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: Prose still strong, plot and characterization not as much so
Review: I've always enjoyed LeGuin's writing more for her language, which is beautiful and can invoke images of more than its surface suggests, than for her plot and characterization. However, the first three Earthsea books had both, and so did the most recent one, 'The Other Wind.' For that reason, I treasure those books.
'Tales from Earthsea' is a case where the stories, for me, had to stand or fall on prose style alone, and two of them didn't make it.
'Finder,' the first one, is a beautifully-written story. LeGuin includes images of quicksilver and a mining camp, which are rare enough in fantasy to be intriguing in their own right. The story of the founding of the School on Roke was also one I wanted to read. However, I found the plot to be meandering. It seems as though it was the story of a hero's journey to adulthood, but it wasn't quite long enough to do the job. Some scenes felt abbreviated, and I felt I was told more about the main character, Otter/Tern/Medra, than I was shown. Worth reading for the language and imagery, however.
'Darkrose and Diamond,' the second story and a love story, fell utterly flat for me. It's a tale of two separated lovers. The things that separate them, though, and the things that likewise reunite them, are not of their own doing. They drift along as passive characters in the current, and big misunderstandings that could be solved by three minutes of honest communication cause more trouble than they need to. I don't recall loving the language in this one, but it's probably still as good. I was just too irritated with the vagueness of the characters to care.
'The Bones of the Earth' likewise fell down. The earthquake that threatens Gont is coming, the consequences could be devastating...and then it's dealt with, by a character who's so briefly sketched out that I felt nothing about his fate. Once again, the prose doesn't help. Maybe it's just because this was close to an action story, and LeGuin really doesn't write that kind of thing; I don't really know. But the ending seemed too much like a deus ex machina to content me.
'On the High Marsh,' on the other hand, used the language to make me feel for the character described, Irioth. I cried, the only time I did so while reading the book. The ending is still somewhat abrupt, but so rich with promise that it satisfied me completely.
'Dragonfly' is reprinted from the 1997 LEGENDS. If you liked it then, you'll probably still like it now. Once again, the description is laced through the character, at least for me, and I found it compelling despite the ending somewhat repeating the ending of 'Tehanu' (the only Earthsea book I utterly detest). However, this is also a very borderline story for me. If you heard a plot summation without reading the story itself, it would sound, rightfully, about as thick as algae. It doesn't really work without its language, and that I do think is a shame, because LeGuin could do many other things with the idea it represents.
This is a book worth picking up for Earthsea fans, I think, or anyone who likes authors on their language alone (fans of Patricia McKillip might want to give it a try). However, I wasn't enthralled with all the stories, and the effect was very artificial: I never lost track of the fact that I was *reading,* rather than in the room with the characters. Take that into consideration before you buy.
Rating: 
Summary: A Subdued Homecoming
Review: I must admit to approaching this collection with a real sense of trepidation. I had found Tehanu so mundane and pedantic, so unfaithful to the original spirit of Earthsea, that I had resolved not to read any further additions to the cycle. This resolution did not arise from petulance or spite, but from a genuine fear that any further destruction of the Earthsea universe would bleed whatever delight remained to me out of the Earthsea that I had once loved. Such fears proved to be groundless and I am glad that I read this collection.
In this collection, Ursula Le Guin revives the magic with which she imbued her first three Earthsea books and that was so sadly sacrificed in the fourth. The result for the reader is like a homecoming.
She doesn't retreat from the feminist perspective espoused in that fourth book. Many of these stories look at the world through a woman's eyes. But unlike Tehanu, in this collection, she rediscovers the grace, dignity and evocative charm that were at the centre of the original trilogy. We can believe that we are visiting a different world: one where magic is a part of everyday life, where imagination takes flight and where dragons ride the winds. While some of the short stories may be about pain and loss, we are never in danger of mistaking the world of Earthsea for the plain old world of Earth.
The various stories explore themes of madness, power, sexism, vengeance and intransigence. These are more politically charged themes that make the stories less universal than those of the original trilogy, but unlike Tehanu, here they are handled with a sensitivity that largely redeems them. The polemic that destroyed Tehanu is not entirely dropped, but is sufficiently subdued that it no longer occupies centre of place. The emphasis shifts back to the dramatic. Characters have complex motivations and pursue complex agendas, and are not sacrificed to simply make a point.
While this collection doesn't achieve the majesty of the original trilogy, it is well worth your time. And if you were offended by the way the fourth book of the cycle brutalized the world of Earthsea, "Tales" heals not only much of the magic, but much also of the faith.
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite as good as Tehanu, but still quite good
Review: Le Guin's writing is like a fine single malt Scotch...it seems to grow in power and meaning as she ages. This book had been sitting on my shelf for quote sometime before I found myself with a chance to do some reading, and I am glad that I picked this book. The themes embedded in the stories are subtle but powerful. I highly recommend the complete cycle.
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: 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: I can't help feeling Le Guin dislikes the original trillogy
Review: I could not bring myself to give this book less than 2 stars because Le Guin's writing is as captivating as always. I got absorbed into every story, although I found them to end abruptly - point made; the end. The overall tone of the book seems to be the unmaking, or "unmasking" of the Earthsea of the trilogy. It seems that Roke was founded by women who were supplanted by fanatical, misogynistic men. Ogion, Ged's master's role in stopping the earthquake is greatly over stated. Credit really belongs to a woman teaching magic forbidden by the men on Roke. The Master Summoner, saved by Ged in The Farthest Shore, takes up the Pelnish Lore - used by the enemy in The Farthest Shore for the purpose of keeping women out of the School of Roke. There is clearly room to improve the role of women in the world of the Earthsea Trilogy, but that is no reason to destroy that world.
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