilogy -- his stopping of a devastating earthquake on Gont. "On the High Marsh" introduces us to a widow who takes in an animal healer, not knowing that he has a wretched past and is being pursued by Sparrowhawk himself. And finally, "Dragonfly" gives us a young woman named (wait for it...) Dragonfly, who enters the school of Roke disguised as a boy to find her destiny, and finds herself suddenly entangled in the mages' quest to find a new archmage after Sparrowhawk's disappearance.

I still admire Le Guin's writing style, which is vivid and dreamlike and gives us the sense that she's telling an ancient fireside tale rather than simply writing a novel. And I enjoyed seeing more areas of Earthsea and being introduced to new facets of its culture. An appendix attached to this book gives us more insight into the history, culture, magic, and languages of Earthsea, and helps flesh the world out better. I do wish this could have been expanded into a separate book, much like the "Dragonlover's Guide to Pern" supplement to Anne McCaffrey's famed series.

Unfortunately, that's where my admiration for this book ends. The world is still as gorgeous as ever, but it's populated with thoroughly uninteresting characters. The only ones I could bring myself to care about were Otter and the two main characters from "On the High Marsh" -- the rest were either paper-thin caricatures or just flat-out bland. And just like in "Tehanu," the Earthsea in these tales is suddenly brimming with misogynists who insult and abuse women for nothing more than kicks. There was none of this in the original trilogy, so why bring it up now?

And while I hate to be THAT critic... yes, I will say that the sudden feminist slant to these later Earthsea books spoils the story. It's worse in this book than in "Tehanu," actually, because with "Earthsea" it feels like Le Guin is suddenly trying to rewrite the past to be more favorable to women. This is especially galling in "The Finder" -- suddenly the school on Roke was founded by women, and it was the arrogance of men that ended up banning women from the school. I can understand that she wanted to incorporate more female characters, and that's understandable, but you do that by adding them to future volumes, not by trying to create a re-imagined prequel and wedging it awkwardly into the originals. It's as abrupt and infuriating as George Lucas' attempts to retcon the Force with the midichlorians.

I really, really want the Earthsea of the original books back. "Tehanu" and "Tales From Earthsea" were both disappointments, and it's a shame because I loved the first three books and the world they gave me. I will read "The Other Wind" and hope and pray it's a return to form for Le Guin, but as it stands now I vastly prefer the original Earthsea trilogy. The new books seem to be either a soapbox for Le Guin's views, or an attempt to rewrite the history of the first three books, and that turns my stomach.

"Tales from Earthsea" verifies why Ursula K. LeGuin is one of the best writers around -- of fantasy, science fiction, or any genre.

Simply put, it has wonderful stories that ring true, yet have mythical elements -- the people are fully real, with faults, and make mistakes, yet do remarkable, visionary things in various ways -- from the quotidian to the sublime.

This book has three new stories and two reprints; the reprints ("Darkrose and Diamond" and "Dragonfly") are very good stories, and I enjoyed re-reading them very much. The first is a romance; even people who've never read an Earthsea novel will understand it. The second is about gifts denied, and powers lost -- along with love, redeemed in a rather unusual way. (Love in Ms. LeGuin's books or stories is almost always understated. The overt romance of "Darkrose and Diamond" is rare, but very welcome.) I'm not sure the latter story will be much understood without reading the first three books of the Earthsea trilogy, but you don't necessarily need to read "Tehanu" (the fourth book of Earthsea, inaccurately titled "The Last Book of Earthsea," as Ms. LeGuin wryly points out in her preface to this book), although you will enjoy that book as well if you enjoyed either of these two stories.

The remaining three stories ("The Finder," "The Bones of the Earth," "On the High Marsh") are all about the redeeming power of the human spirit. Finding friendship when it's not expected -- Otter, the hero of "The Finder," finds a true friend while he's temporarily enslaved (she helps get him out and away), Dulse, the wizard of Re Albi, finds a friend in his apprentice-wizard, Ogion (the later first teacher of Ged/Sparrowhawk, Archmage of Roke during the latter two books of the Earthsea trilogy) when wizards rarely get along (especially in such close proximity), and Irioth the wizard finds love and healing with the cheesemaker Gift (wizards also rarely, if ever, love women and don't seem to ever profess physical love for men, either; they believe being celibate helps their powers, which is something Irian in "Dragonfly" is challenging; wizards, for the most part, do not believe that women's magic is a strong as men's, which is of course ridiculous) after he'd left Roke due to extreme mental and physical torment (some brought on by his own doing, some not).

Ms. LeGuin's work is a triumph because of how human these people are. They have to make powerful, difficult choices; Diamond has to leave his father (who wants him to be a mage, rather than a musician) and only see his mother rarely because he must follow his heart and love Darkrose (while performing his music). Irian is hot-tempered, irritable, difficult, and extremely talented; her question, "Why can't women be mages?" goes to the heart of the hypocrisy of Roke, something the mages there for the most part would rather not confront. (The status quo is always easier to defend than the unknown, even when the status quo is wrong.) Dulse's dilemma is more poignant; save himself, or save his island with his friend Ogion's help? (Many would choose to save themselves and later rationalize it. Dulse isn't made that way.) Irioth's problem is more fundamental; he believes he's harmed himself by the use of magic, and that he's harmed others, and that he must make amends. (Finding love along the way with an extraordinary woman was never in his plans. And Gift doesn't think herself remarkable; that, too, is one of Ms. LeGuin's strengths, how she shows that "ordinary" people are anything but.) And Otter, in "The Finder," finds a friend at his time of greatest need, but can't keep her as she's dying; how he memorializes her through living his life is extraordinarily powerful, yet quietly drawn.

To put it bluntly, there isn't a better writer on the planet when she's on than Ms. LeGuin. There just isn't.

Everyone should read this book. Every single last one.

Five-stars plus, with the highest recommendation possible.

Barb Caffrey

Tales from Earthsea is the perfect way to get back into the Earthsea world. I originally thought this was a new book about Ged and company, however, this book contains a collection of shorter stories not revolving directly around the same characters from the first books.

The first and last stories are longer than the others and my favorites of the bunch. Le Guin really excels at storytelling when she has the ability to flesh out her characters over a longer period of time. These two stories really add the most to the world of Earthsea and are relevant to the other Earthsea books. In fact, they flesh out and provide more detail about Roke Island and the school there.

The shorter stories in the middle tend to be the weaker of the bunch, and don't add a lot to the world of Earthsea, but still make for an enjoyable read. They are fun stories that take place in the Earthsea world, but don't necessarily have the complexity and depth of her other Earthsea books (and the other more fleshed out stories in this book). I really don't think that this makes for a terrible book (as some people here seem to be very disappointed) as they are still entertaining.

If you are a newcomer to the Earthsea books, I would not recommend this as an introduction. You should definitely begin with A Wizard of Earthsea (the first book of the series). In addition, if you plan to read all the Earthsea books, I recommend reading them in order. Don't skip to this one if you haven't read at least the first 4 books yet as there are a couple of spoiler-like moments in a couple of the stories.

To sum up, I would rate the first and last stories as 5 stars and the middle stories as 3 stars. If you are already familiar with the Earthsea books, I recommend this book as a way to enjoy a bit of light reading in the same world. Just be aware that some of the stories are not as rich and detailed as previous books in the series. However, the first and the last stories do add some nice details and answer some questions you may have had in the back of your mind about some of the events in the other books.

Like all of Ursula LeGuin's novels--and especially her Earthsea series, which the store justly calls one of the two great fantasy series of the twentieth century (along with The Lord of the Rings)--this wonderful short novel is about something far more than the magic wielded by her characters or the dragons who fly on that other wind. Like all of the Earthsea stories (which include five novels and a collection of novellas), this book appears to be about Ged, the archmage who is known by his common name, Sparrowhawk; yet like all but the first, this book is actually focused on the journey of another character entirely. Alder, a simple village spellcaster, has lost his beloved wife. In his grief and against his will, he has found himself searching for her across the wall that marks the boundry between the living and the dead--the wall that only wizards can cross. In his struggles to come to peace, he journeys to Ged, as do Tehanu, a scarred young woman, and Tenar, the one-time priestess whom Ged rescued long ago and who has been attempting to live happily ever after. Also along for the ride is Lebannen, the young king, who is attempting to live up to the promise of his long-prophesied assumption of the throne. There are small moments of beauty and great moments of the sublime. Throughout, LeGuin explores the human fascination with and fear of death; she holds it up and looks at its different facets in the light like an archeologist studying the various sides of an ancient amulet.

This is not, I think, a young person's novel--the first three Earthsea books fill that niche brilliantly. Nor is it a good place to enter the series, not because the book itself lack in anything, but without the previous volumes, it is difficult to appreciate the richness of the world this modern master novelist has created. Most speculative fiction lives and dies on it's explorations of the motifs of the genre. LeGuin's best novels--and this is one of them--stand on their own as works of literary art and explorations of the human condition.

The Earthsea tales, from the very beginning, have always been different from the average fantasy, focusing far more on individual character and actions than on grand battles, and with a dark overtone, dealing with very adult themes of the balance of nature, life after death, love and ambition. The Other Wind is no exception. Still told with Le Guin's sparse but finely drawn prose, this books re-unites almost all of the major characters from the earlier books along with some interesting new ones to deal with the problem of the dead trying to tear down the wall that separates them from the living. And the strength of this book lies directly in this characterization, as we find that the characters from earlier books have changed, sometimes radically, such as Ged, who is no longer arch-mage but rather a quietly satisfied farmer, and the new characters have their own loves, doubts, uncertainties, and inner strengths. The reader will find it easy to empathize with these characters, as all correspond with real people in a very real world.
The plot line is rather sparse, with little action and a lack of strong tension or great dramatic moments. This is far more a 'thinking' book, both about the world of Earthsea, with its evocation of Names and history, wizards and dragons, kings and long-ago promises, and its relation to the 'real' world that the reader inhabits.
By the end of this book, Le Guin has managed to tie up many of the loose ends of the Earthsea world, and provides a very satisfying, if apparently irrevocable, conclusion. The world she has created has been made richer by this final volume. Those who have never entered this wonderful world now have a very complete set of works with which to fall in love with, be captivated and charmed by, and old Earthsea fans will not be disappointed here, even as Le Guin's themes force each reader to examine their own place in the world, their own balance with nature and society.

In her foreward, Urusula K. Le Guin pokes fun at herself for subtitling Tehanu "The Last Book of Earthsea." She has revealed in interiews elsewhere that she meant this to stave off thoughts of another series involving Ged and in her foreward explains that on finishing Tehanu, she felt she'd reached the "present" of Earthsea. There was no more to tell.
For fans of her work, it was a happy error. this collection of longish short stories delves into the corners of Earthsea's history. We have learned bits and pieces of legends from ealier stories and here, we find some of the truth behind those legends. From the shadowy beginnings of the school of wizards on Roke to the story of how Ogion, Ged's teacher, tamed an earthquake we discover that things are not completely as we thought, but are not unfamiliar either. Le Guin does not shake the cosmology of Earthsea with these stories, she simply reveals the layers of the world.
The final story of the work, "Dragonfly," provides, as she says, "a bridge - a dragon bridge - to the next Earthsea novel." Another happy note for fans. As if that wasn't enough, however, Tales of Earthsea includes several essays about Earthsea; its peoples, languages, history, magic. Gleaned from notes Le Guin creates as she "researched" her stories, they are a unique glimpse into the workings of the author's mind and a treasure for fans.
Tales from Earthsea is a delight to fans and an exhibition of a great writer's talent. The stories both satisfy a fan's hunger for more detail about a loved imaginary place and show how a fantasy can relate to our reality; how we aren't all that different from wizards ourselves.

