finished: Tales from Earthsea.
I finished Tales from Earthsea.
I haven't seen this acknowledged anywhere, but two of the major pieces in this collection read as alternate histories of Earthsea, and I can't help but think that's essentially what they were. The stories were far too close to the plots of novels in the series. I suspect the stories came first and the plots were adapted to the books. There is some lovely stuff, but I couldn't be bothered to read the final section, which is sort of a catalogue of information about the world and its people. One of the things I've always loved about Ursula Le Guin is that she doesn't waste my time with world building and exposition and lets me see the world where it needs to show itself. I'm not interested in reading a writer's notes or seeing how the sausage is made.