Synopses & Reviews
The tales of this book, as Ursula K. Le Guin writes in her introduction, explore or extend the world established by her first four Earthsea novels. Yet each stands on its own.
"The Finder," a novella set a few hundred years before A Wizard of Earthsea, presents a dark and troubled Archipelago and shows how some of its customs and institutions came to be. "The Bones of the Earth" features the wizards who taught the wizard who first taught Ged and demonstrates how humility, if great enough, can contend with an earthquake. "Darkrose and Diamond" is a delightful story of young courtship showing that wizards sometimes pursue alternative careers. "On the High Marsh" tells of the love of power-and of the power of love. "Dragonfly" shows how a determined woman can break the glass ceiling of male magedom.
Concluding with an account of Earthsea's history, people, languages, literature, and magic, this collection also features two new maps of Earthsea.
Review
"In this stellar collection, which includes a number of original stories, Le Guin makes a triumphant return to the magic-drenched world of Earthsea. . . . Le Guin is still at the height of her powers, a superb stylist with a knack for creating characters who are both wise and deeply humane. The publication of this collection is a major event in fantasy literature."--Publishers Weekly "While best appreciated in conjunction with Le Guin's previous Earthsea tales, this volume not only stands alone but also serves as an introduction to new readers. Strong work from a master storyteller."--Library Journal
Review
"New and longtime Earthsea fans will be drawn to these impressive new editions."—Horn Book
Review
"The magic of Earthsea is primal; the lessons of Earthsea remain as potent, as wise, and as necessary as anyone could dream."--Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman "New and longtime Earthsea fans will be drawn to these impressive new editions."—Horn Book
Review
[star] "Le Guin's superior narrative voice and storytelling power make even small moments ring with truth, and often with beauty."--School Library Journal (starred)
Review
"A brilliant exploration of the power and responsibilty of gifts . . . Provocative."--
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Intriguing as a coming-of-age allegory . . . rich in the earthy magic and intelligent plot twists that made the Earthsea novels classics."--Booklist (starred review)
"Science-fiction icon Le Guin probes the natures of fear, power, and love in this darkly beautiful, quietly provocative novel."--Family Fun
"Fantasy, artfully spun by an American master." --Parade
"One can recommend this book without hesitation to teens looking for a great fantasy read that does not follow the standard quest format."--VOYA
Review
"Le Guin's storytelling prowress transforms small moments into beautiful, poignantly narrated events . . . Fantasy readers seeking an intricate and thoughtful examination of a life that is as much endured as enjoyed will find Gavir to be unforgettable and his gorgeous but dangerous surroundings engaging."--
The Bulletin star "With compelling themes about the soul-crushing effects of slavery, and a journey plotline that showcasese Le Guin's gift for creating a convincing array of cultures, this follow-up to
Gifts and
Voices may be the series' best installment."--
Booklist (starred)
Review
"A superb novel."--
Publishers WeeklySynopsis
An exciting re-launch of the classic Earthsea Cycle, by fantasy literature legend Ursula K. Le Guin, winner of a Newbery Honor, the National Book Award, Pushcart Prize, and six Nebula Awards.
Synopsis
The tales of this book explore and extend the world established by the Earthsea novels--yet each stands on its own. It contains the novella "The Finder," and the short stories "The Bones of the Earth," "Darkrose and Diamond," "On the High Marsh," and "Dragonfly." Concluding with with an account of Earthsea's history, people, languages, literature, and magic, this collection also features two new maps of Earthsea.
Synopsis
The sorcerer Alder fears sleep. He dreams of the land of death, of his wife who died young and longs to return to him so much that she kissed him across the low stone wall that separates our world from the Dry Land-where the grass is withered, the stars never move, and lovers pass without knowing each other. The dead are pulling Alder to them at night. Through him they may free themselves and invade Earthsea.
Alder seeks advice from Ged, once Archmage. Ged tells him to go to Tenar, Tehanu, and the young king at Havnor. They are joined by amber-eyed Irian, a fierce dragon able to assume the shape of a woman.
The threat can be confronted only in the Immanent Grove on Roke, the holiest place in the world and there the king, hero, sage, wizard, and dragon make a last stand.
Le Guin combines her magical fantasy with a profoundly human, earthly, humble touch.
Synopsis
A powerful companion to the celebrated
GiftsSynopsis
Ansul was once a peaceful town filled with libraries, schools, and temples. But that was long ago, and the conquerors of this coastal city consider reading and writing to be acts punishable by death. And they believe the Oracle House, where the last few undestroyed books are hidden, is seething with demons. But to seventeen-year-old Memer, the house is the only place where she feels truly safe.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Then an Uplands poet named Orrec and his wife, Gry, arrive, and everything in Memer's life begins to change. Will she and the people of Ansul at last be brave enough to rebel against their oppressors?and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Includes an interview with the author and a teaser to the third book in the series,and#160;Powers.
Synopsis
A darkly compelling fantasy about a world in which each person has a magical, dangerous "gift."
Synopsis
Scattered among poor, desolate farms, the clans of the Uplands possess gifts. Wondrous gifts: the ability--with a glance, a gesture, a word--to summon animals, bring forth fire, move the land. Fearsome gifts: They can twist a limb, chain a mind, inflict a wasting illness. The Uplanders live in constant fear that one family might unleash its gift against another. Two young people, friends since childhood, decide not to use their gifts. One, a girl, refuses to bring animals to their death in the hunt. The other, a boy, wears a blindfold lest his eyes and his anger kill.
In this beautifully crafted story, Ursula K. Le Guin writes of the proud cruelty of power, of how hard it is to grow up, and of how much harder still it is to find, in the world's darkness, gifts of light.
Includes a reader's guide and a sample chapter from the companion title Voices.
Synopsis
A haunting and complex coming-of-age tale from master storyteller Ursula K. Le Guin, this is the third book in the Annals of the Western Shore Sequence, which began with Gifts and continued with Voices.
Synopsis
Young Gav can remember the page of a book after seeing it once, and, inexplicably, he sometimes and#8220;remembersand#8221; things that are going to happen in the future. As a loyal slave, he must keep these powers secret, but when a terrible tragedy occurs, Gav, blinded by grief, flees the only world he has ever known. And in what becomes a treacherous journey for freedom, Gavand#8217;s greatest test of all is facing his powers so that he can come to understand himself and finally find a true home.
Includes maps.
Synopsis
One of Ursula K. Le Guin's most beloved teen novels, finally back in print.
Synopsis
Owen is seventeen and smart. He knows what he wants to do with his life. But then he meets Natalie and he realizes he doesn't know anything much at all.
A slender, realistic story of a young man's coming of age, Very Far Away from Anywhere Else is one of the most inspiring novels Ursula K. Le Guin has ever published.
About the Author
Ursula K. Le Guin was born in Berkeley, California, in 1929. Over the course of her career she has published more than sixty books of fiction, fantasy, science fiction, childrenandrsquo;s literature, poetry, drama, criticism, and translation, and is the multiple winner of the highest awards in several fields. Among her honors are a National Book Award, a PEN/Malamud Award for short fiction, five Hugo and five Nebula Awards, twenty-one Locus Awards, the Kafka Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the National Book Foundationandrsquo;s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband.