Tales from Earthsea
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Narrated by:
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Jenny Sterlin
About this listen
The tales of this book explore and extend the world established by Ursula K. Le Guin's must-listen Earthsea Cycle. "The magic of Earthsea is primal; the lessons of Earthsea remain as potent, as wise, and as necessary as anyone could dream." (Neil Gaiman)
This collection contains the novella "The Finder," and the short stories "The Bones of the Earth," "Darkrose and Diamond," "On the High Marsh," and "Dragonfly." It concludes with an account of Earthsea's history, people, languages, literature, and magic.
With stories as perennial and universally beloved as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of The Rings—but also unlike anything but themselves—Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea novels are some of the most acclaimed and awarded works in literature. They have received accolades such as the National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, the Nebula Award, and many more honors, commemorating their enduring place in the hearts and minds of readers and the literary world alike.
Join the millions of fantasy listeners who have explored these lands. As The Guardian put it: "Ursula Le Guin's world of Earthsea is a tangled skein of tiny islands cast on a vast sea. The islands' names pull at my heart like no others: Roke, Perilane, Osskil … "
©2001 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2017 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Highly acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin lends a resonant voice to a pivotal yet often overlooked character of Vergil's The Aeneid. Born into peace and freedom, Lavinia is stunned to learn that she will be the cause of a great war - or so the prophecies and omens claim. Her fate is sealed, however, when she meets a man from Troy.
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Fascinatingly well written
- By Kennet on 03-11-09
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Shadowmarch
- Shadowmarch, Volume I
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 29 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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For generations the misty Shadowline has marked the boundary between the lands of men and the lost northern lands that are the lair of their inhuman enemies, the ageless Qar. But now that boundary line is moving outward, threatening to engulf the northernmost land in which humans still live - the kingdom of Southmarch.
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It's the characters that matter...
- By JC on 11-09-10
By: Tad Williams
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The King Must Die
- By: Mary Renault
- Narrated by: Michael York
- Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
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This is the story of the young Theseus: Prince of Troizen, King of Eleusis and Athens, and slayer of the Minotaur. Acclaimed novelist Mary Renault weaves myth, legend, history, and fiction into the story of a young hero's search for his destiny and the countless challenges he faces. From Theseus's early life as a prince, to his leadership of a captive team of bulldancers in Crete—not to mention his thrilling encounters with Poseidon—The King Must Die captures the full force of adventure, battle, and an epic quest.
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Poetic and short
- By Ben on 04-07-24
By: Mary Renault
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The Dreaming Tree
- By: C. J. Cherryh
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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It was that transitional time of the world when man first brought the clang of iron and the reek of smoke to the lands which before had echoed only with fairy voices. In that dawn of man and death of magic, there yet remained one last untouched place - the small forest of Ealdwood - which kept the magic intact and protected the old ways. And there was one who dwelt there, Arafel the Sidhe, who had more pride and love of the world as it used to be than any of her kind.
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mysterious, authentic, beautiful
- By B. Mertz on 12-09-18
By: C. J. Cherryh
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Cup of Gold
- A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History
- By: John Steinbeck, Susan F. Beegel - introduction
- Narrated by: Ronan Vibert
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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From the mid-1650s through the 1660s, Henry Morgan, a pirate and outlaw of legendary viciousness, ruled the Spanish Main. He ravaged the coasts of Cuba and America, striking terror wherever he went. Morgan was obsessive. He had two driving ambitions: to possess the beautiful woman called La Santa Roja and to conquer Panama, the "cup of gold".
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Not your usual Steinbeck novel
- By Andrew on 06-03-15
By: John Steinbeck, and others
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Magdalen Rising
- The Beginning
- By: Elizabeth Cunningham
- Narrated by: Heather O'Neill
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Young Magdalen and Jesus, brimming with youthful charm and arrogance, find each other and fall in love, forging a bond that is stronger than death. Their pleasure is overshadowed by a brilliant but unbalanced druid who knows a perilous secret about Maeve's past. The prequel to The Passion of Mary Magdalen.
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The Story as Maeve meant you to hear it!
