First edition, 226 pages
English language
Published March 1990 by Atheneum.
The stink of burning filled the wind, as with a hissing roar the dragon, turning to land on the shelf of rock, breathed out a sigh of fire. Its feet clashed on the rock. The thorny tail, writhing, rattled, and the wings stormed and rustled as they folded down to the mailed flanks. The head turned slowly. The dragon gazed straight at the woman from yellow eyes under armored carapaces wide-set above the narrow nose and flaring, fuming nostrils. And her small, soft face and dark eyes gazed straight at it.
The dragon turned its head aside a little so that she was not destroyed when it did speak, or perhaps it laughed — a great "Hah!" of orange flame.
Tenat saw then the man astride its back, his hands clenched on the rust-dark mail of the dragon's neck, his head bowed as if he were asleep.
The dragon lowered …
The stink of burning filled the wind, as with a hissing roar the dragon, turning to land on the shelf of rock, breathed out a sigh of fire. Its feet clashed on the rock. The thorny tail, writhing, rattled, and the wings stormed and rustled as they folded down to the mailed flanks. The head turned slowly. The dragon gazed straight at the woman from yellow eyes under armored carapaces wide-set above the narrow nose and flaring, fuming nostrils. And her small, soft face and dark eyes gazed straight at it.
The dragon turned its head aside a little so that she was not destroyed when it did speak, or perhaps it laughed — a great "Hah!" of orange flame.
Tenat saw then the man astride its back, his hands clenched on the rust-dark mail of the dragon's neck, his head bowed as if he were asleep.
The dragon lowered its body into a crouch and spoke. "Sobriost," it said, and that word of the Language of the Making she knew: Go up, the dragon said: Mount! and she saw the steps to mount. The taloned foot, the crooked elbow, the shoulder-joint, the first musculature of the wing: four steps.
She too said, "Hah!" but not in a laugh, only tring to get her breath. Then she went forward, past the talons and the long lipless mouth and the long yellow eye, and mounted the shoulder of the dragon. She took the man's arm. He did not move, but surely he was not dead. "Come on," she said, and then seeing his face as she loosened the clenched grip of his left hand, "Come on, Ged. Come on…."
I enjoyed this book more than “Farthest Shore” but not as much as “Wizard of Earthsea” (one of my favourite books) and “Tombs of Atuan” (also very good). Le Gunn’s writing is as beautiful as ever but this one loses its way in the middle and the ending is satisfying but feels rushed. It was lovely to be reunited with Tenar and the dragons are always great.
Content warning some spoilers about the end
This book was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. It was heartbreaking because there is a constant violence against the poor little girl, and she seems to suffer so much. But then things turn to a positive outcome at the end, and she speaks to Kalessin and calls Ged and Tenar her father and mother (when there where just hints of Tenar thinking of her as "adoptive daughter"). I was feeling joy while reading those pages. At the fourth book in the series, I think I see a kind of tidal cycle between male- and female-focused stories. Books 1 and 3 were pretty much male-focused and books 2 and 4 are strongly female-focused. It's explicit, the Place of the Tombs of Atuan has no men, only eunuchs. In "Tehanu" the female perspective is weaved in almost every page, both in the grand scheme of things and the everyday life. I couldn't help noticing a Christian analogy for the final scene when Kalessin says that Tehanu is their daughter, given to Ged and Tenar who should care for her - but it's Tehanu who chooses to stay and help them. So it's actually a radically different approach than the Christian God.
