The earthsea series starts off with a really good story and then somewhere while in the 3rd book and later, it sort of goes a bit downhill. When reading it, I had a lot of expectations and this was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. I guess, growing up, I just anticipated much more adventure from the book (and everything looks fun when you are a kid). However, this isn't a bad book at all. It is a nice read and the 5th book does not continue the story from the previous stories but goes through the history of Earthsea and Roke island and the school for the mages.

This was a good collection of stories from the Earthsea world. They were each written in a way that their characters had their own voice, while exploring a wide range of characters, narrative, and philosophy to explain why Earthsea is as it is.

I'm a late-comer to the world of Earthsea. I noticed many average reviews from fans of that series, so perhaps I am missing something really amazing (and I do intend to read as much of Le Guin's work as I can!) but the stories held the own without any direct knowledge of the Earthsea universe. They are the kind of fantasy I would like to see more of - quietly epic where the setting doesn't drown out the characters and where even seemingly mundane decisions and situations can be turned into memorable fantasy tales.

It has been a hiatus of some 20 years since I last read the first three volumes in this series. I loved them very dearly, but somehow was distracted when 'Tehanu' and 'Tales from Earthsea' came out, and I simply was never aware of them. For me, 'The Other Wind' is a sudden appearance, and one that I approached with no small pleasure. Now I find that the long wait was justified. Le Guin's latest effort is a remarkable experience.
Alder, a sorcerer whose skill is mending, is deeply troubled by dreams of the dead. Nightmares about his newly lost wife and others struggling to be free. These dreams drive him to the wizards at Roke, who in turn send Alder on to Ged, once the Archmage of Earthsea, now powerless, but happy. Ged recognizes that Alder's dreams are the truth, that something momentous is happening at the wall which borders the dry kingdom of the dead. He sends Alder on to Havnor from where Lebannen rules the kingdom.
Lebannen is deeply troubled by Alder's report. Nor is that his only problem. Seserakh, daughter of the Kargish king has been offered to him for wife, and Lebannen resents this manipulation. In addition dragons at the edge of his kingdom are beginning to terrorize and attack the populace, breaking a longstanding truce. Nor is he happy that Tenar, Ged's wife, has taken Seserakh's side. Tehanu, adopted by Ged and Tenar, badly disfigured by fire as a child, is his only link to the dragons. Kalessin, the eldest dragon has recognized her as his daughter.
When Lebannen, Tehanu, and Onyx of Roke confront the dragons about their actions they discover little, and much. The dragons agree to a temporary truce, and bronze Irian, another of Kalessin's children, consents to come to Havnor to parley. There in the councils of Havnor Irian tells the dragons' story and the forgotten legends of many of the Earthsea folk are recalled. In some fashion, the human quest for eternal life has broken both the agreement between dragon and human and the heart of the world. All must go to Roke to find the answer in the immanent grove and heal the damage.
For a thin book, 'The Other Wind' has an incredible richness of themes. Life after death, sacrifice, courage, the varieties of love, redemption, and many others weave together time and again. There are no villains in this story, where much of the action takes place in the heart and the mind. Nor is there violence. Just questions, and answers, and questions again. Le Guin has an almost zen-like ability to use just enough writing to serve her purpose, and trusts us to fill in the rest ourselves. She has also made me homesick for the first tales in this series, to be once again beguiled by dragons and wizards.

Tehanu is my favorite book in the two trilogies. So deep. And Tales of Earth Sea sustained that richness and depth, both in beautiful storytelling and in depth of character. Le Guin falters towards the end of this book. Situations and many characters are wrapped up too quickly. She probably should have written a longer book. As one commentator mentioned, it felt more like a philosophical statement than a story by the end. I would have loved to have Tehanu developed more in this book.

The book did start out great. With some more editorial guidance, something really great could have been achieved.

Read these books in order. The different stories are tied in with the last book The Other Wind. I liked the first three books best, I thought Tehanu was a bit slow compared to Le Guin's other books, this one picks it up quite a bit. I love all of her books by the way.

(No spoilers here!) It took me a little longer to complete this book in the Earthsea series because it isn't one continuous story, but rather, a collection of short stories. You can read one, put it down, and walk away to read somethine else, no problem. Well, maybe one problem- I was eager to move forward and learn what happened to the characters I had come to love and this installment forced me to practice a bit of patience. The majority of the stories in this book are directly related to important characters in the other Earthsea books and provide relevant history / understanding of the world you too have undoubtedly become intimately familiar with. If you've followed the series this far, TALES FROM EARTHSEA is the vital next step before proceeding to the conclusion.

I was disappointed that this was not a full novel. Instead, LeGuin constructs five tales that fill in some of the gaps in the overall history of Earthsea. However, each story has the same wonderful style and feeling as the rest of LeGuin’s saga. Included in this book is a description of the structure of Earthsea and, as in the other books, comments by the author about the writing itself. She mentions that Earthsea has changed over the years; as she writes it and remembers it, and as her fans read it.