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The Times
"takes the reader back into the history of Earthsea, LeGuin's remarkable archipelago where dragons and humans are equally believable."
Starburst
'Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea tales are always a delight and her latest collection.. is no exception...'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I fell in love with Earthsea many years ago, reading the original trilogy as a teenager. Since then I have reread these books quite a few times and found that they bear the test of time tremendously well. When Tehanu came out, like many other readers, I found it hard to accept the change of tone and the ardent feminism, but that book too has grown on me. So I considered myself quite a hard-core fan of this world at the time Tales of Earthsea was published, although I was a bit uneasy as well - I was a little afraid ULG was going to do away with Roke and 'male magic' entirely, after the turn things had taken in Tehanu.
My fears proved unfounded, and reading Tales of Eathsea was one long delight. Although the feminist tones are unmistakable, the female focus is never at the expense of the story. The world of Earthsea is as vivid as ever, or perhaps even more so, the language is beautiful, and the stories hold many surprises yet remain faithful to the world of the original trilogy. Magic is alive and well, the great house at Roke still stands, and learning of how it was founded makes me confident that it will take more than a few female students or broken celibacies to bring it down. I think short stories are perhaps the ideal medium for ULG: Her beautiful, economic prose crafts a unique gem out of each tale, and leaves the reader wishing for more.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Ursula le Guin once again comes up trumps with this fantastic series of stories that tell of the history of Earthsea. The tales are from different periods of Earthsea's history, and it's a great follow up to the other books in the Earthsea series, so any fan like me wouldn't want to miss out on this superb book. The essay on Earthsea and it's history and the inhabitants was a very informative guide and gives a greater insight into the main charachters and the people that have been met on the way throughout all the 4 previous books. Don't miss out, if you bought 'The Other Wind', then this can easily be said to be it's s-equal!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Earthsea
Ursula le Guin is a clever writer who has turned the tale of Ged the Archmage into a seriously thought provoking glimpse into a world of extreme contrasts. Read more
Published 3 months ago by qwerty
Different but excellent
I was given the first three Earthsea books to read when I was only a few years old. I enjoyed them immensely and I remember being excited to learn there was a fourth when the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Patrick Penname
Lacking
First! The introduction tells you that this is best read if you have read some of the others in the Eartsea series. It is short stories.
I hadn't read any. Read more
I hadn't read any. Read more
Published 21 months ago by John H. Everington
"Tales From Earthsea"
This collection of short stories is meant to be read between the fourth book "Tehanu" and the latest book "The Other Wind". Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2010 by David Brookes
Tales from Earthsea
Good stories in the same vein as previous books. It would be better to read the earlier stories first, namely the quartet ; A Wizard Of Earthsea, The Tombs of
Atuan, The... Read more
Atuan, The... Read more
Published on 27 Sep 2009 by Gray Mage
Vivid, mature, power-ful....
This is an essential addition to the Earthsea collection, a beautiful, mature and intricately well-imagined fantasy world (where magic is a metaphor for a particular level of... Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2006 by greenwise design
On the High Marsh
Frankly I was a little surpsised at the reaction the book seems to be getting. The main thing that drew me to the earthsea stories was the impalpable sense of magic that appeared... Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2003 by "padraig_t"
ONE GOOD BOOK
Well 5 actually. it proberly all won't be that much sence to anyone if they havn't read the earth sea quartet 1st which are also reall good, so a must read to anyone. Read more
Published on 8 Jun 2003 by Luke D. Billings
The Weaker Sex
When Ursula le Guin created the fantasy world of Earthsea, many years ago, it was the setting for three tightly knit and cohesive stories featuring the wizard Ged. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2003 by Rotgut
must-have for Earthsea fans
Anyone captivated by le Guin's magical sequence of books about a world in which magic is both commonplace (used to change the weather, avert ill-luck and improve sea-worthiness)... Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2002 by A. Craig
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