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Earthsea: an overview
A wizardly boarding school -- two young rivals, one from a privileged background, the other poor -- an Everyman sidekick -- shapeshifting -- dragons -- an evil wizard who aims to conquer death ... Sounds familiar? Think again, because I'm talking about Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series, which first appeared in 1964.
Five reasons to read Earthsea
(1) Beautiful writing from the award-winning author of The Dispossessed & The Left Hand of Darkness
(2) A coherent system of magic based on the power of language & limited by the necessity for balance
(3) Among the earliest sf&f to use coloured heroes & white Other
(4) Ancient wise dragons
(5) Middle-aged sex!
In a nutshell, Earthsea resembles HP without the CAPSLOCK, C.S. Lewis without the Christian allegory & Tolkien with a dash of sex...
The original trilogy -- A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan & The Farthest Shore -- appeared in the late 60s/early 70s. Le Guin returned to the universe some twenty years later to write Tehanu, and these four books have been republished in an omnibus volume, The Earthsea Quartet. The quartet follows the central characters Ged & Tenar from childhood to middle age. Most fanfiction is based in these novels.
A Wizard of Earthsea introduces Ged, an arrogant and rash youth with more power than he can handle. After saving his village from Kargish raiders, Ged is apprenticed to the wise mage Ogion, but finds he cannot learn what Ogion has to teach, and yearns for the School of Wizardry on Roke, the centre of the Archipelago. Once there, he gains a friend in Vetch, but his bitter rivalry with Vetch's friend Jasper leads him to release an evil shadow into the world. In his quest to defeat the shadow, he talks to a dragon, meets an ancient power of darkness, gets trapped in the form of a hawk and returns to his old mentor Ogion. Finally, Ged is forced to come to terms with the darkness within himself.
In The Tombs of Atuan, a young Kargish priestess has to choose between the ritualistic life she has always known as Arha, 'the Eaten One', and the freedom of finding her own path as Tenar, the girl she used to be, when she discovers an interloper -- Ged, of course -- in the sacred labyrinth she guards. The unification of the two sides to her character is echoed in Ged's rejoining of the two halves of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, an ancient talisman signifying peace. Much fanfiction assumes that more was united than just a ring, but Le Guin leaves that till a later tale...
The Farthest Shore is darker than the earlier two books, and more explicitly centered on the concept of balance and the necessity for death as a part of life. Magic is draining from the Archipelago, and madness is spreading till even the wisest of Earthsea's inhabitants, the dragons, are losing their reason. Ged, now the Archmage, takes the young Prince Arren on a quest to find out why. A brush with slavers, an interlude with the legendary raft people and a chat with a dragon lead to a confrontation with the necromancer Cob, who has disturbed the balance of the world in a bid to defeat death. Closing the gate Cob has opened to the dry land -- the Archipelagan afterlife -- costs Ged his powers. Arren brings Ged back from death, in a sequence reminiscent of Frodo & Sam in Mordor. His actions fulfil an ancient prophecy, and Arren is acknowledged as the true king of all the Archipelago.
The original trilogy can all be seen as coming-of-age stories for the point-of-view characters -- Ged, Tenar, Arren. Tehanu, on the other hand, is about what happens to heroes (and heroines) when the story is over, how to cope with grief and loss, and how everyday things can be magical. It can also be seen as a feminist reworking of many of the ideas of the original trilogy. Opening towards the end of The Farthest Shore, it reunites Tenar, now a farmer's widow, with Ged, struggling to come to terms with the loss of his magic, and they finally get to have their happy ending, only 25 years delayed! They adopt Tehanu, a young girl terribly disfigured by burning, who is revealed to be of the dragon kind.
Beyond The Last Book of Earthsea; or, how a trilogy ended up as six books
Tehanu was subtitled 'The Last Book of Earthsea', but it raised more questions than it answered. The idea of humans who are also dragons seems to have intrigued Le Guin, and she developed the concept in the novella, 'Dragonfly' (collected in Tales from Earthsea), a bridging story between Tehanu & the really-last-this-time novel, The Other Wind. This gathers many of the characters from the rest of the series, particularly Arren & Tehanu, and gives really-final-this-time answers to the questions the earlier books pose about the nature of dragons & the afterlife. As there isn't much fanfiction yet, I won't spoil the ending!
