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Earthsea Cycle #6
The Other Wind
The wizard Alder comes from Roke to the island of Gont in search of the Archmage, Lord Sparrowhawk, once known as Ged. The man who was once the most powerful wizard in the Islands now lives with his wife Tenar and their adopted daughter Tehanu. Alder needs help: his beloved wife died and in his dreams she calls him to the land of the dead - and now the dead are haunting him, begging for release. He can no longer sleep, and the Wizards of Earthsea are worried.
But there is more at stake than the unquiet rest of one minor wizard: for the dragons of Earthsea have arisen, to reclaim the lands that were once theirs. Only Tehanu, herself daughter of a dragon, can talk to them; it may be that Alder's dreams hold the key to the salvation of Earthsea and all the peoples who live there.
But there is more at stake than the unquiet rest of one minor wizard: for the dragons of Earthsea have arisen, to reclaim the lands that were once theirs. Only Tehanu, herself daughter of a dragon, can talk to them; it may be that Alder's dreams hold the key to the salvation of Earthsea and all the peoples who live there.
266 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2001
About the author
Ursula K. Le Guin
834 books27.2k followersUrsula K. Le Guin published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. She lived in Portland, Oregon.
She was known for her treatment of gender (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems (The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as "Solitude" and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways.
She was known for her treatment of gender (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems (The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as "Solitude" and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,922 reviews
March 11, 2009
The short version:
Plot schmot, do you really think it’s accidental that The Other Wind is more contemplative than adventuresome? Ursula Le Guin is a very deliberate writer.
The long version:
Reading the Earthsea cycle in order will do more for you than simply get you up to speed on who’s who and what went before: so don’t start with this, the final book to date, if you want to really appreciate what Le Guin is doing. She created Earthsea in 1964, introduced Ged in 1968, and finally ended the series (?) in 2001 with The Other Wind. After 37 years, it’s a testament to her writing skill that Earthsea, and Ged within it, have the coherence to support a generation’s-worth of changing focus without losing their own integrity or internal logic. Just as Ged, in his old age, is “done with doing,” by now Le Guin is far less interested in plot or character than in the implications of the one-sided world she created a generation earlier. Early on, she’s still essentially working out the technical, practical details of how Earthsea and its cultures, creatures and magic work--and the fast-paced action of A Wizard of Earthsea gives us exposition without making it dry. We as readers learn about Earthsea, and wizardry, and dragons, as Sparrowhawk does, in typical bildungsroman fashion. As time goes on, however, Le Guin realizes there’s a lot more to be said about Earthsea than What, Who and How, but Why. The story of Earthsea as told in the first three books is fascinating, exciting, and fun--but also superficial.
At this point Le Guin’s emphasis on balance stops being a preoccupation of her characters’ magical theory and turns into her own task as a writer. In Tehanu and “Dragonfly” she opens up several flip sides to her early subjects: women rather than men, ordinary people instead of wizards and kings, everyday concerns like chores and crime rather than magical catastrophes, and the simple behavior and merits of dumb animals rather than dragons. Sleeper agent Tenar opens a window for us into the effects of the one on the other within the structure and society of Earthsea, and everyone severally ties up the loose ends in The Other Wind.
What good is it to be a wizard in an ordinary world, or an ordinary man or woman in a magical world? Does magic solve problems or create them, or both? What is the source of power, and what makes sentience? How can magic that conquers death in one society be reconciled with a non-magical society of humans in the same world? In The Other Wind Ursula Le Guin has the guts to examine her world for its flaws and inconsistencies and successfully address them within its own myth. Earthsea is still recognizably Earthsea, but more soundly so.
Collaboration, understanding, wisdom, labor, and everyday virtues like kindness, open-mindedness, and patience achieve as much as any single hero, noble deed or spell when all is said and done--and this is why more is said than done this time around. As a standalone book, it’s merely okay--but having seen the arc of Le Guin’s preoccupations played out across the years lends it a depth and satisfaction you won’t get if you haven’t read the other books first. Ged the wise old cabbage-grower, plum-picker, and other-people’s-kittens-lender becomes much more interesting--the answer to a question you didn’t know was asked--if you’ve also experienced him as a young, almost all-powerful wizard.
Plot schmot, do you really think it’s accidental that The Other Wind is more contemplative than adventuresome? Ursula Le Guin is a very deliberate writer.
The long version:
Reading the Earthsea cycle in order will do more for you than simply get you up to speed on who’s who and what went before: so don’t start with this, the final book to date, if you want to really appreciate what Le Guin is doing. She created Earthsea in 1964, introduced Ged in 1968, and finally ended the series (?) in 2001 with The Other Wind. After 37 years, it’s a testament to her writing skill that Earthsea, and Ged within it, have the coherence to support a generation’s-worth of changing focus without losing their own integrity or internal logic. Just as Ged, in his old age, is “done with doing,” by now Le Guin is far less interested in plot or character than in the implications of the one-sided world she created a generation earlier. Early on, she’s still essentially working out the technical, practical details of how Earthsea and its cultures, creatures and magic work--and the fast-paced action of A Wizard of Earthsea gives us exposition without making it dry. We as readers learn about Earthsea, and wizardry, and dragons, as Sparrowhawk does, in typical bildungsroman fashion. As time goes on, however, Le Guin realizes there’s a lot more to be said about Earthsea than What, Who and How, but Why. The story of Earthsea as told in the first three books is fascinating, exciting, and fun--but also superficial.
At this point Le Guin’s emphasis on balance stops being a preoccupation of her characters’ magical theory and turns into her own task as a writer. In Tehanu and “Dragonfly” she opens up several flip sides to her early subjects: women rather than men, ordinary people instead of wizards and kings, everyday concerns like chores and crime rather than magical catastrophes, and the simple behavior and merits of dumb animals rather than dragons. Sleeper agent Tenar opens a window for us into the effects of the one on the other within the structure and society of Earthsea, and everyone severally ties up the loose ends in The Other Wind.
What good is it to be a wizard in an ordinary world, or an ordinary man or woman in a magical world? Does magic solve problems or create them, or both? What is the source of power, and what makes sentience? How can magic that conquers death in one society be reconciled with a non-magical society of humans in the same world? In The Other Wind Ursula Le Guin has the guts to examine her world for its flaws and inconsistencies and successfully address them within its own myth. Earthsea is still recognizably Earthsea, but more soundly so.
Collaboration, understanding, wisdom, labor, and everyday virtues like kindness, open-mindedness, and patience achieve as much as any single hero, noble deed or spell when all is said and done--and this is why more is said than done this time around. As a standalone book, it’s merely okay--but having seen the arc of Le Guin’s preoccupations played out across the years lends it a depth and satisfaction you won’t get if you haven’t read the other books first. Ged the wise old cabbage-grower, plum-picker, and other-people’s-kittens-lender becomes much more interesting--the answer to a question you didn’t know was asked--if you’ve also experienced him as a young, almost all-powerful wizard.
March 6, 2022
The other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, #6), Ursula K. Le Guin
This novel continues the adventures of the characters from the previous Earthsea Cycle books Lebannen, Tenar, Tehanu, and, to a lesser extent than the other books, Ged. With the exception of Tehanu, the characters' characters are already fully developed. Tehanu, now a young woman, is still very shy and emotionally dependent on her adoptive mother, Tenar. She however agrees, albeit reluctantly, to accompany the king on a mission to meet and parley with the dragons.
