Earthsea Cycle

6 primary works • 8 total works

A Wizard of Earthsea, 1

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Published 14 October 1971

Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, but once he was called Sparrowhawk, a reckless youth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

The Tombs of Atuan

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Published 1 July 1971

Arha's isolated existence as high priestess in the tombs of Atuan is jarred by a thief who seeks a special treasure.

The Farthest Shore

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Published 12 December 1972

'A Wizard of Earthsea reads like the retelling of a tale first told centuries ago, and whose twists and turns have been handed down through generations of storytellers. It is timeless. . . . Le Guin's words are magical. Drink this magic up. Drown in it. Dream it' David Mitchell, author of CLOUD ATLAS

'[This] trilogy made me look at the world in a new way, imbued everything with a magic that was so much deeper than the magic I'd encountered before then. This was a magic of words, a magic of true speaking' Neil Gaiman

Book Three of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle Darkness threatens to overtake Earthsea: the world and its wizards are losing their magic. Despite being wearied with age, Ged Sparrowhawk - Archmage, wizard, and dragonlord -- embarks on a daring, treacherous journey, accompanied by Enlad's young Prince Arren, to discover the reasons behind this devastating pattern of loss. Together they will sail to the farthest reaches of their world -- even beyond the realm of death - as they seek to restore magic to a land desperately thirsty for it.

Tehanu

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Published 28 March 1990

Classics of high fantasy, Ursula K. Le Guin's three previous Earthsea novels--A "W izard Of Earthsea," "The Tombs Of Atuan," and "The Farthest Shore" --have been compared with J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and C.S Lewis' "Narnia" stories as being among the genre's greatest creations. Now the fourth and final volume, "Tehanu," brings to a conclusion the remarkable Earthsea cycle with a revelation of wisdom, wonder, and literary wizardry. Once she'd been a priestess, quest-companion to a powerful mage, a student of high magic. Then she gave it all up to be a farmer's wife on Gont, content to lead a simple life. But Tenar was not born to live her days in peace, away from great events. A dying wizard and an abused child were the first to call her back to the path she had abandoned. For the end of the adventure beckoned and Tenar would be there along with the dragons, mages, and the young king himself to share in the unforgettable fate of the kingdom known as Earthsea.

"A tale with the universality and dignity of legend . . . . Consummately imagines . . . . A grand conclusion to a revered cycle."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

Tales from Earthsea

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Published 1 January 2001

The tales of this book, as Ursula K. Le Guin writes in her introduction, explore or extend the world established by her first four Earthsea novels. Yet each stands on its own.

"The Finder," a novella set a few hundred years before A Wizard of Earthsea, presents a dark and troubled Archipelago and shows how some of its customs and institutions came to be. "The Bones of the Earth" features the wizards who taught the wizard who first taught Ged and demonstrates how humility, if great enough, can contend with an earthquake. "Darkrose and Diamond" is a delightful story of young courtship showing that wizards sometimes pursue alternative careers. "On the High Marsh" tells of the love of power-and of the power of love. "Dragonfly" shows how a determined woman can break the glass ceiling of male magedom.

Concluding with an account of Earthsea's history, people, languages, literature, and magic, this collection also features two new maps of Earthsea.

Other Wind

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Published 1 January 2001

The wizard Alder comes from Roke to the island of Gont in search of the Archmage, Lord Sparrowhawk, once known as Ged. The man who was once the most powerful wizard in the Islands now lives with his wife Tenar and their adopted daughter Tehanu. Alder needs help: his beloved wife died and in his dreams she calls him to the land of the dead - and now the dead are haunting him, begging for release. He can no longer sleep, and the Wizards of Earthsea are worried. But there is more at stake than the unquiet rest of one minor wizard: for the dragons of Earthsea have arisen, to reclaim the lands that were once theirs. Only Tehanu, herself daughter of a dragon, can talk to them; it may be that Alder's dreams hold the key to the salvation of Earthsea and all the peoples who live there.

Earthsea

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Published 10 March 1977

The Books of Earthsea

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Published 25 October 2018