Other stories
The collection Tales from Earthsea contains four pieces in addition to 'Dragonfly'. Three are set before the beginning of the main series: 'The Finder' explains how Roke came to be founded & how it wasn't always an all-male preserve; 'Darkrose and Diamond' is a standalone love story; and 'The Bones of the Earth' tells how Ogion stilled an earthquake. 'On the High Marsh' is set a few years before The Farthest Shore and gives a glimpse of Ged during his time as the Archmage. Finally, a wonderful appendix fleshes out the histories of the ancient mages who appear in Earthsea's legends, and provides lots more fodder for fan authors!
Le Guin's earliest stories in the Earthsea universe were published in 1964 (collected in The Wind's Twelve Quarters). 'The Word of Unbinding' is an early version of the central ideas of The Farthest Shore, while 'The Rule of Names' draws heavily on The Hobbit. The two conflict with the main canon in details -- as Le Guin puts it, 'trolls became extinct in Earthsea at some point' -- and I think I'm the only person to have committed fanfiction for either.
Adaptations
There have been two adaptations for television/film. Neither met with Le Guin's favour; she particularly lambasted Legend of Earthsea for whitewashing the characters. I'm not aware of any fanfiction in English using either of these as canon.
Legend of Earthsea -- SciFi channel miniseries loosely based on The Wizard of Earthsea & The Tombs of Atuan, starring Shawn Ashmore & Kristin Kreuk.
Gedo Senki: Tales from Earthsea -- anime film by Goro Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli loosely based on The Farthest Shore, incorporating aspects of The Wizard of Earthsea & Tehanu.
Gont Island, by Ruth Robbins
Gont -- a small northerly island dominated by a central mountain. Ged, Ogion & Tehanu all come from Gont, and Tenar settles there.
Roke -- an island in the centre of the Archipelago, known for its School of Wizardry -- a boys-only Hogwarts. Roke is ruled by the Archmage and the nine Masters: Namer, Changer, Patterner, Summoner, Chanter, Herbal, Hand, Windkey & Doorkeeper.
Havnor -- huge wealthy island, the capital of the Archipelago after the restoration of the monarchy in The Farthest Shore. Jasper comes from here.
The Reaches -- large number of scattered islands outside the central group, where it's said that 'rules change'. Vetch comes from Iffish, in the East Reach.
Outside the Archipelago is the Kargad Empire. The Kargs are a fair-skinned blond warrior people with decided Norse overtones. They have turned their back on magic, forbid writing and worship the Twin Gods, the Godking & the Old Powers. The Kargad Empire consists of four islands, of which the most important are:
Atuan -- unsurprisingly, the setting for The Tombs of Atuan. The desert interior has three temples, ancient tombs & a labyrinth.
Karego-At -- large wealthy island; the capital Awabath is here, with the court of the Godking. Azver comes from here.
The Isolate Tower glossary has details of all the islands, and a detailed map is available to download at Le Guin's website.
Ged and otak, by Ruth Robbins
Ged (aka Sparrowhawk, Hawk, Duny)
The hero. Mage, dragonlord, explorer & goatherd. Starts life as a Gontish goatherd, rises to be the most powerful mage in the Archipelago, and ends up a Gontish goatherd. He often turns himself into a bird, especially a hawk, and in A Wizard of Earthsea, he has a familiar of an otak, a small mammal with brindled fur. In appearance, he's copper brown, short, with a hawk nose, dark eyes & a rare but surprisingly sweet smile, and he bears four long scars on his face & shoulder from his first encounter with the shadowbeast in A Wizard of Earthsea. Most fanfiction pairs him with Tenar, either canonically within Tehanu or earlier, but he's also occasionally paired with Jasper, Vetch, Arren & even Ogion.