In the first encounter with one of them, despite the creature's apparent hostility, and her fear of fire, she is eager to meet him in the hope of recognizing and honoring her kinship with Kalessin, the ancient dragon, of whom it is told in the previous book The island of the dragon. In the epilogue of the book, she transforms into a dragon herself, and is therefore free from the burden of injuries sustained in childhood.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز ششم ماه فوریه سال2008میلادی
عنوان: دریای زمین کتاب شش - بادی دیگر؛ نویسنده: ارسولا کی لوژوان (لگوین)؛ مترجم پیمان اسماعیلیان خامنه؛ ویراستار نیلوفر خانمحمدی؛ تهران، قدیانی، کتابهای بنفشه؛ سال1386، در376ص، جلد ششم از مجموعه شش کتاب در شش جلد؛ شابک دوره9789645365835؛ شابک کتاب ششم9789645362827؛ چاپ دیگر سال1398؛ موضوع داستانهای خیال انگیز از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده20م
افسونگر «آلدر» هر شب خواب همسر جوان، و تازه درگذشته ی خویشتن را میبیند، که از فراز دیوار سنگی - مرز میان مردگان و زندگان - به سوی او دست دراز میکند، و از او یاری میخواهد؛ «آلدر» افسونگر و مرمت کننده است، او هر شب در خواب، به کنار دیوار سنگی، مرز میان مردگان و زندگان میرود، و در آنجا همسرش که درگذش��ه، از او درخواست آزادی میکند؛ «آلدر» برای یاری خواستن به نزد «گد (اسپاروهاک، ساحر اعظم پیشین)» میرود؛
نقل از متن: (کشتی «فارفلایر» چون قویی گشاده بال با بادبانهایی بلند و سفید زیر نور خورشید تابستان از میان صخره های مسلح گذشت و با عبور از خلیج به سوی بندر «گونت» آمد؛ به نرمی در آبهای ساکن لنگرگاه کنار اسکله لغزید، چنان مطمئن و باوقار چون مخلوقی زاده از باد بود که دو تن از اهالی بومی بندر که سرگرم ماهیگیری از روی سکویی کهنه در همان نزدیکی بودند درودش فرستادند، و برای خدمه و تک مسافرش که در دماغه ایستاده بود دست تکان دادند؛ مردی باریک اندام با کوله ای کوچک و ردایی سیاه و کهنه بود، احتمالا افسونگر یا بازرگانی خرده پا بود؛ بیگمان فرد مهمی نبود؛ دو ماهیگیر هنگامی که کشتی آماده باراندازی میشد گرم تماشای تکاپوی افراد بر عرشه و اسکله شدند، و هنگامی که مسافر قصد پیاده شدن کرد، با کنجکاوی تنها نیم نگاهی به او انداختند، زیرا یکی از جاشوان از پشت سرش، با شست و انگشتان سبابه و کوچک دست چپش نشانی کشید، و به او اشاره کرد: باشد که دیگر باز نگردی! مسافر یک دم روی اسکله مکث کرد، کوله را به پشت انداخت، و راه خیابانهای بندر «گونت» را پیش گرفت؛ خیابانهایی پرآمد و شد بود و او بیدرنگ به بازار ماهیفروشان رسید، که پر بود از دستفروشان و دلالان، که روی سنگفرشهای براق از فلس ماهی و آب نمک، بالا و پایین میرفتند؛ مسافر اگر هم راه را میشناخت، خیلی زود در میان گاریها، غرفهها، خیل جمیعت و زیر نگاه سرد ماهیهای مرده آن را گم کرد؛ پیرزنی بلندقامت از مقابل غرفه ای که در آنجا سرگرم توهین به تازگی شاهماهیها، و صداقت زن ماهیفروش بود، روبرگرداند، مسافری غریب را دید که به او زل زده است، همان غریبه خامدستانه گفت: «ممکن است محبت کرده، راه رفتن به ری آلبی را نشانم بدهید؟» پیرزن بلند قد فقط گفت: «اول برو خودت را بینداز وسط لجنهای خوکدانی، تا بعد.»)؛ پایان
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 16/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 14/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
This novel continues the adventures of the characters from the previous Earthsea Cycle books Lebannen, Tenar, Tehanu, and, to a lesser extent than the other books, Ged. With the exception of Tehanu, the characters' characters are already fully developed. Tehanu, now a young woman, is still very shy and emotionally dependent on her adoptive mother, Tenar. She however agrees, albeit reluctantly, to accompany the king on a mission to meet and parley with the dragons.
In the first encounter with one of them, despite the creature's apparent hostility, and her fear of fire, she is eager to meet him in the hope of recognizing and honoring her kinship with Kalessin, the ancient dragon, of whom it is told in the previous book The island of the dragon. In the epilogue of the book, she transforms into a dragon herself, and is therefore free from the burden of injuries sustained in childhood.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز ششم ماه فوریه سال2008میلادی
عنوان: دریای زمین کتاب شش - بادی دیگر؛ نویسنده: ارسولا کی لوژوان (لگوین)؛ مترجم پیمان اسماعیلیان خامنه؛ ویراستار نیلوفر خانمحمدی؛ تهران، قدیانی، کتابهای بنفشه؛ سال1386، در376ص، جلد ششم از مجموعه شش کتاب در شش جلد؛ شابک دوره9789645365835؛ شابک کتاب ششم9789645362827؛ چاپ دیگر سال1398؛ موضوع داستانهای خیال انگیز از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده20م
افسونگر «آلدر» هر شب خواب همسر جوان، و تازه درگذشته ی خویشتن را میبیند، که از فراز دیوار سنگی - مرز میان مردگان و زندگان - به سوی او دست دراز میکند، و از او یاری میخواهد؛ «آلدر» افسونگر و مرمت کننده است، او هر شب در خواب، به کنار دیوار سنگی، مرز میان مردگان و زندگان میرود، و در آنجا همسرش که درگذش��ه، از او درخواست آزادی میکند؛ «آلدر» برای یاری خواستن به نزد «گد (اسپاروهاک، ساحر اعظم پیشین)» میرود؛
نقل از متن: (کشتی «فارفلایر» چون قویی گشاده بال با بادبانهایی بلند و سفید زیر نور خورشید تابستان از میان صخره های مسلح گذشت و با عبور از خلیج به سوی بندر «گونت» آمد؛ به نرمی در آبهای ساکن لنگرگاه کنار اسکله لغزید، چنان مطمئن و باوقار چون مخلوقی زاده از باد بود که دو تن از اهالی بومی بندر که سرگرم ماهیگیری از روی سکویی کهنه در همان نزدیکی بودند درودش فرستادند، و برای خدمه و تک مسافرش که در دماغه ایستاده بود دست تکان دادند؛ مردی باریک اندام با کوله ای کوچک و ردایی سیاه و کهنه بود، احتمالا افسونگر یا بازرگانی خرده پا بود؛ بیگمان فرد مهمی نبود؛ دو ماهیگیر هنگامی که کشتی آماده باراندازی میشد گرم تماشای تکاپوی افراد بر عرشه و اسکله شدند، و هنگامی که مسافر قصد پیاده شدن کرد، با کنجکاوی تنها نیم نگاهی به او انداختند، زیرا یکی از جاشوان از پشت سرش، با شست و انگشتان سبابه و کوچک دست چپش نشانی کشید، و به او اشاره کرد: باشد که دیگر باز نگردی! مسافر یک دم روی اسکله مکث کرد، کوله را به پشت انداخت، و راه خیابانهای بندر «گونت» را پیش گرفت؛ خیابانهایی پرآمد و شد بود و او بیدرنگ به بازار ماهیفروشان رسید، که پر بود از دستفروشان و دلالان، که روی سنگفرشهای براق از فلس ماهی و آب نمک، بالا و پایین میرفتند؛ مسافر اگر هم راه را میشناخت، خیلی زود در میان گاریها، غرفهها، خیل جمیعت و زیر نگاه سرد ماهیهای مرده آن را گم کرد؛ پیرزنی بلندقامت از مقابل غرفه ای که در آنجا سرگرم توهین به تازگی شاهماهیها، و صداقت زن ماهیفروش بود، روبرگرداند، مسافری غریب را دید که به او زل زده است، همان غریبه خامدستانه گفت: «ممکن است محبت کرده، راه رفتن به ری آلبی را نشانم بدهید؟» پیرزن بلند قد فقط گفت: «اول برو خودت را بینداز وسط لجنهای خوکدانی، تا بعد.»)؛ پایان
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 16/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 14/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
February 15, 2019
The Other wind: 4.4 stars
Series overall: 5 stars
I seems ages since I started the first Earthsea book and first time I got acquainted with Ursula K Le Guin. Since than I read many more Ursula's book and she become a one of my favourite authors and Earthsea definitively earned place in my hearth. It's started of with Wizard of Earthsea, a book showed me that you don't need great amount of pages to write a great epic fantasy book. It was short, beautifully written coming of age wizard tale.
Second book gave us one of the best written characters in epic fantasy, Tenar and one of the best worldbuilding. You get to know everything you need about the world in 200 pages.
Third book was epic adventure and while great on it's own, it's weakest Earthsea book.
Original trilogy is great and remains my first choice to people looking to get into fantasy. Second half of the series came later and it was much more focused on character development and has strong feminist voice.
