The third in the original Earthsea trilogy is The Farthest Shore, written by Ursula K. LeGuin in 1972.
Of the three, I found this the most exciting adventure, the best of the series. Full of the magic, spell casting and adventure of A Wizard of Earthsea, with the complete characters and meaningful journey of The Tombs of Atuan. It won the National Book Award in 1973.
Twenty years after Atuan, Ged is now Archmage of the wizard school on Roke. He accompanies Young Prince Arren of Enlad as he ventures from his home to seek why magic is failing and people are becoming sick. They travel to the isle of Wathort where they discover a powerful wizard is trapping people with false promises and literally draining the life out of the world, and to the silk dying isle of Lorbanery, where the hostile people have an amnesia sickness. They travel South past an island group called The Reaches, where the fish fly and the dolphins sing, and out into open uncharted ocean. There they meet the Raft People who live on floating villages, returning to civilization once a year for repairs. Their whole civilization is so interesting, completely original. Resting on the rafts, they await a sign in the sky, the appearance of the star Gobardon and the constellation of the Rune of Ending. Suddenly, Ged and Arren are visited by the dragon Orm Embar, who tells them the dark wizard is now causing havoc on Selidor, a western island in the grouping called Dragon's Run, and home of the ancient dragons. Arriving at Selidor, they find the dragons in peril, and combat the wizard, venturing deep into the Dry Land of the Dead, from which no man can return.
The Farthest Shore is a terrific read, again aimed at young adults but full of deep dialogue and an inner journey that is very satisfying for adults. Earthsea is a complete world, and in Farthest Shore we get to visit many new islands, including joining the mystery of what could lie beyond the edge of the southernmost isles of The Reaches, as the adventure goes off the map. There is a side story of who will become the new King of Enlad, and a deeper story of the meaning of eternal life.
The dragons of Selidor have a much bigger part in this novel, including the eldest dragon Kalessin. Although Ged is now Archmage, he knows they will need the skills of the whole team to defeat the dark Mage in the Dry Land.
Very satisfying and Highly Recommended!
To have read the other two first gave a satisfying context to the Earthsea world. LeGuin followed Farthest Shore seventeen years later with Tehanu and then Tales from Earthsea. Why these have not been picked up for a proper film series is a mystery. Like CS Lewis and Tolkien, they offer a rich world with honour, magic, adventure, and most of all personal triumphs. Excellent.
1972 / Hardcover / 159 Pages
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