Tenar with Tehanu, by Tudor Humphries
Tenar (aka Arha, Goha)
The heroine. Priestess, apprentice mage, dragonlord & farmer's wife. As Arha, 'the Eaten One', she's the most powerful priestess on Atuan. As Tenar, she runs away with Ged only to be left on Gont with Ogion, marries a Gontish farmer, is widowed, and ends up married to a Gontish goatherd. In appearance, she's fair skinned, small, with large grey eyes and (atypically for a Karg) long black hair. Most fanfiction pairs her with Ged, either canonically within Tehanu or earlier, but she's also occasionally paired with Penthe. According to Kargish beliefs she's the eternal reincarnation of the One Priestess; her predecessor 'Arha-that-was' is often paired with Thar.
Other Archipelagans
Ogion (aka Aihal) -- the mentor. Wise, silent & usually ignored.
Vetch (aka Estarriol) -- the loyal sidekick. Dark-skinned & plain, with an East Reach accent.
Jasper -- the lordly rival. Tall, handsome & graceful.
Arren (aka Lebannen) -- the king-in-waiting. Tall, thin & handsome.
Tehanu and the dragon Kalessin, by David Bergen
Tehanu (aka Therru) -- pure suffering Sue in Tehanu, she evolves some character during The Other Wind, with the burden of being the only dragon-human in canon having been lifted. Coppery skin & long glossy black hair; one side of her face is destroyed & one arm is a claw. Like all good Sues, her dragon form is golden & whole.
Other Kargs
Thar & Kossil are fellow high priestesses to Tenar on Atuan. Thar is thin, spare & stern but fair; she acts as a mentor to Tenar. Kossil is stout, heavy & cruel; she's the main antagonist in The Tombs of Atuan.
Penthe -- Atuan novice, young & plump. Tenar's friend, and occasional fanfictional lover.
Azver -- the only Karg to go to Roke School, he becomes the Master Patterner. Tall, slight, with long fair hair & green eyes.
Earthsea Fanfiction Masterlist -- listing of online fanfiction & poetry
Skyehawke: Ursula Le Guin -- moderate selection, high quality
Yuletide: Earthsea -- small selection, high quality
Fanfiction.net: Earthsea & Wizard of Earthsea -- over 40 stories, with the usual quality caveat, but there are a few gems here that aren't archived elsewhere
Silverlake -- a few stories, not archived elsewhere
Archive of Our Own -- a few stories, not archived elsewhere
Recommendations:
Bright Shiny Objects
Espresso Recommendations --![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
espresso_addict
Recs Recs Recs --bethbethbeth (Beth H)
The RCK's Recommendations
Unfit for Society --musesfool (Victoria P.)
LJ/Yahoo:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
earthsea_fic -- fanfiction & poetry of all genres; runs occasional challenges & ficathons
atuan -- Earthsea discussion (not fanfiction friendly)
leguin -- Ursula Le Guin discussion (mainly her sf works, fanfiction friendly)
The Ekumen -- Ursula Le Guin discussion on Yahoogroups
Fansites:
The Isolate Tower: An Earthsea Compendium -- glossary, dictionary, timeline &c compiled by me (espresso_addict)
To Light a Candle: An Unofficial Earthsea Companion (pdf) -- encyclopedia by Rizwan Virk, with fanart
Other:
Ursula K Le Guin's official website -- includes detailed maps of Earthsea, text/audio excerpts from the books & Le Guin's responses to the two adaptations
Five reasons to read Earthsea
(1) Beautiful writing from the award-winning author of The Dispossessed & The Left Hand of Darkness
(2) A coherent system of magic based on the power of language & limited by the necessity for balance
(3) Among the earliest sf&f to use coloured heroes & white Other
(4) Ancient wise dragons
(5) Middle-aged sex!
In a nutshell, Earthsea resembles HP without the CAPSLOCK, C.S. Lewis without the Christian allegory & Tolkien with a dash of sex...