The 4th book, Tehanu, is highlight of the series and one of the best fantasy books I read. It is reason why I consider Tenar one of the best written characters in fantasy and all that without anything epic about it. It's just a story about a widow and her scared, adopted daughter trying to overcome adversity.
5th books is collection of stories, all talk about past and familiar characters except the last which sets up the stage for the last one.
Final instalment, while it evolves some big events, in more contemplative than adventurous. It rounds up stories of all well known characters and like Tehanu it has strong feminist undertones and while not the best book in the series it's more than fitting goodbye to this world and characters.
Series overall: 5 stars
I seems ages since I started the first Earthsea book and first time I got acquainted with Ursula K Le Guin. Since than I read many more Ursula's book and she become a one of my favourite authors and Earthsea definitively earned place in my hearth. It's started of with Wizard of Earthsea, a book showed me that you don't need great amount of pages to write a great epic fantasy book. It was short, beautifully written coming of age wizard tale.
Second book gave us one of the best written characters in epic fantasy, Tenar and one of the best worldbuilding. You get to know everything you need about the world in 200 pages.
Third book was epic adventure and while great on it's own, it's weakest Earthsea book.
Original trilogy is great and remains my first choice to people looking to get into fantasy. Second half of the series came later and it was much more focused on character development and has strong feminist voice.
The 4th book, Tehanu, is highlight of the series and one of the best fantasy books I read. It is reason why I consider Tenar one of the best written characters in fantasy and all that without anything epic about it. It's just a story about a widow and her scared, adopted daughter trying to overcome adversity.
5th books is collection of stories, all talk about past and familiar characters except the last which sets up the stage for the last one.
Final instalment, while it evolves some big events, in more contemplative than adventurous. It rounds up stories of all well known characters and like Tehanu it has strong feminist undertones and while not the best book in the series it's more than fitting goodbye to this world and characters.
August 16, 2019
“He grinned a little as he thought it; for he had always liked that pause, that fearful pause, the moment before things changed.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Other Wind
I don't have anything very revolutionary to write about this book. I've now finished both the Hainish Cylce and the Earthsea Cycle and feel like Le Guin floated above hard scifi or fantasy. She was a brilliant storyteller and used genre fiction to explore the caves, the deserts, and the forests of humanity. Her language was deceptive. You only recognized the poetry of her simple prose gradually. You only caught a glimpse of how BIG her themes were in increments. She built her literary castles, and we are lucky to have been able to walk among them.
Anyway, the novel is a near perfect ending to the Earthsea series. I loved the storyline of Alder, the Mender, and how his "narrative" seemed a low-key echo of Ged/Sparrowhawk's story. I loved the storyline of Lebannen, the King, and the Kargish princess. Finally, I loved the storyline of the Dragons, Tehanu, and the Mages. Mostly, I loved how Le Guin wove these threads all together. She harmonized the various stories and themes and told a lovely tale.
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Other Wind
I don't have anything very revolutionary to write about this book. I've now finished both the Hainish Cylce and the Earthsea Cycle and feel like Le Guin floated above hard scifi or fantasy. She was a brilliant storyteller and used genre fiction to explore the caves, the deserts, and the forests of humanity. Her language was deceptive. You only recognized the poetry of her simple prose gradually. You only caught a glimpse of how BIG her themes were in increments. She built her literary castles, and we are lucky to have been able to walk among them.
Anyway, the novel is a near perfect ending to the Earthsea series. I loved the storyline of Alder, the Mender, and how his "narrative" seemed a low-key echo of Ged/Sparrowhawk's story. I loved the storyline of Lebannen, the King, and the Kargish princess. Finally, I loved the storyline of the Dragons, Tehanu, and the Mages. Mostly, I loved how Le Guin wove these threads all together. She harmonized the various stories and themes and told a lovely tale.
August 23, 2017
This is one of those novels that you have to see through to the very end before the total shape becomes clear and casts the entire series in a new light. Unfortunately, the buildup to get there is kinda middling for me.
Don't get me wrong, the dragons are great and the whole introduction of new characters and getting back to the King and to the question of Ged and the role of women in this world is pretty good, but the best part is the return to the dry lands, the realm of the dead.
As before, there's a balance between wizards and dragons, and all of this becomes even more pronounced as the reveals keep coming, as we learn mankind's place in the world and where we fit into the scheme of things along with our dragon brothers.
Pretty cool stuff, really. I just wish that I didn't have to do a re-read of the weaker novels in order to get to the really cool stuff.
I really wish that I could have the joys and the pacing and the coherency of the first two novels repeated in the ones to come after, but it just isn't to be. Maybe I expect too much.
That being said, I can truly appreciate the end of the Earthsea cycle as it has become, and not be truly dissatisfied. Dualities can be a real pain. :)
Don't get me wrong, the dragons are great and the whole introduction of new characters and getting back to the King and to the question of Ged and the role of women in this world is pretty good, but the best part is the return to the dry lands, the realm of the dead.
As before, there's a balance between wizards and dragons, and all of this becomes even more pronounced as the reveals keep coming, as we learn mankind's place in the world and where we fit into the scheme of things along with our dragon brothers.
Pretty cool stuff, really. I just wish that I didn't have to do a re-read of the weaker novels in order to get to the really cool stuff.
I really wish that I could have the joys and the pacing and the coherency of the first two novels repeated in the ones to come after, but it just isn't to be. Maybe I expect too much.
That being said, I can truly appreciate the end of the Earthsea cycle as it has become, and not be truly dissatisfied. Dualities can be a real pain. :)
September 6, 2023
“I think," Tehanu said in her soft, strange voice, "that when I die, I can breathe back the breath that made me live. I can give back to the world all that I didn't do. All that I might have been and couldn't be. All the choices I didn't make. All the things I lost and spent and wasted. I can give them back to the world. To the lives that haven't been lived yet. That will be my gift back to the world that gave me the life I did live, the love I loved, the breath I breathed.”
Have you ever put off reading the last installment in a series because you didn't want it to end? Because you knew that it would completely and utterly destroy you? Because you knew that it would put you in the world's biggest reading slump?
Because that's me with The Other Wind. I put off reading this book for about a year and a half... until I woke up this morning and finally decided it was time.
And boy, was I right.
Coming back to Earthsea felt like coming home. The magnificent prose, the breathtaking worldbuilding and the heart of the narrative just cannot be replicated. Aside from maybe Robin Hobb, I haven't been able to find other authors that speak to my soul like Le Guin's writing does.
The Other Wind broke me and had me sobbing my eyes out. Words fail me when I try to describe just how beautiful this book was. I honestly can't think of a better way to end such a fantastic series. The ending was truly a masterpiece in itself. The themes of this installment are very much about reconciliation, restoration and redemption. I love the way Le Guin managed to make such a simple storyline, so incredibly special and moving. But more than that, I loved the beautiful and heartfelt mother-daughter moments between Tenar and Tehanu, as well as the incredible wisdom and steadfastness of Ged. In Earthsea revisioned, Le Guin said, "I didn't want to leave Ged and Tenar and their dragon-child safe. I wanted to leave them free." And that is exactly what she did.
The Earthsea Cycle has made its way to being one of my favourite series of all time; it has imprinted itself into my heart forever. Thank you to Ursula K. Le Guin for gifting this wretched world such a beautiful tale.
Rating: ALL THE STARS
August 15, 2023
مجموعه شش جلدی «دریازمین» با کتاب «بادی دیگر» درحالی تموم شد که خاطرات خوشی از گد، تنار و تهانو برام ساخت و منو با سرزمین های جدید شگفت انگیزی برای خیالپردازی هام آشنا کرد.
اورسولا کی توی این مجموعه، اولین نسل فانتزی های جادوگری با قهرمان های زن رو خلق کرده و از مدرسه جادوگری نوشته وقتی هنوز مدرسه جادوگری مد نبود.
این رمان برای نوجوانان نوشته شده و بنظرم بخصوص برای بچه های یازده تا پانزده ساله خیلی مناسبه و قبل از اینکه سراغ هری پاتر یا نارنیا برن، خیلی خوبه این مجموعه رو بخونن چون هم کوتاه تره و هم درس های خیلی خوبی برای زندگی میده که خیلی قابل فهم هستن . مثل اینکه توی تاریک ترین لحظه های زندگی همیشه یه نور هست که باید پیداش کنیم، سرنوشت ما به دست خودمون رقم میخوره، یا اینکه هیچ انسانی کاملا خوب و کاملا بد نیست و از اون مهم تر اینکه حتی اگر با هوش یا استعداد خاصی به دنیا بیای، اگر تلاش و تمرین و استقامت نداشته باشی به موفقیت نمیرسی.
