Fascinating | The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 6)

The Other Wind - Ursula K. Le Guin | The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 6) | Ursula K. LeGuin

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	• The Other Wind (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 6) Ursula K. LeGuin Ace, 2003 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 64 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Not my cup of tea

While I really loved the original Earthsea trilogy, both as a kid and as an adult, this book (and "Tehanu") were a bit disappointing. I had a hard time deciding on whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars and in the end went with 3. I can't pick out anything technically wrong with the book, but it failed to draw me in. Despite being relatively short, it took me months to finish this book. Nothing much was really happening, so I didn't feel at all compelled to see what happened (or rather, didn't happen) next.
This novel didn't have a plot so much as a theme, and LeGuin used some familiar and some new characters to explore that theme. If that's the kind of book you like, then you'll probably love "The Other Wind". However, I read fiction (and fantasy in particular) for engaging and thrilling stories. That type of story was lacking here.
I still think LeGuin is very talented, but as she has matured as a writer she now seems to prefer writing a type of book that I do not prefer to read.

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Fascinating

For many years I didn't pick up LeGuin's Earthsea cycle. What a mistake! The entire series is first rate, a cut above the usual fantasy novels.

The Other Wind - Ursula K. Le Guin

Writing Style - 3/5
Characters - 3
Storyline - 3
Resonance - 1

The Not-Too-Revealing Synopsis:
The divide between life and death is not as it should be. A minor magic artisan - a layman really - finds that he has some inexplicable connection to the portents and sets off in search of aid from the skilled and learned of Earthsea.

The Review
Note - I did not realize this book was part of a series until after I had finished it and was looking at online reviews. So take my views with that in mind.

This was a very pleasant, curious read. Characters, newly introduced seemed like old friends and the land, despite the detailed map in the beginning did not seem all too foreign. The mystery, the plot itself, unraveled slowly and cast a foreboding aura on all that transpired, putting the reader in the same mind set as the characters themselves. This was a quick read, an easy read, an enjoyable read and an entirely forgettable read. I would not recommend this book (particularly not without having read the previous works).

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Lovely language - barren story

Le Guin has remade the world of Earthsea into 'Land of the Suicides.'

In this story, she mythologizes about the nature of life and death. However, it seems she has NOT thought through the implications of what she's created (a mistake Segoy would never make).

In this tale, human life is an (apparently) endless series of reincarnations, with (apparently) NO reasons for whether you come back as a slug or a dragonlord. In such an existence, there is no reason for people to resist or avoid death: after all, everyone gets randomly recycled anyway.

Therefore, in Le Guin's realm, there is no reason for anyone to endure an unpleasant life. Just like any other death, suicide would deliver you up to the reincarnation roulette wheel; the body erodes into the earth and the spirit erodes into the wind. And, since it's human nature to avoid stress and difficulty, everyone in Le Guin's world who dislikes their life can just end it.

With this ontology, the Kargish lands (people who are already have the privilege of being recycled) would be in violent chaos. There's no reason to resist whatever greed or lust might tickle your fancy at any moment. Robbery? Why not. Rape? Who cares? Murder? No big deal---that shmuck is just going to get recycled like you. Is the law or government or warlord's army going to prevent anything? No---you can escape them like a ninja; just cut open your guts and fade into dust. Maybe next time YOU will come back as the warlord.

The only plausible explanation why the Earthsea peoples aren't in constant turmail is that they don't have the human nature we do. That is, they are NOT actually human characters. There's something different about them that exempts from impulses to violence---there is something else controlling them. And it brings up the question, what point is there for real humans (like you and me) to read about wooden puppets?

The saddest part is that Le Guin's prose is so delightful and elegant. In fact, it's so pleasing, most people will probably assume that what she proffers as a beautiful ending IS actually beautiful. Readers won't see past the glamour to realize the fraud. They'll savor the delicious spices and just swallow the carrion.

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Absolutely one of my most favorite book sieries.

I'm just putting in a good word for one of my most respected authors. I've read most of her books, and this is one is the one that sucked me in the most out of all of them.

THE NEW EARTHSEA NOVEL--NOW IN MASS MARKET
World Fantasy Award Winner--Best Novel