The Canon
The trilogy (cough) quartetThe original trilogy -- A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan & The Farthest Shore -- appeared in the late 60s/early 70s. Le Guin returned to the universe some twenty years later to write Tehanu, and these four books have been republished in an omnibus volume, The Earthsea Quartet. The quartet follows the central characters Ged & Tenar from childhood to middle age. Most fanfiction is based in these novels.
A Wizard of Earthsea introduces Ged, an arrogant and rash youth with more power than he can handle. After saving his village from Kargish raiders, Ged is apprenticed to the wise mage Ogion, but finds he cannot learn what Ogion has to teach, and yearns for the School of Wizardry on Roke, the centre of the Archipelago. Once there, he gains a friend in Vetch, but his bitter rivalry with Vetch's friend Jasper leads him to release an evil shadow into the world. In his quest to defeat the shadow, he talks to a dragon, meets an ancient power of darkness, gets trapped in the form of a hawk and returns to his old mentor Ogion. Finally, Ged is forced to come to terms with the darkness within himself.
In The Tombs of Atuan, a young Kargish priestess has to choose between the ritualistic life she has always known as Arha, 'the Eaten One', and the freedom of finding her own path as Tenar, the girl she used to be, when she discovers an interloper -- Ged, of course -- in the sacred labyrinth she guards. The unification of the two sides to her character is echoed in Ged's rejoining of the two halves of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, an ancient talisman signifying peace. Much fanfiction assumes that more was united than just a ring, but Le Guin leaves that till a later tale...
The Farthest Shore is darker than the earlier two books, and more explicitly centered on the concept of balance and the necessity for death as a part of life. Magic is draining from the Archipelago, and madness is spreading till even the wisest of Earthsea's inhabitants, the dragons, are losing their reason. Ged, now the Archmage, takes the young Prince Arren on a quest to find out why. A brush with slavers, an interlude with the legendary raft people and a chat with a dragon lead to a confrontation with the necromancer Cob, who has disturbed the balance of the world in a bid to defeat death. Closing the gate Cob has opened to the dry land -- the Archipelagan afterlife -- costs Ged his powers. Arren brings Ged back from death, in a sequence reminiscent of Frodo & Sam in Mordor. His actions fulfil an ancient prophecy, and Arren is acknowledged as the true king of all the Archipelago.
The original trilogy can all be seen as coming-of-age stories for the point-of-view characters -- Ged, Tenar, Arren. Tehanu, on the other hand, is about what happens to heroes (and heroines) when the story is over, how to cope with grief and loss, and how everyday things can be magical. It can also be seen as a feminist reworking of many of the ideas of the original trilogy. Opening towards the end of The Farthest Shore, it reunites Tenar, now a farmer's widow, with Ged, struggling to come to terms with the loss of his magic, and they finally get to have their happy ending, only 25 years delayed! They adopt Tehanu, a young girl terribly disfigured by burning, who is revealed to be of the dragon kind.
Beyond The Last Book of Earthsea; or, how a trilogy ended up as six books
Tehanu was subtitled 'The Last Book of Earthsea', but it raised more questions than it answered. The idea of humans who are also dragons seems to have intrigued Le Guin, and she developed the concept in the novella, 'Dragonfly' (collected in Tales from Earthsea), a bridging story between Tehanu & the really-last-this-time novel, The Other Wind. This gathers many of the characters from the rest of the series, particularly Arren & Tehanu, and gives really-final-this-time answers to the questions the earlier books pose about the nature of dragons & the afterlife. As there isn't much fanfiction yet, I won't spoil the ending!
Other stories
The collection Tales from Earthsea contains four pieces in addition to 'Dragonfly'. Three are set before the beginning of the main series: 'The Finder' explains how Roke came to be founded & how it wasn't always an all-male preserve; 'Darkrose and Diamond' is a standalone love story; and 'The Bones of the Earth' tells how Ogion stilled an earthquake. 'On the High Marsh' is set a few years before The Farthest Shore and gives a glimpse of Ged during his time as the Archmage. Finally, a wonderful appendix fleshes out the histories of the ancient mages who appear in Earthsea's legends, and provides lots more fodder for fan authors!
Le Guin's earliest stories in the Earthsea universe were published in 1964 (collected in The Wind's Twelve Quarters). 'The Word of Unbinding' is an early version of the central ideas of The Farthest Shore, while 'The Rule of Names' draws heavily on The Hobbit. The two conflict with the main canon in details -- as Le Guin puts it, 'trolls became extinct in Earthsea at some point' -- and I think I'm the only person to have committed fanfiction for either.
Adaptations
There have been two adaptations for television/film. Neither met with Le Guin's favour; she particularly lambasted Legend of Earthsea for whitewashing the characters. I'm not aware of any fanfiction in English using either of these as canon.
Legend of Earthsea -- SciFi channel miniseries loosely based on The Wizard of Earthsea & The Tombs of Atuan, starring Shawn Ashmore & Kristin Kreuk.
Gedo Senki: Tales from Earthsea -- anime film by Goro Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli loosely based on The Farthest Shore, incorporating aspects of The Wizard of Earthsea & Tehanu.
The Setting
Earthsea is a largely pre-industrial society. The main culture is that of the Archipelago with its 'four times forty' islands in the centre & an uncountable number in the four outlying Reaches. Its people vary in colour from coppery brown to black. Magic takes a central place in this culture: 'as needful ... as bread and as delightful as music'.
Gont Island, by Ruth Robbins
Gont -- a small northerly island dominated by a central mountain. Ged, Ogion & Tehanu all come from Gont, and Tenar settles there.
Roke -- an island in the centre of the Archipelago, known for its School of Wizardry -- a boys-only Hogwarts. Roke is ruled by the Archmage and the nine Masters: Namer, Changer, Patterner, Summoner, Chanter, Herbal, Hand, Windkey & Doorkeeper.
Havnor -- huge wealthy island, the capital of the Archipelago after the restoration of the monarchy in The Farthest Shore. Jasper comes from here.
The Reaches -- large number of scattered islands outside the central group, where it's said that 'rules change'. Vetch comes from Iffish, in the East Reach.
Outside the Archipelago is the Kargad Empire. The Kargs are a fair-skinned blond warrior people with decided Norse overtones. They have turned their back on magic, forbid writing and worship the Twin Gods, the Godking & the Old Powers. The Kargad Empire consists of four islands, of which the most important are:
Atuan -- unsurprisingly, the setting for The Tombs of Atuan. The desert interior has three temples, ancient tombs & a labyrinth.
Karego-At -- large wealthy island; the capital Awabath is here, with the court of the Godking. Azver comes from here.
The Isolate Tower glossary has details of all the islands, and a detailed map is available to download at Le Guin's website.
The Characters
This list should cover the main characters who appear in fanfiction; the Isolate Tower glossary is a good online source for other characters. Confusingly, all the Archipelagan characters have (at least) two names: a use name (eg Sparrowhawk) and a true name (eg Ged); I've tried to use the one that occurs most frequently in fanfiction.
Ged and otak, by Ruth Robbins
Ged (aka Sparrowhawk, Hawk, Duny)
The hero. Mage, dragonlord, explorer & goatherd. Starts life as a Gontish goatherd, rises to be the most powerful mage in the Archipelago, and ends up a Gontish goatherd. He often turns himself into a bird, especially a hawk, and in A Wizard of Earthsea, he has a familiar of an otak, a small mammal with brindled fur. In appearance, he's copper brown, short, with a hawk nose, dark eyes & a rare but surprisingly sweet smile, and he bears four long scars on his face & shoulder from his first encounter with the shadowbeast in A Wizard of Earthsea. Most fanfiction pairs him with Tenar, either canonically within Tehanu or earlier, but he's also occasionally paired with Jasper, Vetch, Arren & even Ogion.
