Tehanu

The Last Book of Earthsea Earthsea Cycle, #4

by Ursula K. Le Guin

First edition, 226 pages

English language

Published March 1990 by Atheneum.

ISBN:: 978-0-689-31595-4
OCLC Number:: 317496016
ISFDB ID:: 7656

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(38 reviews)

The stink of burning filled the wind, as with a hissing roar the dragon, turning to land on the shelf of rock, breathed out a sigh of fire. Its feet clashed on the rock. The thorny tail, writhing, rattled, and the wings stormed and rustled as they folded down to the mailed flanks. The head turned slowly. The dragon gazed straight at the woman from yellow eyes under armored carapaces wide-set above the narrow nose and flaring, fuming nostrils. And her small, soft face and dark eyes gazed straight at it.

The dragon turned its head aside a little so that she was not destroyed when it did speak, or perhaps it laughed — a great "Hah!" of orange flame.

Tenat saw then the man astride its back, his hands clenched on the rust-dark mail of the dragon's neck, his head bowed as if he were asleep.

The dragon lowered …

The dragon turned its head aside a little so that she was not destroyed when it did speak, or perhaps it laughed — a great "Hah!" of orange flame.

Tenat saw then the man astride its back, his hands clenched on the rust-dark mail of the dragon's neck, his head bowed as if he were asleep.

The dragon lowered its body into a crouch and spoke. "Sobriost," it said, and that word of the Language of the Making she knew: Go up, the dragon said: Mount! and she saw the steps to mount. The taloned foot, the crooked elbow, the shoulder-joint, the first musculature of the wing: four steps.

She too said, "Hah!" but not in a laugh, only tring to get her breath. Then she went forward, past the talons and the long lipless mouth and the long yellow eye, and mounted the shoulder of the dragon. She took the man's arm. He did not move, but surely he was not dead. "Come on," she said, and then seeing his face as she loosened the clenched grip of his left hand, "Come on, Ged. Come on…."

32 editions

Zéro Janvier reviewed Tehanu (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 4) by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tehanu

4 stars

"Tehanu" est le quatrième tome du cycle Earthsea d'Ursula K. Le Guin, également connu en français sous le nom de cycle de Terremer.

Publié en 1990, près de vingt ans après le tome précédent, le roman reprend cependant le récit directement après l’épilogue de The Farthest Shore. Le vieux mage Ged et le jeune prince Arren sont de retour de leur terrible voyage : Arren va monter sur le trône sous son nom véritable, Lebannen, tandis que Ged, privé de sa magie, va s’exiler. Dans le même temps, Tenar, l’héroïne du deuxième tome The Tombs of Atuan, désormais veuve d’un fermier, recueille Therru, une fillette gravement brûlée et maltraitée par sa « famille ».

"Tehanu" est le quatrième tome du cycle Earthsea d'Ursula K. Le Guin, également connu en français sous le nom de cycle de Terremer.

Le roman met en scène les retrouvailles entre Ged et Tenar, des années après leurs aventures dans The Tombs of Atuan. Tenar n’est plus la grande prêtresse de sombres divinités, et Ged n’est plus mage, même s’il conserve encore le titre honorifique d’archimage, le temps que les maîtres de Roke désignent son successeur. D’une certaine façon, le roman nous parle du temps qui passe, des vies qui avancent pour le meilleur et pour le pire, de la nostalgie d’une époque révolue.

Surtout, Ursula K. Le Guin propose un récit profondément féministe qui aborde les questions de la place des femmes dans la famille et dans la société, du rapport au pouvoir et de la domination masculine. Elle le fait avec talent, finesse, mais sans concession. Elle offre ainsi de la fantasy engagée, à la fois intelligente et divertissante.

J’ai l’impression que chaque tome de ce cycle est meilleur que le précédent, c’est en tout cas le cas pour l’instant. Il ne me reste désormais plus que deux livres à lire dans ce cycle, un recueil de nouvelles puis le roman final de la série. Je vais m’y mettre très vite !

Miguel Ocaña reviewed Cuentos de Terramar by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'Cuentos de Terramar' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Cuentos que dan forma a Terramar. Es genial ver la evolución de la autora, con temas cada vez más complicados y actuales

Jon Nixon reviewed Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin (The magical earthsea books -- 4)

Review of 'Tehanu' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

I enjoyed this book more than “Farthest Shore” but not as much as “Wizard of Earthsea” (one of my favourite books) and “Tombs of Atuan” (also very good). Le Gunn’s writing is as beautiful as ever but this one loses its way in the middle and the ending is satisfying but feels rushed. It was lovely to be reunited with Tenar and the dragons are always great.

arkadione reviewed Tehanu (4) (Earthsea Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'Tehanu (4) (Earthsea Cycle)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

35th book I read this year!
https://blog.arkadi.one/tehanu-by-ursula-k

otrops reviewed Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'Tales from Earthsea' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

This collection of stories was much stronger and consistent than I expecting. Together the are a consistent whole that fundamentally alters the realm of Earthsea and its history. These stories are both a history of the past and an opening up of a new era.

otrops reviewed Terremer, Tome 4 : Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin

Review of 'Terremer, Tome 4 : Tehanu' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

This book felt like the crown jewel of the Earthsea collection. Everything that has gone before feeds into this remarkable story. We get to see characters we’ve grown to love as grown-ups. In parts it angered me and parts brought tears of joy to my eyes.

In reading it, I realized something about LeGuin’s writing. While she writes tales of adventure, they are different from the tales of adventure told by others. There are few contrived actions scenes. Instead, LeGuin’s tales have long journeys, long nights spent alone in though, long conversations with companions and relationships that deepen over time. In short, her stories probably resemble an actual adventure.

I’ve realized that I read and adore LeGuin for her brand of slow adventure: for the gradual discovery of a world, for characters that come to better understand that world—and themselves—over time.