- By Elizabeth Cunningham on 07-27-15
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Oath of Fealty
- Paladin's Legacy, Book 1
- By: Elizabeth Moon
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter follows her dream of becoming a hero out of legend by running away to join the army. Military life and warfare aren't anything like she imagined - yet she holds to both her duty and her dreams. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold tell of her rise to become the paladin who saves a kingdom. In this new trilogy, Paks's former comrades in Duke Phelan's Company assume new roles and the story turns to follow their adventures.
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More Moon Magic
- By James on 04-20-10
By: Elizabeth Moon
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The Journey
- By: Isobelle Carmody
- Narrated by: Isobelle Carmody
- Length: 48 mins
- Unabridged
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A bonus never-before-released short story by best-selling author Isobelle Carmody. Before the apocolyptic Great White - and the regressive theology that ruled the decimated population in its wake - the city of Uropa is a gleaming metropolis devoted wholly to materialistic consumption.
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The Journey
- By Kiba Snowpaw on 09-27-23
By: Isobelle Carmody
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Shardik
- By: Richard Adams
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 23 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Shardik is a fantasy of tragic character, centered on the long-awaited reincarnation of the gigantic bear Shardik and his appearance among the half-barbaric Ortelgan people. Mighty, ferocious, and unpredictable, Shardik changes the life of every person in the story. His advent commences a momentous chain of events.
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Overlooked, underappreciated and forgotten epic
- By "sharp31" on 08-06-18
By: Richard Adams
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Dragon Seed
- By: Pearl S. Buck
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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To the Chinese the dragon is not an evil creature, but is a god and the friend of men who worship him. He "holds in his power prosperity and peace." Ruling the waters and the winds, he sends the good rain, is hence the symbol of fecundity. In the Hsia dynasty two dragons fought a great duel until both disappeared, leaving only a fertile foam from which were born the descendants of the Hsia. Thus, the dragons came to be looked upon as the ancestors of a race of heroes. This is the story of China at War.
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More Relevant Today than Ever
- By Robert on 07-29-13
By: Pearl S. Buck
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The Bone Doll's Twin
- Tamir Triad, Book 1
- By: Lynn Flewelling
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine, Lynn Flewelling
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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As people start to recall the Oracle's prophecy, Erius begins to quietly kill off his female relatives who pose the only threat to his monarchy. Constantly in fear for her life, Princess Ariani the King's sister, gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. But Ariani is married to Lord Rhius, the patron of the powerful wizard Iya, and Iya has sinister plans for the babes.
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Not a bad beginning, but . . .
- By bluestatereader on 12-29-10
By: Lynn Flewelling
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The Book of Magic
- By: Gardner Dozois - editor, Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, and others
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Sile Bermingham, Maxwell Caulfield, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Hot on the heels of Gardner Dozois's acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf... and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda... and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore... and Severus Snape? Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped - or misshaped - by the potent magic they seek to wield.
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some stinkers mostly good
- By M.T. on 12-11-18
By: Gardner Dozois - editor, and others
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The House of the Stag
- By: Kage Baker
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Before the Riders came to their remote valley, the Yendri led a tranquil, pastoral life. When the Riders conquered and enslaved them, only a few escaped to the forests. Rebellion wasn't the Yendri way; they hid, or passively resisted, taking consolation in the prophecies of their spiritual leader. Only one possessed the necessary rage to fight back: Gard the foundling, half-demon, who began a one-man guerrilla war against the Riders.
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Delightfully humorous
- By Katherine on 09-09-11
By: Kage Baker
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In the Uplands, people have magical and fearsome gifts. Orrec, a boy growing into his powers, can destroy any living thing with simply a glance. But he refuses to use his ability, and wears a blindfold to protect others from his devastating gaze.
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Book 3 won the 2008 Nebula Award
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The Eye of the Heron
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In Victoria on a former prison colony, two exiled groups - the farmers of Shantih and the city dwellers - live in apparent harmony. All is not as it seems, however. While the peace-loving farmers labor endlessly to provide food for the city, the city bosses rule the Shantih with an iron fist. When a group of farmers decide to form a new settlement further away, the bosses retaliate by threatening to crush the "rebellion".
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Great story!