اورسولا کی توی این مجموعه، اولین نسل فانتزی های جادوگری با قهرمان های زن رو خلق کرده و از مدرسه جادوگری نوشته وقتی هنوز مدرسه جادوگری مد نبود.
این رمان برای نوجوانان نوشته شده و بنظرم بخصوص برای بچه های یازده تا پانزده ساله خیلی مناسبه و قبل از اینکه سراغ هری پاتر یا نارنیا برن، خیلی خوبه این مجموعه رو بخونن چون هم کوتاه تره و هم درس های خیلی خوبی برای زندگی میده که خیلی قابل فهم هستن . مثل اینکه توی تاریک ترین لحظه های زندگی همیشه یه نور هست که باید پیداش کنیم، سرنوشت ما به دست خودمون رقم میخوره، یا اینکه هیچ انسانی کاملا خوب و کاملا بد نیست و از اون مهم تر اینکه حتی اگر با هوش یا استعداد خاصی به دنیا بیای، اگر تلاش و تمرین و استقامت نداشته باشی به موفقیت نمیرسی.
December 18, 2015
Oh, my word, the second three are different books from a crone's viewpoint. Of course, UKL's words are glorious no matter where or when one comes to them, but oh, how these words burn. Meditations on life and death, on women and men, on dragonkind and humankind, on mage and commoner. Masterfully done. And of course, this:
“I think," Tehanu said in her soft, strange voice, "that when I die, I can breathe back the breath that made me live. I can give back to the world all that I didn't do. All that I might have been and couldn't be. All the choices I didn't make. All the things I lost and spent and wasted. I can give them back to the world. To the lives that haven't been lived yet. That will be my gift back to the world that gave me the life I did live, the love I loved, the breath I breathed.”
“I think," Tehanu said in her soft, strange voice, "that when I die, I can breathe back the breath that made me live. I can give back to the world all that I didn't do. All that I might have been and couldn't be. All the choices I didn't make. All the things I lost and spent and wasted. I can give them back to the world. To the lives that haven't been lived yet. That will be my gift back to the world that gave me the life I did live, the love I loved, the breath I breathed.”
January 12, 2024
This is the conclusion of Ursula LeGuin's six volume Earthsea cycle or, as she puts it, the Earthsea trilogies; because the first three books have a young adult focus, while the last three are adult oriented.
It's a very satisfying conclusion, not only wrapping up the stories of the main characters in the series, but explaining the magical foundation of Earthsea in a logical and consistent way and then expanding it in an entirely new direction. A very skillful piece of storytelling/world building.
It begins with a visit to Ged, the former Archmage, by Alder, a village sorcerer with troubling dreams. Each night Alder is
drawn against his will to 'the dry land' where the spirits of the dead are trying to tear down the wall that separates them from the living. Meanwhile there's trouble with the dragons, and LeGuin's dragons are equaled only by Tolkien's, as compelling characters.
This is one of my 'comfort' books that I return to when I want something familiar and satisfying to divert my attention for a few hours.
In terms of original, literate, intelligent fantasy series, Earthsea is right up there with Middle Earth and The Other Wind is LeGuin's Return of the King.
January 2024 reread. OK. So my first book of the new year is one of my comfort books. It's bitterly cold and snowy outside. I just needed something to take me away from that. And Ursula LeGuin's elegant prose does it, every time.
It's a very satisfying conclusion, not only wrapping up the stories of the main characters in the series, but explaining the magical foundation of Earthsea in a logical and consistent way and then expanding it in an entirely new direction. A very skillful piece of storytelling/world building.
It begins with a visit to Ged, the former Archmage, by Alder, a village sorcerer with troubling dreams. Each night Alder is
drawn against his will to 'the dry land' where the spirits of the dead are trying to tear down the wall that separates them from the living. Meanwhile there's trouble with the dragons, and LeGuin's dragons are equaled only by Tolkien's, as compelling characters.
This is one of my 'comfort' books that I return to when I want something familiar and satisfying to divert my attention for a few hours.
In terms of original, literate, intelligent fantasy series, Earthsea is right up there with Middle Earth and The Other Wind is LeGuin's Return of the King.
January 2024 reread. OK. So my first book of the new year is one of my comfort books. It's bitterly cold and snowy outside. I just needed something to take me away from that. And Ursula LeGuin's elegant prose does it, every time.
May 1, 2012
My first Ursula K. Le Guin book was The Left Hand of Darkness: a cold strangeness of passive powers and mutating gender. After that, I was somewhat lost in this exceptional author's catalog and reluctant to read such a traditional fantasy as A Wizard of Earthsea. But eventually, starved for female authorship and coming off Frank Herbert's high science fiction epic Dune, I discovered a copy of the first entry of the Earthsea Cycle and picked it up.
Reading the books of Earthsea is like opening a series of nesting dolls in reverse. Inside the first book is a beautiful box, classical and intricate. Then with the next book, it opens to reveal a larger and more beautiful and complex box. The box inside that is even wider in scope and implication and inside that is a box that contains the whole universe.
The first three books of Earthsea reveal a world like ours: divided between East and West and dominated by the power of men. Through careful crafting, Le Guin interweaves the lives of three main characters into a shifting balance of the powers of light and dark. Even in a world of temperamental magic, Le Guin's characters are refreshingly relatable. Our guides of Earthsea aren't babbling or overly emotional. Through her artful economy, Le Guin vitalizes characters we learn to love for their thoughtful goodness and resiliency.
The fourth book, Tehanu, introduces an unknown element into Earthsea: the feminine. Fleshed into being in The Tombs of Atuan, Tenar shows us how the magic of Earthsea's women reaches deeper than the skill of the mages and into the elemental power of the dragons. The Other Wind fully realizes this connection between women and dragons, between magic and humans, life and death, dreams and waking reality. Featuring a wider cast of characters than the previous volumes, the last book brings together everything we have learned about Earthsea to change the foundations of the world.
Truly the master Patterner, Le Guin gives us something mythic in reach and universal in meaning. Not to be read without its companions, The Other Wind is a fitting finale to an amazing series. These books are highly rewarding reads, easy to finish and never insulting to the reader's intelligence. Le Guin is a modern keystone of women's writing.
Reading the books of Earthsea is like opening a series of nesting dolls in reverse. Inside the first book is a beautiful box, classical and intricate. Then with the next book, it opens to reveal a larger and more beautiful and complex box. The box inside that is even wider in scope and implication and inside that is a box that contains the whole universe.
The first three books of Earthsea reveal a world like ours: divided between East and West and dominated by the power of men. Through careful crafting, Le Guin interweaves the lives of three main characters into a shifting balance of the powers of light and dark. Even in a world of temperamental magic, Le Guin's characters are refreshingly relatable. Our guides of Earthsea aren't babbling or overly emotional. Through her artful economy, Le Guin vitalizes characters we learn to love for their thoughtful goodness and resiliency.
The fourth book, Tehanu, introduces an unknown element into Earthsea: the feminine. Fleshed into being in The Tombs of Atuan, Tenar shows us how the magic of Earthsea's women reaches deeper than the skill of the mages and into the elemental power of the dragons. The Other Wind fully realizes this connection between women and dragons, between magic and humans, life and death, dreams and waking reality. Featuring a wider cast of characters than the previous volumes, the last book brings together everything we have learned about Earthsea to change the foundations of the world.
Truly the master Patterner, Le Guin gives us something mythic in reach and universal in meaning. Not to be read without its companions, The Other Wind is a fitting finale to an amazing series. These books are highly rewarding reads, easy to finish and never insulting to the reader's intelligence. Le Guin is a modern keystone of women's writing.
January 17, 2021
And now I’ve read all the books in the Earthsea Cycle which is pretty cool. This started as a reread of the first four novels, with me reading books 5 and 6 for the first time this year. I thought that this was solid, but I was not as invested with a lot of these newer characters as I was with Ged and Tenar from the earlier books. Those two characters are still here, but not as prevalent within the story for understandable reasons. I actually found the Kargish princess to probably have been the most interesting character for me in this novel. I feel there isn’t much for me to say without at least spoiling some things, but just know that you should read the short story collection Tales From Earthsea that is book 5 in this series, even if it is because of the last story in that book which is directly linked to this book. 6/10
March 4, 2012
How many months overdue is this review? Since sometime late last year, anyway...I was still in Belgium...that was two countries ago!