This book is my favorite of all the Earthsea books. It seems that Le Guinn just gets better and better with each book. Before you continue read this book, it is important to read all the Earthsea books up to this point, including the "Tales from Earthsea" book of short stories. This book completes the story arc that began with "Tehanu" and joins together the threads of "Tehanu" and the short story "Dragonfly" from "Tales from Earthsea."

I don't want to give away anything about the plot, but if you liked "Tehanu" and you enjoyed the short stories of "Tales from Earthsea" you owe it to yourself to find out how the stories wrap up and how the tales intertwine. This is beautifully written in Le Guinn's flowing and elegant style and was hard to put down. Hands down, this was my favorite Earthsea book of all of them. It's not to be missed and I only hope she writes more.

I know that many people didn't care for this particular book because it didn't have a lot of action. But I didn't read the Earthsea book for big action fantasy scenes. I think all the books in the series are (as another reviewer put it) "thinking books." I actually appreciate books that don't spell out every little thing for you and allow your imagination to fill in the gaps.

If you are new to Earthsea, skip this one (for now) and go pick up "A Wizard of Earthsea." You will not be disappointed.

Many authors are tempted to return to their early works in their later years. For most authors, this is a mistake. Not so with this set of five stories placed in the world of Le Guin's marvelous Earthsea. Each story provides a new illumination into what Earthsea is, its history, and the people that lived and loved within it.
The first story, "The Finder", is the longest, actually a novella, and for my money the best of the set. Here we find ourselves far back in the history of Earthsea, when wizard fought wizard as a matter of course, when magical knowledge was jealously guarded, when the average non-magical person lived in fear of what magic would visit them next. Otter, a half-trained wizard with a powerful skill for 'finding' whatever he looks for, falls on the receiving end of the worst of this mis-use of magic, forced to try and find mercury, the King of all materials, for a half-crazed older wizard. How he escapes from this imprisonment, and his search for a place where magic is taught freely, forms the bulk of this story, ending with his founding of the School of Wizards on Roke. In this story we find the same evocation of the magical, of balance between man and nature, of ambition tempered by internal morality, that so graced the original trilogy.
The second story, "Darkness and Diamond", has appeared elsewhere previously, but it deserves a second reading, being a beautifully told love story of a boy with conflicted desires between his wizardly talent and its concomitant requirement of chastity, and his love of music and a girl who shares his passions. A fine portrait of what is important in the business of living.
The third and fourth stories, "The Bones of the Earth" and "On the High Marsh", are comparatively minor stories, that never the less do a good job of filling in some of the history of Ged, showing his first teacher in his greatest wizardly act, and a mature Ged who can forgive and help heal a former Arch-mage.
The last story, "Dragonfly", has also appeared elsewhere, but it is a must read before tackling the latest Earthsea novel, The Other Wind. This is story that I think many fans of the series object to, as it details the heretical idea that women both can and should wield magical powers, that their power, based on the Old Powers, is just as valid as the complex hierarchy of talents embodied by the School of Wizards. Is this a change from the world of the first three novels? Certainly, but I think it is a change for the better, more fitting with the overall theme of balance that pervades the entire Earthsea universe. As Le Guin herself states in the forward, it has been a long time since the first books were written, and history and people move on, grow and develop, and this story exemplifies this very well.
For fans of the originals, this is a must book. For those who have never been charmed and captivated by Earthsea, now is the time to read the series in its glorious whole.

Relatively late in life, LeGuin has returned to the fictional universes that made her famous; the Hainish future history that is the background to her recent novel The Telling, and now a new Earthsea fantasy novel. The Other Wind is a very ambitious novel and contains some fine writing but is not of the same quality as the previous Earthsea books.
The story is set some years after the events in Tehanu, the previous Earthsea book, and is partially an effort to finish a plot line started in that book. In The Other Wind, several events are threatening the foundations of Earthsea. The barriers between the living and the dead are in danger of breaking down. The implicit truce between humans and dragons has frayed and dragons threaten the human occupied islands. The political structure of Earthsea is in flux with the consolidation of the reign of the King over the central archipelago and a formation of a new central monarchy in the Kargish archipelago. The basis of this problem is rooted in events which date to the beginnings of Earthsea and the discovery/invention of magic. As with the other Earthsea books, an important theme is the serious adverse consequences of using human magic to distort the natural world; an allegory of human exploitation of technology to master nature. The scope of the book and the ambitious nature of theme are part of the reason that The Other Wind is not as satisfying as the prior Earthsea books. The prior Earthsea books had a single central character and some type of quest in each volume. This book has a series of equally important characters worthy of a thick 19th century novel. The book is relatively short, which doesn't allow satisfactory development of some characters. The plot is complex and at times seems mechanical because of the rapid and terse manner in which events unfold. A longer, more complex book would really be necessary to do justice to the themes and characters in The Other Wind. The quality of writing is good but uneven. Some of it is very good, some merely good. The concluding sections are powerful.
The concluding sections may feel familiar to some readers. Part of it deals with the liberation of the dead from a form of limbo. This is strikingly similar to events in Philip Pullman's recent book, The Amber Spyglass. LeGuin and Pullman both deal with the relationship of man to the natural world and the ambiguous effects of science/magic. It is interesting that both have arrived at a similar fictional solution to the problem of depicting the problems inherent in human efforts to understand and control the natural world.

I read the first Earthsea trilogy as a teenager and loved them. I read Tehanu in my late 20's and HATED it. I felt that Le Guin was defiling the original trilogy by using it as a sounding board for feminist themes.
Now in my late 30's I have just completed re-reading the entire series from start to finish and I have completely revised my thinking. I now find Tehanu to be the deepest and most fulfilling book of the series. And I view the series as two separate trilogies. The first trilogy was aimed at a much younger audience and has simpler themes. The second trilogy is aimed at a more mature audience. I wasn't ready for Tehanu when I first read it. Come to think of it, I think that the second trilogy would be best appreciated if read many years after the first. The first trilogy does stand on its own, but the second transforms and enriches it. While some authors have to invent new themes and characters to extend a series, Le Guin reaches back to the original series and re-examines the original themes from a different point of view. In doing so she expands on them and yet does not diminish the originals in the process...a very difficult feat!
The Other Wind is unique in the Earthsea books in that it is the only one to follow multiple plot lines through the eyes of several characters. All the previous stories had been single threaded and primarily told through the eyes of a single character. This book is alternatively told from the points of view of Tenar, Lebannen and a new character, Alder. While Ged is the central character of the first trilogy, the first three books were from the point of view of Ged, Tenar and Lebannen respectively. If the second trilogy has a central character it would be Tenar, although I don't believe she ever appears in "Tales from Earthsea". It is unusual to have the second volume in a trilogy be a collection of short stories, but I think it succeeds brilliantly.
The Other Wind is the first in the series to push politics to the forefront. There are four major parties represented here: the Kargs, the people of Paln, the Hardic peoples and the dragons. Each of them has a different world view which puts them into conflict and, ultimately, resolution.
I found the pacing of this novel to be excellent. Fast enough to keep the reader's interest, slow enough to let the reader absorb the many themes. If you are looking for swords, sorcery and gothic battles, look elsewhere. This is a book where people are struggling to understand the meaning of their lives and deaths. It is a novel that shows that men and women can be equals but still different.
And it shows that the hero doesn't have to slay the dragon to win the princess.

Minor sorcerer Alder has suffered from terrible dreams. He dreams that his wife, and countless other dead people, are calling him, begging him to set them free. To escape his dreams, he travels around the world of the Earthsea--and learns that he is seeing a true place. Yet even his problems seem small compared to the troubles that gather. The dragons are attacking, driving humans from islands where they have worked for generations. King Lebannen believes that the dream and the dragons are connected, but what can anyone do against dragons--or the dead?
Author Ursula K. Le Guin writes a different kind of fantasy. Rather than the huge battles and heroic characters of a Tolkien, Le Guin sets her tales on a smaller stage where the dangers are often personal rather than monumental. Still, the stakes in THE OTHER WIND are high indeed. For the dead "live" on in a strange halfway land, or at least some of the dead do. And Lebannen must both decide their fate and, somehow, break the barriers that confront immortal dragons as well as human wizzards.
Fans who look for more action may occasionally find this novel slow going, but Le Guin's almost poetic language and her thoughtful presentation of the issues of death and love make THE OTHER WIND a fine contribution to the fantasy genre of which Le Guin is a master.

I first read the original Earthsea Trilogy more than 20 years ago, and it has always been one of my favourites. I like the more recent Earthsea books just as well, for different reasons and some of the same.
The recent additions to the Earthsea cannon are geared more towards adults, less towards the younger set. While the original trilogy does deal in some complex issues and themes -- e.g., the idea of equilibrium and facing the inner shadow -- they are essentially adventure tales. There is less action in the newer books, but more interaction. Adult relationships, those between men and women, those between parents and children among others, come forward. This new focus drives the story, for it forces LeGuin to examine some things about Earthsea that she had heretofore been able to ignore.
It takes a lot of courage for a writer to remake a world that has existed in a particular form for so many years, and it might be challenging to read the result. I was myself thrown at having my conceptions about Earthsea turned on their head, at the same time as I was delighted by the work.
As always, I was thrilled with LeGuin's writing. Like the rest of the Earthsea books, _The Other Wind_ is short. LeGuin is not a writer who spends a great deal of time on description; rather, she paints worlds and characters in a few deft stokes. A paragraph from her says as much as a chapter from another writer. I would have liked the book to have lasted longer, but it was not unfinished or imcomplete.
The ending brought tears to my eyes. In fact, _The Other Wind_ is a sorrowful book altogether. It deals with endings and partings, and irrevokable changes and choices. It struck me that these are not unusual things for a writer in her 70's to be thinking about, and I thank LeGuin for putting them forward in her usual elegant and thoughtful style.

The Other Wind by Ursula K. LeGuin
This sixth book in the Earthsea cycle is certain to delight some readers of LeGuin's work and frustrate others. Those who grew up with the first three books (once known as The Earthsea Trilogy) will find the Earthsea they knew and loved recast in some ways, and will find it perhaps smaller and more like our own world as described in this book.
First, what is different about The Other Wind, as well as Tehanu and Tales From Earthsea, is the lack of the archetypal themes and conflicts of the first three novels. Ged's struggle against his shadow, Tenar's escape from her life among the tombs, and Ged's and Lebannen's journey to the land of the dead and back: these stories contain spectacular moments that resonate deep within the psyche.
It seems now that LeGuin has moved beyond psychology, and The Other Wind, even more than the previous two Earthsea books, bears evidence in its primary theme of her attention to questions of life and death, and being-in-the-world. For the conflict in The Other Wind is none other than that between two opposing conceptions of the place of humans in the universe: that of the survival of the ego after death, or belief in an immortal soul, and that of the return of the human individual at death to identity with the universe. This development will come as little surprise to readers aware of LeGuin's other work, including her translation of the Tao Te Ching.
So is it an allegory? Well, perhaps, but not exactly. LeGuin's writing is often driven by clearly defined themes but is never crude or simplistic in their portrayal. The Other Wind is, like Tehanu, less of a linear adventure story than her first Earthsea books, and more of an exploration of her characters' interactions with each other and the crisis around which the story centers.
LeGuin's prose is as beautiful as ever, and a very good reason to read this book (or any of her others). And it is a pleasure to have some more moments with familiar and well-loved characters.
One should read the first five Earthsea books before reading The Other Wind, as a lot of the story is developed from material set forth in previous books. If you've already read the first five books, you know you're going to read this one, so what are you waiting for?

