Rating:  -
I first read the original Earthsea trilogy over 20 years ago, and it has stood the test of time. If you like your fantasy with action, this will not be your cup of tea…but LeGuin is a master and a unique voice. The best part is that the books keep getting better and more moving. I read this book years after the first three books in the cycle, and I think is one of the best books ever written about the nature and meaning of love. Le Guin tells a powerful story that captures so much of the truth about men and woman and relationships. This is not a piece of escapist fantasy, but a powerful book siwth powerful lessons for those listening.
Rating:  -
Award-winning writer Ursula K. Le Guin finished the Earthsea 'trilogy' in 1972 with the tremendous novel "The Farthest Shore," simply one of the best fantasies ever penned. (The other two books are "A Wizard of Earthsea" and "The Tombs of Atuan.") Eighteen years later, in 1990, Le Guin decided to extend the trilogy to another book, "Tehanu," and has since written two additional books, "Tales from Earthsea" and "The Other Wind." In "Tehanu," she sought to balance out the story of Earthsea by re-visiting Tenar, the girl from "The Tombs of Atuan" and viewing the world through her eyes as an adult coming to terms with the way her life has gone and her relationship to Ged, the hero of the previous three books.
Sadly, "Tehanu" is a major disappointment and the poorest of the Earthsea books. The idea sounds interesting: exploring Earthsea from the point of view of a non-sorcerer woman. But Le Guin fails to create an even remotely interesting story around Tenar -- actually, there is hardly any story at all. Tenar stays on the farm, makes a few trips, and takes care of herself and Therru, the strange girl she adopted after Therru was abused and badly burnt. Ged returns abruptly, his magic gone, and the king's men are searching for him. It appears possible that a narrative line will develop from this, but none does. The book plods through unconnected scenes and talky dialogue until it abruptly ends.
I'm at a loss to explain Le Guin's narrative failure here. Perhaps, in feeling that she was achieving a great character study, she felt the book would carry itself without a spine of a story, but it doesn't. The problem doesn't lay in what the author says or how she says it -- I'm fine with the female slant to the book -- but how she chooses to frame it. The reader must have a reason to continually turn the page, must want to know how the characters will struggle to overcome their problems and why they must be overcome. Without such a structure, the reader will have a difficult time investing him or herself in what happens, and that is exactly the case here. For an example of Le Guin doing this correctly, read her brilliant novel "The Left Hand of Darkness." She set out to explore an issue of sexuality, and achieved it through the device of adventure and political turmoil. "Tehanu" lacks any cohesive device like that; the book merely 'continues' until it is done.
Le Guin's writing style and sense of her characters do keep "Tehanu" from being completely unreadable, but it is slow going. People who have read the first three books should definitely read this because of what it reveals about Tenar and Ged, but they shouldn't go into it expecting the epic grandeur and sweeping power of the first three novels. "Tehanu" remains frustratingly earthbound and static.
Rating:  -
With 'Tehanu,' Ursula Le Guin makes the puzzling decision to extend the classic Earthsea trilogy into a quadrology (now since extended even further), crafting a book that is quite enjoyable, but wholly apart from the careful fabric of the original stories.
'Tehanu' is not a bad book - not by any means - but when placed alongside the originals, it simply does not feel right. Whereas the original novels were built upon layers of magic and wonder and a vast, epic feel, this novel is smaller, more human, telling a more internal story. It is the story of our beloved Tenar, from 'Tombs,' and of her struggles with motherhood, age, and with being a woman.
As always, the prose is outstanding, flowing like poetry throughout. Tenar herself is far more flesh and blood than she was in her first appearance, and Ged (who plays a support role only) is altogether another person, torn by his battles in the realm of the dead. Still, the magic is missing, the sweep and scope is missing, ultimately sapping the life from what could have been an extraordinary book.
Had this not been Earthsea part 4, I would have rated it higher. Being among such lofty companions, however, expectations are high. It simply ends up being a very good book, and little more.
Rating: -
After finishing The Farthest Shore and absolutely loving it, I was greatly excited to read Tehanu...and then disappointed. It is thoroughly disjointed from the overall "feel" of the first three books, no doubt due in part to the length of time between the years they were written.
I found the writing typical (and lacking the passion that I found in the first three novels), the plot tedious, and the underlying themes completely in-your-face obvious. I read entirely through to the end within a few hours, waiting for something to happen...and nothing did, until the end, when the plot diverged into two different ones, and then abruptly stopped. Honestly, there was a lot of unnecessary plot that could have been left out.
It is helpful, however, to remember that there was another sequel written taking place shortly after Tehanu, which ties up a lot of loose ends. But as much as I love the Earthsea books, this was almost a pain to read.
Rating: -
I can accept the plot inconsistancies with the previous books in the "trilogy." I can accept her vague style of writing. I like her ideas and think they have potential. But I would have thought that, with the passage of time, her writing would improve. Unfortunately, not only does it not improve, it actually seems to have deteriorated. She spends the first 90% or more of the book developing the background, then rushes through the plot development and the climax (if it can be called such) in just a few pages, as if she were sick of the story and of writing in general and just wanted to get it done with. What a shame.
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