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Ursula K. Le Guin: Tales from Earthsea (2003, Ace) 4 stars

Review of 'Tales from Earthsea' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

"Tales from Earthsea" by Ursula Le Guin is the fifth book in the Earthsea Cycle. If you've never heard of the series, it was a trailblazer in fantasy / speculative fiction for its Taoist influences and its subversion of many common tropes of Western high fantasy. This book is not one narrative but five short stories of varying lengths with an informative appendix giving some information and facts about the setting. I loved the first four books (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Far Shore, Tehanu) but to me, "Tales of Earthsea" really sets the entire series apart as a landmark in speculative fiction. These stories deepen the world-building in new and unexpected directions with characters that are complex and with honest emotions. They add complexity for the first four books and set up "The Other Wind," the final novel of the series. All of the short stories are excellent but I especially enjoyed "The Finder" and "Dragonfly." All five stories show off Le Guin's excellent writing and prodigious imagination.

replied to AndreasD's status

@AndreasD Hi there! Yes, I did. It took me about six months or so, I think. But I read them one after the other during the pandemic. I'm so glad I did. They are on a list of books I really wish that I had read when I was much younger - I think they would have really shaped my worldview more than they have.

I can imagine that for many, there was a big difference between the first three books and the second three books. But I genuinely see them as part of a whole. My favorite ones were "The Tomb of Atuan" and "Tales from Earthsea." Is there a book in the series that you liked in particular? Have you read any other Le Guin?

replied to Sean Bala's status

@seanbala I know that for many people, the first three books where their first fantasy love. I never fell for them that hard. As you say, they do fit together surprisingly well in the end with the whole series, even though you can tell Le Guin herself changed her ideas on a lot of things during the years.

I found Tehanu affected me strongly, coming from the "easier" books earlier in the series. But, going back reading those I could see why they always felt a bit solemn to me. Not in a bad way, but not in that "I want to go to fairy land where there's magic" feeling that some people seem to get. They all reward re-reading, which is a quality I adore in a book.

I have some of her other books, and I like her short stories a lot, like "The Wind's Twelve Quarters". I've …

replied to AndreasD's status

@AndreasD Thanks for your response. I think the thing that struck me reading them all at once is that they were fantasy novels that did not condescend to their audience. You could classify them as Young Adult but honestly, they are pretty dark - even the first three. The second three books are different, but I sometimes wonder if people have nostalgia glasses on when thinking of the first three.

I've read one of her short story collections "Fisherman on the Inland Sea" and her Tao Te Ching but I've really wanted to read her Hainish books. I've been going between reading that series next, continuing the Dune novels, or starting one of Octavia E. Butler's other series. Too many choices!

replied to Sean Bala's status

@seanbala @AndreasD I too read these in the last few years (and probably as a kid), in the documentary on LeGuin she is very clear (as she was) that her reflections on whose stories the genre and she is telling led to needing to revisit with Tehanu 20 years later, and as you found here she thought in short story at least as sharply and for another 20 years. The Hainish cycle stories are mostly concurrent with the first Earthsea books and yet also show that reflection in realtime, very glad to revisit them too. Picking up a LeGuin or Butler is always a good call in my book.