I must admit to approaching this collection with a real sense of trepidation. I had found Tehanu so mundane and pedantic, so unfaithful to the original spirit of Earthsea, that I had resolved not to read any further additions to the cycle. This resolution did not arise from petulance or spite, but from a genuine fear that any further destruction of the Earthsea universe would bleed whatever delight remained to me out of the Earthsea that I had once loved. Such fears proved to be groundless and I am glad that I read this collection.

In this collection, Ursula Le Guin revives the magic with which she imbued her first three Earthsea books and that was so sadly sacrificed in the fourth. The result for the reader is like a homecoming.

She doesn't retreat from the feminist perspective espoused in that fourth book. Many of these stories look at the world through a woman's eyes. But unlike Tehanu, in this collection, she rediscovers the grace, dignity and evocative charm that were at the centre of the original trilogy. We can believe that we are visiting a different world: one where magic is a part of everyday life, where imagination takes flight and where dragons ride the winds. While some of the short stories may be about pain and loss, we are never in danger of mistaking the world of Earthsea for the plain old world of Earth.

The various stories explore themes of madness, power, sexism, vengeance and intransigence. These are more politically charged themes that make the stories less universal than those of the original trilogy, but unlike Tehanu, here they are handled with a sensitivity that largely redeems them. The polemic that destroyed Tehanu is not entirely dropped, but is sufficiently subdued that it no longer occupies centre of place. The emphasis shifts back to the dramatic. Characters have complex motivations and pursue complex agendas, and are not sacrificed to simply make a point.

While this collection doesn't achieve the majesty of the original trilogy, it is well worth your time. And if you were offended by the way the fourth book of the cycle brutalized the world of Earthsea, "Tales" heals not only much of the magic, but much also of the faith.

These tales focus on the sadness and responsibility that go with being a wizard on Earthsea, and as such they have more than a touch of melancholy about them. There is something hard to take about individuals not being able to practice what they excel in or being forced to do work that is against their natures. In the background is the fact that women are not allowed to become wizards or mages, and this lends a certain poignancy to the story "Darkrose and Diamond," for example. The anguish of the male character in this story competes with that of his lover -- she has (I think) the greater power but is not allowed to indulge it, while he is forced into wizardry against his inclinations, though he has the talent. There is an undercurrent in all these stories that women with magical powers must subjugate them or practice them in secret, sublimate their very natures to tradition and politics -- that is a main theme of this collection. Interestingly, Le Guin chooses a male perspective to make her point (except in the last story).
The best (and saddest) story to me is "On the High Marsh." There is something achingly sad about the main character; he is confused yet kind, a seeming innocent with great powers, a sweet, sad, lost-sheep kind of man. Ged appears in this story (I'm not sure he is necessary), and in the end I wept for this lost wizard. Truly an astonishing accomplishment.
Which is more than I can say for the final tale in this collection, Dragonfly. It is entirely engrossing and fascinating until the very end, where I think Le Guin cheats. It is the same kind of cheat she indulges in at the conclusion of "Tehanu." If either ending is fully explained, the explanation is unsatisfactory -- and remains so (though perhaps slightly less so) in "The Other Wind." In Dragonfly and "Tehanu," I feel like Le Guin simply ran out of ideas or simply grew tired, and opted for the speediest of speedy endings to bring her books to a swift close. I think this is the only blight on what is truly a magnificent collection.

In the latest novel set in her Earthsea setting, Ursula K. Le Guin builds upon the themes she explored in "Tales of Earthsea" and that were introduced in "Tehanu." Through the course of the novel, we see how "Dragonfly" the last story of "Tales" ties in with "Tehanu," which she once called the last book of Earthsea.
Le Guin's prose is highly polished and evocative. I felt at the end of this book that I was seeing the changes that over 30 years of professional writing can make in a finished work. Not a line was wasted and the book progressed so smoothly that you hardly noticed time passing. At the same time, it felt like an older woman's view on Earthsea; stately, settled, full of wisdom.
The adventerous Ged who left Gont to become a mage seems very far away. The magic of the world remains (though Ged has given his up) but the vigor of Ged is no longer driving the story. Several characters carry the action in this novel; from a sorcerer with troubled dreams to a veiled Kargish princess. My impression was that the events of the story needed to be told but that none of the characters had an essential role in the action.
So this is a book for a quiet day. Probably best enjoyed after you've let the earlier Earthsea novels sit in your head for a while. Either a few years after the initial reading or a few months after re-reading them. The progression of events becomes clear fairly early, but the journey to the conclusion is highly enjoyable.

In the three "next-generation" Earthsea books, LeGuin has completely re-interpreted the basic tenets of the world of Earthsea. "Tehanu," "Tales from Earthsea," and "The Other Wind" cannot, must not be read as sequels to "A Wizard of Earthsea," "Tombs of Atuan," and "The Farthest Shore." For all intents and purposes, we might as well be reading about two separate Earthseas.
Having said that, I cannot but compare "The Other Wind" to "The Farthest Shore." In "The Farthest Shore," corrupt Pelnish wizard Cob has broken the barrier between life and death in a bid for immortality. "The Other Wind" begins in a similar vein: in his dreams, Alder, a village sorceror, has visions of his beloved wife calling out to him from beyond the wall of stones that separates the land of the living from the Dry Land. The lovers even kiss across the wall, leaving Alder frost-bitten. In his continuing visions, masses of the dead cry out to him, "Free us!"
Now, a book about Cob would be great, probably because he was so inadequately explained in "The Farthest Shore." And at first it appears that "The Other Wind" is indeed about Cob (hasn't LeGuin toyed with Tenar's name in "Tehanu"?). It is not. Alder seeks help from the wizards of Roke, but he cannot enter the Great House with his hideous burden. Master Patterner directs Alder to seek out Ged, the aging Archmage emeritus, but Ged, who has spent all his sorcery to heal the wound of the world in "The Farthest Shore," is also at a loss (the words he spoke while on Kalessin's back were probably wishful thinking). Sparrowhawk sends Alder to seek the audience of King Lebannen in Havnor, where Tenar and Tehanu are also visiting.
As you can see, there is a lot of empty travel in "The Other Wind." Very little actually happens until the last chapter. This isn't necessarily bad, because LeGuin can work miracles with character development, but this also isn't the case. The author probably intends the reader to rely on his foreknowledge of the characters, because the familiar characters - Lebannen, Tenar, Ged - are identified sketchily at best. They have few qualities that make them unique. This sincerely disappointed me, because static characters aren't usually a LeGuin trademark.
However, "The Other Wind" has two redeeming parts: the sub-plot involving Seserakh, the Kargish princess sent to marry the King, is simply brilliant; LeGuin has shown that she can refine her stance on gender issues and weave a convincing parable about interpersonal relationships; secondly, the novel's resolution leaves nothing to be desired - it is quite frankly flawless. LeGuin offers us an explanation that is startlingly poetic and original, while also consistent with the earlier books. I cannot say much more, except that the grand finale also clarifies "Tehanu"'s disappointing ending, and gives a degree of finality to the Earthsea series in general.
While not quite as captivating as the first Earthsea trilogy, the second triptych has given us a more personal glimpse into the workings of a fantasy world. While the "second" Earthsea isn't quite as steeped in magic and lore, it has posed a set of complex ethical dilemmas. It is with a clear heart that I say that the grudge I had against Ursula LeGuin is finally settled.

It's very good! It manages to be true to both the original trilogy and Tehanu, plus the short story that appeared in the Legends anthology (you don't need to have read it but it deepens your understanding of one of the newer characters.) Le Guin even manages to make it feel like she planned this book back when she wrote the original trilogy, even though that's highly unlikely. So, a big thumbs up from me.
I think anyone who hasn't read Tehanu will be disconcerted by some new elements that weren't in the original trilogy, but taken with Tehanu the 5 books feel almost seamless. And that's coming from someone who was somewhat disappointed with Tehanu.
Would I have liked The Other Wind back when I read the original 3? I think so, but it helps that Earthsea was static for many years before Le Guin revisited it; time has passed both in my world and hers, which I think added poignancy to each character's struggle to find their own peace.
(I respectfully disagree with some of the other reviews posted, citing sedate pacing, "empty travel", and so on. For me, the Earthsea stories were never paced like other fantasy books; action was often described more sparingly than what goes on in between.)

An amazing ending to the Earthsea series. The final book ties together many of the threads from earlier books that have been left hanging. Throughout the series the tone has evolved, and this last entry has the most mature in writing style. While many characters that were old favorites come back for this final chapter, it never feels like Le Guin is shoehorning them in just to say hello. Everything in the book is included for a reason, and never feels contrived. The book addresses and solves problems from previous books that I didn't even know were problems. Also, there is no evil villain or MacGuffin to chase, only the characters dealing with the world around them as they work through the changes that have recently been brought about. The difference between dragon and human, Old Speech and Hardic, Kargic and Archipelegan, men and women, magical and common, living and dead; all are used and tie into the overall plot beautifully.

Amazingly, this book not only makes itself and the series as a whole even greater, but makes previous books better in retrospect. With "The Farthest Shore," I thought Cob was a generic villain that didn't fit in with Le Guin's original Earthsea stories. Now, his story has become extremely important and has had effects for the past three books that stretched farther than I could have imagined when I first read about Cob's meddlings.

While Le Guin's writing is always excellent, I found the first four pages of the last chapter, where she goes through each characters' dreams the night before the world is forever changed, to be one of the most beautifully written scenes in any book I've read. Le Guin really outdid herself with the imagery and tone of those few pages, and took something that could have been boring and trite and made it stunning.

The only complaint I could have, not that I need to have one, is that the chapters are too large. There are only five, and they are arbitrarily larger than any others in the series. This is hardly even worth noticing, but I did find it odd. Overall, there was no better way to end an already amazing series.

A diamond in the crown of the Earthsea saga, Tales is a necessary part of the LeGuin fantasy experience. It contains five stories and an appendix with sundry information about the land and beliefs of the people of Ea. LeGuin proves in this book her decided mastery of the art of teleporting the reader into another universe, so that when one puts the book down, a sigh is felt as one returns to the real world.
The five tales span a large amount of time, dipping here and there in her Earthsea history to further illuminate the world. My favourites were "The Finder" and "On the High Marsh", the former covering the founding of Roke as a mage school, and the latter a sad past of a one-time mighty wizard. "Darkrose and Diamond" is a love story, for those who prefer such things. I loved it but thought the ending was far too abrupt after the buildup of the tale. "The Bones of the Earth" is a short segment detailing how Ogion-- yes, the same man who first taught Sparrowhawk-- saved Gont from the Earthquake, though not as you might expect. "Dragonfly" is the bridge story between the books Tehanu and Otherwind, and is a tale you must read if you are bent on taking in the Earthsea saga.
All in all, though you may not like all of the stories, there is bound to be one that tickles your fancy. All of them are pure LeGuin.

