Rating:  -
Tehanu is a pretty pointless codicil to the original Earthsea trilogy.
The girl from the Tombs of Atuan married and had a couple of kids, and has now adopted a more supernatural child on top of that.
Ged, no longer with any wizardly abilities arrives . Naturally, given she had a crush on him earlier and is now lonely, they live together.
Rating: -
Tehanu was an unexpectedly feeble offering by LeGuin. I found it to be a long, boring, rambling, uneventful, dreary, downbeat, anti climactic, and even a tad (if you can believe it) misanthropic and stereotypical waste of time. The 20+ year gap since the authoress's last involvement with this series is very apparent - to the point where she seems out of touch with the flavor and ambience of her own works.
For me, the only enjoyable part in the entire book (Tehanu) were the all-too-brief re-appearance(s) of an ancient dragon.
My rankings for the books in this series now stand as follows:
1-Wizard of Earthsea (9 of 10)
2-Tombs of Ataun (7 of 10)
3-Farthest Shore (8 of 10)
4-Tehanu (5 of 10)
My advice is to stop reading this series at book 3, because those books are the meat & potatoes of this series, and the rest is just unsatisfying filler and add-on.
Rating:  -
You'll love this one as well. This story continues the tales of Ged and Tenar. It is a nice (almost) wrap up after Tombs of Atuan. I found myself ready for more, and LeGuin provided it (Tales of Earthsea, The Other Wind.) Note: I don't know how this would be as a stand alone book.
Rating: -
There's no question that this is by far the most difficult book in the Earthsea Cycle. Every character in it has suffered loss and tragedy; each must somehow move on. Because we have seen two of those characters as heroic, it makes a difficult read.
Tenar was the triumphant White Lady at the end of "The Tombs of Atuan." When "Tenahu" starts, about 25 years later, she is a widowed farm wife who has suffered the death of two persons very important to her: first her husband, and then Ogion, the Mage of Silence.
Sparrowhawk returns from the events of "The Farthest Shore" and, despite his brave words, faces life after the loss of the power of magic that has defined him and made him the greatest archmage since Erreth-Akbe.
And Tenahu herself, raped and maimed, burnt, discarded and scarred has even less trust and joy than Tenar and Sparrowhawk.
LeGuin tells that story of how these characters interact among themselves and with their few neighbors, and how they react when great danger from Sparrowhawk's past threatens to destroy them.
Unlike the first three novels, there is no magic here; or rather, the only magic is evil and is used to attack Sparrowhawk and Tenar, who are incapable of defending themselves. Only Tenahu, the mysterious and maimed one, can act. Will she? How can she?
This is as dark-toned a fantasy novel as you may find. Those who want swords and sorcery, fur jock straps or light sabers should go elsewhere. This is a minutely observed, carefully developed story of how you cope with loss, grief and helplessness. I think many of the very negative reviews here come from misplaced expectations.
LeGuin had said this was the last Earthsea novel. Happily, she was wrong. There is a collection of short stories, "Tales of Earthsea," and a fifth novel, "The Other Wind." You'll have to go there for answers to the questions that "Tehanu" leaves unanswered. And to find out what happens to the characters we have watched, cheered and loved through the Earthsea Cycle.
Highly recommended for those who can approach LeGuin with no expectations other than fine craftsmanship and superb story-telling.
Rating: -
Tehanu, the fourth book of Earthsea, was published about sixteen years after the previous Earthsea novel. During this time, it's obvious that Ms. Le Guin has reimagined her view of the world of Earthsea. While the original trilogy was written in the style of a heroic epic, the fourth book is more of an emotional drama. The story deals with the main characters' reconciliation to change in their lives. Ged, the wizard who was the hero of the first three books, must learn to deal with the fact that he is no longer capable of using magic. This book explores Ged's depression over this as he attempts to find new meaning in his life. However, Ged's story is secondary to the story of Tenar, the girl rescued in the second Earthsea novel. Tenar is also dealing with change in her life. Her husband has passed away, her relationship with her son is strained, and she has adopted an abused child.
The themes in this novel are much more mature than in previous Earthsea books. While the original trilogy is often billed as Young Adult Fantasy, Tehanu, with its mature themes of child abuse, emotional trama, and love, is solidly an adult novel. Although the pace of this book is slow and the writing style very different from the original books, I couldn't help but enjoy this novel. I found the characters entirely believable and really cared about them. However, I do agree with the other reviewers that the ending was rushed and unsatisfactory.
With all that being said, I see this book as being the beginning of the end for the Earthsea series. Many reviewers have noted the increased emphasis on feminism in contrast to the male-centered style of the original trilogy. This trend continues and grows stronger in the next two books of the second trilogy. I have no problem with this increased emphasis, but I feel that this trend is explored at the expense of the original story in the remaining novels. Ms. Le Guin subtitled this book "The Last Book of Earthsea". She intended it to be a wrap-up of the original story, with the hero getting the girl and living happily ever after. In my opinion, she should have stopped after this novel, as the remaining two books detract from, rather than add to, the magic of the world of Earthsea.
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