What do You think about The Other Wind (2003)?
After my [ex-]husband got me into the Earthsea Cycle novels by Ursula LeGuin, I was quick to order the three books added after he'd read the books. I delayed reading The Other Wind after I lost the fourth book in the series, Tehanu, but finally gave in to the lure of finding out what had happened to the characters I'd grown to enjoy, but it made no sense. Once I finally found Tehanu, I reread The Other Wind and everything suddenly made sense.::: Dragon Time :::When The Other Wind begins, Ged/Sparrowhawk is alone in the house at Re Albi. Tenar and Tehanu have gone to Havnor at the request of King Lebannen, but Ged receives a visitor, a sorcerer named Alder who has been sent by the mages at Roke to Ged. Alder has been having strange dreams of the Dry Land of death that Ged and Lebannen had visited and returned from in The Farthest Shore, and in them, he has met his dead wife and teacher, both begging him for freedom. When they touch him, he wakes up with burns on his skin, and he is unable to sleep without returning to that land. Ged hears Alder's story and tells him what he knows of the Dry Land, then sends Alder on another journey to Havnor to talk to Lebannen, and also to pose two questions to Tehanu.When Alder arrives at Havnor, he discovers that Lebannen has troubles of another sort; the High King of the Kargad Lands has sent his daughter to Lebannen as a sign of peace, expecting Lebannen to marry her. Now Lebannen has no idea what to do with the princess or Alder's story. As he discusses the situations with his council, Tenar, and Tehanu, it is decided that they will travel to roke: Tenar, Tehanu, Lebannen, the Princess, and two mages: Onyx, and a Pelnish wizard, along with Orm Irian, a dragon who can take the form of a human who had actually been at the school at Roke, even though she is female. Once on Roke, they attempt to determine what to do about the dreams that now everyone in Earthsea seems to be having, and Tehanu finally discovers what she truly is.::: Loose Ends Tied Up :::While LeGuin has stated that she originally felt that the Earthsea Cycle was completed with Tehanu, I'm sure that fans agreed that there were too many questions; what was the Dry Land, and why was there a wall that couldn't be crossed? Was everything truly back to the way it was before Cob attempted to achieve immortality? What did Ogion mean when he said everything was changed? And what was the ultimate destiny for Tehanu?Without reading Tehanu, The Other Wind won't make much sense at all; it's a book that definitely relies on the previous books (especially Tehanu) in the series for an understanding of the characters and situations. For fans of the Earthsea Cycle, just about every question is answered, and the ending of the Cycle is satisfying, if a bit sad.The only complaint that I can think of is that The Other Wind doesn't have nearly enough about Ged. Hopes that Ged might join the party on Roke, or have one last reunion with Lebannen are dashed, and he seems almost an afterthought after his initial time with Alder, disappointing since he had been the central figure up until Tehanu. This review previously published at Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/review/The_Ot...
—Cyndy Aleo
Is it me, or is the only way someone can be a good guy in this book (maybe in all of her work--I'm not a fan) by giving up something that's vital to themselves and the people around them? Not just a few, but everyone has to do this? That in the end she'd strip all her mages on their power if she could find a way to do it, or leave them nasty, mingey, sour people tightly clutching their skills to their chests and only reluctantly doling out bits of their knowledge to others because it's expected of them? And that a woman's lot is to give things up and be in pain, or smile and be ready with hugs when the kids and the men venture out to do the rough stuff? That true, ultimate love is found in a moment while the other person isn't paying attention?I read the Earthsea trilogy in my late twenties, couldn't face TEHANU after hearing about the clapping songs, and I read LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS in college. It left me simmering in a deep pit of rage I have yet to climb out of. (An Earthman is isolated in a shack with one of a race that turns from male to female, and the first signs the other creature gives that he's turning female is PMS hysterics? Degradation much?) So no, I'm not a fan, but Michelle West said THE OTHER WIND was the book LeGuin was born to write, and it was okay--I finished it. It was okay for a book where a growing number of interesting people went places and talked and acquired more people to go places and talk and put together the problem--and I won't do a spoiler. And during the story and previous to the story people had to give up the core of themselves as payment so many times that it got on my nerves. Yes, I believe that great victories demand great prices, but where was the feeling of victory? Where was the feeling of battle? And for all the mentions of the strong Karg women with their strong bare arms and strong bare feet, they got to be strong and wait.
—Tamora Pierce
Escrever sobre a vida e a morte na sua essência é uma das histórias mais difíceis de contar. Podemos contar a vida de alguém, relatar os actos que levaram alguém à morte, divagar sobre o seu significado metafísico, mas relacionar viver e morrer na sua plenitude é uma tarefa árdua.E se compreendemos a dificuldade de contar uma história cuja temática é esta verdade universal em que ‘toda a vida tem uma morte’, então apreciar a obra “Num Vento Diferente” de Ursula K. Le Guin é fácil.Sei que este livro faz parte de uma série. Sei que ele se sustenta a si mesmo, não necessitando de qualquer obra introdutória. Sei que é uma obra que tanto tem de simples como de mágico. As personagens e os seus caminhos são, no decorrer da acção, insondáveis. Os mistérios e a magia que envolvem estas páginas prendem o leitor na sua simplicidade e beleza. Mesmo aqueles que podem à primeira vista parecer disformes, são exemplos de beleza em níveis muito mais profundos do que o aspecto exterior. Tenar, Tehanu, o Amieiro, Lébannen, Seserakh e Gued guiam-nos num mundo em que os dragões existem (símbolo do transporte etéreo), em que as encruzilhadas e as escolhas (verw nadan) nos dividem, onde a Vida e a Morte são afinal dádivas, ambas com o mesmo valor.O equilíbrio, o desejo de imortalidade, o amor parental, romântico e a amizade são-nos mostrados e não contados, tal como devem ser.Um livro brilhante. E desconfio que, ainda virão outros dias em que a história irá revelar-me outras dimensões. Afinal, abarcar a Vida e a Morte num breve conjunto de páginas nunca seria tarefa fácil de executar, nem compreender.http://sarinhafarinha.wordpress.com/2...
—Sara Farinha