Tenar with Tehanu, by Tudor Humphries
Tenar (aka Arha, Goha)
The heroine. Priestess, apprentice mage, dragonlord & farmer's wife. As Arha, 'the Eaten One', she's the most powerful priestess on Atuan. As Tenar, she runs away with Ged only to be left on Gont with Ogion, marries a Gontish farmer, is widowed, and ends up married to a Gontish goatherd. In appearance, she's fair skinned, small, with large grey eyes and (atypically for a Karg) long black hair. Most fanfiction pairs her with Ged, either canonically within Tehanu or earlier, but she's also occasionally paired with Penthe. According to Kargish beliefs she's the eternal reincarnation of the One Priestess; her predecessor 'Arha-that-was' is often paired with Thar.
Other Archipelagans
Ogion (aka Aihal) -- the mentor. Wise, silent & usually ignored.
Vetch (aka Estarriol) -- the loyal sidekick. Dark-skinned & plain, with an East Reach accent.
Jasper -- the lordly rival. Tall, handsome & graceful.
Arren (aka Lebannen) -- the king-in-waiting. Tall, thin & handsome.
Tehanu and the dragon Kalessin, by David Bergen
Tehanu (aka Therru) -- pure suffering Sue in Tehanu, she evolves some character during The Other Wind, with the burden of being the only dragon-human in canon having been lifted. Coppery skin & long glossy black hair; one side of her face is destroyed & one arm is a claw. Like all good Sues, her dragon form is golden & whole.
Other Kargs
Thar & Kossil are fellow high priestesses to Tenar on Atuan. Thar is thin, spare & stern but fair; she acts as a mentor to Tenar. Kossil is stout, heavy & cruel; she's the main antagonist in The Tombs of Atuan.
Penthe -- Atuan novice, young & plump. Tenar's friend, and occasional fanfictional lover.
Azver -- the only Karg to go to Roke School, he becomes the Master Patterner. Tall, slight, with long fair hair & green eyes.
The Fandom
Archives:Earthsea Fanfiction Masterlist -- listing of online fanfiction & poetry
Skyehawke: Ursula Le Guin -- moderate selection, high quality
Yuletide: Earthsea -- small selection, high quality
Fanfiction.net: Earthsea & Wizard of Earthsea -- over 40 stories, with the usual quality caveat, but there are a few gems here that aren't archived elsewhere
Silverlake -- a few stories, not archived elsewhere
Archive of Our Own -- a few stories, not archived elsewhere
Recommendations:
Bright Shiny Objects
Espresso Recommendations --
espresso_addictRecs Recs Recs --
bethbethbeth (Beth H)The RCK's Recommendations
Unfit for Society --
musesfool (Victoria P.)LJ/Yahoo:
earthsea_fic -- fanfiction & poetry of all genres; runs occasional challenges & ficathonsatuan -- Earthsea discussion (not fanfiction friendly)leguin -- Ursula Le Guin discussion (mainly her sf works, fanfiction friendly)The Ekumen -- Ursula Le Guin discussion on Yahoogroups
Fansites:
The Isolate Tower: An Earthsea Compendium -- glossary, dictionary, timeline &c compiled by me (
espresso_addict)To Light a Candle: An Unofficial Earthsea Companion (pdf) -- encyclopedia by Rizwan Virk, with fanart
Other:
Ursula K Le Guin's official website -- includes detailed maps of Earthsea, text/audio excerpts from the books & Le Guin's responses to the two adaptations
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I'm reminded again how depressing it is that the publishers have exclusively white faces on the covers when the vast majority of characters in Earthsea are not white.
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I'm reminded again how depressing it is that the publishers have exclusively white faces on the covers when the vast majority of characters in Earthsea are not white.
I've read that the earliest US covers were ok, but I've only seen the UK versions which are all depressingly white.
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Excellent summary!
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Oddly, there seems to have been about twenty years with no separate editions at all - the ones we had in school were 70s editions, and then you have the omnibus in '94. And Penguin only have A Wizard of Earthsea up as a single edition.
Hmm. We should start a campaign!
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(Anonymous) 2009-04-09 06:23 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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