Rating: 
Summary: Profoundly wonderful
Review: Lots of folks have rightly praised and described the tales within and I just wish to add my voice to the chorus. Le Guin has returned to Earthsea, thanks to the first Legends anthology via "Dragonfly" which is a story that will break your heart from pain and hope and love.
If you have read any of the Earthsea novels, this is essential reading.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it early, buy it often
Review: Loved it--the last book that made me this unequivocally happy was probably "The Folk Keeper", and it's been a while. Those who know me will suspect bias because I have everything of Le Guin's I can get my hands on and love most of it, including *The Telling* of which so many complained. However, even if *The Telling* upset you, or struck you as more of the same Tao, I think you'll like *Tales of Earthsea* very well. Unlike so many fantasy authors, Le Guin doesn't overuse the dragons and they remain compelling (there's only one in these five novellas), and while, as she says in her intro, Earthsea does undergo change (the mark of a living creation instead of a static one), you'll still recognize it. It's a beautiful place, reminding me of Tolkien's famous statement about fantasy being a way not to escape reality, but to escape prison and go home. For those who were fond of the characters from the trilogy-plus-one (quadrilogy?) there's an endearing cameo of Ged as Archmage in one of the novellas, and of Ogion stopping the earthquake. Those who complain of too clear a political agenda in some of Le Guin's works may be able to spot one here on occasion, but I would say it's admirably integrated, and we can probably all agree that even the most Romantic vision has inescapably political elements. The larger theme here, I think, is redemption in various guises, and it's a book full of hope and affection, for Earthsea and for places even closer to home. How she maintains that hope I don't always know, given the way things go and seem likely to go, but one of the ways I maintain it is to steal it from Le Guin's books. Very highly recommended. Also highly recommended are *Always Coming Home* and *A Fisherman of the Inland Sea.* For fellow pedagogues, they teach as well as they read.
Rating: 
Summary: Growth and Illumination
Review: Many authors are tempted to return to their early works in their later years. For most authors, this is a mistake. Not so with this set of five stories placed in the world of Le Guin's marvelous Earthsea. Each story provides a new illumination into what Earthsea is, its history, and the people that lived and loved within it. The first story, "The Finder", is the longest, actually a novella, and for my money the best of the set. Here we find ourselves far back in the history of Earthsea, when wizard fought wizard as a matter of course, when magical knowledge was jealously guarded, when the average non-magical person lived in fear of what magic would visit them next. Otter, a half-trained wizard with a powerful skill for 'finding' whatever he looks for, falls on the receiving end of the worst of this mis-use of magic, forced to try and find mercury, the King of all materials, for a half-crazed older wizard. How he escapes from this imprisonment, and his search for a place where magic is taught freely, forms the bulk of this story, ending with his founding of the School of Wizards on Roke. In this story we find the same evocation of the magical, of balance between man and nature, of ambition tempered by internal morality, that so graced the original trilogy. The second story, "Darkness and Diamond", has appeared elsewhere previously, but it deserves a second reading, being a beautifully told love story of a boy with conflicted desires between his wizardly talent and its concomitant requirement of chastity, and his love of music and a girl who shares his passions. A fine portrait of what is important in the business of living. The third and fourth stories, "The Bones of the Earth" and "On the High Marsh", are comparatively minor stories, that never the less do a good job of filling in some of the history of Ged, showing his first teacher in his greatest wizardly act, and a mature Ged who can forgive and help heal a former Arch-mage. The last story, "Dragonfly", has also appeared elsewhere, but it is a must read before tackling the latest Earthsea novel, The Other Wind. This is story that I think many fans of the series object to, as it details the heretical idea that women both can and should wield magical powers, that their power, based on the Old Powers, is just as valid as the complex hierarchy of talents embodied by the School of Wizards. Is this a change from the world of the first three novels? Certainly, but I think it is a change for the better, more fitting with the overall theme of balance that pervades the entire Earthsea universe. As Le Guin herself states in the forward, it has been a long time since the first books were written, and history and people move on, grow and develop, and this story exemplifies this very well. For fans of the originals, this is a must book. For those who have never been charmed and captivated by Earthsea, now is the time to read the series in its glorious whole.
Rating: 
Summary: Tales from Earthsea are not children's Tales!
Review: My children are 10 and 12. They are just old enough to enjoy the original trilogy. Unfortunately, too little happens in these stories to hold their interest. Though I enjoyed the original trilogy; I enjoyed Tales from Earthsea even if my children did not. Tehanu I found to be too preachy. Though I enjoyed Tales from Earthsea, the stories were still preachy at times. It seems to me that Ms. Le Guin is trying to apologize for making her original trilogy so male-centered. I would have preferred if she had simply made the original trilogy less male-centered, since the stories revolve around the development of Ged, than try balance the trilogy with female-centered stories which scimp on plot movement and character development.
Rating:
Summary: Not much about Ged, but you just can't stop reading
Review: Tales from Earthsea is the fifth book about Earthsea but is not about Ged, and his adventures. That story has been told before. The book has other stories to tell. They are about people of Earthsea. They are about other people that don't have the wisdom of wizard, or don't need it anyway. The stories are about much more ordinary people. In this book you find the roots of Roke, the roots of humanity as Earthsea legends tell. Don't expect another of the Wizard of Earthsea novels but be sure that this book won't let you stop reading from cover to cover.
