Reviews

Loved the story "On The High Marsh". Loved the history of Roke and that women were founders of the school, although later excluded. Dragonfly is also very good. Feminine anger and shame at exclusion. Male hate and anger at the "intrusion" of women.

anonymousreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

lkarakitsaki's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

emaciated_dragon's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted

3.5

artemisg's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wonderful as always. I just love the world of Earthsea, and this collection of short stories added to my love of it. As I have said before, I love worldbuilding, and I adore how you can feel the world come to Ursula as she writes; everything felt so alive and real in this collection. The rich history, the complexities of magic and manhood and womanhood, and the dragons! It was all so wonderful.

The Finder - 5 stars

This is the longest of the stories and tells the story of the development of the School on Roke Island. This shines a whole new light on the horrors of the world of Earthsea and the co-opting of magic and power. The discussions of trust, gender, vulnerability, and love were wonderful, and the story itself was also wonderful. I loved seeing Roke again, we had been gone for so long, and it led beautifully from the discussions we saw in Tehanu.

Darkrose and Diamond - 3.5 stars

This was my least favourite of the stories, perhaps because I don’t come to this world for romance. But I still really enjoyed it, it was a powerful example of the complexities of wizardry and the loss of aspects of one’s identity through wizardry.

The Bones of the Earth - 5 stars

There was something about this one that had me. This story follows Ogion and his mentor as they stop an earthquake. It was a pleasure to read more about Ogion and his past, and I loved the voice of his mentor. Again, this was another insight into slightly different forms of magic and power, which I adored. The prose in this story was magical and captured me, I can’t explain it.

On The High Marsh - 4 stars

This story follows a mysterious healer - mysterious to us, those around him, and himself - as he arrives in a town where there is a livestock epidemic. He arrives to heal the herds. As the story goes on, we learn more about him and his past and what brought him to this place. A nice, succinct story that fills in some gaps and was a good read.

Dragonfly - 5 stars

This story is described by Ursula as a bridge between Tehanu and The Other Wind, and it was necessary to read. It follows a girl, Dragonfly, as she endeavours to find out all of who and what she is. We see her through her own eyes and through the eyes of male wizards, which adds layers of complexity to her identity. There is a lot of philosophical discussion in this story, setting up the ground for the discussion in The Other Wind. I loved it.

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