The final Earthsea books

Finishing a series is always bittersweet for me, especially a series that I’ve loved. On Christmas I finished the final book of the Earthsea series by Ursula K. Le Guin, and it was one of those series where I was wanting to keep reading more about the characters I’ve come to love. But alas, it was all that she wrote. The two final books, Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind are very different but both very good.

Tales from Earthsea are stories that range from the very early days of Earthsea before the school at Roke is founded and goes through to the bridge story that connects Tehanu and The Other Wind. The stories are all quite different, but I enjoyed them all the same, a chance to see some very different aspects of the world I’d already been immersed in.

The Other Wind picks up after the final story in Tales from Earthsea and not long after Tehanu. It is a lively story with many of the same beloved characters and some new ones, but it is a good ending, seeing Tehanu’s story continue and what, for me, was a satisfying ending. I love it when the end of a series continues the story well, but also doesn’t leave a lot of loose ends and The Other Wind does that quite well.