Tales from Earthsea

Rating:
Summary: A poor collection...
Review: "Tales from Earthsea" does not instantly captivate from the first page, like the first three books of the Earthsea series. That's really "enough said," but it wouldn't be much of a review if I didn't say a little more. LeGuin seems to have lost something, and I'm hard pressed to put my finger on it... call it "simplicity" maybe, the kind of writing style that makes Hemingway so timelessly appealing. Not only that, but these stories are filled with negativity and a sort of relentless despair; although the first three books aren't exactly lighthearted, they never lose their positive outlook on things, either. I miss the "old" Ursula LeGuin, and wish she'd written more Earthsea books immediately following the first three. There's something almost tainted and poisonous in her writing these days, something untrustworthy. Not recommended -- enjoy the first three in the "Earthsea" series and call it done. If you choose not to take my advice, then get the book used and/or in paperback (or check it out from the library) so you aren't out any money.

Rating:
Summary: An Earthsea grab bag.
Review: "Tales from Earthsea" is an earthy, mature synthesis of "Tehanu" and the previous Earthsea books, with a hint of Tolkien's "Silmarillion" and a dash of Arthurian fantasy. Unfortunately, after turning the last page I was thoroughly underwhelmed. Gone is the wild freedom of vision, the vast, all-encompassing scope. LeGuin sets out to repopulate her world with sympathetic, influential women, but that world is a stifling, mundane place. Earthsea is no longer a mythical place close to heart, but a world in its own right: big, bleak, and routine. No longer does the reader associate him or herself with the mage hero - the stories in "Tales" take place in a world life-like enough to reduce the reader to a disembodied presence.

Intermittently I found myself staring at the page, wondering: where is the flowing prose? the masterful pacing? the lovely descriptions? The accessibility of the narrative has definitely taken a plunge.

In "Tales" LeGuin attempts to knit together her world's fractured past and present into a unified, continuous whole. She tries to accomplish this across five pieces of short story and novella length, some of them poetic, most not, generally middling quality as far as LeGuin goes. These tales are: "The Finder", about a finder mage called Otter who founded the school on Roke as a beacon of freedom in the dark time after the last king's death; "Darkrose and Diamond", about a merchant's son, who gives up his freedom in exchange for his inheritance and subdues his spirit, only to set it free in forbidden love; "Bones of the Earth", about Ogion the Silent, the fateful earthquake he calmed at Gont Port, and the one life it claimed; "On the High Marsh", in which the reader find out how abstract power can drive a man mad and how using that power to peaceful ends can restore him; "Dragonfly", about the masters of Roke divided against a wilful woman and how the men's language is not enough to name the fiery female spirit.

Of all the tales, only "Bones" and "Marsh" come anywhere close to the three original novels. Others meander and run overlong. Yet others are preachy. "Dragonfly" is a distillate of "Tehanu"; it also explains the direction LeGuin is taking her world in the upcoming novel (think back to "Tehanu's" enigmatic ending).

The addendum on Earthsea' history, culture, language, and magic is informative, but, again, offers little that a persistent reader will find worth knowing. All in all, "Tales" is even more out of place than the previous volume.

Rating:
Summary: a must for any fan of earthsea
Review: A diamond in the crown of the Earthsea saga, Tales is a necessary part of the LeGuin fantasy experience. It contains five stories and an appendix with sundry information about the land and beliefs of the people of Ea. LeGuin proves in this book her decided mastery of the art of teleporting the reader into another universe, so that when one puts the book down, a sigh is felt as one returns to the real world.

The five tales span a large amount of time, dipping here and there in her Earthsea history to further illuminate the world. My favourites were "The Finder" and "On the High Marsh", the former covering the founding of Roke as a mage school, and the latter a sad past of a one-time mighty wizard. "Darkrose and Diamond" is a love story, for those who prefer such things. I loved it but thought the ending was far too abrupt after the buildup of the tale. "The Bones of the Earth" is a short segment detailing how Ogion-- yes, the same man who first taught Sparrowhawk-- saved Gont from the Earthquake, though not as you might expect. "Dragonfly" is the bridge story between the books Tehanu and Otherwind, and is a tale you must read if you are bent on taking in the Earthsea saga.

All in all, though you may not like all of the stories, there is bound to be one that tickles your fancy. All of them are pure LeGuin.

Rating:
Summary: A glimpse at a writers' desk
Review: A word of warning: this book makes little - if any - sense to someone who never read Le Guin's Earthsea Tetralogy comprising A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), The Tombs of Atuan (1971), The Farthest Shore (1972), Tehanu (1990). Never heard of these? Well, I envy You! Apart from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, I really haven't read anything comparable to these... serious! Tales of Earthsea are varied in size glimpses into the world of the tetralogy. If it left You wondering about origins of Roke school, craving for a deeper look into Earthsea's history... here it is. The best news of all, another Earthsea novel is coming, and the Tales are a good way to pass time and to get a glimpse of things to come. After all these years, it's good to see Le Guin coming back to take us for another visit to Earthsea. If you liked the previous one, this one will thrill you too!