Have you ever read a book that was so well crafted that at the end of a chapter, instead of charging into the next one, you paused and reflected on what you have read? Have you ever read a book where you were at the edge of laughter and tears on the same page? You can.
Le Guin has taken the loose ends of her four earlier Earthsea novels and her recent collection of Earthsea short stories, combined those loose ends and your favorite characters from them with some serious thinking on the life and death, and created the finest Earthsea story to date.
Alder is a "mender," a repairer of broken pots, a mere sorcerer, one who should never see the low wall that only wizards know, the wall that separates the living from the dead. Yet the wall and the dead torment his sleep. The dead call to him, asking to be set free and, most shockingly of all, his dead wife has kissed him across the wall of stones, something unknown in the history of Earthsea. The Patterner, one of the eight great wizards of Roke, the wizard's isle, has sent Alder to Ged. And while Ged may have lost his power of wizardry and be done with doing, his heart goes out to the tormented young man. He counsels him, finds him a temporary solution to his nightmares, and sends him to Havnor, to the King Lebannen. For Ged thinks that Alder may herald a change for Earthsea, one even greater than those Ged wrought.
Alder meets other characters in his quest. Some are old friends of the reader: Tenar, from "The Tombs of Atuan" and "Tehanu;" Tehanu herself, who is somehow the daughter of Kalessin, the eldest dragon; Lebannen, the young king from "The Farthest Shore." Some are acquaintances from "Tales from Earthsea," most notably Irian, now Orm Irian. Others are new but no less wonderful: the young princess of the Kargish lands and, of course, Alder himself.
Le Guin takes these characters, let's them grow and age, shows us time's marks upon them, and brings them into Alder's life and Alder's quest. And as Alder's quest grows beyond himself, to involve the living and the dead, indeed all the souls of Earthsea, so does the book's sense of wonder. Until, like Ged, in the moment just before the climax of the story, we will smile a little because like him we like that pause, "that fearful pause, the moment before things change."
This is a masterly work, not just because of the clever use of characters or the wonderful plotting, but also because of the depth of the thinking that lies beyond and inside the story. It's about even more than life or death; it's also about the things we assume and take for granted because they have always been so, without ever asking if they are truly right. Alder's love for his dead wife has the power to change the world. What's no less wonderful is Le Guin's power to move the reader, to challenge and provoke us.
Read and savor this book. It's the best Earthsea story to date. It might even be the best Le Guin to date.

The Earthsea books are among my favorite novels of all time-- complex, heartfelt, true--and those who have read them (and re-read them, and re-re-read them) might notice a distinct change in "flavor" between the first three novels and Tehanu, which was written a number of years later. All I can say is "thank goodness" that the subtitle of Tehanu ("The Last Book of Earthsea") proved to be untrue, because LeGuin had posed some questions for which I hungered for the answers: What is the truth of the relationship between dragonkind and humankind? What is the nature of woman's magic, and why does it seem to be ignored or denigrated? And in Tales from Earthsea, some answers begin to be examined. One of the longer tales, "Dragonfly," is a beautifully-told and deeply-resonant story of one person's growth and self-discovery---and also a pivotal point in the larger narrative of Earthsea and the story of Ged the Archmage. It had me gasping at the end, trying to grasp at the trailing edge of a profound, inexpressible truth, just beyond my comprehension...
In a way, LeGuin has now completed two trilogies, each with its own focus. A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore deal more with men, and on doing. Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind focus more on women, and knowing. In all the Earthsea books I find truths which ring like the deepest and most musical of bells, and something within me answers in glad harmony, even if I can't find the words to tell anyone why.

LeGuin revisits Earthsea in this collection of five stories, each of which occurs at a different time and place in the world of Earthsea. The reader thus becomes more acquainted with the geography of the place, and comes to learn about the history of this magical realm. The book also includes 30 pages of "A Description of Earthsea," including Peoples and Languages, History, and Magic.
The first story in this book, "The Finder," describes the conditions under which the school on Roke developed. Other stories reveal trials and journies of various sorcerers through Earthsea's history. Each of the five stories is about heroism and humanity in a world that is both different than and very like our own. The stories engaged my imagination from teh beginning, and I immediately loved (most of) the characters I met. LeGuin's ability to draw sympathetic characters in situations that the reader can relate to just gets better as the years go on.
I was excited to discover that the endpapers of the book display a map of Earthsea drawn by the author. I have wanted a map of the area for years, and I know that I will use this map when I re-read the earlier novels.
And this book reveals news that will be welcome to all lovers of Earthsea: yet another novel is due out this Fall!

I am a huge fan of the original Earthsea Trilogy. The world Le Guin has created is so intriguing and it seems that she could tell an endless number of entertaining stories about Earthsea. When I got this book, I was really just hungry for more stories of Ged or more tales of heroes---the greatest wizard ever, the powerful wizard who defeated an enemy no one else could defeat, or the greatest "whatever" in Earthsea. It was those kinds of exciting feats and heroes that I was looking forward to reading more about.
However, it seems that Le Guin had a different focus which began with Tehanu and continues in Tales from Earthsea...an extremely feminist approach. I agree with another reviewer who says he can't help feeling that maybe Le Guin didn't like the original trilogy and that she seems to undo everything by making women responsible for Roke, etc. and she downplays the feats of the male heroes told previously. Of course, there can and should be room for the female heroines of Earthsea, but why did they have to take away from the male heroes, the great wizards? Le Guin even has same-sex marriages between women as a part of Earthsea life. Was this necessary? No, but it certainly fits well with her new feminist look at Earthsea.
The Tales are still well-told and entertaining because Le Guin is a wonderful writer. However, I guess that I am just nostalgic for the amazing feats and heroic adventures found in the first three books...and I was disappointed to find so little of that kind of story in this collection. The inclusion of women and their importance is also great to read, but this didn't need to come at the expense of the male part of the world of Earthsea. It was an imaginary world to begin with, and never offensive to women---sometimes it's nice to read a book that is not overly politically correct.

This is now the 'The Last Book of Earthsea', not Tehanu as Le Guin earlier predicted. I've read all of the other books and am currently reading 'Tales of Earthsea' right now. This is a thinking man's finish to the series, which is one of the best collections of fantasy out there.
A mage named Alder suffers from dreams that deal with the dead. Without giving the plot away, I'll say that his dreams point to a greater problem facing Earthsea and all it's inhabitants. The Hardic people, Kargs, and dragons are all being affected and are thus forced to confront this problem.
Alder, Tehanu, The King (Lebannen), wizards, and others all meet to deal with this. Ged and Tenar have a lesser role, but still fill a lot of this book with their presence. Ged hasn't changed much since we last saw him. He and Tenar live a simple life on Gont, with Tehanu still with them.
The climax of the book shows the resolution of this problem involving the dead, and to a large extent dragons. I won't give it away, but will say it's an appropriate ending.
I wish this book had been a bit longer. It's a great read, but will probably leave those craving action a bit disappointed. This series is outstanding and recommended to all fans of fantasy.

At the time when I read the first three books, I wondered, "how can she top that ending?" After I read Tehanu, I asked myself, "did anything actually happen in this novel? Why did she leave those loose ends?", not knowing that The Other Wind was another sequel. I waited anxiously to get ahold of it after I found out.
As disappointed as I was with Tehanu, I found this sequel absolutely stunning. I was enthralled with Alder's character, and much more satisfied with both Ged and Tenar's character development (LeGuin's portrayal of Ged in Tehanu left much to be desired). I anxiously read straight through in about three sittings, keeping myself up through four AM to finish it.
I do have to admit, I was a bit confused at the ending. There were still questions left unanswered. (Spoilers!) I found myself asking, if these boundaries were torn down, would wizards still keep their power? Would people still keep their true, hidden names? These questions are ones I'm still confused over, and want an answer to.
The best thing about this novel, I think (aside from how it tied the story together), is that it made me -think-. It brought up questions of life and death, of the foundation of another world and how LeGuin explores those things through the series.
Overall, a very satisfying conclusion to the series, especially after reading Tehanu. :) Not to mention, the last lines of the book gave me a good chuckle.

In the 1970's, Ursula K. LeGuin took the fantasy and science fiction world by storm, bringing a genuinely literate voice and a deep knowledge of sociology and psychology to what was largely a man's genre. Her finest fantasy was "The Earthsea Trilogy," comprised of "A Wizard of Earthsea," "The Tombs of Atuan" and "The Farthest Shore." They are marvelous stories, and they hint at other, older stories and myths. In many ways, the world of Earthsea is as deeply conceived as any in fantasy.
In "Tehanu," a later book of Earthsea, she told us of some of the events that followed the events of "The Farthest Shore," and delved deeper into the mystery of dragons and the relationship between dragons and men. From the simple creatures fought by Sparrowhawk in "Wizard of Earthsea," they are revealed as increasingly complex and more interesting creatures by the end of "Tehanu."
In "Tales from Earthsea," LeGuin develops other themes and characters from the past and present of Earthsea. The tales are evocative, resonant and at once mythological and personal in tone. The reader will have an image of a LeGuin, with a larger volume in her lap, telling you the stories that catch her eye. You will sense there are many, many more stories to be told.
Readers new to Earthsea might do best by reading the books in order. While it's not required, you won't thoroughly understand the references to the Ring of Erreth-Akbe unless you have read the earlier books. The last short story, "Dragonfly," may bewilder you unless you have read "Tehanu."
At the end of the stories, there is a summary of the peoples, languages and history of Earthsea, modelled loosely on the famous Appendices to "The Lord of the Rings." I suppose the history consists of the stories that will never be told as novels or short stories, which is really too bad. The dry narrative of Erreth-Akbe, the greatest of Earthsea's heros, would have made a wonderful tale.
I was struck by LeGuin's subtle touches. The small cabin that was the summer home of Otter in the first tale, when the school of wizardry at Roke was founded, becomes the temporary home of Irian in the last story, which is set immediately following "The Farthest Shore." Roke Knoll, which always reveals things to be what they truly are, plays a role in the first and last tales, too.
In her delightful foreword, LeGuin warns us, "Authors and wizards are not always to be trusted: nobody can explain a dragon." Perhaps, but you can always trust LeGuin to entertain and enrich a thoughtful reader. And if anyone can satisfactorily explain a dragon, it will be LeGuin.

There is a quiet tenderness about this work--a stillness of spirit--that inspires both marvel and joy. After the plodding banality of Le Guin's previous novel "Tehanu", which all but ruined the world of Earthsea, this latest work is a resurrection.

One suspects that Le Guin wrote "Tehanu" as penance for making the first three books in the series so male-centric. The resulting novel straddled the worst of all worlds: combining insipid un-fantasy with a hectoring message that read like a sermon more than a work of speculative fiction. In "The Other Wind" she gets it right. This latest work contains themes similar to "Tehanu's", but they are shown rather than told, revealed rather than reproached. Le Guin also achieves a balance between the male and female perspectives that leaves one feeling enriched and not browbeaten. "The Other Wind" is an altogether nobler creature.

Le Guin's writing has always been in a class of its own, but here, it ages like fine wine. She writes with a poetic austerity that provokes affectionate admiration. Her characters live and move in three dimensions, and think and feel in a universe filled to overflowing with thinking and feeling.

