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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
This is a grand book. There such an incredible amount of thought and philosophy in here - in all the Earthsea books, and in all of LeGuin's work, but this work has such a particular contemplation on death and mortality. A very, very good read.
adventurous
challenging
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
Once again, Ursula K. Le Guin delivers the book of an Old Master. Both the writing and the plot feel a lot grander and older than they probably are, and it's really nice to sink into the prose and feel as if a particularly eloquent grandparent is sitting across from you, telling you a story.
Le Guin is very economical with her characters and introduces the reader only to the bare minimum needed for the story. The effect of this is that all the people with parts to play in the story have a certain depth to them, even the side characters. Clearly, quite a few authors could learn a thing or two from the way Le Guin writes stories.
Le Guin is very economical with her characters and introduces the reader only to the bare minimum needed for the story. The effect of this is that all the people with parts to play in the story have a certain depth to them, even the side characters. Clearly, quite a few authors could learn a thing or two from the way Le Guin writes stories.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
I think this is my least favorite of the first three books, but that’s mainly because I don’t feel as though it wraps up the original trilogy in a way that was satisfying to me. On its own I love the themes it explores and I find Le Guin’s prose very engaging, but as the potential end to Ged’s whole story it left much to be desired, I feel there’s so much of the character left to explore.
Of course there’s three more books to read so I’m curious to see where they go from here. But all in all a nice read!!
Of course there’s three more books to read so I’m curious to see where they go from here. But all in all a nice read!!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
This year (2025), I hope to complete my reading of Ursula K. Le Guin's 'Earthsea' cycle. I decided to pick up the series with a reread of 'The Farthest Shore,' since I remembered very little of it.
Reading this at a time when so much innocence, belief, and ethics are being thoroughly impoverished and attacked, I felt it viscerally the description of how magic was being drained out of the world by a force that holds no respect for nature or its Life/Death/Life cycles. There is a hole somewhere here, too, where oblivion distorts reality, where artificiality smothers intelligence, where false hierarchies rip us apart. There is an urgency here, too, for all this to end somewhere. To recover, somehow. Safely.
Unlike fantasy epics, we can't wait for a chosen-one type to fix the problem. Even in 'The Farthest Shore,' Ged couldn't do it alone. But the journey towards compassionate resolution costs a lot in a world desensitized to cruelty - with enemies playing pretend at immortality - and that's something potent that this book has offered me. A consideration for these times, a reminder to be steadfast in valuing Life within its wider, magical cycles.
Reading this at a time when so much innocence, belief, and ethics are being thoroughly impoverished and attacked, I felt it viscerally the description of how magic was being drained out of the world by a force that holds no respect for nature or its Life/Death/Life cycles. There is a hole somewhere here, too, where oblivion distorts reality, where artificiality smothers intelligence, where false hierarchies rip us apart. There is an urgency here, too, for all this to end somewhere. To recover, somehow. Safely.
Unlike fantasy epics, we can't wait for a chosen-one type to fix the problem. Even in 'The Farthest Shore,' Ged couldn't do it alone. But the journey towards compassionate resolution costs a lot in a world desensitized to cruelty - with enemies playing pretend at immortality - and that's something potent that this book has offered me. A consideration for these times, a reminder to be steadfast in valuing Life within its wider, magical cycles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-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:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I did enjoy this book, though I didn't find Arren as compelling as Ged or Tenar, but I enjoyed having his perspective and seeing him grow. I don't think it's the strongest of the series, as Cob was somewhat of a disappointing villain, but I enjoyed the expansion of the world. I almost wish there'd just been a little bit more elaboration, especially at the end. I also enjoy how Le Guin leaves us with a vague ending, saying what people talk about instead of what happened for sure.
It's about death.
From the center of the world we go east, to the dawning of possibility. We direct ourselves south, sun scorched and dying, full of dead illusions and bondage. We go west, and we have forgotten all things that were and are. We forget what anything means, what color is, what our very names and our purpose is. After, we lost ourselves, and in finding a soft place to land, we are attacked. When we have truly lost, we are surrendered as king-slaves, owned by a charity glorious.
We find death in the North-West, yet ever more west than north, near the gap of the sun. We find death who sought life, and life after giving all of it up to the yawning mouth of ivory shores.
To chase and to find, is to go nowhere and gain nothing. Rather, it is in staying still that the winds of fate are caught in our sails.
At least, that's what I saw in her writing.
It's about life.
From the center of the world we go east, to the dawning of possibility. We direct ourselves south, sun scorched and dying, full of dead illusions and bondage. We go west, and we have forgotten all things that were and are. We forget what anything means, what color is, what our very names and our purpose is. After, we lost ourselves, and in finding a soft place to land, we are attacked. When we have truly lost, we are surrendered as king-slaves, owned by a charity glorious.
We find death in the North-West, yet ever more west than north, near the gap of the sun. We find death who sought life, and life after giving all of it up to the yawning mouth of ivory shores.
To chase and to find, is to go nowhere and gain nothing. Rather, it is in staying still that the winds of fate are caught in our sails.
At least, that's what I saw in her writing.
It's about life.
I didn't like this as much as the earlier books in the series. It had some great ideas though.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced