Best 1990 Adventures (10)

By: Joshua Glenn
May 9, 2020

One in a series of 10 posts identifying Josh Glenn’s favorite 1990 adventure novels.

Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea fantasy adventure Tehanu.

Almost twenty years after publishing the Earthsea trilogy (1968–1972), Le Guin reacquainted us with Ged/Sparrowhawk, protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea, and Tenar, protagonist of The Tombs of Atuan. Although a powerful mage, the ex-priestess of darkness Tenar has relocated to the same island, Gont, where Ged was mentored by Ogion; she has spent a couple of decades there — married to a farmer, now dead, and raising children, now gone away. Ged, who has lost most of his powers in an epic battle (as recounted in The Farthest Shore), shows up — injured and seeking a peaceful way of life. At the same time, Tenar rescues a badly burned girl (Tenar/Tehanu) from her abusive parents. A girl with extraordinary powers. If Star Wars, as I’ve suggested elsewhere, borrows from Le Guin, so does Game of Thrones. Here you’ll find no epic quests or wizard battles… for a while, anyway. It’s a book about rebuilding your life after trauma; and there are some traumatic moments. Not for young children!

Fun facts: Winner of the Nebula and Locus Awards. Although it was subtitled “The Last Book of Earthsea,” Tehanu turned out to be the first installment in a new trilogy — which would include Tales from Earthsea and The Other Wind.

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Best 1990 Adventures (10)

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