Rating: 
Summary: One of the best in Heoric Mythology
Review: Le Guin enjoys no press, no fanfare, no fan clubs. She has no movies (until now the mini-series), no trading card games, no computer games. Her writing is not flamboyant: it is thoughtful, considered, and quiet. Her books are generally short and are closer to novelettes. Yet she remains as one of the principle authors of the fantasy genre and her work survives. It will outlive, we suspect, a great deal of those novels that enjoy such extraordinary popularity today. JK Rowlings is the Frank Baum (Wizard of Oz) of our generation. Le Guin is the CS Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) of our generation. The distinction is in decibels and the scope. Earthsea, we believe, is one of those rare series of books that will quietly fill every library of every parent who has a child who loves to read. Incidentally, we feel that the later books Tehanu and The Other Wind detract from the series rather than add to it (as is the case with many sequels). Those later books are better avoided.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS:
As we mentioned, the series is aimed at grade levels somewhere around 5th to 9th. These are a series of books that are invaluable for this age group. It is mythology--both relevant and exciting--that teaches us not didactically how to live but shows us what it means to be alive. Many critics have said many different things about her books but the (overused) phrase "deeply human" seems just about right. These are books that--if the reader can meet the level that Le Guin sets in--will be revered for many, many years. People who have enjoyed Ender's Game, Tales of the Otori, and The Chronicles of Prydain will find these books very special.
WHO SHOULD PASS:
As we often say about books that are especially good, this is a novel of introspection. There is a bit of death but you won't see blood sprayed across the page. There are no great battles, sieges, or other events of great war. There is no overt sex. The magic is not "Terry Magic" (that is, Terry Goodkind or Terry Brooks type that shoots forth as fire, lightning, and death in the air) but rather a magic of language, of truth, of world harmony. To use a video game analogy, don't start playing Myst expecting to have whatever enjoyment you get out of playing Grand Theft Auto.
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Rating: 
Summary: Good stuff here
Review: Le Guin's trilogy here is simply a great book. The characters mean something and it's hard to place this book down.
Rating:
Summary: Becoming Whole
Review: LeGuin's third book in her Earthsea series is her most ambitious. Her thesis: you can only become whole by facing and accepting death, the darkest shadow. Lifted straight from Jungian psychology, this is the hardest and the important part of being whole. Sparrowhawk knows most of this truth already: remember the climax to Wizard of Earthsea. Arren, the young prince who accompanies Sparrowhawk on the epic voyages of this third book, has not yet learned this harsh lesson.You don't need to know anything about Carl Jung to read and enjoy this book. At one level, this is a children's tale. But this book has many levels. Consider: the last king, Maharrion, had prophesied that there would be no king to succeed him until one appeared who had crossed the farthest shore. I'm not giving anything away by telling you that the farthest shore is physical - the western shore of the westernmost isle of Earthsea and metaphysical - death. And readers of earlier books know that for the wizards of Earthasea, there is a low stone fence that separates the living from the dead. There is another wizard - humiliated by a younger Sparrowhawk - who has both great power and a terror of death. And he has worked a spell that will devastate the world, by denying and avoiding death. But by denying death, he has denied life, and magic, song, joy, reason and even life are draining out of the world. That spell must be undone before it is too late. And that task falls to Sparowhawk and Arren. Arren must learn to understand and accept that death is necessary. Not just in the abstract but personally. He must cross that low stonewall with no hope of returning. He must cross the final shore. This story has dragons, despair, joy, loss, discovery and marvelous surprises. Like all of the Earthsea books, it is sparely but beautifully told. The deepest of the first three books, it is an absolute joy. And for a thoughtful, reflecting reader, it might be even more. This is a book that can change a reader's life.
Rating:
Summary: The end of the best fantasy trilogy
Review: Meaning, thought and a lyrical insight. this book explores love, power and death. all this and dragons too. If you're a fantasy fan and not read this trilogy yet, buy this book now
Rating:
Summary: The end of the best fantasy trilogy
Review: Meaningfully, thoughtfully and with lyrical insight,this book explores love, power and death. All this and dragons too. If you're a fantasy fan and have not read this trilogy yet, buy this book now
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant end to a Brilliant Trilogy!
Review: My favourite part in the book apart from Ged telling Hob that all he can offer him is death, is that we get to meet Erreth-Akbe greatest of the Wizards of Earthsea. Great use by Le guin to demonstrate to Ged and the readers just how powerful his enemy is truly. I found this book to be interesting not only in it's depiction of the key characters but power itself, it's emptiness in it's totality. The enemy has ultimate power yet the truth is he has none because he lost himself to it's unreasoning hunger. A great book with something for eveyone, adventure and a message somewhat deeper than you'd expect yet not pretentitious in it's exercution. Enjoy people, alot of the todays endless epic writing hacks and you know who you are could learn alot from this trilogy especially about getting to the point.
Rating:
Summary: A great ending to a great series.
Review: One of the great things about the Earthsea Trilogy(I'm not counting "Tehanu", the unnecessary fourth book in the series) is that all three books are different in style. There is a gap in time between the events in each book, and as a result, the reader is plunged into a new setting each time. This may put off the casual reader, but for those who are willing to adjust their expectations(and possibly give the book a second reading), the rewards are great. "The Farthest Shore" is a fine ending to one of the best fantasy series ever written.
Rating: 
Summary: End of a series
Review: Overall, this series rates a 4, but individually, it's difficult not to rate them a bit lower. The sum total of Ged's story seems better than each part. This definitely is a story that a reader thinks about once it's done.
Here, the story encompasses the whole of Earthsea, as a darkness creeps from island to island, killing wizard's ability to perform magic, and others' memories of traditions and ceremonies. When Prince Arren arrives in Roke to tell, Ged, now the High Mage, that there is no longer magic on Enlad, the two set out to find the origins of the darkness. Led by natural instinct, Ged allows his boat, Lookfar, to take them to islands already in despair.
Where they find the cause brings the trilogy full circle in many respects. The where and who could mean the death of both travelers. But Ged has matured and has gained strength and wisdom. Arren is young and strong and devoted to the Arch Mage. Together, they face the danger, hoping to bring magic and lightness back to their world.
Rating:
Summary: Inner lands
Review: Some reviewers have commented that this work is 'unrealistic' and has little 'meaning'. I think they miss the point. The book can be taken on many levels but can be rewardingly read as a metaphor for the inner journey we all take through our own psychic landscape of fears and emotions. Confronting our shadows in the 'Inner Lands' as Le Guin terms it, following Dunsany, is a large part of what the EarthSea trilogy is about. On that level, it deals with issues as real and universally relevant as any. In this, the last of the trilogy, Ged and Arren, who are perhaps manifestations of one person, combine to confront the great fear, that of death. Like Frodo in Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, Ged at the end understands that it is not for him to enjoy the fruits of victory, and quietly lays down his magic staff, leaving the future for others, having lived a life as full and meaningful as any.
Rating:
Summary: A moral epic fantasy for the young or old
Review: The "Earthsea Trilogy is often compared to the "Lord of the Rings " and "The Narnia Chronicles" but is more poignant than the former and more mature than the latter.It leaps from adolescent fantasy to confronting traditional stereotypes. The books first engage the reader in a world of wizards and dragons and then progresses through a young wizards journey through life as he confronts his own greed and mortality. Ursula Le Quin was familiar with challenging readers preconceptions when she wrote "The Left Hand of Darkness". Mainstream fantasy readers will find these books fulfilling and thoughtprovoking and more challenging than traditional fare.
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