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Earthsea is losing its magic.That sentence could function both as a description of the book's plot, and as my evaluation of it. For while Le Guin's writing is as impeccable as always, this was not as good as the first two parts of the series, and of course, far from the intellectual literary quality of her science fiction.It's never a bad thing to be reading about the journeys of Sparrowhawk and his companions, but Earthsea also seemed to me like a fun little side adventure for the author while
Wraps up the Earthsea trilogy with all the beauty, intrigue, and power of the previous two. Here, Sparrow Hawk is now master-mage, old, but at the top of his powers. Something is going wrong in the world: singers have forgotten the songs, sorcerers forget their spells, people everywhere have lost hope and interest, letting things fall apart. It turns out there's a rumor loose in the land that a great mage has found the way back from death. To follow him is to escape death and have eternal life.
“I would not ask a sick man to run a race,” said Sparrowhawk, “nor lay a stone on an overburdened back.” It was not clear whether he spoke of himself or of the world at large. Always his answers were grudging, hard to understand. There, thought Arren, lay the very heart of wizardry: to hint at mighty meanings while saying nothing at all, and to make doing nothing at all seem the very crown of wisdom." There are surely better passages to quote than the above to encapsulate the meaning or theme
I don't really know what there is to say about a book that managed to evoke both some of the most difficult moments and the most wonderful moments I've ever experienced. The discussions of death, depression, and suicide are intense and very real, yet so are the moments of beauty. Late in the book, Arren thinks to himself, "I do not care what comes after; I have seen the dragons on the wind of morning," and I immediately recognized that feeling of breathless appreciation that I have only ever kno...
I am shocked, shocked that this book was written in 1972.I think I had to pinch myself multiple times, lest I think that this was published in the past 10 years. It certainly reads that way. You could say that about any of Le Guin's Earthsea books, honestly. This is fantasy, but it doesn't read like most fantasy. It is very deconstructionist in nature, almost anti-fantasy, in a subtle way. Le Guin writes with fantasy characters, such as wizards, warriors, and dragons, but in an entirely differen...
The farthest shore (The Earthsea Cycle, #3), Ursula K. Le GuinDarkness threatens to overtake Earthsea: the world and its wizards are losing their magic. Despite being wearied with age, Ged Sparrowhawk — Archmage, wizard, and dragonlord — embarks on a daring, treacherous journey, accompanied by Enlad's young Prince Arren, to discover the reasons behind this devastating pattern of loss. Together they will sail to the farthest reaches of their world — even beyond the realm of death — as they seek t...
As usual with Le Guin's books, the flow of the plot is not the strong point. It's more about the sum of experiences and discussions that the characters have, if that makes any sense. So although this one has a more hackneyed plot than any other book of hers I've read, there are (as usual) quite a few really nice moments and deep insights. She spins out some more thoughts about balance and equilibrium, continuing the conversation from A Wizard of Earthsea. Here, Earthsea is being overrun by greyn...
I started reading this to Miloš & Brontë at the beginning of March, and somewhere around May they lost interest. I don't think I can blame Ursula K. LeGuin, at least not entirely. I was a big part of the problem. I struggled with this installment of The Earthsea Cycle, and that must have translated into the way I read this aloud, making it and me tough to listen to (never have the kids fallen asleep so often while I was reading. I usually have to tear myself away).My problem is tough to pinch. I...
The Farthest Shore was written for tweens and teens, so if you just want a good fantasy full of adventure and daring and DRAGONS (the best part!), ignore all of the following and just enjoy. This is a story the meaning of which will derive from the beliefs of the individual reader. Had I read it when I still held spiritual beliefs, I would doubtless have fit the story into a framework of religious allegory and symbolism. As I am now comfortable in my unbelief, I focused on the more concrete them...
Extraordinary retelling of a classic fantasy trope - a quest of a young hero, who overcomes obstacles to became a king. As in previous books of this series, the main enemy is the fear (the fear of death in this case) not some villain. So, in order to win the young prince needs to mature, become wiser and grow emotionally. As usual the author is more interested in characters development (phycological states and philosophy of living) than in dynamic plot.