This story is a philosophical reflection on life and death; not surprising since each book in the series was a similar reflection. But in this one, Le Guin resolves the open questions that she left unanswered in the previous works. I would have been perfectly happy with her leaving those questions unanswered--as incitements to thoughtful readers--but I am content that she has answered them, and in a way that is so complete and fulfilling, yet so totally consistent with the world of Earthsea. This work inspires metaphysical reflections, yet does not demand them. It can be read as a simple story of courage, compassion and resourcefulness, or as an existential allegory of Being and Nothingness. Indeed, it is both: the genius of the author resides in her ability to meld story and philosophy so flawlessly that the novel speaks to us on both the simple and the profound.

This is the kind of patient gentle writing that will appeal only to those in no hurry. Containing little of adventure or intrigue, it is the work of an author who is "done with doing" but, fortunately, not done with living or with writing.

There are quibbles. As a stand-alone novel, it is confusing and too dependent on the reader's familiarity with the preceding works, and the prose is sometimes so austere that it hazards obscurity. But such blemishes are niggling. The novel as a whole is a mature piece of art--a gentle work of the soul that embodies a lifetime of reflection on what it means to live, to create, to face death and to touch those whom we cherish.

I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this "new novel of Earthsea," whether you have read the earlier books in the series or not. Certainly having the background is an advantage, but it also works as a self-contained fantasy novel because the plot and character development are thorough and understandable. The writing style is lyrical and gentle, so don't expect an action-packed adventure or high drama, but the story will pull you in and lead you along to a very satisfying conclusion. As the story begins we see that there are two sets of unusual circumstances occurring at the same time, and we come to see that they are related. A sorcerer grieving over the recent death of his beloved wife dreams of her trapped in between real life and real death, unable to move on, begging him to set her free. The dreams, at first only poignant manifestations of grief, soon become frightening as the masses of unhappy dead beg him for help and then try to persuade him to join them. Others among the living begin to share similar dreams, all pointing to some fundamental problem with the world of the living, caused by its sorcerers, that keeps the dead imprisoned in a state worse than oblivion. At the same time, there are rumors, and then confirmation, that the long-distant dragons are returning to the west, destroying humans' property, burning crops, stampeding herds. At the center of the two problems is a handsome young king who has no desire to marry but finds himself being forced to promise to marry a mysterious veiled foreign princess in order to keep the peace between their two nations. Everyone finds solutions to their problems with the help of the aging former priestess (Tenar) and former archmage (Sparrowhawk/Ged), who help point their younger counterparts in the right direction to repair the rift in the fabric of the world. In so doing, they must give up their precious adopted daughter, in a bittersweet farewell that is for them an ending, and for their adopted daughter a return to her true destiny and the beginning of the life originally meant for her. I felt like I knew these characters, and I liked what I knew. I do wish that the precise act or acts that had caused the big problem had been articulated a little better; it was a bit fuzzy - but hey, it's fiction. It works and you can fill in any gaps as you please.

Le Guin's latest addition to the Earthsea Cycle is truly a triumph. In the third book in this series, The Farthest Shore, Ged the Archmage sets out on a quest that ends in the restoration of the balance between life and death, the living and the dead... or so it seems. In the Other Wind, Le Guin portrays an unrestful land, where the dead start reaching over the wall that seperates them from the living. We are able to meet the characters from the other Earthsea books again, who have all matured and changed. In fact, Ged and Tenar are leading restful, almost ordinary lives at home. Some readers may find it unsettling to find their hero's lives so changed, and the land of Earthsea quivering on its foundations, but the conclusion of the novel brings together everything good about the books. With this final novel, Earthsea seems to be bound together again, unshakingly, although not without a few seperations... The song of the woman of Kemay presides, hauntingly, over the plotline of the book.
Farther west than west,
Beyond the land,
My people are dancing
On the other wind.

Loved it--the last book that made me this unequivocally happy was probably "The Folk Keeper", and it's been a while. Those who know me will suspect bias because I have everything of Le Guin's I can get my hands on and love most of it, including *The Telling* of which so many complained. However, even if *The Telling* upset you, or struck you as more of the same Tao, I think you'll like *Tales of Earthsea* very well. Unlike so many fantasy authors, Le Guin doesn't overuse the dragons and they remain compelling (there's only one in these five novellas), and while, as she says in her intro, Earthsea does undergo change (the mark of a living creation instead of a static one), you'll still recognize it. It's a beautiful place, reminding me of Tolkien's famous statement about fantasy being a way not to escape reality, but to escape prison and go home.
For those who were fond of the characters from the trilogy-plus-one (quadrilogy?) there's an endearing cameo of Ged as Archmage in one of the novellas, and of Ogion stopping the earthquake.
Those who complain of too clear a political agenda in some of Le Guin's works may be able to spot one here on occasion, but I would say it's admirably integrated, and we can probably all agree that even the most Romantic vision has inescapably political elements. The larger theme here, I think, is redemption in various guises, and it's a book full of hope and affection, for Earthsea and for places even closer to home. How she maintains that hope I don't always know, given the way things go and seem likely to go, but one of the ways I maintain it is to steal it from Le Guin's books. Very highly recommended. Also highly recommended are *Always Coming Home* and *A Fisherman of the Inland Sea.* For fellow pedagogues, they teach as well as they read.

Yes, you kind of have to have read the previous books to get the deeper meanings of the plot and character development. Yes, it is not the simplistic (as if anything by leguin could be called simplistic) plot of the first few Earthsea books. Unlike those first books: aimed at children, this book is aimed at the adult who can tolerate a more complex world, more complex characters, and a few suprises along the way. Less action, more food for thought.
She undoes some of the pat solutions left earlier in the series, makes heroes into human beings, and does all those things I hated in a book in my teens but appreciate now: portrays life as messy and complex and makes you question everything: But in a deepening way, not a disturbing way.
Fans of LeGuin (Left Hand of Darkness, The Telling...) will not be disappointed.

I give this 4 stars because it's enjoyable and certainly has its moments, but none of these stories is quite on a par with what's come before. The first, about a finder named Medra who suffers at the hands of an evil wizard and goes on to found the school on Roke, is certainly the weakest of the bunch; it's too long, and the first and second halves of the story are only loosely connected. Once you get that one out of the way, the others are good, but not brilliant. Ursula has gotten long-winded over the course of her career, and several of these stories drag a bit. I agree strongly with Shadowfire's review and intelligent criticisms.
Having said all this, Ursula would have had to do much worse for me to fail to recommend Tales to those who enjoyed the other Earthsea books. I'd mention my favorite moments, but I think maybe you ought to discover them yourself.

If there is a book I wish I could have written, it is A Wizard of Earthsea. Though the two "sequels"--the Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore--were both special in their own right, nothing quite captures the magic, loneliness, wisdom, and heartache of that first novel.

It is always risky to return to a work after a long stretch of time, and Le Guin here proves why. An author changes over time, both in terms of interests and also skill. The first three books (and two short stories) are heavily influenced by the period in which they were written--the dread of a dark, almost incomprehensible, nuclear annihilation, a sense that big social changes were occurring, and maybe even a bit of a yearning for lost purity and innocence.

So, while the more recent novels and short stories, are all "set" in the Earthsea universe, it is a different Earthsea than the original one.

This is not to say that Tehanu, the Other Wind, and this collection of short stories aren't good stories--because anything Le Guin writes is well worth reading. But they feel different that the first. Different enough that for some...for me...I had a difficult time with them.

This wasn't the Earthsea I loved; these aren't the characters I knew.

With one exception: the short story "Bones of the Earth", found in this collection, *feels* like it belongs with the first group.

It is beautiful.
Read it.

i've read the first books of the earthsea cicle when i was in my early teens and reading "the other wind" it feels as if la guin has grown up with me, meeting all her old and much beloved charecters, now all grownup and comming to turms with themself and their place in the larger scame of things, pluse a few new and as interesting charecter that just fit right in.
this is a story about a young not to seccessful wisard who somhow manage to reach the land of the dead answering a call of his passed away wife. it's the beautiful and complex love story between tenar and ged, now, her whole life past them and have barely nothing in the world beside themself and the strange burn child tenar. it's the story of labnen, a young king now, trying to get around an arrage marrige while trying to put his new vast kingdom in order. it's a story of dragons and people and freedom that allcomes together in a fasinating way.

When I found Tales from Earthsea sitting on a bookstore shelf, I was thrilled. I had no idea it was coming out - and when I saw on the back cover that a fifth Earthsea novel was due out later in the year, I nearly did a dance for joy. Ursula LeGuin is a wonderful writer, and Earthsea is perhaps her greatest creation.
Needless to say, I came to this book with high expectations. I was not dissapointed. Every story is at least enjoyable. My personal favorites were "Darkrose and Diamond," a love story, and "Dragonfly," a story set after Ged's reign as Archmage - but I could easily imagine any of the five stories being someone's favorite. They're all wonderful, and althuogh they all deal with Earthsea, they're varied enough to appeal to different tastes.

I came accross the first Earthsea books in my youth and was very impressed. The excellent quality of writing, eloquent characters, plot and unique athmosphere really struck a chord with me. As time went by, I re-read the books quite a few times.

In my older years I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that there had been two new books published in 2001. Naturally, I got hold of them both and started reading. Tales from Earthsea, a collection of short stories, was excellent. But the last book, The Other Wind, really impressed me.

After reading the fourth book back in the day, I was under the impression that the story was pretty much closed and there were no "loose ends" left. I was wrong. Le Guin rounds up things in an unexpected and wonderful way, with exquisite grace and skill.

An amazing book, and an amazing series.

Tolkien is regarded as the gold standard of Fantasy, and he indeed is a master. Le Guin's work is different in style, but in my opinion she earns a place alongside Tolkien.

"Tales from Earthsea" is an earthy, mature synthesis of "Tehanu" and the previous Earthsea books, with a hint of Tolkien's "Silmarillion" and a dash of Arthurian fantasy. Unfortunately, after turning the last page I was thoroughly underwhelmed. Gone is the wild freedom of vision, the vast, all-encompassing scope. LeGuin sets out to repopulate her world with sympathetic, influential women, but that world is a stifling, mundane place. Earthsea is no longer a mythical place close to heart, but a world in its own right: big, bleak, and routine. No longer does the reader associate him or herself with the mage hero - the stories in "Tales" take place in a world life-like enough to reduce the reader to a disembodied presence.
Intermittently I found myself staring at the page, wondering: where is the flowing prose? the masterful pacing? the lovely descriptions? The accessibility of the narrative has definitely taken a plunge.
In "Tales" LeGuin attempts to knit together her world's fractured past and present into a unified, continuous whole. She tries to accomplish this across five pieces of short story and novella length, some of them poetic, most not, generally middling quality as far as LeGuin goes. These tales are: "The Finder", about a finder mage called Otter who founded the school on Roke as a beacon of freedom in the dark time after the last king's death; "Darkrose and Diamond", about a merchant's son, who gives up his freedom in exchange for his inheritance and subdues his spirit, only to set it free in forbidden love; "Bones of the Earth", about Ogion the Silent, the fateful earthquake he calmed at Gont Port, and the one life it claimed; "On the High Marsh", in which the reader find out how abstract power can drive a man mad and how using that power to peaceful ends can restore him; "Dragonfly", about the masters of Roke divided against a wilful woman and how the men's language is not enough to name the fiery female spirit.
Of all the tales, only "Bones" and "Marsh" come anywhere close to the three original novels. Others meander and run overlong. Yet others are preachy. "Dragonfly" is a distillate of "Tehanu"; it also explains the direction LeGuin is taking her world in the upcoming novel (think back to "Tehanu's" enigmatic ending).
The addendum on Earthsea' history, culture, language, and magic is informative, but, again, offers little that a persistent reader will find worth knowing. All in all, "Tales" is even more out of place than the previous volume.