- By trailtrekkie on 02-24-20
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Lavinia
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Highly acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin lends a resonant voice to a pivotal yet often overlooked character of Vergil's The Aeneid. Born into peace and freedom, Lavinia is stunned to learn that she will be the cause of a great war - or so the prophecies and omens claim. Her fate is sealed, however, when she meets a man from Troy.
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Fascinatingly well written
- By Kennet on 03-11-09
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Catwings
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Ursula K. Le Guin wrote this highly acclaimed novel about a very special litter of kittens. Mrs. Jane Tabby has always longed toget away from the cramped alleys of the city. She knows it is too late for her, but she thinks her longing may be the reason her litter of kittens was born with wings. When they are old enough to fly, she sends the four kittens, who become known as catwings, out into the world to find their home. But they find that danger does not lurk only in city alleyways.
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A Childhood Favorite
- By CSP on 11-14-17
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The Birthday of the World
- And Other Stories
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Ursula K. Le Guin has enthralled fans with her imagination, clarity, and moral vision. The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and five Hugo and five Nebula Awards, this renowned writer has created a provocative, ever-evolving universe filled with diverse worlds and rich characters reminiscent of our earthly selves. Now, in The Birthday of the World, this gifted artist returns to these worlds in eight brilliant short works, including a never-before-published novella, each of which probes the essence of humanity.
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Only worth it for Paradises Lost
- By DEC on 10-27-21
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The Lathe of Heaven
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
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- Unabridged
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In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately grasps the power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself as Dr. Haber becomes adept at manipulating George's dreams for his own purposes.
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Amazing!
- By Adrienne R. on 11-23-18
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The Beginning Place
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
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Tembreabrezi is like Eden - a beginning place. There, Hugh and Irena assume they have merely discovered an escape from the dull monotony, even the terrors of their regular lives. But Tembreabrezi has a secret, a dark fear that is threatening the very life-blood of the kingdom. Hugh and Irena were led there for a purpose, selected for an impossibly hopeless mission. If they accept the challenge, they may lose everything - their new-found paradise, and possibly their lives.
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Turned off...
- By Amazon Customer on 05-11-20
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Dancing at the Edge of the World
- Thoughts on Words, Women, Places
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From modern literature to menopause, from utopian thought to rodeos - in this classic collection of essays, Ursula K. Le Guin roves with her customary audacity over the intersecting arenas of literature, feminism, and social responsibility, exploding any received notions she comes across and revealing visionary possibilities in their stead.
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Not my favorite Le Guin collection, but...
- By Cameron on 05-11-19
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Always Coming Home
- A Novel
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
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- Length: 23 hrs and 10 mins
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Always Coming Home is Ursula K. Le Guin’s fictional ethnography of the Kesh, a people of the far future living in a post-apocalyptic Napa Valley. Having survived ecological catastrophe brought on by relentless industrialization, the Kesh are a peaceful people who reject governance and the constriction of genders, limit population growth to prevent overcrowding and preserve resources, and maintain a healthy community in which everyone works to contribute to its well-being. This richly imagined story unfolds through a series of narrated “translations” that illuminate individual lives.
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Anyone who would give this a bad score is boring
- By Josh on 09-18-23
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Words Are My Matter
- Writings About Life and Books, 2000-2016, with a Journal of a Writer’s Week
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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A must-listen collection, Words Are My Matter is a manual for investigating the depth and breadth of contemporary fiction - and, through the lens of deep considerations of contemporary writing, a way of exploring the world we are all living in. "We need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. Developing written material to suit sales strategies in order to maximize corporate profit and advertising revenue is not the same thing as responsible book publishing or authorship."
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One of Le Guin's best collections
- By Cameron on 05-11-19
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No Time to Spare
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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From acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin, and with an introduction by Karen Joy Fowler, a collection of thoughts - always adroit, often acerbic - on aging, belief, the state of literature, and the state of the nation. Ursula K. Le Guin has taken listeners to imaginary worlds for decades. Now she's in the last great frontier of life, old age, and exploring new literary territory: the blog, a forum where her voice - sharp, witty, as compassionate as it is critical - shines. No Time to Spare collects the best of Ursula's blog, presenting perfectly crystallized dispatches on what matters.