Rating:
Summary: Better than ever
Review: TEHANU seemed to me a disappointing way to end the Earthsea saga, so I was excited to see two new Earthsea books come out one after the other a decade after TEHANU. I tried not to get my hopes up, though, since I was afraid that, as in TEHANU, the stories would again take a backseat to the message. Le Guin does not disappoint. These are among the best work of an incredible career. Five stories, and every one a winner. The earlier reviewer who dismissed this as "feminist tales from earthsea" ("Learn more about why men are evil, women are good, and dragons will fix everything") must have read another book, or maybe he just closed his mind after having his feathers ruffled by TEHANU. There are wonderfully sympathic characters, both male and female, in all of these stories. (I do wish, though, that she had developed "The Finder" and "Dragonfly" into full-length novels!) I've already started to read THE OTHER WIND, and it looks like it may be the best Earthsea novel yet. Whether you read for the drama or the philosophy or both, you will be glad to see that Le Guin still very much has it. May she live to be a hundred and ten, and continue to enrich our lives with work like this.
Rating:
Summary: Thank You for Taking Us Back
Review: The Earthsea books are among my favorite novels of all time-- complex, heartfelt, true--and those who have read them (and re-read them, and re-re-read them) might notice a distinct change in "flavor" between the first three novels and Tehanu, which was written a number of years later. All I can say is "thank goodness" that the subtitle of Tehanu ("The Last Book of Earthsea") proved to be untrue, because LeGuin had posed some questions for which I hungered for the answers: What is the truth of the relationship between dragonkind and humankind? What is the nature of woman's magic, and why does it seem to be ignored or denigrated? And in Tales from Earthsea, some answers begin to be examined. One of the longer tales, "Dragonfly," is a beautifully-told and deeply-resonant story of one person's growth and self-discovery---and also a pivotal point in the larger narrative of Earthsea and the story of Ged the Archmage. It had me gasping at the end, trying to grasp at the trailing edge of a profound, inexpressible truth, just beyond my comprehension... In a way, LeGuin has now completed two trilogies, each with its own focus. A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore deal more with men, and on doing. Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind focus more on women, and knowing. In all the Earthsea books I find truths which ring like the deepest and most musical of bells, and something within me answers in glad harmony, even if I can't find the words to tell anyone why.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Very Best
Review: The Earthsea series, of which this book is a part, is a majestic work of fantasy fiction. The flowing beauty of the world, the clear simplicity of the storytelling, and the depth and wisdom of some of the passages makes these books a pleasure to read and reread. Along with J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth and C.S. Lewis' Narnia, Ursela Le Guin's world of Earthsea is one of the most wonderful places to visit in the genre of fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting collection
Review: The stories in this collection should be read in the order they appear. In particular, the last story refers back to the first. The stories are of varying length. "The Finder" is a 106 page novelette. "Darkrose and Diamond" is 35 pages. "The Bones of the Earth" is 20 pages. "On the High Marsh" is 33 pages. The last story, "Dragonfly" is 69 pages long. The author ends the collection with a 30 page description of Earthsea. The stories are about wizards and witches, good and evil, and involve shape changing, healing magic, finding, fire starting, binding spells, weather magic, etc. Like most collections, everyone will have their favorites, liking some stories better than others. I disagree with the author's statement that you should read her other novels first (the author, of course, is interested in selling copies). This collection stands well on its own.
Rating:
Summary: Touch of sadness
Review: These tales focus on the sadness and responsibility that go with being a wizard on Earthsea, and as such they have more than a touch of melancholy about them. There is something hard to take about individuals not being able to practice what they excel in or being forced to do work that is against their natures. In the background is the fact that women are not allowed to become wizards or mages, and this lends a certain poignancy to the story "Darkrose and Diamond," for example. The anguish of the male character in this story competes with that of his lover -- she has (I think) the greater power but is not allowed to indulge it, while he is forced into wizardry against his inclinations, though he has the talent. There is an undercurrent in all these stories that women with magical powers must subjugate them or practice them in secret, sublimate their very natures to tradition and politics -- that is a main theme of this collection. Interestingly, Le Guin chooses a male perspective to make her point (except in the last story). The best (and saddest) story to me is "On the High Marsh." There is something achingly sad about the main character; he is confused yet kind, a seeming innocent with great powers, a sweet, sad, lost-sheep kind of man. Ged appears in this story (I'm not sure he is necessary), and in the end I wept for this lost wizard. Truly an astonishing accomplishment. Which is more than I can say for the final tale in this collection, Dragonfly. It is entirely engrossing and fascinating until the very end, where I think Le Guin cheats. It is the same kind of cheat she indulges in at the conclusion of "Tehanu." If either ending is fully explained, the explanation is unsatisfactory -- and remains so (though perhaps slightly less so) in "The Other Wind." In Dragonfly and "Tehanu," I feel like Le Guin simply ran out of ideas or simply grew tired, and opted for the speediest of speedy endings to bring her books to a swift close. I think this is the only blight on what is truly a magnificent collection.
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