Like the island terrain of this series, the short stories in Tales from Earthsea begin as isolated narratives that progressively meander into a greater magical and cultural record of this particular fantasy world. Specifically, if you have a desire to better understand how Earthsea’s magic works mechanically and sociologically, then you will probably appreciate this collection.

As with all of the books in this series I quite enjoyed the tone and world-building constructed in these narratives; Earthsea is one of my favorite fantasy realms. This collection also better clarifies the differences between witches/sorcerers and wizards, including a semi-historical map of the methodical and cultural split between these two practices. In general, the ways in which humans (real or not) define and separate themselves from others is something that Ursula K. Le Guin explores with great elegance.

My one critique of this collection would lie with the pacing of the short stories; this is especially the case with “The Finder.” That said, there is still a lot of solid content here. Of the tales, my favorite would be “Dragonfly,” which is both good fun and most adeptly ties into the previous books of the series. Overall, these stories are alright, though fair warning—you probably won’t enjoy them unless you’ve read the other books in the series.

I believe I’ve recommended every Ursula K. Le Guin book that I have read thus far; this one is no exception. Good stuff.

Rating: 3.5 stars