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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Looking at many of the reader reviews on other websites, some of them quite scathing, you’d think that LeGuin had written a horrifyingly bad book. Some call it a betrayal of the Earthsea series, of which this book is the fourth. I say tough. It was certainly the most mature of the books up until...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It“This is the last in the Earthsea series, and there are some parts of the story that are interesting. Unfortunately, it takes a very odd turn at the end, and it really turned me off.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“final earthsea book. not my favorite but still pretty good”
victoria s wrote this review 9 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“**spoiler alert** From all I had heard about this book before reading it, I expected a much slower and less action-packed tale than the previous Earthsea novels presented. This expectation made it much easier to accept the novel as it was than it would have been if I had come in expecting another epic journey as presented in A Wizard of Earthsea or The Farthest Shore.
Thomas Johnson wrote this review Wednesday, November 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
By keeping the story within a smaller scope, LeGuin actually makes her milieu seem more authentic than it ever has been: she demonstrates that there is more to life in Earthsea than the travails of wizards, and that her fantasy world is not free of sweat, grime, and monotonous daily routines. Because the setting is less extravagant, the novel, more than any of the previous installments, succeeds on the depth of its characters and the strength of the philosophical questions it proposes.
By making Tenar the primary viewpoint character, LeGuin allows the reader is able to empathize with Tenar's struggle to understand and help both Therru and Ged. Tenar, like the reader, doesn't understand all the rules of magical world she lives in, and yet is desperately trying to be a compassionate person within that world. Another part of her appeal is that she is clever enough to question the foundations of magic that Ged, and the reader, have taken for granted -- to consider the order Ged represents, and wonder whether that order is unchangeable or malleable. What does it mean for a woman to have magical power in a world where mages have historically been men? More importantly, why have mages historically been men?
It is this exploration of gender roles which makes Tehanu a fascinating read. LeGuin only raises these questions, allowing the reader to ponder them for him or herself. My hope is that she revisits these issues in The Other Wind, as I think they deserve deeper examination. As it stands, I give her credit for examining the parameters of her milieu in a way I haven't seen any other fantasy author do. However, it is ultimately Tenar's attempts to guide Therru and Ged through their trauma, and the joy she finds with both of them, which makes the novel an emotionally fulfilling read.”
“This book was a little bit difficult to get into. It is the fourth book in the Earthsea series. There are some returning characters from other books in the series, including Ged, the archmage, and Tenar the ex-dark priestess. A new main character is introduced named Therru. She is a young abused girl whom Tenar has adopted. Therru does not talk very much and shies away from strangers. This book is essentially about Therru finding her place in the world and learning to open up. It is also about Tenar trying to decide who to be after her husband has died. And Ged gets on of the most important aspects of his character taken away from him. So I suppose the whole book is basically about people becoming themselves, not a person based on another's opinion.
ARIEL C wrote this review Monday, November 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I liked this book, even though it gets off with a kind of slow start. In general some parts are a little lengthy, and feel uneeded, but it all fits together in the end. This book does however have a more mature vibe then the others, even though the main character is younger then that of all the other books in the series. The most annoying part of this book is how it doesn't seem to have a set plot. Things just happen, very, slowly. However, the best thing about this book is its 'surprise' ending. So in general, not a bad book I guess.”“This is the last in the Earthsea series, and there are some parts of the story that are interesting. Unfortunately, it takes a very odd turn at the end, and it really turned me off.”
Sam C wrote this review Monday, November 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“this is my favorite installment of the Earthsea cycle so far”
Lauren wrote this review Monday, September 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“The best book of the series!”
Kim M wrote this review Saturday, August 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I was sorry that one of my favorite characters in the series was sidelined at first, but having read the whole series now, the book works perfectly. This was what alerted me to Le Guin's growing feminism.”
Mark S wrote this review Wednesday, July 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This takes place immediately after The Farthest Shore. We meet back up with Tenar and watch as she takes care of Ged now that he has lost his powers. We watch their relationship grow and find out who the child she has taken in really is and what she will mean for the world of Ea.
4boyz4me wrote this review Friday, May 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I really enjoyed this one and you can see things are being set up for an even bigger battle for the world, one in which Ged will likely play a part but not the one it would have been when he was younger. I'm interested to see how this will all play out.”
“The forth book in Earthsea cycle. I didn't like it though it is very important. Ogion is dead, Ged has been disarmed of his skills, and Tenar has to care after a burned child which we will see is a dragon whelp!”
Ebrahim Taghavi wrote this review Saturday, April 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I enjoyed this book very much, and that's saying something considering how much I liked the 3 in the series before it.
emilysk wrote this review Sunday, March 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This book is set many years after "The Tombs of Atuan". Tenar has retired to Gont, married a farmer, and raised a family. Her husband has died, her daughter has married and moved away, and her son has shipped out as a sailor. She encounters a terribly burned young girl, the victim of a brutal attack, and takes her in as her foster daughter. She also reconnects with Ged, who was Archmage of Roke until his trip through the Dry Lands took away his magic. Now, as a middle-aged man, he and Tenar connect as ordinary people, not the priestess and mage they once were.
This is a touching story, and the characters seemed more real and alive than they did in previous books. This is the opposite of those book series in which the later books lose the focus or excitement of the earlier ones. ”
