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Title: back in fine form - thank you, Ursula
Review: Like many others, I was disenchanted (sorry) by Tehanu, book 4. However, I'm very pleased by Tales. It's not the resounding, stunning masterpiece that was circumscribed by the first three books, but I am gratified to see that she still can evoke the gentle wonders and richness of the grounded and mysterious world she built in the original trilogy.There's definitely a hint of feminist polemicism in these tales, and it does jar me a bit. I'm fully sympathetic with her goals but it's a delicate art to include in the body of a short story, and sometimes she fails. I won't begrudge her that, though, because it's never heavy-handed, and the luminous joys of Earthsea and LeGuin's transluscent prose are spread equally thru the book.
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