This will almost certainly be the last novel about Earthsea that we shall see from Ursula LeGuin and it is a much more fitting end than Tehanu because it feels triumphant rather than negative. In similar vein to the Tales from Earthsea, ancient crimes and cover-ups that have had profound effects on the Archipelago's peoples are revealed. Matters are also set to rights. It's not really a spoiler to say that this is not a book about Ged, although he appears in the story and performs a minor miracle involving a kitten without using any wizardry at all. Instead, Tenar, Tehanu and Dragonfly come to the fore, along with the King, a sorcerer with troubling dreams and a Princess from the Kargish lands. That women take an equal or leading role in this story feels very natural, arising from the story, where-as in Tehanu the story was contrived to highlight women. Perhaps that is the ultimate reason why Tehanu troubles many people and is not an unqualified success. This, however, is a triumphant success.
So many of the themes arising in the previous books are taken up again and given a last examination. The desire for immortality, the nature of Dragons, the history of the Kargs and the Archipeligans, perceptions and mis-perceptions of foreign peoples, the roles of women in society. The whole thing is brought to an unexpected and wonderful conclusion.
This feels much more like the original three books than either of the two later ones but it does still lack the sense of exploration I prize so highly that is found in A Wizard of Earthsea and The Final Shore, which leads me back to the beginning of the review; this is the last of Earthsea and there are somethings I could wish had happened somewhere along the way, that didn't: Ged travels far and wide in the course of his stories but we never sail the North Reach with him or explore Hogen land. Is it another island, or a high-latitude continent like Antarctica? Another Goodreader suggested that Ged and Tenar should have had a child; that would have been lovely but perhaps Ged is too old?
This series as a whole represents one of the great triumphs of fantasy literature, more profound, thought-provoking, imaginative and beautifully written than most books I have ever read. It deserves to be taken up in the canon in the way that Lord of the Rings has been. Farewell, Earthsea, until next time I need magic, adventure and beauty, all at once.
***********************************************************************
And now it is my pleasure to introduce Flagon Dragon (see profile pic and my other photos) who will give his first ever Goodreads review here, regarding the Earthsea books as a whole. It should be noted that Flagon is a self-appointed Ambassador to Humanity from the Welsh Dragons, who promotes goodwill between both Species, mainly by being ridiculously cute and cuddly and giving everybody heaps of hugs. The review is hidden because it is a giant spoiler about one of the themes that links all the books.
This will almost certainly be the last novel about Earthsea that we shall see from Ursula LeGuin and it is a much more fitting end than Tehanu because it feels triumphant rather than negative. In similar vein to the Tales from Earthsea, ancient crimes and cover-ups that have had profound effects on the Archipelago's peoples are revealed. Matters are also set to rights. It's not really a spoiler to say that this is not a book about Ged, although he appears in the story and performs a minor miracle involving a kitten without using any wizardry at all. Instead, Tenar, Tehanu and Dragonfly come to the fore, along with the King, a sorcerer with troubling dreams and a Princess from the Kargish lands. That women take an equal or leading role in this story feels very natural, arising from the story, where-as in Tehanu the story was contrived to highlight women. Perhaps that is the ultimate reason why Tehanu troubles many people and is not an unqualified success. This, however, is a triumphant success.
So many of the themes arising in the previous books are taken up again and given a last examination. The desire for immortality, the nature of Dragons, the history of the Kargs and the Archipeligans, perceptions and mis-perceptions of foreign peoples, the roles of women in society. The whole thing is brought to an unexpected and wonderful conclusion.
This feels much more like the original three books than either of the two later ones but it does still lack the sense of exploration I prize so highly that is found in A Wizard of Earthsea and The Final Shore, which leads me back to the beginning of the review; this is the last of Earthsea and there are somethings I could wish had happened somewhere along the way, that didn't: Ged travels far and wide in the course of his stories but we never sail the North Reach with him or explore Hogen land. Is it another island, or a high-latitude continent like Antarctica? Another Goodreader suggested that Ged and Tenar should have had a child; that would have been lovely but perhaps Ged is too old?
This series as a whole represents one of the great triumphs of fantasy literature, more profound, thought-provoking, imaginative and beautifully written than most books I have ever read. It deserves to be taken up in the canon in the way that Lord of the Rings has been. Farewell, Earthsea, until next time I need magic, adventure and beauty, all at once.
***********************************************************************
And now it is my pleasure to introduce Flagon Dragon (see profile pic and my other photos) who will give his first ever Goodreads review here, regarding the Earthsea books as a whole. It should be noted that Flagon is a self-appointed Ambassador to Humanity from the Welsh Dragons, who promotes goodwill between both Species, mainly by being ridiculously cute and cuddly and giving everybody heaps of hugs. The review is hidden because it is a giant spoiler about one of the themes that links all the books.
July 14, 2016
The Other Wind ends the Earthsea Cycle by resolving an issue which, for attentive readers, has been present since the very first book. Despite all the joys of wizardry and the great things the wizards can do, the world of death looms from the very first, and it doesn’t sound like a great place. In the second book, Tenar’s background reveals that her people believe their souls are reborn, but that wizards’ souls are not. In the third book, we see the world of death: a dead, dry, empty place, surrounded only by pain, where lovers can pass each other on the street and not recognise one another.
That’s not a world we want to see Ged or Lebannen condemned to, and so The Other Wind is a fitting end in that it dismantles that — and brings in another female character who is Kargish, makes Lebannen examine some of his issues, makes Tehanu grow up, and ties in the thread of Irian from the novella ‘Dragonfly’. Other themes that’ve been a big part of the books previously (the role of women, for example) are still here, now integral to the world where perhaps they weren’t in time for A Wizard of Earthsea and Yarrow.
It wasn’t my favourite of the series when I first read it — I think I have to concede I love the first two books most and always will, though Tehanu and The Other Wind are growing on me — but reading it this time, it seems like a very fitting ending point. I think I’m right in saying that Le Guin isn’t writing novels anymore, so it’s likely this really is Earthsea’s end, and it’s a good way to finish, with Ged and Tenar in their house and the dragons flying on the other wind.
Originally posted here.
That’s not a world we want to see Ged or Lebannen condemned to, and so The Other Wind is a fitting end in that it dismantles that — and brings in another female character who is Kargish, makes Lebannen examine some of his issues, makes Tehanu grow up, and ties in the thread of Irian from the novella ‘Dragonfly’. Other themes that’ve been a big part of the books previously (the role of women, for example) are still here, now integral to the world where perhaps they weren’t in time for A Wizard of Earthsea and Yarrow.
It wasn’t my favourite of the series when I first read it — I think I have to concede I love the first two books most and always will, though Tehanu and The Other Wind are growing on me — but reading it this time, it seems like a very fitting ending point. I think I’m right in saying that Le Guin isn’t writing novels anymore, so it’s likely this really is Earthsea’s end, and it’s a good way to finish, with Ged and Tenar in their house and the dragons flying on the other wind.
Originally posted here.
August 5, 2024
I can’t say that this, the final Earthsea book, reached the poetic heights of its predecessors, nor did its wisdom shake me to my core as the others had. But as always, I’m in awe of the late, great Ursula K. Le Guin’s ability to wrestle with profound questions of life and death, and of humanity’s obsession with power over both forces.
It’s been a ridiculously busy time, which resulted in my taking weeks to finish a relatively slender tome. On to the next.
It’s been a ridiculously busy time, which resulted in my taking weeks to finish a relatively slender tome. On to the next.
May 10, 2007
Let me preface this with my Earthsea background. I read the first 3 books when I was young and loved them. Then did them again on audio a couple years ago and enjoyed the 1st and 3rd books but thought the 2nd one was slow. Then I read -Techanu- and thought it was more like an interlude with a plot added in at the end for good measure. -Stories of Earthsea- was barely passable and now this -The Other Wind- left me with a final bad taste for a series I loved for a long time.
