Book Review: Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tehanu (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 4) by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tehanu returns us to the world of Earthsea, to the time after the The Farthest Shore and The Tombs of Atuan. Tenar has grown older, had a family, and is now a widower when she received an urgentl from Sparrowhawk's former mentor Ogion, the mage that took her in when she first came to the area. As she journeys to her cottage we are introduced to the little girl Therru, marked by horrible tragedy and evil.

While at Ogion's cottage, Sparrowhawk returns to Tenar, but he returns scarred and damaged, missing part of himself. Tenar, Sparrowhawk, and little Therru make a life journey together to put the pieces of themselves back together and bring the work back to a better place.

This book was a fantastic read. it gave me what I've always wanted at the end of a series....just one more book. A book to show me how they ended up, what their family was like, and who would continue on after them. Tenar and Ged (also called Sparrowhawk), reunited after many years, are still the same characters I had grown to love in the earlier books. Only this time they are wiser, and will need to use all of their wisdom to help little Therru. Therru drew my sympathy from the start, and I admired her spirit and her tenacity to overcome her difficulties. This was a great addition to the Earthsea Cycle.

4/5

Book Meets Movie: The Earthsea Saga

I absolutely adored the Earthsea books.  The characters were engaging, the storylines full of just about everything you could want in a fantasy series.  We had magic and mystery, strange gods and even stranger creatures.  The stories follow the wizard Ged, one of the greatest of all time, through his adventures as he not only finds himself, but manages to save the land of Earthsea in the process.  I read the books almost back to back and the stories flowed smoothly into one another.

The "movie" is actually a Sci-Fi Channel mini-series, but I watched it on DVD so it seemed like a very long movie.  Now the movie is not quite the same as the book...well let's just face it, it's nothing the same.  Try and imagine someone reading all of the Earthsea books to you at the exact same time.  That's right, all the books seem to be happening simultaneously.  They also leave out some of the biggest and most important scenes because they must not have fit into this mangled timeline.

Once I realized that the movie was not going to be like the books, I made every effort to put the books out of my mind and just enjoy a good movie.  Unfortunately I couldn't quite do that.  There is very little character development because of this and when they did manage to change it was so sudden that they may as well have turned into a different person in a matter of seconds.  If I hadn't read the books, I would have been completely lost.  There is no explanation of why people are doing what they are doing or who they even are. 

These books could have some major potential if they had been presented correctly.  I hope someone does it some day.

The Tombs of Atuan Review

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K Le Guin

The second book of the Earthsea Cycle introduces us to Tenar, The Eaten One, or the high priestess of the Nameless Ones.  Tenar was selected at birth to hold this position and she loves to do so until the wizard Ged appears.

Ged is there to rob the secret vaults of the Nameless Ones to find a ring that is rumored to help restore peace.  Tenar discovers Ged when he enters the underground tunnels she loves to be in.

A nice second book to the series, and it also sets up the third (almost done with it) quite well.  I wish we were able to see more of Ged's life inbetween the books, but the glimpses of his life that the books do show us are fascinating.

4/5 stars

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

A great start to a new fantasy world for me. Ged's path starts at the discovering of his power. We follow him through his training to a cataclysmic event that releases an unknown horror on the world that hungers for everthing Ged is. Ged must find a way to run or fight and it is unclear which is the best decision or if Ged is even making the decisions or being driven by yet another unknown force.

This book is a story of a boy finding himself and accepting all that he is before he can become a man and fully grasp his powers. I have the next book waiting to go right now.

4/5 stars