The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition
The definitive illustrated omnibus of Ursula K. Le Guin's legendary Earthsea saga, brought to luminous visual life by Charles Vess in a landmark collaboration.
đź“– Saga Press / Simon & Schuster • Started 2018
When Saga Press decided to collect Ursula K. Le Guin’s complete Earthsea cycle into a single definitive illustrated edition, they made a brilliant choice: they let Charles Vess and Le Guin collaborate directly. For four years, the two exchanged emails across the country — Le Guin recalling details she hadn’t thought about in forty years, Vess sending sketches for her approval, refining everything from the curve of a dragon’s wing to the precise silhouette of a shadow on the water.
A Landmark Collection
The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition is the result: a massive, 1,008-page compendium containing all five Earthsea novels (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, and The Other Wind) plus short stories, with 56 full-color paintings and scores of black-and-white illustrations by Vess. It won the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Art Book and the 2019 Locus Award for Best Art Book, cementing its place as the definitive way to experience Le Guin’s masterwork.
Le Guin’s Vision
Le Guin, who passed away in January 2018, served as her own art director on the project — a rare vote of confidence from the famously direct author. “I didn’t illustrate the book during that year, but Ursula and I went back and forth on what her dragons looked like,” Vess recalled in an interview with Reactor. “We had a long time, and could go back and forth. We kept refining our ideas. Eventually I arrived at a drawing she was very happy with. That’s what I wanted. For her to be happy.”
The Art of Earthsea
The illustrations capture Earthsea’s unique atmosphere — equal parts archipelago adventure, Taoist-inflected philosophy, and coming-of-age story — with scenes that range from Ged’s first faltering spells at the School for Wizards on Roke to Tenar’s harrowing descent into the Tombs of Atuan. Vess’s watercolors feel like they belong in a medieval manuscript, their muted earth tones and flowing linework perfectly matched to Le Guin’s prose.
This edition also includes Le Guin’s essay “Earthsea Revisioned,” a map of the archipelago, and Vess’s artist’s note describing the collaboration. It is, quite simply, the definitive collection of all things Earthsea.
Perfect for fans of epic fantasy world-building, illustrated classics, and the complete works of Ursula K. Le Guin.
