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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
3.5 Stars. This book takes a more traditional approach to storytelling, with the big bad villain and everything. I think that makes it lose the uniqueness the first two books had.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
I always get the feeling with these books that not a single word is out of place
La saga prosegue splendidamente.
La scrittura rimane scorrevole, i personaggi piacevoli ed il penultimo capitolo ha davvero dei bei dialoghi.
Se gli ultimi libri reggono botta, potrebbe essere effettivamente una delle più belle saghe fantasy che mi sia capitata per le mani!
La scrittura rimane scorrevole, i personaggi piacevoli ed il penultimo capitolo ha davvero dei bei dialoghi.
Se gli ultimi libri reggono botta, potrebbe essere effettivamente una delle più belle saghe fantasy che mi sia capitata per le mani!
4.5 Stars - by far the best in the series !
There's a disturbance in the Force and the old Jedi maste Ged and his young padovan apprentice goes on a quest to bring down the evil sith lord and bring balance in the force.... Oops wrong story.
In this third installment a young prince Arren comes to Roke with some disturbing news, Magic is forgotten or do not work any more in the outskirts of the empire and it's spreading inwards to the center.
Ged sensing some larger destiny in Arren decides to go invite him to accompanying him on a quest to investigate further. they encounter many wonders and dangers but that's spoilers.
It's most of all a story of balance in things, between life and death, and between having power and using it.
What makes this story spectacular is the subtle way Le Guin manages to describe the terror and hopelessness which spreads though the people, here's no cheap effects, large action scenes or big monsters, just a overwhelming feeling of dread and apathy.
Giving the less than positive reviews i have seen of the 4. volume, written many years later i think i stop here.
There's a disturbance in the Force and the old Jedi maste Ged and his young padovan apprentice goes on a quest to bring down the evil sith lord and bring balance in the force.... Oops wrong story.
In this third installment a young prince Arren comes to Roke with some disturbing news, Magic is forgotten or do not work any more in the outskirts of the empire and it's spreading inwards to the center.
Ged sensing some larger destiny in Arren decides to go invite him to accompanying him on a quest to investigate further. they encounter many wonders and dangers but that's spoilers.
It's most of all a story of balance in things, between life and death, and between having power and using it.
What makes this story spectacular is the subtle way Le Guin manages to describe the terror and hopelessness which spreads though the people, here's no cheap effects, large action scenes or big monsters, just a overwhelming feeling of dread and apathy.
Giving the less than positive reviews i have seen of the 4. volume, written many years later i think i stop here.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Wonderful rereading this years later with my fantasy book club and I gained a lot more with a second perspective. The themes of immortality, cheating death, all very familiar (i.e. Voldemort). But it's all contextualized and made that much more interesting because of Ged's and Arren's friendship throughout this final sea adventure. I love that we've seen Ged in three separate stages of his life: brash youth, accomplished mid-life wizard, and finally, his last year as Archmage. The beauty and poetry of Le Guin's writing reigns supreme as always and reading her older works never ceases to lift me out of darkness and into what is right, what is beautiful, and what is meaningful.
In a sense, this story is a blend of A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan. It has the far-ranging quest of Wizard, but like Tombs it's about living within limits: accepting that death is part of life, what gives it meaning and vibrancy. It is also about the debilitating and self-reinforcing power of depression, and the falsity of drug-fueled mysticism and mystics. Kind of a lot going on there for an epic fantasy story, and a reason why Le Guin's stories still resonate.
What happened to these beautiful, amazing fantasy stories that are contained and manage to be told in fewer than 200 pages? Lost art, imo.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-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