I think that what I had liked about the first three Earthsea novels was the atmosphere. My favourite bit by far was the first half of the Tombs of Atuan, indeed I don't think I've ever re-read the ending! Tehanu is interesting as a novel, but that look at ordinary life was precisely the opposite of what I enjoyed about the books - I was interested in neither Ged nor Tenar as ordinary people. Whereas The Other Wind brought back the things that I'd enjoyed.