Tales from Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle)

The fifth entry in Ursula leGuin's epic EarthSea cycle. This has a series of short stories and mini novellas exploring aspects of EarthSea outside the scope of the earlier novels--early history that sets the stage for the original trilogy, and explanations of the magical universe of EarthSea not given elsewhere, and crucial to the final volume #6, an introduction to the mysterious and empowering link between humans and dragons is the closing essay of vol. 5 leading naturally to vol. 6. I always love good short story collections, and this one explores aspects of EarthSea only touched upon in the earlier novels. Readers get to enjoy greater understanding and engagement with the world of EarthSea through this volume which prepares them for the resolution of many dramas: the kargish lands vs the isles of the archipelago, art magic vs earth powers, immortal death in the dark land vs immortal life after true death, and men's vs women's powers and status...

(No spoilers here!) It took me a little longer to complete this book in the Earthsea series because it isn't one continuous story, but rather, a collection of short stories. You can read one, put it down, and walk away to read somethine else, no problem. Well, maybe one problem- I was eager to move forward and learn what happened to the characters I had come to love and this installment forced me to practice a bit of patience. The majority of the stories in this book are directly related to important characters in the other Earthsea books and provide relevant history / understanding of the world you too have undoubtedly become intimately familiar with. If you've followed the series this far, TALES FROM EARTHSEA is the vital next step before proceeding to the conclusion.

One of my favorite Authors. Maybe one of these days they'll get the movie right. I hope. And I love all of the sequels. Before & after

My grandson loved this.

I loved the _Earthsea_ trilogy. I read the series as a child, and wore my first copies to death. I don't think there's a finer fantasy series - one more mythic in nature; one more exacting in its prose. The series was complete in three volumes. It was written by a younger author, and Ursula K Le Guin should not have revisited it. There were objectionable elements, but they were part of Earthsea itself. In _Tehanu_ and more recently in this volume, Ursula has revisted her world for what seem frankly political reasons. We learn that magic (denied to women in the original volumes) was only restricted because of mysogyny. In fact, it turns out that the best magic users are women. And lesbians too - I have no idea why Ursula needed to tell us this. The Old Powers were the source of evil in the first books; in the current ones they are the helpful and healing source of women's magic. _Tehanu_ concluded with a deus ex machina. It destroyed the integrity of the first volumes without resolving any of the issues it had raised. There's another story here which reprises that ending - I felt cheated. This book should not have been written. It's a terrible thing, to destroy something as beautiful as _Earthsea_ was. I have the impression that the admitted mysogyny of the first books weighed so heavily on the author that she was determined to pull it down. To cite only one more example: the original trilogy was sparsely sketched in; things were casually mentioned which were part of the background but never used. In this volume Ursula felt it necessary to supply a lumbering appendix giving the sort of tedious minutiae which you might find in a guidebook - history, biology, etymology and so forth. I wish I hadn't read this book, or _Tehanu_. If you haven't read either you will probably be happier leaving the latter ones unread. The original books were flawed but uniquely beautiful. These ones are just your standard fantasy stories, written by an accomplished author.

The stories in this collection should be read in the order they appear. In particular, the last story refers back to the first. The stories are of varying length. "The Finder" is a 106 page novelette. "Darkrose and Diamond" is 35 pages. "The Bones of the Earth" is 20 pages. "On the High Marsh" is 33 pages. The last story, "Dragonfly" is 69 pages long. The author ends the collection with a 30 page description of Earthsea. The stories are about wizards and witches, good and evil, and involve shape changing, healing magic, finding, fire starting, binding spells, weather magic, etc. Like most collections, everyone will have their favorites, liking some stories better than others. I disagree with the author's statement that you should read her other novels first (the author, of course, is interested in selling copies). This collection stands well on its own.

I'm no good at book reviews so I won't try but I read a lot, mostly all Sci fi but I know what I like and I like this book a lot. Having said that, I haven't liked most URSULA K Le GUIN books because I don't care so much for Sci fantasy. I liked the on line reviews that I read so I bought it. I loved it and so bought the rest of the series (6 in all) and I loved them all. So much so that I will be going over the wealth of other novels she has written and see what else appeals to me. Geoff Heap

To be back in Earthsea across time and the space in which it exists, is just fantastic. This is book 5 out of 6. Loved the author's intro, and all the extra little things put into this edition. It takes me away. If you are a fantasy lover and have never read the books of Earthsea, these volumes should be sitting on your shelf as permanent staples in your library - you do need to start with book one 'A Wizard of Earthsea.' - you will not forget your jouney's. PLEASE do not look to the mini series 'Earthsea" prior to reading at least the first 2 books. ALSO, the animated film 'Tales From Earthsea' has little or nothing truly in common with the books. Enter the world of Earthsea, you will never regret reading the fantastic 6 six books that make up The Earthsea Cycle.

If you are like me; buying all the mass market paperbacks of this wonderful series, because you love the covers and want the books all to be in the same size: think again. The don’t come in the same size. A bit of a dissapointment

Ursula K. Le Guin is one of the best writers in the fantasy genre. Her books also make you think about philosophical questions. I enjoyed every second of my reading. Read all of the six books, it’s amazing.

I was first introduced to Earthsea by the 2006 Studio Ghibli feature, and then later read the collected edition of the first four Earthsea novels a few years ago, which left a lasting impression on me. So I was excited to read Tales from Earthsea, a collection of short stories that each take place at different times and places throughout the Earthsea universe. As with anything that you love, there is always an element of fear when starting a new, later addition. Will it be as good? Has the author written from the heart, or for an easy paycheck? The answer, in the case of this book, is that five stars isnt nearly enough! Le Guin's writing is hauntingly beautiful, rich and fluid and timeless, and the universe of Earthsea unfolds in ever more wonderous ways in these stories. Two of the stories in particular, Darkrose and Diamond, and The Bones of the Earth, are incredibly moving, beautifully written tales that I felt a genuine, emotional connection with. The collection is rounded out with a set of short essays describing the history and people of the Earthsea universe, written by Le Guin as straight, historical accounts. And I think that is where one of the strengths of the Earthsea books lies - Le Guin truely knows this universe, as intimately as if she had lived and travelled there her whole life. It gives the stories an honestly and a simple truth that has you believing them as if there were a newly discovered history of our world. Some sword and sorcery epics have left me feeling a little cold, and stories of Royal courts set in high fantasy realms bore me. With Earthsea, the magical is presented as something old, something basic to the nature of the universe, a fundamental power that exists in all things (in the same way that I believed in The Force as a child), and this then coupled with the rich, detailed history and geography of Le Guin's world gives the stories such a solid base to build upon. That she can also write complex, intriguing characters that you genuily care about, means that these are stories I feel have imprinted on me somehow, become a part of me, rather than simply something I have read. If you have not yet discovered the Earthsea novels, I urge you to give them a try. These are warm, delightfully written books to be treasured and returned to, time and time again.

This book from Ursula Le Guin is a masterpiece!

前４巻を補ったり、５巻につないでくれたりする、中篇・短編です。「ゲド戦記」シリーズは、少し重く暗い物語ですが、この「Tales from Earthsea」は、それぞれの話が短いので、重くならず、それでいてしっとりと、心に染み込んでくるような作品です。若き日のOgionにも、大賢人だった時のGedにも会えます。個人的には、全６冊になるシリーズの中で、一番好きです。 ペーパーバック版に関して言えば、今まで読んだいくつかの種類に比べて本が大きく、余白部分が多いのでとても読みやすいのです。また、表紙絵が美しくて、ハードカバーが欲しくなりました。