EARTHSEA

Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea cycle has become one of the best-loved fantasies of our time.  The windswept world of Earthsea is one of the greatest creations in all of fantasy literature, frequently comparied to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth or C.S. Lewis's Narnia.  The magnificent saga begins with A Wizard of Earthsea, continues in The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore, and concludes with Tehanu - each book a treasure of wisdom, wonder, and literary wizardry.

A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA

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.

Arha, the maiden priestess...
Ged, the young wizard...

They took away everything.  Home, family, possessions.  They gave her a name.  Arha, the Eaten One.  They dedicated her life as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Power of the Earth.  And set her down at the Place of the Tombs in the desert ot Atuan.  Then suddenly, a thief came to the dark, endless labyrinth of her kingdom, seeking the greatest treasure of the Tombs, the broken Ring of Erreth-Akbe.  A young wizard, Ged...

The Earthsea Trilogy

This lovely trio of novels, a recognized classic of high fantasy, has been compared with Tolkien's Lord of the RIngs and C.S. Lewis's Narnia series.  The present volume, The Tombs of Atuan, is the sequel to A Wizard of Earthsea, and is followed by The Farthest Shore.

The magic has gone out of the world.  All over Earthsea the mages had forgotten their spells, the springs of wizardry were running dry.  Ged, dragonlord and Archmage, set out with Arren, a highborn young prince, to seek the source of the darkness.  This is the tale of their harrowing journey beyond the shores of death to heal a wounded land.

In the decade since its publication, Ursula K. Le Guin's award-winning Earthsea Trilogy has become one of the most beloved fantasies of our time.  The windswept world of Earthsea is one of the greatest creations in all fantasy literature, comparable to C.S. Lewis's Narnia or Tolkien's Middle Earth.  The magnificent saga begun in A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan concludes with The Farthest Shore.

Years before, they had escaped together from the sinister Tombs of Atuan -- she, an isolated young priestess, he, a powerful wizard. Now she is a farmer's widow, having chosen for herself the simple pleasures of an ordinary life. And he is a broken old man, mourning the powers lost to him not by choice.

A lifetime ago, they helped each other at a time of darkness and danger. Now they must join forces again, to help another--the physically and emotionally scarred child whose own destiny remains to be revealed.

With millions of copies sold, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere.  Complex, and deeply moral, this quintessential fantasy sequence has been compared with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and has helped make Le Guin one of the most distinguished fantasy and science fiction writers of all time.  She lives in Prtland, Oregon.

Ursula K/ Le Guin has received countless awards for her work, including:
THE NEBULA AWARD
THE HUGO AWARD
THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

OTHER BOOKS IN THE EARTHSEA CYCLE:m
A Wizard of Earthsea
The Farthest Shore
The Tombs of Atuan
Tales from Earthsea
The Other Wind

"Earthsea's magic serves as a metaphor for the writer's own sorcery... Memorable." - The New York Times Book Review

"In this stellar collection...Ursula K. Le Guin makes a triumphant return to the magic-drenched world of Earthsea."*  Featuring the award-winning author's new Earthsea novella, two original stories and two classic tales, as well as new maps and a special essay on Earthsea's history, languages, literature and magic, "the publication of this collection is a major event in fantasy literature."
(* Publishers Weekly starred review)

"A writer of depth who recognizes that not all fantasy venues are created equal...Le Guin's combination of opaque simplicity and transparent complexity, the quotidian and the miraculous, as well as her sharp and subtle characterizations, make for stories that stand shoulder to shoulder with ancient archetypal fairy tales and fables." - The Washington Post Book World

"In the canon of great adult fantasy literature, right next to Tolkien...If you've had enough of Harry Potter-style kid-wizardry, Le Guin offers a powerful tonic.  These tales are intense, moving, engaging and best of all, character-driven: Le Guin knows people, wizards or not."
- The Boulder Daily Camera

"Tales from Earthsea...has poetry and true magic.  Furthermore, it has a great writer's love of an imaginary land that once existed only in her mind and now exists as a treasure in the real world for all lovers of fantasy, today and tomorrow and forever."
- The Orlando Sentinel

"Le Guin is not only one of the purest stylists writing in English, but te most transcendently truthful of writers."
- The Nation

"A superb novel-length addition to the Earthsea universe, one that, once again, turns that entire series on his head.  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.  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.  In her new novel, [Le Guin] reconsiders the relationship between magic and something even more basic: life and death itself."
- Publishers Weekly

Steeped in Earthsea lore and featuring familiar characters as well as dramatic action, the first full-length novel since Tehanu will leave its readers wanting yet another."  - Booklist

"One of the few writers I know who excels at both political fiction and epic fantasy.  She's brilliant at both."
- Salon.com

A FEATURED ALTERNATE OF SCIENCE
FICTION BOOK CLUB®