It was nice to hang out with some old friends (Ged, Tenar etc...) but at some point toward the end it started this downward spiral into incomprehensibility. There would be a section I just didn't get but I'd just move on hoping that it would make sense later. It never did. When it ended I had no idea what had happened. Was it just too simple? I do see a lot of reviewers saying that the ending was predictable. I don't even know who was still alive at the end. It seemed like a bunch of snippets of action that never got resolved. Was it some type of literary experiment?
I'm not sure, but my final stance on Earthsea is: Read the first 3 books and pretend the others don't even exist.
It was nice to hang out with some old friends (Ged, Tenar etc...) but at some point toward the end it started this downward spiral into incomprehensibility. There would be a section I just didn't get but I'd just move on hoping that it would make sense later. It never did. When it ended I had no idea what had happened. Was it just too simple? I do see a lot of reviewers saying that the ending was predictable. I don't even know who was still alive at the end. It seemed like a bunch of snippets of action that never got resolved. Was it some type of literary experiment?
I'm not sure, but my final stance on Earthsea is: Read the first 3 books and pretend the others don't even exist.
June 18, 2022
Han sido 4 meses de viaje por Terramar y una de las mejores experiencias en la Fantasía que he tenido.
Me ha permitido conocer mejor a Le Guin, ya que había leído otros libros suyos de CF y no terminé de conectar con ella, pero en Terramar nos da lecciones de vida hablando sobre dragones, brujas y magia.
Un viaje durante 5 libros en el que acompañamos a Ged desde que es un niño que descubre que tiene magia hasta que es un anciano. No es muy común esto en la Fantasía: siempre solemos ver la acción acotada a unos pocos años o momentos, pero poder crecer junto con el protagonista durante décadas ha sido un regalo.
También pasan más de 30 años desde el primer libro hasta el último y poder ver la evolución como escritora de Le Guin te hace apreciar aún más cada libro y puedes ver cómo las tramas maduran con los años.
En esta última entrega se cierran los hilos sueltos desde el principio centrándose la trama en la muerte y en dónde van las almas cuando mueren. Un tono muy apropiado para ser el último. Y aunque narrativamente Le Guin mantiene la calidad, creo que no llega al nivel de los anteriores. La historia se divide en tres hilos argumentales que se van mezclando pero lo hace atropelladamente y el final es algo acelerado que no me ha permitido disfrutarlo como se merece el final de una saga así. Además, aparece muy poco Ged y he tenido una sensación agridulce al terminarlo, como si hubiera desaprovechado la oportunidad de despedirlo como se merece.
Aún así, Terramar es de las mejores sagas de Fantasía que he leído y que cualquier amante de este género tiene que leer alguna vez, porque es el origen de muchas otras historias de otros escritores del último medio siglo.
Ha sido un placer Ursula.
Me ha permitido conocer mejor a Le Guin, ya que había leído otros libros suyos de CF y no terminé de conectar con ella, pero en Terramar nos da lecciones de vida hablando sobre dragones, brujas y magia.
Un viaje durante 5 libros en el que acompañamos a Ged desde que es un niño que descubre que tiene magia hasta que es un anciano. No es muy común esto en la Fantasía: siempre solemos ver la acción acotada a unos pocos años o momentos, pero poder crecer junto con el protagonista durante décadas ha sido un regalo.
También pasan más de 30 años desde el primer libro hasta el último y poder ver la evolución como escritora de Le Guin te hace apreciar aún más cada libro y puedes ver cómo las tramas maduran con los años.
En esta última entrega se cierran los hilos sueltos desde el principio centrándose la trama en la muerte y en dónde van las almas cuando mueren. Un tono muy apropiado para ser el último. Y aunque narrativamente Le Guin mantiene la calidad, creo que no llega al nivel de los anteriores. La historia se divide en tres hilos argumentales que se van mezclando pero lo hace atropelladamente y el final es algo acelerado que no me ha permitido disfrutarlo como se merece el final de una saga así. Además, aparece muy poco Ged y he tenido una sensación agridulce al terminarlo, como si hubiera desaprovechado la oportunidad de despedirlo como se merece.
Aún así, Terramar es de las mejores sagas de Fantasía que he leído y que cualquier amante de este género tiene que leer alguna vez, porque es el origen de muchas otras historias de otros escritores del último medio siglo.
Ha sido un placer Ursula.
Read
September 14, 2022Uh, ovo je jedna od onih situacija kad je nemoguće objektivno oceniti knjigu jer nosi veliko emotivno breme i predstavlja završnicu ciklusa (ne bih Zemljomorje nazvala serijalom). Drugi vetar možda nije celovit kao raniji romani - svakako se ne može čitati samostalno - ali pruža istinsko zaokruženje velike priče o Zemljomorju, i one manje, o Gedu, Tenar i Tehanu. (Drugi likovi i njihove razvojne linije takođe su zanimljivi i često višeslojni, ali naprosto - s njima ni mi ni autorka nismo proveli toliko vremena.) Lepo se oseti da su ovo troje Ursulinih junaka odražavali etape njenog života i s njom prelazili jedan po jedan prag da bi konačno zajedno došli i do onog poslednjeg i najvišeg. Još ako se nakon toga pročita i pripovetka Firelight, zaista sasvim poslednja i najposlednjija priča o Gedu, ne znam kako reagovati ako ne emotivno. Ovde se više ne radi ni o klasičnom Verdijevom "vedrom pozdravu životu s ruba groba" već vedroj zagledanosti u grob i u onostrano: jer na drugom vetru lete zmajevi.
October 3, 2021
Yerdeniz'in son kitabı hakkındaki düşüncelerimi kelimelere tam olarak dökemeyeceğim. Sanırım hislerimin karşılığı kadim lisanda mevcut, ama onu da ben bilmiyorum. Seriyi bitirmem yıllar sürdü, ara vererek okudum. Bunun sebebi ağır olması vs. değildi, sadece öyle denk geldi. İlk kitapları düşünüyorum da, Yerdeniz Büyücüsü'ndeki Ged, Atuan Mezarları'ndaki Tenar... Son kitaptaki hallerine göre ne kadar farklılardı. Yaşlandıklarını okurken onlarla bir yaşlandım, görüp geçirmiş bir ruh haline büründüm. Bu hal hem üzücü, hem de huzur vericiydi. Her şeyi oluruna bırakıp, korunun ötesini seyrettim, batının da batısında uçan ejderhaları düşledim. Hala da düşlüyorum. Yerdeniz'i herhangi bir seriyi bitirir gibi bitirmedim çünkü kitaplar boyunca yaşananlar; büyümek, yaşamak, ölmek, kadın ve ejderha olmak içimde bir yere işlendi. İçimize işleyen yerdenizler birleşip ejderhalara dönüşecek, batının da batısında esen rüzgarda raks edecekler. Bir gün bizim de gideceğimiz diyarlarda.
December 5, 2023
Le Guin's Earthsea series is so beautifully written that I was happy to get yet another installment with Ged and Tehanu and the rest of the major characters from the previous books that get a spotlight here. The story has the same smoothly shifting viewpoints from one character to the next and the same poetic descriptions of the various islands that the characters visit over the course of the book. As usual with Le Guin, the pleasure isn't the action sequences but more how she weaves such a complex story out of reasonably simple means. Having written one novel and currently flailing in writing a sequel, I can appreciate what an amazing feat this is! I skipped Tales from Earthsea, someone let me know if it is as good? I prefer novels to short stories, but perhaps this one is also a must?
