The Earthsea Tetralogy By Ursula Le Guin, Easton Press Masterpieces Of SCI-FI

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Earthsea Tetralogy 4 Volume Set “A Wizard of Earthsea”, “The Tombs of Atuan”, “The Farthest Shore”, “Tehanu” by Ursula K Le Guin, Collector's Edition, The Masterpieces of Science Fiction PLEASE BE AWARE: ORDERS OVER $750 REQUIRE A SIGNATURE UPON DELIVERY. This is eBay’s policy. I will ship USPS priority mail Distinctive cover design with beautiful illustration. Features jewel-tone leather bindings, gold foil lettering and decoration, with a hubbed spine. The book has elegant gilded page ends, readable typefaces, and permanent satin ribbon page markers. Durable thread-sewn pages, long lasting and high quality acid-neutral paper. Like new and unread condition, with unattached blank bookplate s for each book . Binding is tight and gold page edge gilding still shiny. Crisp, bright pages and satin ribbon page marker s in great condition. You will receive the exact item s shown, see pictures. Shipped with USPS Media Mail. Item is being sold AS IS.Before offering the item for sale I try my very best to find out as much information about the item so that I can give you an accurate description. Opinion on the items condition can vary, depending on the person who is looking at it. This is why I provide professionally taken, very large, clear and detailed photographs of the item from all angles. I depend on you to take your time to read the description, study the pictures carefully and to ask questions to satisfy yourself that the item is up to your expectations before bidding. If you have any questions regarding the item, or need additional photos, simply contact me through ‘ask seller a question’ at the top of the page and I will try my best to answer as soon as possible. Thank You! Four-Volume Set includes: A Wizard of Earthsea The Tombs of Atuan The Farthest Shore Tehanu A Wizard of Earthsea A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel written by American author Ursula K. Le Guin and first published by the small press Parnassus in 1968. It is regarded as a classic of children's literature and of fantasy, within which it is widely influential. The story is set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea and centers on a young mage named Ged, born in a village on the island of Gont. He displays great power while still a boy and joins a school of wizardry, where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with a fellow student. During a magical duel, Ged's spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks him. The novel follows Ged's journey as he seeks to be free of the creature. The book has often been described as a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, as it explores Ged's process of learning to cope with power and come to terms with death. The novel also carries Taoist themes about a fundamental balance in the universe of Earthsea, which wizards are supposed to maintain, closely tied to the idea that language and names have power to affect the material world and alter this balance. The structure of the story is similar to that of a traditional epic, although critics have also described it as subverting this genre in many ways, such as by making the protagonist dark-skinned in contrast to more typical white-skinned heroes. A Wizard of Earthsea received highly positive reviews, initially as a work for children and later among a general audience. It won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in 1969 and was one of the final recipients of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1979. Margaret Atwood called it one of the "wellsprings" of fantasy literature. Le Guin wrote five subsequent books that are collectively referred to as the Earthsea Cycle, together with A Wizard of Earthsea: The Tombs of Atuan (1971), The Farthest Shore (1972), Tehanu (1990), The Other Wind (2001), and Tales from Earthsea (2001). George Slusser described the series as a "work of high style and imagination", while Amanda Craig said that A Wizard of Earthsea was "the most thrilling, wise, and beautiful children's novel ever". The Tombs of Atuan The Tombs of Atuan is a fantasy novel by the American author Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in the Winter 1970 issue of Worlds of Fantasy magazine, and published as a book by Atheneum Books in 1971. It is the second book in the Earthsea series after A Wizard of Earthsea (1969). The Tombs of Atuan was a Newbery Honor Book in 1972. Set in the fictional world of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan follows the story of Tenar, a young girl born in the Kargish empire, who is taken while still a child to be the high priestess to the "Nameless Ones" at the Tombs of Atuan. Her existence at the Tombs is a lonely one, deepened by the isolation of being the highest ranking priestess. Her world is disrupted by the arrival of Ged, the protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea, who seeks to steal the half of a talisman that is buried in the treasury of the Tombs. Tenar traps him in the labyrinth under the Tombs, but she then rebels against her teaching and keeps him alive. Through him she learns more about the outside world, and she begins to question her faith in the Nameless Ones and her place at the Tombs. Like A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan is a bildungsroman, which explores Tenar's growth and identity. Tenar's coming-of-age is closely tied to her exploration of faith and her belief in the Nameless Ones. The Tombs of Atuan explores themes of gender and power, in the setting of a cult of female priests in service to a patriarchal society, while providing an anthropological view of Kargish culture. Tenar, who became the subject of Le Guin's fourth Earthsea novel, Tehanu, has been described as a more revolutionary protagonist than Ged, or Arren, the protagonist of The Farthest Shore (1972), the third Earthsea volume. Whereas the two men grow into socially approved roles, Tenar rebels and struggles against the confines of her social role. The Tombs of Atuan shares elements of a heroic quest story with other Earthsea novels, but it subverts some tropes common to the fantasy genre at the time, for example, by choosing a female protagonist in Tenar and a dark-skinned leading character in Ged. The Tombs of Atuan was well received when published, with critics commenting favorably on the character of Tenar, Le Guin's writing, and her "sensitive" portrayal of cultural differences between the Kargish people and those of the rest of Earthsea. The story also received praise for its exploration of religious themes and ethical questions. Le Guin's treatment of gender was criticized by several scholars, who stated that she had created a female protagonist, but within a male-dominated framework. Nonetheless, the novel has been described by scholars and commentators as "beautifully written", and a "significant exploration of womanhood". The Farthest Shore The Farthest Shore is a fantasy novel by the American author Ursula K. Le Guin, first published by Atheneum in 1972. It is the third novel in the series commonly called the Earthsea Cycle. Since the next Earthsea novel, Tehanu, would not be released until 1990, The Farthest Shore is sometimes called the final book in the so-called "Earthsea trilogy", beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan. The Farthest Shore follows the wizard Ged in an adventure. The Farthest Shore won the 1973 National Book Award in the category of Children's Books. Studio Ghibli's animated film Tales from Earthsea was based primarily on this novel. Tehanu Tehanu, initially subtitled The Last Book of Earthsea, is a fantasy novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in February 1990 by Atheneum. It is the fourth of her Earthsea novels, written nearly twenty years after the first three novels. It was followed by further Earthsea stories, even though its subtitle initially proclaimed it as the last. The novel is viewed as an enlargement of the earlier Earthsea trilogy (marketed for young adults), as Tehanu presents an aging hero and heroine—Ged, a principal character in all three earlier Earthsea novels, and Tenar, the protagonist of the second in the series, The Tombs of Atuan. Tehanu won the 1990 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1991 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Tehanu has been called Le Guin's best novel, featuring greater depth of characterisation than did her earlier books. Critics have commented that the novel responds to the first three Earthsea books, moving from male-oriented high fantasy to a feminist exploration of what Simone de Beauvoir called "immanence", a woman's situation in the world.