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savaging's review
4.0
What a wild ride with Le Guin and the dragons. Some very brief thoughts on these 6 books:
1: A Wizard of Earthsea -- A simple fantasy fable. A little dull when listing off the islands they pass by, but also charming.
2: The Tombs of Atuan -- Maybe my favorite of all. Creepy and full and complex, even though it's entirely focused on one small place.
3: The Farthest Shore -- Oh no, there's a Rightful King who must ascend to the Throne? Why is it all fantasy writers are obsessed with Rightful Kings ascending their Thrones? Apart from that, the story has some fun to it.
4: Tehanu -- a few decades later, Le Guin tries to reshape the world she created to better fit her politics. Some of this is beautiful -- Tehanu as a character is compelling, and I love that we get to think a little more deeply about patriarchy and dragons. But sometimes it feels clumsy. In the end, the feminism championed also feels dated and gender-essentialist.
5: The Tales from Earthsea -- Some of these are really compelling short stories.
6: The Other Wind -- Le Guin tries to finally wipe out what is fundamentally wrong with the world she created. A lot of this book is characters speaking exposition to each other. I'm not sure if it works as a novel. All the same, there are obviously going to be lovely elements in it. A cat, for instance.
I appreciate being able to read these all in one book, though by this point it's very overdue from the library. But the art in this book is sort of ... bad? Really a shame how dumb these dragons look.
1: A Wizard of Earthsea -- A simple fantasy fable. A little dull when listing off the islands they pass by, but also charming.
2: The Tombs of Atuan -- Maybe my favorite of all. Creepy and full and complex, even though it's entirely focused on one small place.
3: The Farthest Shore -- Oh no, there's a Rightful King who must ascend to the Throne? Why is it all fantasy writers are obsessed with Rightful Kings ascending their Thrones? Apart from that, the story has some fun to it.
4: Tehanu -- a few decades later, Le Guin tries to reshape the world she created to better fit her politics. Some of this is beautiful -- Tehanu as a character is compelling, and I love that we get to think a little more deeply about patriarchy and dragons. But sometimes it feels clumsy. In the end, the feminism championed also feels dated and gender-essentialist.
5: The Tales from Earthsea -- Some of these are really compelling short stories.
6: The Other Wind -- Le Guin tries to finally wipe out what is fundamentally wrong with the world she created. A lot of this book is characters speaking exposition to each other. I'm not sure if it works as a novel. All the same, there are obviously going to be lovely elements in it. A cat, for instance.
I appreciate being able to read these all in one book, though by this point it's very overdue from the library. But the art in this book is sort of ... bad? Really a shame how dumb these dragons look.
fernlyqueer's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
cassiacow's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is so wonderful to read, and such an amazing edition - I loved the illustrations and every note Le Guin included felt insightful and impactful.
The story itself is majestic - while everyone will enjoy some books than others, I think everyone will find that this feels completely fresh and classic all at once - and is executed so incredibly well. Highly recommend to everyone!
The story itself is majestic - while everyone will enjoy some books than others, I think everyone will find that this feels completely fresh and classic all at once - and is executed so incredibly well. Highly recommend to everyone!
garbagemole's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ac_anemon's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i’ve rated the individual books separately, the part of this collection that i’m particularly fond of is le guin’s essays, her musings about sex and gender and politics and how that shaped her storytelling, knowing and unknowingly, and how every book was supposed to be the last book until she started thinking about how the next book should go, i find all of that fascinating and a necessary context to fully appreciate the earth sea
sevve's review against another edition
5.0
Kocham tę książkę. Ledwo ją skończyłem, a już czuję do niej nostalgię. Zwrócę tylko uwagę, że trzeba do niej podejść z odpowiednim nastawieniem - pewną otwartością na poniesienie się przez bardzo bezpośredni i może trochę nietypowy dla gatunku flow narracji. To moje drugie podejście. Za pierwszym razem podszedłem z takim typowym dla mnie (i niezdrowym) nastawieniem, na jak najszybsze i krytyczne czytanie oraz "odhaczenie" książki. Wtedy faktycznie bardzo mocno się odbiłem. Ale za drugim razem trafiłem w jakiś moment, gdzie rzeczywiście byłem w stanie podejść do książki bez jakiegoś sztucznego pośpiechu i udało się w to wszystko wsiąknąć. A kiedy to się udało, to ta książka potrafiła być tak bardzo wholesome i no... po prostu magiczna. I tu brawa dla autorki, której proza w wyjątkowy sposób łączy prostotę i pewien stopień poezji, a jednocześnie to wszystko tak łatwo i jasno dociera do sedna tego, co autorka chciała przekazać. A przekazać chciała dużo i prawie wszystko sprawia, że w środku robi się jakoś tak ciepło.
freakydug's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
beardybot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A Wizard of Earthsea is a wonderful story, of a wizard boy learning his craft and coming to terms with his darkness in an archipelago where names have power.
The Tombs of Atuan is a wonderful story, of a girl-God in thrall to Howardian Nameless Ones, set in the far east of the archipelago where magic is weak and Godkings and pirates hold sway.
The Farthest Shore is a wonderful story, of magic and meaning disappearing from the world, and a young Prince's love for a great wizard that extends even into the realms of death.
Tehanu is a wonde... actually, it's a difficult story. One much more personal than the three preceding it. Yes, there's a new king bringing order to the isles, and there's dragons and magic and names, too, but it's really the tale of a young girl who's suffered unimaginable abuse, and of her carers whose power to protect her is as limited as any mundane farmer's widow's would be.
Tales from Earthsea is a collection of short stories, some of them wonderful in their own right, and others wonderful in the context of fleshing out the world and history of Earthsea. We learn of Roke's very beginning, and what leads, after all this time, its masters to finally allow, in The Other Wind, women to play their part there.
The Other Wind is... well, it's wonderful. Possibly the most wonderful. I really didn't want it to end. It ties together the stories of Ged and Lebannen and Tenar and Tehanu and Irian and the dragons and the archipelago even while it introduces the Kargish princess (promised to the King) and a minor sorcerer who's right in the middle of the biggest change since Segoy raised the oceans.
And this colossal collection adds other short stories, too. Ones which I hadn't already read. Ending with what's as much an epitaph as an epilogue for Ged. Wonderful.
The Tombs of Atuan is a wonderful story, of a girl-God in thrall to Howardian Nameless Ones, set in the far east of the archipelago where magic is weak and Godkings and pirates hold sway.
The Farthest Shore is a wonderful story, of magic and meaning disappearing from the world, and a young Prince's love for a great wizard that extends even into the realms of death.
Tehanu is a wonde... actually, it's a difficult story. One much more personal than the three preceding it. Yes, there's a new king bringing order to the isles, and there's dragons and magic and names, too, but it's really the tale of a young girl who's suffered unimaginable abuse, and of her carers whose power to protect her is as limited as any mundane farmer's widow's would be.
Tales from Earthsea is a collection of short stories, some of them wonderful in their own right, and others wonderful in the context of fleshing out the world and history of Earthsea. We learn of Roke's very beginning, and what leads, after all this time, its masters to finally allow, in The Other Wind, women to play their part there.
The Other Wind is... well, it's wonderful. Possibly the most wonderful. I really didn't want it to end. It ties together the stories of Ged and Lebannen and Tenar and Tehanu and Irian and the dragons and the archipelago even while it introduces the Kargish princess (promised to the King) and a minor sorcerer who's right in the middle of the biggest change since Segoy raised the oceans.
And this colossal collection adds other short stories, too. Ones which I hadn't already read. Ending with what's as much an epitaph as an epilogue for Ged. Wonderful.