Fino's Reviews of Ursula Le Guin
The Lathe of Heaven: Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Hainish Cycle
Hainish Novels & Stories, Vol. 1: Rocannon’s World / Planet of Exile / City of Illusions / The Left Hand of Darkness / The Dispossessed / Stories: Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Hainish Novels & Stories, Vol. 2: The Word for World Is Forest / Five Ways to Forgiveness / The Telling / Stories Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Rocannon's World Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Planet of Exile Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...#
City of Illusions Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Left Hand of Darkness Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Word for World Is Forest Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Five Ways to Forgiveness Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...#
The Telling Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Earthsea Cycle
A Wizard of Earthsea Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Tombs of Atuan Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Farthest Shore Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tehanu Fino Review:
The Other Wind Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Short Stories
Unlocking the Air and Other Stories Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Fino's Reviews of Ursula Le Guin
The Lathe of Heaven: Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Hainish Cycle
Hainish Novels & Stories, Vol. 1: Rocannon’s World / Planet of Exile / City of Illusions / The Left Hand of Darkness / The Dispossessed / Stories: Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Hainish Novels & Stories, Vol. 2: The Word for World Is Forest / Five Ways to Forgiveness / The Telling / Stories Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Rocannon's World Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Planet of Exile Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...#
City of Illusions Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Left Hand of Darkness Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Word for World Is Forest Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Five Ways to Forgiveness Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...#
The Telling Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Earthsea Cycle
A Wizard of Earthsea Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Tombs of Atuan Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Farthest Shore Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tehanu Fino Review:
The Other Wind Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Short Stories
Unlocking the Air and Other Stories Fino Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
February 22, 2019
An amazing ending to the Earthsea series. The final book ties together many of the threads from earlier books that have been left hanging. The tone of the whole series has evolved over each book, and this last entry more mature in writing style. While many characters that were old favorites come back for this final chapter, it never feels like Le Guin is shoehorning them in just to say hello. Everything in the book is included for a reason, and never feels contrived. The book addresses and solves problems of previous books that I didn't even know were problems. There is no evil villain or MacGuffin to chase, only the characters dealing with the world around them as they work through the changes that have recently been brought about. The difference between dragon and human, Old Speech and Hardic, Kargic and Archipelegan, men and women, magical and common, living and dead; all are used and tie into the overall plot beautifully. Amazingly, this book not only makes itself and the series even greater, but makes previous books better in retrospect. With "The Farthest Shore," I thought Cob was a generic villain that didn't fit with Le Guin's original Earthsea stories. Now, his story has become extremely important and has had effects for the past three books that stretched farther than I could have imagined when I first read about Cob's meddlings. While Le Guin's writing is always excellent, I found the first four pages of the last chapter, where she goes through every characters dreams the night before the world is forever changed, to be one of the most beautifully written scenes in any book I've read. Le Guin really outdid herself with the imagery and tone of those few pages, and took something that could have been boring and made it stunning. The only complaint I could have, not that I need to have one, is that the chapters are too large. There are only five, and they are arbitrarily larger than any others in the series. This is hardly even worth noticing, but I did find it odd. Overall, there was no better way to end an already amazing series.
February 11, 2009
Is it me, or is the only way someone can be a good guy in this book (maybe in all of her work--I'm not a fan) by giving up something that's vital to themselves and the people around them? Not just a few, but everyone has to do this? That in the end she'd strip all her mages on their power if she could find a way to do it, or leave them nasty, mingey, sour people tightly clutching their skills to their chests and only reluctantly doling out bits of their knowledge to others because it's expected of them? And that a woman's lot is to give things up and be in pain, or smile and be ready with hugs when the kids and the men venture out to do the rough stuff? That true, ultimate love is found in a moment while the other person isn't paying attention?
I read the Earthsea trilogy in my late twenties, couldn't face TEHANU after hearing about the clapping songs, and I read LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS in college. It left me simmering in a deep pit of rage I have yet to climb out of. (An Earthman is isolated in a shack with one of a race that turns from male to female, and the first signs the other creature gives that he's turning female is PMS hysterics? Degradation much?)
So no, I'm not a fan, but Michelle West said THE OTHER WIND was the book LeGuin was born to write, and it was okay--I finished it. It was okay for a book where a growing number of interesting people went places and talked and acquired more people to go places and talk and put together the problem--and I won't do a spoiler. And during the story and previous to the story people had to give up the core of themselves as payment so many times that it got on my nerves. Yes, I believe that great victories demand great prices, but where was the feeling of victory? Where was the feeling of battle? And for all the mentions of the strong Karg women with their strong bare arms and strong bare feet, they got to be strong and wait.
I read the Earthsea trilogy in my late twenties, couldn't face TEHANU after hearing about the clapping songs, and I read LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS in college. It left me simmering in a deep pit of rage I have yet to climb out of. (An Earthman is isolated in a shack with one of a race that turns from male to female, and the first signs the other creature gives that he's turning female is PMS hysterics? Degradation much?)
So no, I'm not a fan, but Michelle West said THE OTHER WIND was the book LeGuin was born to write, and it was okay--I finished it. It was okay for a book where a growing number of interesting people went places and talked and acquired more people to go places and talk and put together the problem--and I won't do a spoiler. And during the story and previous to the story people had to give up the core of themselves as payment so many times that it got on my nerves. Yes, I believe that great victories demand great prices, but where was the feeling of victory? Where was the feeling of battle? And for all the mentions of the strong Karg women with their strong bare arms and strong bare feet, they got to be strong and wait.
July 17, 2009
The Other Wind is a beautiful book. I don't think I liked it all that much the first time I read it, but now I see exactly how it fits. It's less incongruous than Tehanu, for me, but follows on neatly enough -- and it does use all the ideas and feelings that are brought up in Tehanu. Set a long time after it, it makes most sense if you've read Dragonfly, from Tales from Earthsea, before you read it. The first time I tried to read it, I don't think I had, and I had no idea who Orm Irian was or why she was significant.
One thing that I disliked in The Farthest Shore was the picture painted of death. It was difficult to think of it as such a crime to come back from there, when it was so miserable, where lovers could pass each other in the street and not care. The Other Wind sets this right. It's interesting to me that, at the end of The Farthest Shore she thought the series had ended, and presumably also at the end of Tehanu, but this book fits so cleanly, so clearly, as if it was intended all along.
The writing is once again beautiful, in places. I found it rather commonplace in Tehanu, matching the subject matter, but there are some really gorgeous quotes in this book. This one is perhaps my favourite:
"I think," Tehanu said in her soft, strange voice, "that when I die, I can breathe back the breath that made me live. I can give back to the world all that I didn't do. All that I might have been and couldn't be. All the choices I didn't make. All the things I lost and spent and wasted. I can give them back to the world. To the lives that haven't been lived yet. That will be my gift back to the world that gave me the life I did live, the love I loved, the breath I breathed."
Along with the recurring theme of life and death, and the one giving value to the other, we also have more criticism of the male-dominated system, and of the male way of thinking in Earthsea. How much of this is meant to be political commentary, and how much of this is Ursula Le Guin exploring her own world, I doubt we need to know. It's interesting that she introduced what is basically a burqa, without any particular comment on whether it is anti-feminist or not. Sesarakh comes out from behind her veil, of course, but I didn't feel like Le Guin was saying omg burqas r evol!
Character-wise, we have a lot of characters from other books, but there are some new ones as well. Chief among these is Alder, and Sesarakh. I don't think it's really explained quite thoroughly enough why Alder is the centre of all this -- it doesn't really make sense, when he's just a town sorcerer -- but it does break the pattern of Roke-wizards being all-important, as does the inclusion of Seppal, and it is something that would happen... an 'ordinary' person getting swept up in great events. Also, isn't Ged ordinary, at the beginning? So maybe it needs no better explanation. Anyway, I didn't get as attached to him as to Ged or Lebannen, but he did make me smile sometimes, reading about him. And I was sad, at the end.
Sesarakh is an interesting character, another vector for the discussion of the female in Earthsea. I didn't get to love her as a character, or really feel the romance between her and Lebannen, but that wasn't really the point. I did want to kick Lebannen rather, for the way he treats her and thinks about her. But Tenar had him well in hand, really.
I was going to say that The Other Wind isn't my favourite book of the series, but really I don't see why it shouldn't be. It brings together and carries on the work that, in retrospect, all the other books began. It offers some bright, beautiful images and some hope for what happens after death, and I don't see why it can't be an education and a comfort to us, too. "Only in dying, life," is a truth for us, too.
One thing that I disliked in The Farthest Shore was the picture painted of death. It was difficult to think of it as such a crime to come back from there, when it was so miserable, where lovers could pass each other in the street and not care. The Other Wind sets this right. It's interesting to me that, at the end of The Farthest Shore she thought the series had ended, and presumably also at the end of Tehanu, but this book fits so cleanly, so clearly, as if it was intended all along.
The writing is once again beautiful, in places. I found it rather commonplace in Tehanu, matching the subject matter, but there are some really gorgeous quotes in this book. This one is perhaps my favourite:
"I think," Tehanu said in her soft, strange voice, "that when I die, I can breathe back the breath that made me live. I can give back to the world all that I didn't do. All that I might have been and couldn't be. All the choices I didn't make. All the things I lost and spent and wasted. I can give them back to the world. To the lives that haven't been lived yet. That will be my gift back to the world that gave me the life I did live, the love I loved, the breath I breathed."
