Tehanu

When last we saw Tenar, she had been spirited away from the Tombs of Atuan (1970) by Ged.  When Ged returned in The Furthest Shore (1972), Tenar did not.  It turns out that Tenar had gone to Ged's home island of Gont and lived with Ged's old mentor, Ogion.  However, the path of magic was not for her.  She married a farmer and raised two children.  She is a widow who lives alone on her farm, her children having grown up and moved away.  Into her life enters a girl, Therru, who has been horribly burned by vagrants.  She adopts the girl as her own and takes her along when she visits the ailing Ogion.  While at Ogion's house, Ged arrives.  He is no longer a wizard, his magic lost during The Furthest Shore.  Now just a man, he kindles feelings for Tenar, feelings which she long held toward him.

The story is slow-paced and often little more than Tenar's thoughts and doubts, fears and hopes.  The story is told almost entirely from her viewpoint.  There are frequent hints that Therru is more than she seems.  Ordinary folk fear her, Ogion insists that Tenar teach her everything, and witches are wary of her power.  What is the deal with this girl?

Considering that it took nearly 20 years for this follow up book, it is exceedingly boring.  I am baffled that it won awards.  There is Eastern philosophy in action, but mostly the characters are just a bunch of victims who survive their trials.  When there is action, it is mostly glossed over in an instant.

I enjoyed the original trilogy, but this was more like a Hallmark Special set in Earthsea.  Will Tenar find love as a widow?  Will Ged find meaning in his life without magic?  Can Therru find a place in society despite her horrible burns?

Disappointing.

The Farthest Shore

The book that contained the source material for the Earthsea miniseries also had an additional book which was not covered in the miniseries.  I wrote this review July 1, 2006:

 

The third book of the Earthsea Trilogy - The Farthest Shore - revolves mainly around the character Arren, a prince from Enlad who has arrived at the Isle of the Wise (where the wizards' school is located) to tell how magic is draining from the lands. Ged is now Archmage and in his forties, an `old man' from Arren's perspective. Much is made of how the isles need a king to deal with such issues though the last king was 800 years past. Ged decided he must track down the trouble and elects to take Arren with him. The pair sail through several adventures, each demonstrating that the world of the living and the world of the dead are drawing nearer. Still on their quest, Orm Embar, the greatest living dragon, seeks Ged and requests his aid. Ged and Arren sail to the distant isle of Selidor, supposedly on the edge of the world. There they meet a wizard who has seemingly defeated death and made himself immortal. In order to defeat him, Orm Embar gives his life while Ged and Arren must chase the wizard into death to undo the curse he has set upon the world. In order to win immortality for himself, the wizard had torn a hole between life and death, a hole through which all the magic from the living world was draining, thus killing the world while not bringing life to the dead. Ged mended the rent thus killing the wizard but in so doing spent all his magic, leaving him just a man. Arren helped/carried Ged back to the world of the living, thus fulfilling a prophecy for the future king. The eldest of the dragons met them upon their return to Selidor and flew the pair back to the Isle of the Wise, where Arren was proclaimed the future king and Ged retired as Archmage to live out his life on his home island of Gont.

Of the three books, this one showed itself as being written by a woman more clearly than the others. There was too much talk of Arren's love for Ged and vice versa. Constantly the reader is reminded of Arren's affection and devotion for the older man. He was excessively emotional though I guess that isn't too strange for a teenage boy. Also, Arren seemed rather dense at times, proving oblivious to Ged's efforts to track the source of the drain on the world's magic.

I don't know if anyone has printed a D20 World Supplement for Earthsea but it doesn't seem a good world for gaming, at least not what is seen in the books. Though we are told of Gontish pirates and Karg Raiders, they are on the fringes of the stories and mostly undeveloped. In the whole trilogy, we never meet a warrior character. All the great heroes of old were mages. Arren wore an enchanted sword that he drew many times but only used once, and that on the wizard who was immortal.

Wizard of Earthsea & The Tombs of Atuan

Finally got around to reading the source material from the Earthsea miniseries and in June, 2006, I offered this review:

 

Not long ago, I watched the miniseries called Earthsea. I liked it so checked around the web to see what others thought. To my surprise, it was savaged by the fans of the books upon which it was based. So, I decided to read the source material for myself.

The first book of the Earthsea saga was 'Wizard of Earthsea' and it deals with Ged (though known to most by his use-name of Sparrowhawk), who is destined to be the greatest wizard of Earthsea. He has a natural talent for magic but no patience. His impatience leads him to be reckless and create a nameless demon - called a gebbeth - that is intent on devouring his soul and using his body as a vessel. The book is something of a morality tale where Ged learns humility and the reader has the balance of good and evil explained. Still, it is an entertaining read and this facet of the tale was done adequately in the movie.

The second book of Earthsea was 'The Tombs of Atuan' and it tells the tale of Tenar, a girl chosen as priestess for the Nameless Ones when she was only 5. Like the Dali Lama, it seems this particular priestess is continually reborn. Now called Arha - the Eaten One - she served the Nameless Ones through ritual dances, blood sacrifices, and other such observances. It is with the arrival of Ged that her life changes. He seeks to steal a broken half of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, which is really more a bracelet. The ring was broken long ago and Ged had stumbled upon one half while chasing the gebbeth (previous book) and now seeks the other which is said to be housed in the Labyrinth of the Nameless Ones. Ged's powerful magic is little use in the Labyrinth and only through winning Arha as an ally does he succeed. As the pair flee the Labyrinth with the restored ring, the labyrinth and the temple which sits upon it collapse. Strangely, two more chapters follow, delving into how Tenar will cope in the world. She cannot stay in her land and her only skills are related to the worship of gods she has just betrayed by aiding a blasphemer to escape. This tale was tossed aside in the movie though bits and pieces are apparent.

Probably the most oft repeated complaint I found was that Ged was white in the movie while he is 'red-brown' or 'coppery-skinned' in the book. His friend Vetch is described as 'black-brown' but is played by a pasty-white fellow. Only the barbarous Kargs - a Viking- like people from what I have read so far - are white. Speaking of the Kargs, the idea that they might attack the Wizard's Isle of Roke is silly for one who reads the book, kind of like a Hobbit army marching on Mordor.

I have enjoyed the books and, for those in search of something to read, Ursula K. Le Guin writes a fine tale.

 

 

Earthsea

January 25, 2006

Though the miniseries ran sometime in 2004, I only just recently saw it. Generally, I liked it. There are wizards, clerics, and fighters. The hero is an impatient fellow who is marked for greatness but manages to muck it up. But, of course, this was all part of some grand prophecy so he was destined to figure it out. A bit pat but well executed.

The world is limited in its monsters. We see a dragon that bears an uncanny resemblance to the dragons of D&D the movie. The CGI is weak but one doesn't expect great effects here. There are harpy-like demons that are held behind a great door guarded by the world's clerics who all seem to be women. There is also a Gebbeth, some undead looking beasty that chases the hero a lot.

Having read the reviews of others, it seems the movie is not true to the books. This has infuriated fans so the reviews were surprisingly harsh. Even the author weighed in with her disappointment. Gee, I liked it. If a weak adaptation proved to be this entertaining, the books must be outstanding. But if I read the books, will I come to hate the movie that prompted me to read them? Interesting thought.

In any case, if you see this movie on the shelf at Blockbuster or being replayed on SciFi, it is worth a look.

 

I did go on to read the books and see why fans and Ursula K Le Guin were upset.  I think I review the books somewhere further along.