I was really excited for the release of that omnibus, I remember actually marking it on my calendar lmao and then I physically handled it and realized it was too big to actually hold and read.

I checked it out from the library instead and spent a day leafing through it admiring the illustrations and reading some of the additional stories and afterwords that I hadn't seen before

I liked that series. It was so subtly different from standard sword-and-sorcery genre, even though Ged is himself a formidable warrior.

I was just gifted the first book of the series. I’m looking forward to reading it after seeing some of the praise it received recently.

I enjoyed this review and thought the point about "whiplash" with Tehanu was well observed.

I read Tehanu roughly when it came out, so I'd have been about 18, having read the others much earlier. I was annoyed and disliked it due to the tonal change.

I re-read it again a year or so ago along with the short stories and The Other Wind. I loved it. Nothing had changed - except me, of course.

The (also awesome) writer Jo Walton wrote a great celebration of Ursula Le Guin's life. She wrote in part:

She widened the space of science fiction with what she wrote. She got in there with a crowbar and expanded the field and made it a better field… Le Guin expanded the possibilities for all of us, and then she kept on doing that. She didn’t repeat herself. She kept doing new things. She was so good. I don’t know if I can possibly express how good she was.

https://reactormag.com/bright-the-hawks-flight-in-the-empty-...

The last Earthsea book change its world in a way which is unique (or at least rare), even in fantasy series. I won’t say it here for spoiler reasons, but it’s really quite wonderful. The whole series is absolutely worth reading.

Fun fact: she coined the word Ansible. I had no idea until reading one of her books recently and thinking "Ansible? Like the software?"

I have the omnibus edition that they have in this review. It is a gorgeous book, although still likely not as lovely as Folio Society's https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/books-of-earthsea.html. The paper is very white, with the reading light behind it is almost a bit too white/reflective. But great in ambient light. Charles Vess' illustrations are amazing, although there are just too few of them. I got spoiled at his glorious and PLENTIFUL work on Sandman and Stardust. Nevertheless, excellent packaging for incredible series of stories.

Loved these books.

Did not love the television mini-series.

I may just get that book.

I have the Frankenstein book, illustrated by Bernie Wrightson: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bernie_Wrightson_s_Fran...

Author used to be an Emacs maintainer, FYI.

I have that omnibus edition. Bought it for my then newborn daughter when it came out (and have them all in eBook format as well), but have yet to convince her to read it, or The Hobbit.

It is available as an eBook in the UK for a ridiculously cheap £5.99.

https://books.apple.com/gb/book/the-books-of-earthsea-the-co...

https://www.gollancz.co.uk/news/2018/10/17/the-books-of-eart...

First 2 are great, next 4 start to drag but you’re invested in seeing how things turn out.