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What a delight!
- By Linda on 02-13-18
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The Mirror of Her Dreams
- Volume I of Mordant's Need
- By: Stephen R. Donaldson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 28 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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The daughter of rich but neglectful parents, Terisa Morgan lives alone in a New York City apartment, a young woman who has grown to doubt her own existence. Surrounded by the flat reassurance of mirrors, she leads an unfulfilled life - until the night a strange man named Geraden comes crashing through one of her mirrors, on a quest to find a champion to save his kingdom of Mordant from a pervasive evil that threatens the land.
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Thank Heavens, It's Finally Over!
- By Benjamin on 07-12-12
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The Unreal and the Real
- Selected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin, Volume One: Where on Earth
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Tandy Cronyn
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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The Unreal and the Real is a major event not to be missed. In this two-volume selection of Ursula K. Le Guin's best short stories--as selected by the National Book Award winning author herself--the reader will be delighted, provoked, amused, and faced with the sharp, satirical voice of one of the best short story writers of the present day. Where on Earth explores Le Guin's earthbound stories which range around the world, from small town Oregon to middle Europe in the middle of revolution to summer camp.
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Shame on you, Audible
- By Audrey McCombs on 07-03-20
What listeners say about Tales from Earthsea
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Jefferson
- 12-13-22
“What matters is whose house we live in"
Ursula K. Le Guin’s fifth Earthsea book, Tales from Earthsea (2001), collects two novellas, three short stories, and a Description of Earthsea. Though some of the tales are better than others, all of them are vintage Le Guin: thought-provoking, imaginative, original, moving, and poetically and precisely written. The characters are compelling and the action suspenseful, without relying on violent action. Except for the novella “Dragonfly,” which is “a dragon bridge” between the fourth and fifth Earthsea novels, the stories are stand alones.
In the Foreword (well read by Christina Moore), Le Guin talks about things like the commodification of fantasy, how she came to revisit Earthsea after having subtitled Tehanu “The *Last* Book of Earthsea,” and how real world history writing is similar to fantasy world history writing. All with her wit and clarity.
“The Finder” is a moving novella about love, power, learning/teaching, and gender during a time of disunity, slavery, and tyranny, similar to what is going on around the later chaotic time of The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. Otter’s boatwright father tries to beat the boy’s natural gift for magic out of him, until he is bound to work as a dowser for a crazy, amoral wizard looking for cinnabar to refine into quicksilver. How this hellish situation leads to the founding of Roke School (by men *and* women) makes an interesting story. Especially moving and neat are Otter’s relationships with a nude, deformed, mercury-poisoned female slave and with a pirate king’s “crafty man” finder, the Hound.
“All the hope left in the world is in the people of no account.”
(4 stars)
“Darkrose and Diamond” is a romantic story about Diamond, the gifted son of a wealthy lumber merchant, who thinks he can only choose one thing, music, magic, or business, though his mother believes that everything in life is connected, tangled together. Will Diamond follow his bliss and his heart or fulfill his father’s desires? Will Diamond’s beloved Darkrose, daughter of a witch, fit into his life? Le Guin has decided that the voluntary celibacy of wizards is misguided, unnecessary, and possibly harmful.
“Why can’t you have everything you want?”
(3.5 stars)
In order to try to save Gont Port Town from being destroyed by an earthquake, the old wizard Dulse teams up with his former student Ogion to use a powerful elemental spell taught Dulse by his teacher Ard sixty years earlier. The perfectly crafted story, about relationships between teachers and students, fathers and sons, friends and friends, and humans and the earth, is moving. It also says subtle, potent things about gender. It’s poignant to see Ged’s old teacher as a young man.
“In the dark under the water all islands touch and are one.”
(5 stars)
The widow Gift thinks that a traveler who shows up one day at her farm is a king or a beggar. He is surely broken and may be mad, but she senses that he is a kind and true man and offers him hospitality, and he sets about healing the area cattle afflicted by an awful murrain. The story is like a western in which a damaged gunfighter shows up in a small town, hides his guns for fear of harming another person with them, and works on a widow’s ranch. What is the man’s story? Who is he running from? Is he dangerous or safe? When a scarred stranger called Hawk shows up at Gift’s farm, we expect a wizardly showdown. Will Le Guin subvert genre again? Her story is a moving middle-aged romance.
