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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book really makes me think Le Guin was a secret pulp fiction fan, of Robert E. Howard in particular. The parallels between this novel and many of the Conan stories are too close to be ignored. Drugs and dreaming, dark dangerous magicians, high seas adventure, and interesting fully realized cultures are staples of REH.
I think this novel may have even been a rebuttal to Howard's dark world view.
Where Howard espouses a philosophy wherein civilization is an island of relative stability doomed to constantly sink back into barbarism, Le Guin counters with relentless optimism. She argues a core of good in people, and the desire to be better. While she doesn't shy away from dark motifs, there's an overarching theme of hope in her writing that, while I don't fully agree with, I find refreshing and charming.
Le Guin's writing style is wispy and beautiful. Her prose magical. I'm constantly bombarded with imagery in the style of Amano Yoshitaka and french impressionism. I've never had writing evoke that kind of response from me. It's kinda cool.
Also. Can I please just fucking live on a flotilla with the Raft People? I love theeeeeem.
I think this novel may have even been a rebuttal to Howard's dark world view.
Where Howard espouses a philosophy wherein civilization is an island of relative stability doomed to constantly sink back into barbarism, Le Guin counters with relentless optimism. She argues a core of good in people, and the desire to be better. While she doesn't shy away from dark motifs, there's an overarching theme of hope in her writing that, while I don't fully agree with, I find refreshing and charming.
Le Guin's writing style is wispy and beautiful. Her prose magical. I'm constantly bombarded with imagery in the style of Amano Yoshitaka and french impressionism. I've never had writing evoke that kind of response from me. It's kinda cool.
Also. Can I please just fucking live on a flotilla with the Raft People? I love theeeeeem.
The Farthest Shore (the third book in Le Guin's Earthsea series) is more similar structurally to the first book, A Wizard of Earthsea, than it is to the second, The Tombs of Atuan. While it lacks the strong female character dimension of the latter, it shares the wonderfully descriptive yet understated style and the complex characters and institutions of the previous Earthsea books.
The narrative this time focuses on a new character, a prince called Arren with no talent for magic who like Tenar becomes entangled in the adventures of Ged, now an older man and the Archmage at last. Arren, like Ged and Tenar in the previous books, is a fascinating and original protagonist, who is easily corrupted and quick to anger and pride, but who is compassionate and brave. With Ged, he travels to the ends of Earthsea to find a new evil (this time unrelated to the nameless ancient shadows that are the previous books' antagonists) who has stolen the Old Tongue and its magic from the world. Their quest echoes that of Ged and Vetch in the first book, as it takes them over vast distances to an elusive target.
The story introduces us to new peoples as well, and Le Guin is very talented at creating believable, unique cultures and giving them a considerable impact on her stories in few pages. Like the first book, there are plot points that are impalpable and otherworldly, but Le Guin conveys them masterfully through her writing, and the result is an original and intriguing story that escapes the common fantasy vice of too much description.
Like the first two Earthsea books, themes of coming-of-age, corruption, trust, and friendship are important in The Farthest Shore. But interestingly, the book also offers insights on mortality and the importance of death as part of human life. Like the other books, it can be enjoyed independently, but as it fits so well with the series so far and as the previous books are also excellent, I recommend reading the series in order.
The narrative this time focuses on a new character, a prince called Arren with no talent for magic who like Tenar becomes entangled in the adventures of Ged, now an older man and the Archmage at last. Arren, like Ged and Tenar in the previous books, is a fascinating and original protagonist, who is easily corrupted and quick to anger and pride, but who is compassionate and brave. With Ged, he travels to the ends of Earthsea to find a new evil (this time unrelated to the nameless ancient shadows that are the previous books' antagonists) who has stolen the Old Tongue and its magic from the world. Their quest echoes that of Ged and Vetch in the first book, as it takes them over vast distances to an elusive target.
The story introduces us to new peoples as well, and Le Guin is very talented at creating believable, unique cultures and giving them a considerable impact on her stories in few pages. Like the first book, there are plot points that are impalpable and otherworldly, but Le Guin conveys them masterfully through her writing, and the result is an original and intriguing story that escapes the common fantasy vice of too much description.
Like the first two Earthsea books, themes of coming-of-age, corruption, trust, and friendship are important in The Farthest Shore. But interestingly, the book also offers insights on mortality and the importance of death as part of human life. Like the other books, it can be enjoyed independently, but as it fits so well with the series so far and as the previous books are also excellent, I recommend reading the series in order.
My appreciation for this grew after listening to the Shelved by Genre folks discuss it, but it doesn't reach the level of the original Earthsea books. Hard to do so, imo
My favorite of the series so far. I particularly enjoyed Arren, the raft people, and the dragons.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No