Just a simple ‘mender’ sorcerer, Alder is travelling through the Earthsea archipelago in search of someone who can help him understand and break free from the disturbing dreams of ‘the land of the dead’ that are haunting his sleep.

Through Alder we meet a range of interesting characters (most of whom have been introduced in previous books in the series). Sparrowhawk, who used to be Archmage but has lost his power; Lebannen, the young king of Havnor; Seserakh, the daughter of the High King of the Kargs; Tenar, a former renegade priestess of the Tombs of Atuan; Tehanu, a young woman who can speak with dragons; Irian, a dragon who is able to take the shape of a woman; the Master Patterner of Roke; and, for animal-lovers – a small, grey kitten.

There is a darkness to this book, but also a richness, a beauty – particularly when it comes to the various characters who populate its pages, and the relationships between them. Weaving through it all is the question: “Where do we go when we die?”

Although you will find this book in the children’s section of the library, it is equally, if not more, captivating for adults.

The Other Wind is the winner of the 2002 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and for a reason.
The book is beautifully written and meticulously crafted; It's a concise book in which every word counts and has a reason for being there.
It deals in a more mature way with themes that appeared in the previous four Earthsea novels: death, loss, greed, intelligence (represented by the wizards) vs. wisdom (represented by the witches, sorcerers and common folk), middle age and earthly (e.g. watering the cabbages) vs. epic (e.g. healing the world) concerns, the difference between men and women and how opposite things actually complement each other (light/darkness, silence/sound and, new in this book, destruction/healing); to name a few.
I can understand why some people were disappointed with Tehanu, the previous novel in the series (although personally I liked it): it dealt almost exclusively with mundane life and its problems; the fantasy element was almost non-existent. The Other Wind, while still dealing with some of these issues, is a much more epic story. And since, as I mentioned above, it magnificently blends elements from all the previous novels, it should appeal to anybody who has read an Earthsea book in the past and liked it.
The book also ties up neatly most of the threads from the previous books and answers most questions that were previously left unanswered. Unlike what many popular authors do these days, this book wasn't written by Le Guin to make quick money on a classic series. On the contrary: This is a book that demanded to be written.
As any good book, it can be read on different levels and enjoyed by people of different ages and genders.
The Other Wind is a book that deals maturely and, despite being concise,thoroughly with many themes and is the culmination of
decades of constant work and refinement by Ursula Le Guin.
Oren Douek

This is a collection of shortstories and one reavealing novella! If you loved the books, and the recent mini-tvseries, about Ged and his journey through Earthsea, I highly reccomend this book; "Tales from Earthsea". The previous books in the series are "A Wizard of Earthsea, "The Tombs of Atuan", "The Farthest Shore" and "Tehanu" - Or you can get theese four first books in one volume as; "The Earthsea Quartet".

The last book in the series is "The Other Wind". And "Tales from Earthsea" is best read between the quartet & "The Other Wind".

On the cover of this book it says that Le Guin has, and I quote; 'held readers enthralled for more than three decades...'

I totally agree - It's a magical world, one wich I've enjoyed travelling through loads of times, in my childhood, teenage years, and even now - at 29 years of age - I still love the fantastic tales of magic, love and dragons!

This book is a good read - you wont be able to put it down. It can be read by people of all ages, and it stands on its own - you don't neccessarily have to read the other books :) The five magical stories about Earthsea reveals many interesting and useful facts to the addicted fan. It has a description of Earthsea and its people as well! Surely you must read it :) Take Care & Have fun reading!

I first read the Earthsea books over a quarter century ago...and just recently re-read them all, so as to be able to appreciate Tales From Earthsea and The Other Wind. This last book and this series is on a par with the great works of Tolkien and CS Lewis. The story is told forcefully and yet gently...allowing to reader to discover the inner story at their own pace. Having taken over a week end finish the last 50 pages so that I could savour it, I am both joyful at the conclusion and sad that its done.

I have loved the Earthsea books since they came out long ago. They are entertaining, but also are provocative of both thought and a sense of reverence about the world, and about the paradoxes of humans, who are both physical and spiritual beings, and live best when they live on both planes. However, as much as the tales themselves, I have come to respect LeGuin's view of her craft, her insistence (and proof) that fantasy is a powerful way to explore real human questions, one more way in which words and narrative can help us see and make sense of aspects of our lives and our world. Since real, solid fantasy is written by and for persons engaged in this present world, as well as in imaginary worlds, the best of such literature will bear clear marks of this engagement. Thus, LeGuin's "political agenda" is part of her sense-making and grappling with meanings and values; and her primary way of sense-making is by the working out of tales which are also explorations of character. I have sometimes felt that new questions she was exploring were not well-integrated in some of her stories (even in Tehanu, which I loved anyway), but in this collection, I felt that the gender-related themes she was exploring (among others) worked very well, and were unobtrusive, therefore the more compelling. Also, I have to say that I like her frequent experiments in portraying different kinds of success, which is something that our society desperately needs. Her ability to craft a good sentence has not diminished.My teen-aged son, my wife, and myself devoured the book in two days.

I'll be straight with you, I did not finish this book. Why didn't I finish it? Because LeGuin burried me in backstory. There is a rule that every writer should know, "if that is the story you want to tell, tell it, don't refer back to it." Now I understand that this is just a follow up to her original trilogy, but she puts in so much narrative filled with explanations of the past that you begin to wonder what happened to the current story.
LeGuin is an amazing storyteller, and her ideas seemed to have a lot going for them. Her descriptions were vivid, and the storyline was good. Even the characters were intriguing, but like I said, she starts and stops the story so often that you eventually get tired of it and toss in the towel.
As a stand alone novel, I'd give it a thumbs down. Maybe I'll go back and read the trilogy and then be pulled through this novel, but somehow I'm doubting that.

This is a collection of stories and some supporting material about Earthsea, the fictional world developed by Le Guin in a series of previous novels. The Earthsea novels are first rate fantasy, on a par with Tolkien and Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy. The present book is not as good. While the quality of writing is solid, it doesn't approach Le Guin's best work. This book is still attractive by providing interesting information about Earthsea and the stories are entertaining. Le Guin is publishing another Earthsea novel this year and the last story in this book is an apparent bridge to the forthcoming novel.

This book is a must for any fan of Ursula LeGuin's 4 part Earthsea series. The book includes two fairly long stories bracketing three short stories, and spans the history of Earthsea. Although Ged/Sparrowhawk appears only briefly, LeGuin has recaptured the magic of a world rich in tradition, myth and history. As a bonus, the book includes a medium length essay on the history, language and people of Earthsea. There is another Earthsea novel in publication - it will arrive this fall. This book is a wonderful way to pass the time until then.

In "Dragonfly," one dragon touching on Roke became dragons flying over the Inmost Sea, thanks to sailors' amplifications--& then the witch-hunt ensues. In "Bones of the Earth," two wizards' work became the unwanted glory of one, the other forgotten or disregarded. In "The Finder," one well-meaning hero grows complacent & breaches the security of Roke. Are these lessons?
By the time of this review, all six of Le Guin's Earthsea cycle are available as mass-market paperbacks. This wide distribution entails considerable hazard for the thoughtful reception of work, as many of the unfavorable views given in this forum attest. The real wonder of fantasy involves a thinking, perplexed imagination, a test of capacity. Magic works the same way in the world of Earthsea, so the abuse of reading starts to look like the abuse of magic.
Think Le Guin's earlier fantasy is "magical" but the later work "political" or "moralizing"? Read Tolstoy for a load of the moral view of the author's role. Think a patriarchal fantasy world is OK? Look to the workaday world & see it happening--you'll be happy there, too. (In the meantime, enlarge the view of the political.) Want to glimpse the difficult otherness of knowing, the narrowness of the mainstream, the struggle against conformed living, the days of the dispossessed, & the ease with which things contradict each other? Read these stories.
Obligatory Tolkien comment: I've been a fan of Tolkien since 12 or so (the Trilogy to the Silmarillion to the Books of Lost Tales), but his conservative moral universe is more black-&-white than muddled--to say nothing of the weakness of half his population. Women, when they are strong, are mythic & empedestaled. Where's the proportion? Read these stories for a measure, but don't forget to read the author's foreword, too.
These are novella & short stories, & follow the genre of such things. One should not expect the full workings of a novel in their duration or scope. As ever, Le Guin's are thoughtful stories for thoughtful readers, whose beauty comes by hard (& triumphant) but lasts as long as it must be renewed or found surprising again. With such writing, we are once more in the midst of things.

Le Guin is a class act. She cares most about the truth in the storytelling, with all thr fun and entertainment a happy side effect of the story well-told. if you want to be moved at the deepest levels, if you want to follow along as the characters in Le Guin's stories work through the questions and challenges we are all working through, then read the Earthsea books.

Le Guin has a wonderful skill for making her stories seem at once to be both mythical (as if reading the story of an ancient legend) and deeply personable. While others may write of the "inactivity" of the book, I found the pace just right; as another reviewer said "you don't want to charge into the next chapter, but pause and reflect on what you've just read." The conclusion brought me nearly to tears, not because it's sad (it is), but rather because of the joy and wondrous beauty that was left sitting in my mind after reading the last pages.

I have loved the Earthsea books since they came out long ago. They are entertaining, but also are provocative of both thought and a sense of reverence about the world, and about the paradoxes of humans, who are both physical and spiritual beings, and live best when they live on both planes. However, as much as the tales themselves, I have come to respect LeGuin's view of her craft, her insistence (and proof) that fantasy is a powerful way to explore real human questions, one more way in which words and narrative can help us see and make sense of aspects of our lives and our world. Since real, solid fantasy is written by and for persons engaged in this present world, as well as in imaginary worlds, the best of such literature will bear clear marks of this engagement. Thus, LeGuin's "political agenda" is part of her sense-making and grappling with meanings and values; and her primary way of sense-making is by the working out of tales which are also explorations of character. I have sometimes felt that new questions she was exploring were not well-integrated in some of her stories (even in Tehanu, which I loved anyway), but in this collection, I felt that the gender-related themes she was exploring (among others) worked very well, and were unobtrusive, therefore the more compelling. Also, I have to say that I like her frequent experiments in portraying different kinds of success, which is something that our society desperately needs. Her ability to craft a good sentence has not diminished.My teen-aged son, my wife, and myself devoured the book in two days.

I'll be straight with you, I did not finish this book. Why didn't I finish it? Because LeGuin burried me in backstory. There is a rule that every writer should know, "if that is the story you want to tell, tell it, don't refer back to it." Now I understand that this is just a follow up to her original trilogy, but she puts in so much narrative filled with explanations of the past that you begin to wonder what happened to the current story.
LeGuin is an amazing storyteller, and her ideas seemed to have a lot going for them. Her descriptions were vivid, and the storyline was good. Even the characters were intriguing, but like I said, she starts and stops the story so often that you eventually get tired of it and toss in the towel.
As a stand alone novel, I'd give it a thumbs down. Maybe I'll go back and read the trilogy and then be pulled through this novel, but somehow I'm doubting that.

