Reviews

La saga di Terramare by Ursula K. Le Guin

1_and_owenly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-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

This is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the individual parts. Not only are the individual stories amazing, but in combination with the art from Charles Vess and the extra essays from Ursula K Le Guin, this provides depth and grace beyond the books which compose the series. Earthsea is a reaction against the typical Western heroic tale and it becomes oh so clear in this compendium. We never forget that Ged is not White. That the dragons are more than just beasts. That wars are not what the narratives build towards. 

We see the evolution of whole societies and how change has come to Earthsea and who changes will continue. We see what Ursula K Le Guin was trying to do and why. 

This book has become one of my favorites and I will revisit it in the future. I look forward to see how my views of this art change over time… and how the characters therein change for me.

savaging's review against another edition

4.0

What a wild ride with Le Guin and the dragons. Some very brief thoughts on these 6 books:

1: A Wizard of Earthsea -- A simple fantasy fable. A little dull when listing off the islands they pass by, but also charming.

2: The Tombs of Atuan -- Maybe my favorite of all. Creepy and full and complex, even though it's entirely focused on one small place.

3: The Farthest Shore -- Oh no, there's a Rightful King who must ascend to the Throne? Why is it all fantasy writers are obsessed with Rightful Kings ascending their Thrones? Apart from that, the story has some fun to it.

4: Tehanu -- a few decades later, Le Guin tries to reshape the world she created to better fit her politics. Some of this is beautiful -- Tehanu as a character is compelling, and I love that we get to think a little more deeply about patriarchy and dragons. But sometimes it feels clumsy. In the end, the feminism championed also feels dated and gender-essentialist.

5: The Tales from Earthsea -- Some of these are really compelling short stories.

6: The Other Wind -- Le Guin tries to finally wipe out what is fundamentally wrong with the world she created. A lot of this book is characters speaking exposition to each other. I'm not sure if it works as a novel. All the same, there are obviously going to be lovely elements in it. A cat, for instance.

I appreciate being able to read these all in one book, though by this point it's very overdue from the library. But the art in this book is sort of ... bad? Really a shame how dumb these dragons look.

fernlyqueer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

cassiacow's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-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

5.0

This is so wonderful to read, and such an amazing edition - I loved the illustrations and every note Le Guin included felt insightful and impactful. 

The story itself is majestic - while everyone will enjoy some books than others, I think everyone will find that this feels completely fresh and classic all at once - and is executed so incredibly well. Highly recommend to everyone! 

garbagemole's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective medium-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? Yes

4.5

ac_anemon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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

5.0

i’ve rated the individual books separately, the part of this collection that i’m particularly fond of is le guin’s essays, her musings about sex and gender and politics and how that shaped her storytelling, knowing and unknowingly, and how every book was supposed to be the last book until she started thinking about how the next book should go, i find all of that fascinating and a necessary context to fully appreciate the earth sea

sevve's review against another edition

5.0

Kocham tę książkę. Ledwo ją skończyłem, a już czuję do niej nostalgię. Zwrócę tylko uwagę, że trzeba do niej podejść z odpowiednim nastawieniem - pewną otwartością na poniesienie się przez bardzo bezpośredni i może trochę nietypowy dla gatunku flow narracji. To moje drugie podejście. Za pierwszym razem podszedłem z takim typowym dla mnie (i niezdrowym) nastawieniem, na jak najszybsze i krytyczne czytanie oraz "odhaczenie" książki. Wtedy faktycznie bardzo mocno się odbiłem. Ale za drugim razem trafiłem w jakiś moment, gdzie rzeczywiście byłem w stanie podejść do książki bez jakiegoś sztucznego pośpiechu i udało się w to wszystko wsiąknąć. A kiedy to się udało, to ta książka potrafiła być tak bardzo wholesome i no... po prostu magiczna. I tu brawa dla autorki, której proza w wyjątkowy sposób łączy prostotę i pewien stopień poezji, a jednocześnie to wszystko tak łatwo i jasno dociera do sedna tego, co autorka chciała przekazać. A przekazać chciała dużo i prawie wszystko sprawia, że w środku robi się jakoś tak ciepło.

iambicwinter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

freakydug's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-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? Yes

4.5

sneezy_5000's review against another edition

Will finish at a later date but not now.