Rating: 
Summary: worthwhile, but doesn't fulfill its potential
Review: This book fulfilled my main expectation very well - I wanted Ged and Tenar to meet up again, and see what their relationship was in later years. When I first read the Earthsea Trilogy, my only dissapointment had been that Tenar never came back into the story, even though she seemed like an important character.It is entirely evident that the writer has changed in the decades in between the inital series and this conclusion; "Tehanu" is a vehicle for her new perspectives on Earthsea. The major themes, in my opinion, were:
#1 why don't women become wizards, and what is the nature of "woman's magic"?
#2 what was it like for Ged to lose his magic; how does one cope with the loss of their 'usefullness'?
#3 violence and human nature...why do we hurt each other?
#4 tying up some loose threads in the Earthsea mythos/continuity (though a beloved series can never end without bringing up more questions the fans want to hear about) This book has an entirely different flavor than the original series, which followed the mythic adventure format more closely. In fact, the characters mostly stay put in their homes instead of sailing the world. The conflict is much more...mental i guess - having to do with mindsets. I think that this gives it a more mature tone, perhaps even a deliberately 'feminine' touch. I'd say that these premises had a lot of juice in them, but they didn't 'come together' at the end satisfactorily. in fact, the end felt very rushed. Nevertheless, it is certainly a worthwhile read for any fan.
Rating: 
Summary: lacks the mythic quality of the previous 3
Review: I have always been amazed by the depth and substance of the original Earthsea series. The 3 books that looked at 3 pivotal points in the life of Sparrowhawk remind me of the riddle of the Sphinx. The last scene of Ged on the back of the Dragon brought to an end a trilogy that was the equal of "Lord of the Ring". Tehanu ruins it almost completely, we find out that the Maker is Kasselin the dragon which destroys entire mythic quality of the series. By talking to the creator directly somehow removes any real questions about existence and reality. The magic of the original series always lay in the portrayal that balance was the key phsyically and mystically, That Segoy was some remote enity that created the Earthsea. Where was this being when Ged fought Hob in the Farthest shore? Its amazing by giving us more insight into Ged as a man the Authour has actually reduced him as a character. I also find it hard to believe that this was written Ursula le Guin the writting is so different from the original series. To say I found this book a disappointment is an understatement.
Rating: 
Summary: It was good.
Review: It was good but not as good as the other Earthsea books.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I absolutely loved the Earthsea trilogy. It was concise, well-written, and yet still managed to create a well-imagined world that intrigued even the most casual of science fiction readers. That said, I must agree with previous reviewers. This book is not cut from the same cloth. It muddles through the waters to an obvious and very annoying conclusion. A fan of happy endings, I failed to find this one satisfying even though it did it's best to conclude--the questions why and how are left unanswered in an attempt at subtlety. But it fails because major plot points are left hanging. In addition, as a fan of magic, I was expecting some in this volume as per the last three. Imagine my surprise that despite many possibilities, no magic was used. Indeed, my favorite characters were demeaned and dehumanized and for what reason? None that I can tell. I must say that I expected more from the author than to treat her women the way she did. But in any case, a most annoying novel and one that I highly recommend you DON'T read after the trilogy. Keep your illusions--they are much better than what Mrs. LeGuinn herself imagines.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely Not for the Kids
Review: While the other reviews focus on the deeper meanings of the Earthsea books-- which are there, certainly-- it seems worth mentioned the disturbingly adult content of Tehanu, especially compared to the first three books, all of which are appropriate for children in both reading level AND in the choice of content. Tehanu, by contrast, features a child who has been raped and horribly tortured by her father and other men, whose pursuit of her is central to the novel, as well as implied gang-rape and repeated use of the word 'bitch'. Ged's overcoming of his lifelong celibacy stands in contrast as what Le Guin must have intended to be a positive male-female relationship-- but overall this book would come as a shock for a parent who had read the other books to a child. My mother read the first three books aloud to me when I was 9, and I loved them, and reread them again and again. This book, with its adult content and somewhat incoherent ending, is not only disappointing but belongs in a different age grouping than its predecessors.
Rating:
Summary: Not terrible, but not that great...
