Fortunately, new Earthsea books have appeared in the 21st century, and they are as powerful, beautiful, and imaginative as the first four novels. Regrettably, the Earthsea Cycle has not received the fame and sales of Tolkien's trilogy. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Ursula K. She draws us into the magical land and its inhabitants' doings immediately.'-Booklist Praise for THE TELLING 'Le Guin presents a literary masterpiece that is heartwarming, life-affirming, and touching.'-The Christian Science Monitor, The greatest fantasies of the 20th century are J.R.R. A major event in fantasy literature.'-Publishers Weekly (starred) 'Richly told. Le Guin is still at the height of her powers, a superb stylist with a knack for creating characters who are both wise and deeply humane. A triumphant return to the magic-drenched world of Earthsea. It is at the top of any list of fantasy to be cherished.' -Andre Norton, author of Witch World 'Stellar. Le Guin creates imaginary worlds that restore us, hearts eased, to our own.'-The Boston Globe Praise for Tales from Earthsea 'A treasure. 1)has won a National Book Award, the Kafka Award and a Pushcart Prize.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc., Praise for URSULA K.

This is not what 70-year-old writers of genre fantasy are supposed to do, but then, there aren't many writers around like Le Guin. In her new novel, however, she reconsiders the relationship between magic and something even more basic: life and death itself.

In Tehanu (1990), the fourth book in the series, Le Guin rethought the traditional connection between gender and magic that she had assumed in the original Earthsea trilogy. Even Ged, the former archmage, now living in peaceful, self-imposed exile on Gont, starts to have disturbing dreams. The new ruler of the Kargad Lands sends his daughter west in an attempt to wed her to King Lebannen. The dragons break their long-standing truce and begin to move east. Soon, more general signs and portents begin to disturb Earthsea. He begins to dream of the land of the dead and sees both Lily and other shades reaching out to him across the low stone wall that separates them from the land of the living. Alder, the man who unwittingly initiates the transformation of Earthsea, is a humble sorcerer who specializes in fixing broken pots and repairing fence lines, but when his beloved wife, Lily, dies, he is inconsolable. Now she returns with a superb novel-length addition to the Earthsea universe, one that, once again, turns that entire series on its head. First, there was The Telling, the widely praised new novel in her Hainish sequence, followed by Tales from Earthsea, a collection of recent short fiction in her other major series.

The earth sea cycle