Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Farthest Shore (The Earthsea Cycle Series Book 3)

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Stories for the Ages

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2014

I read and loved The Earthsea Trilogy when I was in my early twenties. I read it to my daughter when I was in my early thirties. I'm reading it to my grandchildren now. The ability of skilled storytelling to teach us about ourselves is seldom more powerful than when we find it in what the "literary world" looks down upon as "fantasy." But J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Elizabeth Moon, and Ursula Le Guin have learned from the best. They stand on the shoulders of every indigenous oral tradition around the world which has always taught young humans who they were with stories of animals and/or mythical beings not so much different than themselves. This series (now wonderfully expanded) is the perfect gift for young people of all ages. At 63, I am still swept away, joyously caught up in every page of Le Guin's magical way with words. She is a Master storyteller, and her enlightening lessons last because her readers cannot help passing them on.

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No Genre Left Behind

Great Third Book

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2009

The third book in the Earthsea Cycle follows the wizard Ged and young Prince Arren as they search for the reason behind the forgetting of magic. Magic users across the many islands of Earthsea are forgetting the words of magic and going mad, and it seems to be spreading.

This is a great story of conquering your fears and overcoming what appears to be more than you can handle. It show the value of friendship and commitment. This was a wonderful follow up to the first two books. I have the fourth on my soon to be bought list.

My only complaint is again of the large gap with little to no information of what happens between the stories. I'm the type of reader that enjoys knowing even the more boring parts of the characters lives.

3.5/5

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Kevin Robinson

Stories for the Ages

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2014

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Liz W.

Decades ahead of its time ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2014

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But I suppose Le Guin wrote this right when the world really needed it. The Farthest Shore brings us to our protagonist's most difficult, yet clairvoyant journey. The book is written from the perspective of Arren, a young and impatient prince who comes to Sparrowhawk with troubling news. The world is changing -- people are becoming petty and bitter. The dragons are beginning to die. The shadows are drawing in on Ea and no one seems to know or care why.

This book is powerful because it was originally published as a young adult novel but it has very grown-up themes and concepts. As a younger reader it might be easier to relate to passionate Arren, but the wisdom represented by Ged (who is now in his middle ages), is not lost in Le Guin's writing. And, obviously, those readers who have followed Ged through The Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan have a deeper understanding of the decisions he makes in The Farthest Shore.

In any case -- don't let "young adult" put you off from reading this book. If anything the short length makes this a wonderful weekend read, and really sparked that imagination in me that I thought was lost with maturity.

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my morning review

One of the greatest stories..

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2012

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Aside from the Harry Potter series being largely ripped off from the details of Ursula LeGuins masterpiece...

The wizard Ged creates, through his vanity and insecurity, a shadow in the world which only he can master and put to rest. And this mistake of childhood follows him through his life in small ways ... the vanity, the temper. In an act of cruel temper
he forces a fellow wizard to walk with him to the Dry Land, to death, and back again, hoping to stop him from compelling the spirits of the dead to walk among us at his beckon call . But it backfires and the end of all things nearly occurs because, again, of his own temper, it seems, that brings about more evil than evil people. So many morals are taught, from this one, that our bad intentions ring for many years after, to ... how to talk to dragons, how to weave a spell, to welcome the visiting spirit, to listen to the language of water and know the names of all things... Its a spiritual journey, simply written
but deeply trod. I love it and read it often. And I am always renewed. I wish there were more stories about this hero,
or others in this world she invented back in the 60's. She describes the Earthsea world as revealing itself to her, rather than her making it up... and I almost believe it. For me, as I try also to undo the past and weave into the spells of today a forgiveness not only of myself, but of all things that walk this earth, I know there is a magic in all we do , one we take for
granted. For it is in the land of the living that we belong, to live outloud, to meet dragons in their own domain, chase dieing children into the land of death to save them, to walk with the shadow of our own hell, and, learning its name, be at peace with ourselves. Here for so short a moment, then forever to walk upon the dry land where mother and child sit, unknowing, near one another,
and those who died for love pass each other on the street. All this is in this little book. Everything from the nature of the evil ..
the weaving of spells, the thrill of arriving at the school of wizardry, these things that had not been written about
until Ms. Le Guin. The masters of Roke are as alive to me as my own teachers, and why not? Anything is possible if you believe and can see the ways it might manifest.
Good reading for ages 10 and up, I'd say.

