While you're waiting...

[delphipsmith]

...for me to contribute my mite to the Influential Books Post Meme, following in the able footsteps of kellychambliss and perverseidyll among others, you might enjoy this discussion of 10 Reasons Why Le Guin's Earthsea Books Can Still Change Your Life. Some of the comments are interesting, as people go into detail about what the books meant to them.

Spoiler alert: yeah, Le Guin will be on my list :)

Comments

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

I think I read them too late, and after my tastes had formed in other directions. I find them a little unengaging. A little distanced

Maybe I should re read and see if time has changed that.

[delphipsmith]

They are a bit mythic and spare, maybe, as opposed to being very immediate/lively/real. But unlike a lot of fantasy novels her books hold up well to repeat visits; there's a lot in them. The centrality of language is a big part of the attraction for me -- the idea that knowing something's true name gives you power over it -- as is the emphasis on the cost/responsibility that comes with working magic. Her mages would be horrified at the Hogwarts' students casual, profligate attitude towards magic!

And her dragons are some of the best ever: crafty, wise, ancient, powerful, almost alien.