Review – Novel – The Earthsea series (-1)

So, this article is not going to be very detailed, and it's about something that's been finished for years. But since I'm finally reading the final part of the series, Tales from Earthsea, I've decided to review the rest of this series. This is a series I got into late not because I didn't know about it, but that the copies available until I was in my early twenties because of dyslexia-hostile fonts. Now, grab your beverage of choice and enjoy one person's opinion of what I think is one of the fantasy genre's foundational series.

Illustration by Charles Vess from The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition

A Wizard of Earthsea

The first book, and in some ways it shows it. This is the tale of Ged, otherwise Sparrowhawk, from abused goatherd on the island of Gont to a powerful mage respected across the Isles of Earthsea. This is one of the few books I've ever read in a single day. I took it up the garden, I reluctantly put it down for lunch and dinner. I rushed through it in five hours, and it's still a favourite. Ged's slow journey from naïve and overconfident to a wise man is interesting because it's as much about the internal journey as events outside. Running for most of the book from a strange shade he brought into existence in a foolish attempt to summon the dead, the story follows him as he encounters several different people that begin to shift and mature his worldview. It's not the smoothest read to a modern audience due to its episodic structure, but it's still a classic and sets up some interesting stuff for the Earthsea world. Also, it has a dragon.

7/10

The Tombs of Atuan

This one shifts the focus entirely to the far north of the Isles, where the pale-skinned Kargish people house a dying sisterhood worshipping mountain deities dubbed the Nameless Ones. The POV character here is Tenar, a young woman chosen from birth to be a priestess of the sisterhood under the name "Ahra", ending up encountering a half-dead Ged within the stone maze where the Nameless Ones dwell. For anyone expecting a direct continuation of Ged's tale, and who is unfamiliar with the Earthsea formula, the change in protagonist is a shock. But this is also a wonderful story with a young woman growing from isolated and brainwashed votary to a woman who willingly abandons her hollow position. In my opinion, a must-read.

9/10

The Farthest Shore

This is the final entry in the original trilogy, and again switches the POV character to Lebannen, also called Arren, heir to the nominal ruling family of Earthsea who is sent to accompany Ged on a quest to find out why the land is growing sick and magic is vanishing. This story is a bit of a tonal shift from the previous two books, as it focuses on an almost-horrific spiritual sickness that impacts everyone in Earthsea, but instead of physical ailments it attacks their minds and spirits. This is again an excellent read, and originally a compelling end to the story of Earthsea with an unsettling antagonist waiting at the end. Also, I kinda feel Lebannen as someone like me, an unsure and young person making their way through a world that appears daunting at best, hostile at worst. Plus, it's got dragons again!

8/10

Tehanu

This is the book I was warned about, and I can see why. It's a drastic tonal change again, written twenty years after The Farthest Shore and dealing less with magic and great threats over the mundane struggles of Tenar after she settles in Earthsea. It deconstructs elements of women in fantasy worlds, and shows Tenar as a potent character not through great deeds, but through compassion and understanding in the face of an often hostile worlds. The heart of the book is her helping to heal Ged after he loses his magic and to a point his will to live, and caring for the child Tehanu, who was horrifically scarred by an abusive family. It changes focus from the men of Earthsea to the women, and offers a sidelong glance into the other side of fantasy. And also, more dragons!

8/10

The Other Wind

This is, to some, the weakest Earthsea story, and the true ending to the overall series. In the spirit of earlier entries, the perspective shifts again, this time to the mage Alder, whose sleep is tormented by visions of his wife in the cursed Dry Lands where Earthsea's dead reside; and Tehanu, who still has unfinished business in the world of Earthsea and helps Tenar and Lebannen as they secure a marriage alliance with the Kargish people and face the threat of dragons attacking Earthsea from the west. This is very much a wrapping-up kind of story, without much character development outside Lebannen and Tehanu, and will make little to no sense to those who haven't read previous Earthsea titles. But it also closes out the story fairly well, and it's a good read.

7/10

And...there we are. My relatively brief summary of Earthsea. Honestly, you should go read them. Ursula K. le Guin is a great writer, and Earthsea is one of her crowing achievements. Just remember, when your visualising the characters...the people of Earthse aren't white!