The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition (Earthsea Cycle)

Six books in one, need to start reviewing this before I finish. The Kindle version of this could tempt me to the physical one, the drawings look pretty washed out (and small) on the eInk display. I enjoy the author's notes about why she was writing each one and what she liked and didn't like. Also a useful reminder for me coming at them in 2022 what the time gaps were.

The first one is very mythic, I felt that there was more narrative of scenes than dialogue, for more of a Dunsanay vibe. I'm sure I've read it before but I don't remember more than "the wizard floated around in a boat a lot". Even the author in her afterwords says it's generic at this point, but I like it. Ged starts arrogant and becomes progressively more humble.

Second one felt a lot more grim. The point of view is a girl very much out of her depth until she meets Ged. I could see myself skipping this one on a re-read of the sequence. I don't want to be trapped underground in the dark, where a lot of people end up.

Third one is Ged and his new close friend on a (standard fantasy) quest to encounter a bunch of things then fight the Big Bad. They do that.

Fourth one I thought was slow in building until it turned out it wasn't building, it was the plot. The main character is a woman with no arcane or physical power (but some political power) who then has to deal with (another) evil mage. It's a cozy book until it isn't - when suddenly what seems safe is suddenly a threat due to things out of her control. Five stars just for that one.