not my fav book by my fav author
3 stars
this and the first Earthsea book are really just not my cup of tea
Paperback, 208 pages
English language
Published May 31, 1984 by Bantam.
4 stars
(4 reviews)
When the prince of Enlad declares the wizards have forgotten their spells, Ged sets out to test the ancient prophecies of Earthsea.
Luka /bookwyrm/ reviewed The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle, #3)
about death
5 stars
This book has a strong message about the necessity of death, imagining what happens when immortality is possible.
Derek Caelin reviewed The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle, #3)
Wonderful
4 stars
I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was narrated by Rob Ingles. Many years ago he performed the Lord of the Rings; it was a wonderful surprise to hear that old favorite voice retelling this story. Perhaps because of this narration I felt there were echoes of Tolkien's work. An old wizard, a rising king, a long journey.
I loved the characters, particularly Ged. The idea of a great person who is also extremely humble, a sorcerer who loves to sail — I appreciate the juxtaposition.
I could also see a bit of Le Guin's interest in the Tao Te Ching seeping into the story. When Ged and the other characters discussed leadership, they depicted Lao Tzu's ideal of a sovreign who did very little and allowed people to govern themselves. Strange to have a story of the ascendency of a King to play upon anarchistic themes.
When one door is closed many more are open
4 stars
Content warning mild spoilers inside
A lovely third instalment of the Earthsea series, and a good handoff from it being all Ged's story to broadening out. A few off notes though:
- I found the emphasis on restoring the King to bring back order off-putting and at odds with the gentle daoism infusing everything else about these books.
- Arren seems to go awfully quickly from doubting naif to ready to be crowned. I liked how much Ged's ascendancy was about time, effort and learning from his own mistakes, and Arren's feels rushed by comparison.
- This may be the most extreme of the Earthsea books so far for just lacking female characters.
I gather that the later books were in part a deliberate effort by an older Le Guin to fix some of the deficiencies of the first 3, especially around gender (even in Tombs of Atuan, I found Tenar more a captive who has things happen to her than a full actor). As much as I did enjoy this one, it's made me look forward to those even more.
Subjects
- Fiction
- Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Fantasy
- Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
- Fiction / Fantasy / General
- Fantasy
- Magic