This is a collection of stories and some supporting material about Earthsea, the fictional world developed by Le Guin in a series of previous novels. The Earthsea novels are first rate fantasy, on a par with Tolkien and Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy. The present book is not as good. While the quality of writing is solid, it doesn't approach Le Guin's best work. This book is still attractive by providing interesting information about Earthsea and the stories are entertaining. Le Guin is publishing another Earthsea novel this year and the last story in this book is an apparent bridge to the forthcoming novel.

This book is a must for any fan of Ursula LeGuin's 4 part Earthsea series. The book includes two fairly long stories bracketing three short stories, and spans the history of Earthsea. Although Ged/Sparrowhawk appears only briefly, LeGuin has recaptured the magic of a world rich in tradition, myth and history. As a bonus, the book includes a medium length essay on the history, language and people of Earthsea. There is another Earthsea novel in publication - it will arrive this fall. This book is a wonderful way to pass the time until then.

In "Dragonfly," one dragon touching on Roke became dragons flying over the Inmost Sea, thanks to sailors' amplifications--& then the witch-hunt ensues. In "Bones of the Earth," two wizards' work became the unwanted glory of one, the other forgotten or disregarded. In "The Finder," one well-meaning hero grows complacent & breaches the security of Roke. Are these lessons?
By the time of this review, all six of Le Guin's Earthsea cycle are available as mass-market paperbacks. This wide distribution entails considerable hazard for the thoughtful reception of work, as many of the unfavorable views given in this forum attest. The real wonder of fantasy involves a thinking, perplexed imagination, a test of capacity. Magic works the same way in the world of Earthsea, so the abuse of reading starts to look like the abuse of magic.
Think Le Guin's earlier fantasy is "magical" but the later work "political" or "moralizing"? Read Tolstoy for a load of the moral view of the author's role. Think a patriarchal fantasy world is OK? Look to the workaday world & see it happening--you'll be happy there, too. (In the meantime, enlarge the view of the political.) Want to glimpse the difficult otherness of knowing, the narrowness of the mainstream, the struggle against conformed living, the days of the dispossessed, & the ease with which things contradict each other? Read these stories.
Obligatory Tolkien comment: I've been a fan of Tolkien since 12 or so (the Trilogy to the Silmarillion to the Books of Lost Tales), but his conservative moral universe is more black-&-white than muddled--to say nothing of the weakness of half his population. Women, when they are strong, are mythic & empedestaled. Where's the proportion? Read these stories for a measure, but don't forget to read the author's foreword, too.
These are novella & short stories, & follow the genre of such things. One should not expect the full workings of a novel in their duration or scope. As ever, Le Guin's are thoughtful stories for thoughtful readers, whose beauty comes by hard (& triumphant) but lasts as long as it must be renewed or found surprising again. With such writing, we are once more in the midst of things.

Le Guin is a class act. She cares most about the truth in the storytelling, with all thr fun and entertainment a happy side effect of the story well-told. if you want to be moved at the deepest levels, if you want to follow along as the characters in Le Guin's stories work through the questions and challenges we are all working through, then read the Earthsea books.

Le Guin has a wonderful skill for making her stories seem at once to be both mythical (as if reading the story of an ancient legend) and deeply personable. While others may write of the "inactivity" of the book, I found the pace just right; as another reviewer said "you don't want to charge into the next chapter, but pause and reflect on what you've just read." The conclusion brought me nearly to tears, not because it's sad (it is), but rather because of the joy and wondrous beauty that was left sitting in my mind after reading the last pages.

This is the most beautifully written book I've come across lately. Leguin
has spent much of her time since the first Earthsea books in writing poetry and
gemlike short stories, and the result is that this book is truly moving and,
as always with Leguin, thought-provoking. It is rare to find a book in which
one can truly care about what happens to all of the characters.
The references to the previous parts of the story helped me, since it has
been a long time since I read about Tenar, Ged, Tehanu and Lebannen.
I think a reader new to Leguin will have no trouble in understanding the
backstory and will want to look up the earlier books after reading this one.

"Tales from Earthsea" does not instantly captivate from the first page, like the first three books of the Earthsea series. That's really "enough said," but it wouldn't be much of a review if I didn't say a little more. LeGuin seems to have lost something, and I'm hard pressed to put my finger on it... call it "simplicity" maybe, the kind of writing style that makes Hemingway so timelessly appealing. Not only that, but these stories are filled with negativity and a sort of relentless despair; although the first three books aren't exactly lighthearted, they never lose their positive outlook on things, either. I miss the "old" Ursula LeGuin, and wish she'd written more Earthsea books immediately following the first three. There's something almost tainted and poisonous in her writing these days, something untrustworthy. Not recommended -- enjoy the first three in the "Earthsea" series and call it done. If you choose not to take my advice, then get the book used and/or in paperback (or check it out from the library) so you aren't out any money.

I can't think how many times I have heard published writers of "mainstream" literature roll their eyes at fantasy/science fiction writing. "What can you say with a story about dragons and magic that you can't say using the 'real' world?" is the typical line.
In my mind, it is the clear, crisp, literary voice of Ursula LeGuin that gives the lie to such talk. In a publishing industry where low-grade fantasy filled with familiar props and tropes can make money, LeGuin's writing voice is a pleasure to experience. Her stories are simple, they are about people, and she uses the fantastical settings she creates to stretch her ability to "say something" very human.
It's been years since Leguin stepped away from Earthsea, saying she was done with writing about it. But time changes things, lucky for us. LeGuin says in the foreward that her time away from the Earthsea world has reinvigorated her interest in telling stories based there, and it shows. This collection is both fresh and more mature than her original Earthsea trilogy.
In "Tales" she lays the groundwork for re-envisioning Earthsea in her upcoming novel. "Finder" and "Dragonfly" are the two most relevant stories, fleshing out ideas about why women can't be wizards, and the relationship between humans and dragons. Since her Earthsea stories are about the characters and not the world she has built around them, there's a surprisingly large amount of room for her to do this. For a newcomer to Earthseas, this book is a good a place to start as any. She writes for the reader, and everything she writes can stand on its own.

How can one quite define or put one's finger on the essence of a Le Guin book - particularly an Earthsea one? I'll tell you one thing, I have not even read all of the stories and have even 'skipped' some according to the true, written sequence but I have come to realize that each book has a special quality unto itself WITHIN the greater, Earthsea context and that each stands on its own as a result. Le Guin does not 'pen stories' to fill out narrative time-lines; she writes each book for a purpose - something she wants to convey to her readers. When a writer does that, the story can become a part of the reader's experience of life. After 'Tombs of Atuan' - which gripped me for its intense HUMANITY in the midst of all its fantasy when I first read it 17 years ago - could we expect Le Guin to abandon Tenar just as she regained her true identity once more, whether Ged was the hero of Earthsea or not? Thus was born Tehanu.

In 'The Other Wind', Le Guin sets out to fulfill the destinies of Tenar, Ged, Therru/Tehanu, and even Earthsea itself. A tall task? Yes. There WERE moments in the book that I felt Le Guin was 'cheating' or skimming, not wanting to get as involved in these deep matters as her own premise seemed to demand. We have a simple mender of pots who dreams of his recently deceased wife calling and reaching to him from beyond the low stone wall which separates the living realm from the dead one. The fabric of the Equilibrium between the two and between the realms of dragons and men is threatened and all Earthsea is in danger of oblivion unless it is restored. In a last desperate journey, King Lebannen travels with a motley coterie of disparate individuals (including Tenar, Tehanu, Alder the pot mender, the dragon-turned-woman Irian, and a mysterious Kargish princess) who represent all lands and creatures of Earthsea to Roke Island and the Immanent Grove in order to reach the 'stone wall' - and tear it down.

And in the healing of Earthsea, Tenar lets go of her grown daughter (Tehanu) whom she can no longer protect, Lebannen bridges his lands with those of the Kargs through marrying the princess, Alder goes to forever join his wife, and Ged truly finds happiness with a returning Tenar.

A special note on Tehanu, whose name-sake book you spend reading in its entirety in an attempt to fully grasp her true self and powers. THIS book sees this scarred, quiet girl grown into a young woman who finds herself at last - and the reader will be both nodding and fully satisfied with what she discovers about herself.

The scope of this book could be argued to be too vast but having read it I find myself amazed that Le Guin could have dealt with it as well as she did and yet still have satisfied all of the 'human' sub-plots at the end. A true Earthsea fan will enjoy this book. A high action Fantasy junkie may have difficulty with it.

Reading the orignal series as a child and this book almost in my forties , I can see why some reviewers have , like me , given this book 5 stars whilst others may have found it slow , boring and and uneventful . To be honest if I had come to this book as a child I might have felt the same way .

As the author has grown older , so have the characters we first met and loved , and so have we . The things that excited and thrilled us as children are to be feared as we grow older , things we disparaged to be cherished .

This book is full of battles and courage , but the battles are with ignorance, fear and prejudice ; the courage to love and the courage to let go .

I found this book to be beautiful , wise and melancholic . However this book has no place in the children's section of the library , my advice for all teenage readers is to leave it until you have lived , loved , lost and let go of a little .You'll find you will enjoy and understand this book all the more for it .

Like many others, I was disenchanted (sorry) by Tehanu, book 4. However, I'm very pleased by Tales. It's not the resounding, stunning masterpiece that was circumscribed by the first three books, but I am gratified to see that she still can evoke the gentle wonders and richness of the grounded and mysterious world she built in the original trilogy.

There's definitely a hint of feminist polemicism in these tales, and it does jar me a bit. I'm fully sympathetic with her goals but it's a delicate art to include in the body of a short story, and sometimes she fails. I won't begrudge her that, though, because it's never heavy-handed, and the luminous joys of Earthsea and LeGuin's transluscent prose are spread equally thru the book.

Well, I liked it. I think certain aspects about Tenar's relationship with the Kargish princess could have been developed further, as well as deelings between the princess and King Lebannen, but on the whole, it was a wonderful book. I was a little disappointed by the lack of Ged in it, but then, the book wasn't about him.
The book has charm, strength, and surprising bits of humor in it, that make it well worth the five stars I gave it.

If you have enjoyed other earthsea books, this is a MUST. It is probably my favorite Ursula LG book. Instead of condemning -- or condoning -- the sexist world she initially created, Ursula LG masterfully explains its history. Brilliant. And then she creates a bridge to the future.

Read after Tehanu (or skip that one, it's dark and not redeeming) and before Another Wind.

I have always regarded Ursuala Le Guin as my favorite author, and her new addition to the Earthsea cycle has just strengthened my convictions. Her writing is stylish and uncluttered, and I thank her for that.
The beautiful and touching tales of the Earthsea transform me into a simpler and magical world that I hate to leave behind. The Other Wind is no exception and it deeply satisfied me as it brought me news of Earthsea.
In her new novel, Le Guin re-examines the foundations of her land and has delved deeper into the magical realms to produce a story with profound consequences on the characters we know so well. It is melancholic to read about Ged and the others aging, but it is also refreshing to watch the evolution of Earthsea take place, as one would imagine such an animate land to do so.
This latest chapter has enriched and redefined the Earthsea as we know it and it should be welcomed.
I recommend The Other Wind to everyone. It left me happy.

