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Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Earthsea Quartet: "A Wizard Of Earthsea"; "The Tombs of Atuan"; "The Farthest Shore"; "Tehanu" (Puffin Books) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
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About the Author
Ursula Le Guin was born in Berkley, California, in 1929, daughter of the writer Theodora Krober and the anthropologist Alfred Krober. Her published work includes twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, three collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation. Among her novels are the The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, both winners of the Nebula and Hugo awards, Always Coming Home, winner of the 1985 Kafka Award, and Four Ways to Forgiveness. In 2009 she won her sixth Nebula award for Powers. Penguin/Puffin published the first volume of the Earthsea books, A Wizard of Earthsea, in 1971. The Earthsea books have been translated into many languages around the world and are global bestsellers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
112 of 115 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'The Earthsea Quartet' is really an original trilogy from the early 1970s with a sequal, 'Tehanu', published in 1990. Unfortunately, Le Guin's philosophical interests had shifted quite dramatically in the meantime, and the fourth book doesn't sit too well alongside the others.
The world of the original trilogy is based around the relationship between language and reality (anyone with an interest in literary theory will soon see why Fredric Jameson became interested in Le Guin's work). Everything and everyone has a true name, hidden from all but the most trusted because the possession of the individual's name brings power over them. The language of true names is that of creation and is the source of magical power.
The first novel, 'A Wizard of Earthsea', is a satisfying adventure that focuses upon the youthful career of Ged, the future Archmage of Earthsea. It's a fairly conventional doppleganger story in the tradition of 'Faust' and 'Jekyll & Hyde', though it has enough battles, magic and dragons to keep the story moving along.
The trilogy really takes off in 'The Tombs of Atuan'. Much darker than the first book, this is an adventure of Ged's adult life seen through the eyes of Arha, a young priestess of dark powers. The philosophy starts to become more complex here as Le Guin explores the relationship between faith and power.
'The Farthest Shore' is, for me, the high point of the series. Magic is disappearing from Earthsea and Ged, now Archmage, must find out why. The story explores the longing for immortality and the need for death in order to bring meaning to life. There is still plenty of action, but this is Le Guin at her thought-provoking best.
'Tehanu', unfortunately, abandons most of the earlier themes as Le Guin moves into a story of feminist resistance against patriarchy. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but here it feels imposed upon a world that wasn't built to take that agenda. These issues of female oppression have not been flagged up in previous books and seem to appear from nowhere in the fourth. Characterisation is also a problem: I had difficulty in seeing consistency with the Ged and Tenar of the earlier novels. 'Tehanu' is not a bad novel by any means, but it should really be treated as a stand-alone text rather than as the fourth part of a quartet.
That aside, however, this volume is worth buying for the original trilogy, which remains a high point of fantasy writing.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On every level that I have known for the last 25 years the original triolgy have captured me. I find more every time I read them and the beauty of the language in it's concise but pertinate phrasing is beyond anything I could hope to achieve. As a child I was Sparrowhawk, temper and all. As a young man I too questioned with the prince and found answers in Ged's replies and reasoning. Even now I escape into a world that sometimes seems to make more sense than our own. I loved the dual options for the ending of "The farthest shore". I find that Tehanu shows the 20 year gap between it and it's predcessor but it does reunite Tenar of the ring and Ged in a realistic if not a satisfying way. Prehaps I'm still the child longing for that world of power, magic and dragons. But for everything this series has given me over the years Thankyou ULG.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Many critics of this book would like you to believe that the Earthsea novels are childrens books. I first read them as a young child and I enjoyed them very much. It was only in later years that I realised what the word "allegory" meant...
Ged is a wizard in the island archapelago of Earthsea, a land populated by strange magic and dragons just as much as it is by humans. Blessed by strange and powerful magics, he is sent to the island school of Roke where he unleashes some of the most powerful magic ever to scar the face of the earth. He has been taught that magic is a balance which must be maintained.
The first novel in the book deals with Ged's desire to be a powerful magician. In the end he has to choose where the worst evil lies, within himself or within his creations. During the course of the remaining novels, Ged uses less and less magic and eventually in old age he begins to realise the true enlightenment of the dragons.
The fourth book is without a doubt the worst in this quartet. It changes the focus away from Ged, much to the detriment of the story and the series as a whole.
The other books are delightful and should please anyone with an interest in fantasy books.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Amazing Book
This book is one of my all time favourites! Just got it for my boyfriend, so we'll see if he'll like it, but it's deffo worth having a copy ;) Delivery was all good :)
Published 9 days ago by AnimatorToBe
The Earthsea Quartet
I saw a DVD of the first book and it is nothing like the book.I did not want the books to end. Absolutely great reading!!!!
Published 1 month ago by Ms. Marie J. H. Koenig
A gem in the realm of fantasy
I loved this book. The writing is elegant and moves at a good, leisurely pace, and the characterisations are very well done. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Maglor
Simply the best fantasy world
I bought A Wizard of Earthsea but it sat on my shelf unread until my university student son picked it up. When he raved about it, I at last read it. Why, oh why did I wait? Read more
Published 2 months ago by Potok
An underrated gem
If you like fantasy you must read this. It is beautifully written, parts of it sticking out in my mind as some of the best writing i've read. Read more
Published 4 months ago by S.J.
Eathsea is OK, but...
I waited quite a while to make sure I read the right books in the right order, and now I am not so sure it was worth the wait. Read more
Published 7 months ago by M. Bird
Dry and disappointing
I was really looking forward to this collection, as the Earthsea stories are meant to be some of Le Guin's most famous books, and I have enjoyed several of her other books. Read more
Published 7 months ago by HeecheeRendezvous
Wonderful fantasy set in a world of islands and sea
This is a wonderful fantasy series. All the quartet of stories are very good, and it will be an individual thing which of the books appeals to you most. Read more
Published 8 months ago by SouthScot
A Must Read Classic
The Earthsea Quartet, an omnibus version of all four Earthsea books, is another one of my #bookfails. Read more
Published 14 months ago by W.M.M. van der Salm-Pallada
One of my top 10 books ever
Like many other reviewers I read the original trilogy in my teens, and I was wholly engrossed in the world of Earthsea. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mrs. R. M. Whitehouse
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