Rating:
Summary: The magic of earthsea is back
Review: After Tehanu, I was loathe to give LeGuin another try at removing all the wonder from this series. But I read a couple of these stories in Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine and they were wonderful. Great read.

Rating:
Summary: Dullsea
Review: Exquisite writing, but it's the same old sermon. I'd rather go back to her good stuff of the seventies.

Rating:
Summary: The Queen of Fantasy
Review: Fabulous collection of stories by LeGuin. I can't get enough of her! The stories stand on their own merit, despite thei links to the trilogy. THE DRAGONFLY story at the end is goose-bump producing. Such a gift this woman has ... long before and probably lomg after all the Harry Potterdom Mania! BRAVA, Ursula!

Rating:
Summary: Tales from Earthsea
Review: For readers new to Le Guin and the Earthsea cycle, they should finish the Earthsea Quartet before reading this book, even though some of the stories take place before the events in the Earthsea Quartet.

Having said that, I think this book is recommended only for Le Guin fans. I personally find the Earthsea Quartet much better written and more resolved than the stories offered in this collection.

Le Guin is obviously very much influenced by the Tao Te Ching and feminism, and this becomes more apparent in this collection of stories.

Of the five tales, I only like the second and the fourth ('Darkrose and Diamond' and 'On the High Marsh'). 'Darkrose and Diamond' is a simple short story about love that can be enjoyed on its own, while 'On the High Marsh' contains events that trace back to 'A Wizard from Earthsea' (Book 1 of the Earthsea Quartet)

'The Finder' is an average novella, which is sustained by a moderately interesting plot but uninteresting characters. 'Dragonfly' is more preachy and less of a narrative or story, and hence loses the reader's interest after a while.

For the Earthsea fans, Le Guin has a chapter on a description of Earthsea, which unfortunately doesn't mean very much to me because I'd rather find out about Earthsea from her stories than these explanatory notes.

As a summary, I strongly encourage first-time Le Guin readers to read 'The Earthsea Quartet' first (which is the correct order of reading the Earthsea cycle anyway). For Le Guin fans, I think I can give this one a miss and move straight on to 'The Other Wind' (Book 6 of the Earthsea cycle). Unless you're a diehard fan, I wouldn't encourage you to purchase this one. Browse it in the stores or libraries.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent storytelling, but with a new slant
Review: I am a huge fan of the original Earthsea Trilogy. The world Le Guin has created is so intriguing and it seems that she could tell an endless number of entertaining stories about Earthsea. When I got this book, I was really just hungry for more stories of Ged or more tales of heroes---the greatest wizard ever, the powerful wizard who defeated an enemy no one else could defeat, or the greatest "whatever" in Earthsea. It was those kinds of exciting feats and heroes that I was looking forward to reading more about.

However, it seems that Le Guin had a different focus which began with Tehanu and continues in Tales from Earthsea...an extremely feminist approach. I agree with another reviewer who says he can't help feeling that maybe Le Guin didn't like the original trilogy and that she seems to undo everything by making women responsible for Roke, etc. and she downplays the feats of the male heroes told previously. Of course, there can and should be room for the female heroines of Earthsea, but why did they have to take away from the male heroes, the great wizards? Le Guin even has same-sex marriages between women as a part of Earthsea life. Was this necessary? No, but it certainly fits well with her new feminist look at Earthsea.

The Tales are still well-told and entertaining because Le Guin is a wonderful writer. However, I guess that I am just nostalgic for the amazing feats and heroic adventures found in the first three books...and I was disappointed to find so little of that kind of story in this collection. The inclusion of women and their importance is also great to read, but this didn't need to come at the expense of the male part of the world of Earthsea. It was an imaginary world to begin with, and never offensive to women---sometimes it's nice to read a book that is not overly politically correct.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent storytelling, but with a new slant
Review: I am a huge fan of the original Earthsea Trilogy. The world Le Guin has created is so intriguing and it seems that she could tell an endless number of entertaining stories about Earthsea. When I got this book, I was really just hungry for more stories of Ged or more tales of heroes---the greatest wizard ever, the powerful wizard who defeated an enemy no one else could defeat, or the greatest "whatever" in Earthsea. It was those kinds of exciting feats and heroes that I was looking forward to reading more about.

However, it seems that Le Guin had a different focus which began with Tehanu and continues in Tales from Earthsea...an extremely feminist approach. I agree with another reviewer who says he can't help feeling that maybe Le Guin didn't like the original trilogy and that she seems to undo everything by making women responsible for Roke, etc. and she downplays the feats of the male heroes told previously. Of course, there can and should be room for the female heroines of Earthsea, but why did they have to take away from the male heroes, the great wizards? Le Guin even has same-sex marriages between women as a part of Earthsea life. Was this necessary? No, but it certainly fits well with her new feminist look at Earthsea.

The Tales are still well-told and entertaining because Le Guin is a wonderful writer. However, I guess that I am just nostalgic for the amazing feats and heroic adventures found in the first three books...and I was disappointed to find so little of that kind of story in this collection. The inclusion of women and their importance is also great to read, but this didn't need to come at the expense of the male part of the world of Earthsea. It was an imaginary world to begin with, and never offensive to women---sometimes it's nice to read a book that is not overly politically correct.