Le Guin's recent work in Earthsea, as I've mentioned now in two other reviews, is about revisioning the hero's tale, as first identified by Joseph Campbell. The hero's tale, in its most typical and base form, is about individuals, almost always men or man-like women, who rise to power and dominate in their fields of expertise. Usually it's a magnanimous and benevolent domination, but domination nonetheless. According to Jungian psychology, these tales symbolize a process of individual maturation, and whether that's true or not, I don't know, but ultimately they reflect the very real way that our patriarchal societies operate. Most fantasy tales, therefore, support the status quo of the dominant, predominantly white, male discourse which props up the patriarchies in charge of most of the world (Le Guin's first three Earthsea books certainly did this, and it is these core beliefs that Le Guin is trying to overthrow, quietly, and in her own way, with her most recent works). These discourses operate by making possible certain ways of "knowing," where anything that seeks to circumvent, side-step or replace the status quo of the dominant discourse is made to seem lacking in value. Therefore, when an earlier reviewer indicated Le Guin's most recent work "offers little that a persistent reader will find worth knowing," that reviewer is indicating exactly that he, like most of the rest of the world, is enslaved by the belief system of the dominant discourse. Moreover, he seeks to perpetuate it. This is, of course, what is to be expected in such radical endeavors. However, as long as people such as Le Guin (not to mention the likes of Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr.) keep pushing us in these directions we stand a chance of actually getting there.

Truly moving and engaging. The author wrestles with the thorniest questions raised by the first books, and comes out the other side with a surprising, compelling, and enlightening conclusion. I feel like she did not know where she was going when she started out, but was true to the journey and let the story be told through her. Highly recommended.

A word of warning: this book makes little - if any - sense to someone who never read Le Guin's Earthsea Tetralogy comprising A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), The Tombs of Atuan (1971), The Farthest Shore (1972), Tehanu (1990). Never heard of these? Well, I envy You! Apart from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, I really haven't read anything comparable to these... serious! Tales of Earthsea are varied in size glimpses into the world of the tetralogy. If it left You wondering about origins of Roke school, craving for a deeper look into Earthsea's history... here it is. The best news of all, another Earthsea novel is coming, and the Tales are a good way to pass time and to get a glimpse of things to come. After all these years, it's good to see Le Guin coming back to take us for another visit to Earthsea. If you liked the previous one, this one will thrill you too!

I thought that this book was excellent. It had action and fantesy all in one book. I have read all of the Earthsea books in a time period of 1 to 1 1/2 months. All of them have been excellent but I especially liked the last book. I started out reading the first book for summer reading and I got hooked! I hope that she makes another book for this series.

I was so sure that there would be no more Earthsea books that I've even stopped looking for one. But to my surprise I suddenly found, not one but two books!

Tales from the Earthsea is not a novel but rather some short stories and a "novelette". But the storytelling and the close to earth-feel from the first books is there. These are stories about the people of Earthsea and they are told with warmth and such ease that they feel utterly real.

There are some great events in these stories but they are mostly portraits of the daily life of the common folk on Earthsea, and that is the brilliance of this book.

Le Guin's writing is like a fine single malt Scotch...it seems to grow in power and meaning as she ages. This book had been sitting on my shelf for quote sometime before I found myself with a chance to do some reading, and I am glad that I picked this book. The themes embedded in the stories are subtle but powerful. I highly recommend the complete cycle.

[***** = breathtaking, **** = excellent, *** = good, ** = flawed, * = bad]

A humble pot-mending sorcerer inadvertantly damages the balance between life and death, necessitating the involvement of all of our favorite Earthsea characters including Ged and Tenar. Longer review at ImpatientReader-dot-com.

Le Guin seems to have grown as a writer as she presents a richer, more complex world, while continuing to ground the story of EarthSea in Taoist ideas of harmony, balance and wholeness, and of course, Magic. Although there is great character development as the suspense builds, the story was ultimately disappointing. The major plotlines are hastily resolved in a few pages at the end! It was as though an ending had been slapped on a story meant to be two or three times longer!

I had no idea about which book was first in the Earthsea series, so I just grabbed one and started reading... this one has persuaded me to read the rest of the series.
Very imaginative- sort of like a way more in-depth Harry Potter- this book is really good and I can't wait to read more!

I know this will be an unpopular review. But new readers of Le Guin need to know what to read, and what to avoid until you're sure you love her work. One of the hallmarks of a good work of fiction, whether or not it's part of a series, is for the work to stand on its own right. You can't have a truly good book that only works because of books before or after it. Unfortunately, The Other Wind fails this test. Le Guin has all the elements for a fantastic climax to the world of Earthsea:
Lebannen learning how to govern, Ged dealing with his lack of power, Tenar taking a look at her role in life, and Tehanu finding out just what she is and can be. These four main characters, each the focus of one of the previous four books, are primed to deal with the exciting new problem of dragons and death (I'm keeping it simple as not to spoil the plot). And yet, the story is mostly rehash and continues to go over the same ground as in the previous books. Tehanu is the only character who undergoes much change, yet her feelings are maddeningly left for the reader to imagine in most scenes. The book is a think book, as opposed to an action book, and the blending of thought and deed was what made the other books of Earthsea so good. By itself, this book is mediocre fantasy. With the others, it completes the cycle, but just barely.

A remarkable and graceful book. How anyone could give it less than five stars ever under any circumstances is a great mystery to me. Was looking through books for a younger friend for a stack of "stuff you really have to read".

The quote on spending time with animals, alone, is worth the whole book.

Tales from Earthsea is the fifth book about Earthsea but is not about Ged, and his adventures. That story has been told before.
The book has other stories to tell. They are about people of Earthsea. They are about other people that don't have the wisdom of wizard, or don't need it anyway. The stories are about much more ordinary people. In this book you find the roots of Roke, the roots of humanity as Earthsea legends tell.
Don't expect another of the Wizard of Earthsea novels but be sure that this book won't let you stop reading from cover to cover.

Thank you, Ursula, for creating a fittingly wonderful conclusion to one of my absolute favorite series. You really get human nature, and my favorite thing about your work is that the term "sci-fi" seems so inadequate for the stories that you craft.

The Other Wind is a thoroughly satifying end to what may very well be the best fantasy saga ever conceived. As a child I read the trilogy; as an adult now I complete the tale and understand more than I ever could have then.
LeGuin is a true artist and visionary. Her work is a treasure.

Le Guin has remade the world of Earthsea into 'Land of the Suicides.'

In this story, she mythologizes about the nature of life and death. However, it seems she has NOT thought through the implications of what she's created (a mistake Segoy would never make).

In this tale, human life is an (apparently) endless series of reincarnations, with (apparently) NO reasons for whether you come back as a slug or a dragonlord. In such an existence, there is no reason for people to resist or avoid death: after all, everyone gets randomly recycled anyway.

Therefore, in Le Guin's realm, there is no reason for anyone to endure an unpleasant life. Just like any other death, suicide would deliver you up to the reincarnation roulette wheel; the body erodes into the earth and the spirit erodes into the wind. And, since it's human nature to avoid stress and difficulty, everyone in Le Guin's world who dislikes their life can just end it.

With this ontology, the Kargish lands (people who are already have the privilege of being recycled) would be in violent chaos. There's no reason to resist whatever greed or lust might tickle your fancy at any moment. Robbery? Why not. Rape? Who cares? Murder? No big deal---that shmuck is just going to get recycled like you. Is the law or government or warlord's army going to prevent anything? No---you can escape them like a ninja; just cut open your guts and fade into dust. Maybe next time YOU will come back as the warlord.

The only plausible explanation why the Earthsea peoples aren't in constant turmail is that they don't have the human nature we do. That is, they are NOT actually human characters. There's something different about them that exempts from impulses to violence---there is something else controlling them. And it brings up the question, what point is there for real humans (like you and me) to read about wooden puppets?

The saddest part is that Le Guin's prose is so delightful and elegant. In fact, it's so pleasing, most people will probably assume that what she proffers as a beautiful ending IS actually beautiful. Readers won't see past the glamour to realize the fraud. They'll savor the delicious spices and just swallow the carrion.

Lots of folks have rightly praised and described the tales within and I just wish to add my voice to the chorus. Le Guin has returned to Earthsea, thanks to the first Legends anthology via "Dragonfly" which is a story that will break your heart from pain and hope and love.
If you have read any of the Earthsea novels, this is essential reading.

Interesting addendum to the Earthsea saga, continuing a change to the feel of the stories that LeGuin started with Tehanu. Learn more about why men are evil, women are good, and dragons will fix everything. It does fill in some of the history of Earthsea, which is interesting, but she doesn't focus on some of the big names you would expect to hear more about--rather she invents new small characters to fill some of the historical void. Worth reading, but [$$$]is a little too much for this unless you really feel the need to add it to your Earthsea collection. Borrow it from the library...

Let me preface this with my Earthsea background. I read the first 3 books when I was young and loved them. Then did them again on audio a couple years ago and enjoyed the 1st and 3rd books but thought the 2nd one was slow. Then I read -Techanu- and thought it was more like an interlude with a plot added in at the end for good measure and seemed like an interlude. -Stories of Earthsea- was barely passable and now this -The Other Wind- left me with a final bad taste for a series I loved for a long time.

It was nice to hang out with some old friends (Ged, Tenar etc...) but at some point toward the end it started this downward spiral into incomprehensibility. There would be section I just didn't get but I'd just move on hoping that it would make sense later. It never did. When it ended I had no idea what had happened. Was it just too simple? I do see a lot of reviewers saying that the ending was predictable. I don't even know who was still alive at the end. It seemed like a bunch of snippets of action that never got resolved. Was it some type of literary experiment?

I'm not sure, but my final stance on Earthsea is: Read the first 3 books and pretend the others don't even exist.

The Other Wind is the best fantasy novel I have read in many years, as good as anything LeGuin has written. It is both an enjoyable story and a profound meditation on life and death, and the writing is beautiful. Read it.

This book should have been titled "Men do Everything Wrong", in two senses: First, in every story the men can't do anything right. Secondly, everything that's wrong with Earthsea is the fault of Men. In this way, LeGuin begs forgivness for the sin of not being sufficiently Feminist in the first three books.
If you loved the Earthsea trilogy, you'll be outraged by what LeGuin does to it in this book, and in Tehanu. As best I can sum it up, her attitude is "I spit on your memory."

from Wikipedia:

A common thread to all the stories is the effort to reinterpret the world of Earthsea. The books of the original trilogy presented Earthsea in general and the practice of magic in particular as strongly male-dominated. Women can only be witches, which is the lowest and most despised rank of the magical world, expressed in the proverb "Weak as women's magic, wicked as women's magic".

The stories collected in Tales from Earthsea make a huge effort to redress the balance. It is disclosed that Ogion, Ged's beloved tutor and mentor, had learned his magic from a master who himself learned from an "unauthorised" woman mage, and that the Roke school itself had been originally founded by women who were later excluded from it. Other stories feature strong and assertive women who in various ways challenge male dominance.

UPDATE: I'm aware that this is probably the crappiest review I've ever done, being composed of nothing more than a paste from Wikipedia. However, it's something I sure would have liked to know before reading the book as it kind of ruined it for me. Hence I will leave it up.