Along with the recurring theme of life and death, and the one giving value to the other, we also have more criticism of the male-dominated system, and of the male way of thinking in Earthsea. How much of this is meant to be political commentary, and how much of this is Ursula Le Guin exploring her own world, I doubt we need to know. It's interesting that she introduced what is basically a burqa, without any particular comment on whether it is anti-feminist or not. Sesarakh comes out from behind her veil, of course, but I didn't feel like Le Guin was saying omg burqas r evol!
Character-wise, we have a lot of characters from other books, but there are some new ones as well. Chief among these is Alder, and Sesarakh. I don't think it's really explained quite thoroughly enough why Alder is the centre of all this -- it doesn't really make sense, when he's just a town sorcerer -- but it does break the pattern of Roke-wizards being all-important, as does the inclusion of Seppal, and it is something that would happen... an 'ordinary' person getting swept up in great events. Also, isn't Ged ordinary, at the beginning? So maybe it needs no better explanation. Anyway, I didn't get as attached to him as to Ged or Lebannen, but he did make me smile sometimes, reading about him. And I was sad, at the end.
Sesarakh is an interesting character, another vector for the discussion of the female in Earthsea. I didn't get to love her as a character, or really feel the romance between her and Lebannen, but that wasn't really the point. I did want to kick Lebannen rather, for the way he treats her and thinks about her. But Tenar had him well in hand, really.
I was going to say that The Other Wind isn't my favourite book of the series, but really I don't see why it shouldn't be. It brings together and carries on the work that, in retrospect, all the other books began. It offers some bright, beautiful images and some hope for what happens after death, and I don't see why it can't be an education and a comfort to us, too. "Only in dying, life," is a truth for us, too.
July 11, 2017
What Harry Potter did for me as a kid, The Earthsea series has done for me an adult.
I finished this series in a span of almost a year, but somehow it feels like I have spent a lifetime with Ged and Tenar and Lebannen and Tehanu. And even Orm Irian, who appeared in the second-last book. Maybe because the books themselves spanned a lifetime.
The Other Wind was a great conclusion to the series.
Multiple times in the series, Ged has said (and other characters have quoted him) that power lies not in doing, but not doing. Not doing anything until we do, just what we must. When doing and being coincide.
The author has done the same with the book. She didn't write anything, except the things that must be written. The book has the feel that Miss Ursula didn't fabricate the story, but observed it. Like it truly happened. Because what else could have happened? This is the feeling, I, as a reader, search for in all the stories I read.
The story is itself, in typical LeGuin fashion, very well written. For people who enjoy fantasy, quality fantasy, should go for it.
I finished this series in a span of almost a year, but somehow it feels like I have spent a lifetime with Ged and Tenar and Lebannen and Tehanu. And even Orm Irian, who appeared in the second-last book. Maybe because the books themselves spanned a lifetime.
The Other Wind was a great conclusion to the series.
Multiple times in the series, Ged has said (and other characters have quoted him) that power lies not in doing, but not doing. Not doing anything until we do, just what we must. When doing and being coincide.
The author has done the same with the book. She didn't write anything, except the things that must be written. The book has the feel that Miss Ursula didn't fabricate the story, but observed it. Like it truly happened. Because what else could have happened? This is the feeling, I, as a reader, search for in all the stories I read.
The story is itself, in typical LeGuin fashion, very well written. For people who enjoy fantasy, quality fantasy, should go for it.
October 22, 2019
Beşlemelere, üçlemelere doyduğum bir ay oldu valla. Takiplemesi zor.
Serinin diğer kitapları ile aynı hisler içindeyim, kitapları beğenmekle birlikte çok etkilenmedim. Sanırım janra bana uymuyor. Ben daha çok acı, ter, gözyaşı, hainlik, kahpelik içeren eserleri seviyorum.
Kitabı okurken gerçekten kendinden sonraki yazarlara yol açtığını da gördüm, öyle enayilemesine okumadım yani. Özümseyip sindirdim.
Bir de genel olarak neden büyücüler her türlü büyüyü yapamıyorlar ya? Yok o bizim gücümüzü aşıyor, yok o göz boyama. Selena çatır çatır yapıyordu tüm büyüleri valla ben size söyliyim.
Serinin diğer kitapları ile aynı hisler içindeyim, kitapları beğenmekle birlikte çok etkilenmedim. Sanırım janra bana uymuyor. Ben daha çok acı, ter, gözyaşı, hainlik, kahpelik içeren eserleri seviyorum.
Kitabı okurken gerçekten kendinden sonraki yazarlara yol açtığını da gördüm, öyle enayilemesine okumadım yani. Özümseyip sindirdim.
Bir de genel olarak neden büyücüler her türlü büyüyü yapamıyorlar ya? Yok o bizim gücümüzü aşıyor, yok o göz boyama. Selena çatır çatır yapıyordu tüm büyüleri valla ben size söyliyim.
November 18, 2021
The final tale of Earthsea.
Overall as a standalone story this is middle of the pack for the series, for most of it. However as an ending that wraps up the story both narratively and thematically it is fantastic.
I still prefer Tehanu, and Tombs of Atuan, but the way this wrapped everything up was great.
7.7/10
Overall as a standalone story this is middle of the pack for the series, for most of it. However as an ending that wraps up the story both narratively and thematically it is fantastic.
I still prefer Tehanu, and Tombs of Atuan, but the way this wrapped everything up was great.
7.7/10
May 26, 2018
La lectura de este libro de Terramar no ha sido tan satisfactoria como con los volúmenes anteriores. En mi opinión, no aporta nada nuevo a la saga y difiere bastante con lo que llevaba leído. Me sucedió la primera vez que lo leí, y me he vuelto a pasar.
October 20, 2022
Molt commoguda amb el final d'aquesta història i d'uns personatges tan meravellosos. M'ha agradat moltíssim poder-me acomiadar de tots ells amb una història tan reconfortant, d'aquelles que t'aixamplen l'esperit ❤️
July 30, 2021
Wonderful end to the Earthsea cycles!
We finally learn what truly happened when wizard Cob tried to reach immortality. Did he really mess with the Equilibrium or has it been broken for a long time and his deed simply pointed that out? The long awaited answer as to what Tehanu really is! Why are Kargs so different to the rest of the Archipelagans? Did Ged really lose his powers? What about the dragons?
This was a perfectly satisfying end to the whole tale. Once again, I have to give credit where credit is due. I love how Ursula K Le Guin can spin such a fantastically entrancing story without big fight scenes or battles or even wars! One could say there is a war going on during the entire Earthsea cycles stories, but it is more subtle war, not fought with weapons but deep within human minds.
Usually in her stories there are many small subplots which make it all the more interesting. This time however, it was fairly straightforward. And it was slightly shorter than I expected. Only five chapters. They were fairly long chapters though. However, there was something missing so I have to give it 4 out of 5 stars.
We finally learn what truly happened when wizard Cob tried to reach immortality. Did he really mess with the Equilibrium or has it been broken for a long time and his deed simply pointed that out? The long awaited answer as to what Tehanu really is! Why are Kargs so different to the rest of the Archipelagans? Did Ged really lose his powers? What about the dragons?
This was a perfectly satisfying end to the whole tale. Once again, I have to give credit where credit is due. I love how Ursula K Le Guin can spin such a fantastically entrancing story without big fight scenes or battles or even wars! One could say there is a war going on during the entire Earthsea cycles stories, but it is more subtle war, not fought with weapons but deep within human minds.
Usually in her stories there are many small subplots which make it all the more interesting. This time however, it was fairly straightforward. And it was slightly shorter than I expected. Only five chapters. They were fairly long chapters though. However, there was something missing so I have to give it 4 out of 5 stars.
November 16, 2020
I love Le Guin (see my review of The Beginning Place).
I began reading the Earthsea cycle during undergrad, and only continued as I found each title at a used bookstore, which became much more difficult after the first 3 titles. The Other Wind concludes (continues?) the story extremely well.
Looking forward to reading them all again, back-to-back this time.
I began reading the Earthsea cycle during undergrad, and only continued as I found each title at a used bookstore, which became much more difficult after the first 3 titles. The Other Wind concludes (continues?) the story extremely well.
Looking forward to reading them all again, back-to-back this time.
May 25, 2023
I'm fucking sobbing don't even talk to me right now
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