Book Review: The Other Wind
The sixth and final book in the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin.
It’s been a long time coming, but with the reading of The Other Wind, this brings all the main books of Earthsea to an end. I also followed up the book with the short story, Firelight, which wraps everything up, and reader, I am bereft. Journeying through Earthsea has been an absolute joy, and this combined illustrated edition, by which I read the last three books and the short stories, has been brilliant. I love Charles Vess’s illustrations throughout, from the full colour frontispieces to the black and white sketches within the stories themselves. I highly recommend picking up either this version or the variant cover with the full colour dragon on it. It’s great.
Blurb
The wizard Alder comes from Roke to the island of Gont in search of the Archmage, Lord Sparrowhawk, once known as Ged. The man who was once the most powerful wizard in the Islands now lives with his wife Tenar and their adopted daughter Tehanu. Alder needs help: his beloved wife died and in his dreams she calls him to the land of the dead - and now the dead are haunting him, begging for release. He can no longer sleep, and the Wizards of Earthsea are worried.
But there is more at stake than the unquiet rest of one minor wizard: for the dragons of Earthsea have arisen, to reclaim the lands that were once theirs. Only Tehanu, herself daughter of a dragon, can talk to them; it may be that Alder's dreams hold the key to the salvation of Earthsea and all the peoples who live there.
Review
The Other Wind is wonderful, heartbreaking, bittersweet, beautiful, and reveals so much about the true nature of Earthsea that the previous books have only hinted towards. I had chills run through me at Tehanu’s character growth here, and the book brings to a close the events that the wizard Cob initiated in The Farthest Shore in an incredibly satisfying way.
I feel like there’s a great development in Le Guin’s writing style throughout the series. In Wizard, the style is more of a biblical epic, zoomed out and taking in the broad strokes. By the time we get here at the other end of the series, everything is much closer, more character driven; we have varied POVs and get deep in with all the characters. King Lebannen and his stress over the political situation with the Kargish people; Tenar as she feels out of place in the royal capital; Tehanu as she grows into taking her place as the daughter of Kalessin and sister of Orm Irian; Alder as he navigates grief and desperation, trying to stave off his nightmares of the dead. Ged provides wisdom to Alder and sends him to Havnor, but he is elderly now and done with doing, and so he tends his garden, awaiting Tenar’s return. The characters are all so unique and well-written, and they’ve all left a lasting impression on me.
And the ending was magnificent.
Then I followed The Other Wind with the short story, Firelight, which tells the story of Ged’s final hours, and we say goodbye to the greatest wizard Earthsea has ever seen as he sails off on the other wind. Absolutely heartbreaking, and exactly what was needed to finish such a remarkable series.
Earthsea has definitely solidified itself as my all-time favourite fantasy series, and I highly recommend everyone check out the entire thing. A Wizard of Earthsea, as Le Guin herself writes, was intended to satisfy her publisher’s demand for a young adult novel, but the rest of the series goes far beyond that, becoming one for all ages, following the characters throughout the whole of their lives.