Review: I am loath to compare this book to the rest of Earthsea, because it was written so much later, and from a different perspective. I was excited to find that Tenar was the main character, and that the book was written from her very personal perspective. It was hopeful at a refreshing break from the male-dominated plots of the first three books. I was, however, somewhat disappointed. The idea was a great one: to show that women, too, have a place in the world of power and magery, but that their power is different. My main problem with "Tehanu," though, is how long it took for Le Guin to make this point. Most of the book could have been summarized in a two or three dozen pages, while still maintaining the very personal and emotional exploration of Tenar's life. Furthermore, I felt a bit lost as to exactly what point Le Guin was trying to make--we saw very little actual strength or power exercised by the women in the story. Indeed, near the end, we see that the male still has much more power than even the witch next door. My other main problem was with the end, which seemed completely incongruous with the rest of the story, as well as confusing. I don't want to spoil anything for new readers, so I won't go into detail. Suffice it to say that I put down the book feeling confused as to exactly what Therru's role was, and why she was "given" her other name. Further, was the power exercised at the end the power of women as a group, or just this one particularly special girl...who might not have been a girl, at all? Le Guin is a fantastic author, so I felt like this book could have been so much more.
Rating: 
Summary: The best book in the series
Review: This is the fourth and final volume in the Earthsea quartet (following A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore). In this book, Ursula K. LeGuin goes back to Tenar, now a middle-aged farm woman, to tell us the story of her life after the events of The Tombs of Atuan. Only recently a widow, she decides to take the child Therru under her wing, a little girl who has been cruelly raped and terrifyingly burnt and maimed by her parents who, fearing her, wanted to get rid of her. The story goes on to describe their life on the farm on the island of Gont, Therru growing up, and their perpetual flight from the child's family who want to "finish the job". Tehanu was written some fifteen years after the original Earthsea trilogy, and the evolution in Ursula K. LeGuin's style, as well as the maturation of the whole Earthsea world are quite noticeable. This is a stunning conclusion to the series, that got me hooked right from the beginning. And what a pleasure to meet again with all the main characters of Earthsea!
Rating:
Summary: I Reject Tehanu
Review: I refuse to accept this book as part of the Earthsea trilogy, not simply because I dislike it, (which I do) but because it has little or no continuity with the earlier three. Ged's soliloquy on the way to the final confrontation on Selidor in 'The Farthest Shore' shows not only does he realize what the battle is going to cost him but accepts the price willingly. He is even looking forward to going home to Gont, Ogion and Tenar and perhaps learning what magery could never teach him. A long way from the lost and despairing figure in 'Tehanu'. Then there's chronology. According to 'The Farthest Shore' it's been about eighteen years since Ged and Tenar brought the ring of Erreth-Akbe back to Havnor, certainly not enough time for Tenar to find a husband, bear two children and raise them to adulthood. Nor does her choice of a simple farmer as a husband seem particularly likely. A more minor quibble is the fact the Master Summoner survives in 'Farthest Shore' but is suddenly and inexplicably dead in 'Tehanu'. If Ms. LeGuin didn't care enough to maintain continuity I don't see why I should have to accept this depressing little tome with its stereotypical portrayal of men as oppressors and women as victims as a legitimate sequel to the Earthsea trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: LeGuin follows-on from Earthsea
Review: Ursula LeGuin's "Earthsea Trilogy", particularly "Wizard of Earthsea" and "The Farthest Shore", are comparable to the great Tolkien, standing head and shoulders above other works of fantasy-fiction, where I have searched in vain for something as inspirational as Lord of the Rings. Someone must have persuaded Ms. leGuin to keep going, and add a further tome to the Trilogy, which she does with relish, leading readers once more around the world of Earthsea, this time from the perspective of a woman heroine, complete with the women's feelings which are absent in the two books mentioned. The inspiring presence of the great dragons of Earthsea is curtailed in this work, confined as it is to one brief appearance, and the story unfolds as a tale of a woman's concerns.
Rating:
Summary: Yucky
Review: Oh gosh, where do I begin? Wait, I know, this book STINKS! I was an avid reader of Mrs LeGuin's books until I read this piece of fire-fodder. How can she expect to keep any readers, especially those of the male gender, if she writes like THIS? I loved the first three, but this one is bad beyond words.
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