“The changes in a man's life may be beyond all the arts we know and all our wisdom.”
(4.5 stars)
“Dragonfly” is a novella about an uneducated, uncouth, large, vital, beautiful young woman who wants to find out who she is and so tries to enter the male-only Roke School for wizards disguised as a young man and catalyzes a change in the school. The story develops more of the human/dragon thing introduced by Tehanu. The relationship between Irian and a bitter expelled wizard from Roke called Ivory, is neat and funny. I love it when he tries to cast a love spell on Irian, and she punches him while her dog grins at him. The story links Tehanu (1990) to The Other Wind (2001).
“I think we should go to our house and open its doors.”
(4 stars)
After the five tales comes A Description of Earthsea, in which Le Guin writes a kind of encyclopedia entry on Earthsea, with topics like the traits and cultures and histories of the Hardic, Kargad, and Dragon peoples (including their Languages, Writing and Magic), the School on Roke, and Celibacy and Wizardry. Most of this appears here and there throughout her six Earthsea books, but it’s ever a pleasure to read Le Guin’s writing.
(3 stars)
The audiobook closes with a new Afterword (well read by Christina Moore) in which Le Guin explains why she published the fifth book of tales before she wrote the sixth novel. She uses an analogy between the “uncertain beginning of the last movement of Beethoven’s last symphony,” wherein he’s searching for the right way to go forward, and what she was trying to do with these tales: find the right way to finish her Earthsea cycle. She also talks about the need for the reality of imaginative fantasy literature in our contemporary virtual world.
The audiobook reader Jenny Sterlin is prime.
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- Bruce
- 09-18-21
Good reading - but is it movie material?
As with the whole EarthSea set, it is the artistry, the phrase, the pondering thought. I have revisited the entire saga trying to answer the question why Studio Ghibli made such a mess of the story. Now, with older eyes, I can see that the series would make a much better source of cozy small-cast stage theatre rather than a melodramatic "movie" - there is hardly any movement in any of it.
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- Jeremy
- 09-13-24
love Earthsea
great fifth book of Earthsea, wrote well and full of short stories. If you enjoyed the previous four you should listen to this.
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- amy kurka
- 01-07-22
Earthsea is my favorite fantasy
this is a short story collection and there were some stories I liked more than others but Ursula Leguin is a fantastic author and this is a fantastic world so I still loved each one very much
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- Jodi Campbell
- 05-30-22
Love this series
I absolutely loved this series! imaginative and bold in approach, these tales leave the reader wanting more!
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- Rick Stocker
- 11-30-21
Completely satisfying. Sterlin' s reading superb
Beloved stories, by my lifelong favourite writer, read superbly. What more could a person ask for?
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- Donna M.
- 04-22-17
loved it
loved it I wish there was more... I really enjoyed it see I even dream to sometimes and Percy then listen to it before I fell asleep
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- Wendy D. Fambro
- 04-01-23
Ahhh Ursula
It’s good to come back to a master storyteller. And I will be following this narrator who brings a certain gravitas to the tales.
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- DAVE R
- 03-16-17
Awesome
Loved hearing the history of Earthsea. The stories were easy to connect with and I was emotionally invested in the characters. Especially in The Finder and in The Bones of the Earth.
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- Blue Phoenix
- 09-12-20
Essential reading for fans of Earthsea Cycle
I seriously debated about whether or not to listen to this book because I just wanted to get on with the last book to find out what happened to Ged and Tenar...
I am so glad reason won and that I did listen to "Tales Of Earthsea". It lays essential back storylines, histories. I loved all of the stories. It is also well worth the time to listen to the forwards and afterwords of the author as they further understanding of the world of Earthsea. Listening to the author explaining her thought processes was fascinating. Great read!
My only complaint is that although Jenny Sterlin is a fantastic narrator for the most part, it was hard for me to listen to her grating attempt at the old men voices of the master wizards of Roke. I wondered if doing it made her throat sore. But this was a minor irritation that was easily overlooked.
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1 person found this helpful