audiobooks

A diamond in the crown of the Earthsea saga, Tales is a necessary part of the LeGuin fantasy experience. It contains five stories and an appendix with sundry information about the land and beliefs of the people of Ea. LeGuin proves in this book her decided mastery of the art of teleporting the reader into another universe, so that when one puts the book down, a sigh is felt as one returns to the real world.

The five tales span a large amount of time, dipping here and there in her Earthsea history to further illuminate the world. My favourites were "The Finder" and "On the High Marsh", the former covering the founding of Roke as a mage school, and the latter a sad past of a one-time mighty wizard. "Darkrose and Diamond" is a love story, for those who prefer such things. I loved it but thought the ending was far too abrupt after the buildup of the tale. "The Bones of the Earth" is a short segment detailing how Ogion-- yes, the same man who first taught Sparrowhawk-- saved Gont from the Earthquake, though not as you might expect. "Dragonfly" is the bridge story between the books Tehanu and Otherwind, and is a tale you must read if you are bent on taking in the Earthsea saga.

All in all, though you may not like all of the stories, there is bound to be one that tickles your fancy. All of them are pure LeGuin.

This is a collection of 5 short stories about the Earthsea world. It is another great addition to the Earthsea trilogy, or what used to be just a trilogy.

"The Finder"- This is the story of young Otter, who goes to a new island. He also is a slave for finding metal. This is a story of the founding of Roke School. It takes up about 1/3 of the book.

"Darkrose and Diamond"- 2 young lovers would turn their backs on magic for each other.

"The Bones of the Earth"- Young Ogion (he is being trained as a wizard in this story) and his master pull together to stop an earthquake form destroying a Gont port city.

"On the High Marsh"- Ged the Archmage chases a mad wizard after he has been driven from Roke.

"Dragonfly"- Probably the best story in the book. This is the bridge to the new Earthsea novel, "The Other Wind". It is set after Tehanu A woman comes to Roke to challenge the rule that only boys can come to Roke School. Old friends return. This has a fantastic ending!

Tales from Earthsea is a must-read for any Earthsea fan. It is highly worthy of being in the Earthsea saga. Highly recommended.

I am a huge fan of the original Earthsea Trilogy. The world Le Guin has created is so intriguing and it seems that she could tell an endless number of entertaining stories about Earthsea. When I got this book, I was really just hungry for more stories of Ged or more tales of heroes---the greatest wizard ever, the powerful wizard who defeated an enemy no one else could defeat, or the greatest "whatever" in Earthsea. It was those kinds of exciting feats and heroes that I was looking forward to reading more about.

However, it seems that Le Guin had a different focus which began with Tehanu and continues in Tales from Earthsea...an extremely feminist approach. I agree with another reviewer who says he can't help feeling that maybe Le Guin didn't like the original trilogy and that she seems to undo everything by making women responsible for Roke, etc. and she downplays the feats of the male heroes told previously. Of course, there can and should be room for the female heroines of Earthsea, but why did they have to take away from the male heroes, the great wizards? Le Guin even has same-sex marriages between women as a part of Earthsea life. Was this necessary? No, but it certainly fits well with her new feminist look at Earthsea.

The Tales are still well-told and entertaining because Le Guin is a wonderful writer. However, I guess that I am just nostalgic for the amazing feats and heroic adventures found in the first three books...and I was disappointed to find so little of that kind of story in this collection. The inclusion of women and their importance is also great to read, but this didn't need to come at the expense of the male part of the world of Earthsea. It was an imaginary world to begin with, and never offensive to women---sometimes it's nice to read a book that is not overly politically correct.