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Garth R. Mailman

Book 3 of Earthsea

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2013

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Book three of the Earthsea Series. Since book two at least 20 years have passed and Ged is Arch Mage of Roke. No explanation is supplied as to what transpired in the intervening period. A young princling named Arran comes to Roke to meet with the Arch Mage Ged reporting disturbing developments. In an unprecedented move a non-magical person is invited to meet with Roke’s inner circle in secret conclave in the inner sanctum. Even more remarkably the school’s head master leaves Roke in his boat Lookfar accompanied only by this youthful non-magical prince against his peer’s advice seeking he knows not what, he knows not where. Only knowing that witches are forgetting their spells and magicians are losing their powers. The ancient tongue which holds the real names of things is being lost by those who once spoke it and a malaise is strickening the islands of Earthsea. In an island archipelago journeys by sea are a given but the odyssey these two go on takes them beyond the edge of the known world.

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Victor Hugo Kebbe

Another excellent book by Ursula K

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2014

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Another excellent book by Ursula K. Le Guin. Here she brings a more adult Ged/Sparrowhawk to the narrative, a fantastic unfolding of what she accomplished in the previous two books. You can notice the growth of the character Ged, now in his winter and on the edge of the land without sun.

In a similar manner to the second book, The Tombs of Atuan, Ged gets to the aid of another character, the immature and passionate Arren/Lebannen, teaching him important lessons about life and death.

The end of the book is impressive, showing how Ursula K. Le Guin knows how to keep the pace, style and the raise an amazing climax such as seen in the previous books, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan. A classic, and a must read for all fantasy fans.

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HManchester

Great series

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2020

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My husband, younger son, and I all ended up reading the Earthsea series during the beginning of the pandemic's shelter-at-home edict. For some reason, it was just the right book series. LeGuin is a master.

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Kindle Customer

Third in the series that I wish never ended.

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2013

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Some mistakes follow us our entire life and if we are lucky we never stop learning from them, we never strop growing in different ways. In a sense the circle closes with this book but only in that one end meets another. Each of these books stands entirely on their own but the belong to one another as our youth belongs to each stage of our life. This series is treated as books for young adults but I don't think they can appreciate them as much as someone who has lived life. I enjoyed them very much when I was a young adult but I have re-read them throughout life and now at 65 they touch me even more.

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confronting death in Earthsea

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2013

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In Ursula LeGuin's third Earthsea book, Ged and a young prince, Arren, must discover why the magic is disappearing from the world. Ultimately, this takes them on a quest in which the balance and boundary between life and death are at stake.

As with Tombs of Atuan, Ged is a major character but not the primary point of view character. By writing the story with Arren and placing some distance between the reader and Ged, I think LeGuin is able to emphasize Ged's mystique and power a bit more (at this point, Ged is Archmage). Arren himself is pretty interesting and struggles with his own reactions to death. He never becomes a cliche child hero, something I appreciate especially in light of Harry Potter.

While I like the plot of The Farthest Shore, I can't help but feel that it treads some of the same territory as A Wizard of Earthsea. Without revealing too many spoilers, both involve Ged on a journey to restore the balance between the worlds of life and death. In both, they land on new islands and encounter new cultures. Farthest Shore has by far the more detailed depictions of the peoples, as well as the consequences of the world being out of balance. The scene with the Masters at Roke was wonderful for how it succinctly demonstrated the effect of the problem on even the greatest wizards. But I still prefer the original book for the sense of wonder and mysticism it managed to convey.

Overall, another fun entry into Earthsea, one that will definitely encourage me to continue with the saga.

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Gerard C. Klug

Either the best Trilogy or the second best

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2021

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I tell not the tales of Ged and his dragon; rather, surely, I tell the tales of the most gentle lady, Ursula LeGuin.

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Layne Hood

Earthsea exist for all of us.

Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2020

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Le Guin's imagination and imagerygibe life to the magical stories of Earthsea. If for young adults, the series offers delights and lessons for the youth in all adults. Thank you mam.

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