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alexareadsbookssometimes 's review for:
The Farthest Shore
by Ursula K. Le Guin
adventurous
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The farthest shore was good and I like how it explores classic themes of what it means to be alive and dead, how we can lose outselves in the world, and what we need to accept and do to truly be alive. At times it was a little boring and repetitive and I wanted a little more from the ending which was a little predictable, but nonetheless it was a good story.
I like a book that makes me think and appreciate what it means to be alive.
The rest of this is a bit of general commentary on the entire trilogy but also the farthest shore itself.
I enjoyed how the wizardry of the world functions. More than just power one has to know the true name of things to have power of them. But Ged, his master, and the other wizard wisely know to not take too much. In a sense in the modern world filled with capitalism and ego not only do we take take take, destroy the balance of the natural world, but we do not know and understand so much of it. So much Indigenous knowledge of land and nature has been lost as well. At the same time, with the abundance of ego people live for things and not even for the sake of truly living. The book didnt clearly critique this but rather was an example of all of the things that make people feel alive being taken away, and how it turns us greedy, confused, and turns us against one other. A ver familiar reflection of western capitalist society.
The only thing that made me pause was that a solution to the key plot issue of the book was to make a King that rules over all the land? And then what... peace love and happiness forever? Just not my kind of ending and feeling especially anti-king with the current state of the world.
I did like how there is no romance or anything sexual written about the characters in the trilogy and the characters are very focused at achieving their goals. I think it helped make the theme very clear. Aside from being "kid friendly" I find this refreshing from a lot of other fantasy novels.
Another thing I like about the trilogy is that even though the main characters are almost all male (except Arsa in the second book), there's not a huge play into stereotypical gender roles which is also refreshing.
I like a book that makes me think and appreciate what it means to be alive.
The rest of this is a bit of general commentary on the entire trilogy but also the farthest shore itself.
I enjoyed how the wizardry of the world functions. More than just power one has to know the true name of things to have power of them. But Ged, his master, and the other wizard wisely know to not take too much. In a sense in the modern world filled with capitalism and ego not only do we take take take, destroy the balance of the natural world, but we do not know and understand so much of it. So much Indigenous knowledge of land and nature has been lost as well. At the same time, with the abundance of ego people live for things and not even for the sake of truly living. The book didnt clearly critique this but rather was an example of all of the things that make people feel alive being taken away, and how it turns us greedy, confused, and turns us against one other. A ver familiar reflection of western capitalist society.
The only thing that made me pause was that a solution to the key plot issue of the book was to make a King that rules over all the land? And then what... peace love and happiness forever? Just not my kind of ending and feeling especially anti-king with the current state of the world.
I did like how there is no romance or anything sexual written about the characters in the trilogy and the characters are very focused at achieving their goals. I think it helped make the theme very clear. Aside from being "kid friendly" I find this refreshing from a lot of other fantasy novels.
Another thing I like about the trilogy is that even though the main characters are almost all male (except Arsa in the second book), there's not a huge play into stereotypical gender roles which is also refreshing.