Rating: 
Summary: An excellent little novel.
Review: This is a book far more interested in telling a deep story of the human condition and facing life and death and growing up and growing old than it is in telling a rollicking good Fantasy novel, and it benefits from this enormously. Although I liked A Wizard of Earthsea more, The Farthest shore is quite likely the more significant story for what it deals with.I've read it twice, and felt it was worth the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Consider this a review of the entire trilogy.
Review: This is one of the best fantasy trilogies out there because it is one of the most unique. It is often compared to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings but I find it hard to compare them because they are so different. Lord of the Rings is one very long story of a quest filled with battles and monsters while Earthsea is made up of three very seperate stories centering around the adventures of one character. Lord of the Rings is a straight-forward story that can be taken as just a good story if you don't want to ruin the fun with a bunch of thematic analyzation, although you can find heaps of stuff to analyze if you want. In Earthsea you cannot avoid the philosophies that LeGuin is trying to convey. But that does not get in the way of the stories. A Wizard of Earthsea is the first and best in my opinion, it has the most fascinating storyline and the most satisfying and beautifully realized conclusion when Ged finally confronts the creature he unleashed upon Earthsea. The Tombs of Atuan is the least of the three but still entertaining. The Farthest Shore is filled with scenes of Ged teaching Arren of the philosophy of balance and the power that fear has over people which are themes as relevent to our world as they are to Earthsea. Towards the end it is filled with dragons. Earthsea's dragons are the most interesting dragons I've read about in fantasy, not really good, but not really bad either although very wise. All three books are filled with vivid and beautiful atomosphere, and in all books it is love and courage that deafeat the evil forces of hate and fear. This is fantasy that is guaranteed to make you think.
Rating: 
Summary: One Word-BORING!!!!
Review: This is the most boring book I ever read. I wold rather stare at a box of Corn Flakes than read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Final movement to a perfect symphony
Review: This is the third book of a series; and, like a symphonic work, the author reprises a thesis initially introduced in her first book. In so doing, the author takes a chance. Because the thesis is central to the entire series and is revisited here for the second time, she invites comparison with what has gone before. Other writers who have so dared have stumbled. This writer is sure footed. She produces a glorious work of immeasurable grace and beauty - a jewel of the writers' art. As with all her works, Le Guin writes with an exquisitely literate style. Dramatic but not theatrical, spare but not severe, eloquent but not ephemeral, every word and sentence is framed with obvious love and care. This is a writer who respects our intelligence and challenges us with her wisdom. We have no choice but to respond to her in kind. This book is an exploration of the balance of life. A thesis of such scope always risks pretension, and in the hands of a lesser writer, such pretension would have been unavoidable. But Le Guin is one of the best authors of our time. She avoids pitfalls with a deftness that can only leave one filled with quiet admiration. In this work, she not only avoids pretension, but subsumes her thesis in an adventure of such vitality that the world of Earthsea remains firmly embedded in our consciousness long after we are finished. There are so many levels at work in this story that this short review does not have the room to list them. Literary types will find enough symbolism, metaphor and literary allusion to keep them occupied and content for weeks. But the story is not about technique. Le Guin is foremost a reader's author. She has a story to tell, a question to ask, and an answer for us to consider. Her technique, as wonderful as it is, is a by-product of her genius, and as such, it is a bonus. For those who appreciate such skill, the technique adds to her story, but it never distracts us from her goal: the creation of a magical world in which the larger questions of life can be explored bravely and sincerely. I would recommend this book to anyone without reservation. Young people may not understand the deeper themes; but for them, there is enough plot, characterization and action to enthral. Mature readers will find here a work that treats the large issues of life with dignity, compassion and an uncommon intelligence. Altogether, it is a fitting final movement to a perfect symphony.
Rating:
Summary: Why is magic disappearing?
Review: This is the third volume in Le Guin's Earthsea tetralogy (the last volume is "Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea"). This particular book won the 1973 National Book Award for Children's Books. And, certainly as a book designed for children it deserves five stars (although, I would guess I would award it four stars if I rated it solely as a book for adults). In this story, which takes place years after the events described in "The Tombs of Atuan," the wizard Sparrowhawk, also called Ged, and a young prince, Arren, go on a quest to discover why magic is disappearing from Earthsea and why people are loosing their will and direction. The world has lost its "balance" and the division between life and death has been broken.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice story, but not very enthralling.
Review: This is the third volume in the Earthsea quartet (following A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, and followed by Tehanu). The Farthest Shore, set some fifteen or twenty years after the events of The Tombs of Atuan, tells the story of Ged, now an Archmage, and Arren, a young prince, and their voyage around the world of Earthsea in search of the Unmaker, who is responsible for the disappearence of magic and of the balance of the world. Compared to The Tombs of Atuan, I found this third part rather disapointing and lacking in action. Ged and Arren are just travelling from one island to the next, and nothing really happens. The evolution of their friendship is interesting, though, and that's what kept me reading. But as a whole, I found the series rather boring, although well written if you like old-fashioned style, and will only read Tehanu for the sake of it.
Rating:
Summary: she does it again
Review: This is yet another awesome story in the Earthsea series. The world is losing all of its magic. Ged, the powerful Archmage, and a young Prince set out to find out why. Their journey takes them to the far, far, FAR west-where dragons live. This is a great ending to the first Earthsea trilogy. I recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Almost done
Review: This isn't the best of the "trilogy" but the whole set is excellent.
Rating:
Summary: The loss of magic
Review: This may be the best of the Earthsea books, combining subtle, evocative prose with realistic characterization and a pair of equally important, entwined plotlines. Dragons, magic, wizards, and dozens of different islands are all entwined in an intriguing contrast between the young and the old, death and life. Arren, prince of Anlad, comes to Roke to tell the wizards there dire news: Magic is seeping out of his country, where words no longer have power and spells are forgotten. The aged Archmage, Ged Sparrowhawk, sets off with the eager, sheltered young prince to find out what is draining the "wells of wizardry." As they cross Earthsea, they find more difficulties, places where magic is draining away, the dragons are dueling, spells and songs are forgotten, and the dead are crossing over under the influence of a mysterious figure who is at the source of it all. Great changes are in store for both Arren and Ged before they can deal with the strange forces changing Earthsea... It's undeniable that the original trilogy of Earthsea novels were superior to Le Guin's later Earthsea works, both in literary and storytelling terms. Le Guin's writing had clearly matured somewhat from the more formal manner of "Wizard of Earthsea," as here we have better insight into Arren's thoughts and feelings. The dialogue is also less formal, as we have more jokes, teasing, and an amusing scene where Arren and his "nuncle" Ged are playing around with accents and dialects. It is still fairly formal; however, the villain of this piece evokes greater horror than did Ged's shadow in the first book. At the same time, deep poignancy is present in such scenes as the dead looking out at the living, and the old woman hysterically crying out her true name, because "there are no secrets, and there is no truth, and there is no death." The relationship between the young, naive Arren and the more experienced, older Sparrowhawk is the underlying thread in this novel. Though Ged, to Arren, lessons and philosophies are revealed to the reader and spelled out in a way that will leave them thinking carefully. And Le Guin provides an intriguing contrast between age and youth: Ged's experience and wisdom are necessary as Arren knows virtually nothing about what could cause the crisis, while Arren's innocence and loyalty are necessary as a counterbalance. Ged shows a weariness in this book not present before; his reflections on death and life seem to be connected to his greater age. Arren is an essentially good young man, very realistic in that he is not a spoiled brat, but has never been given the opportunity to do anything difficult and good before in his life. The supporting characters are rarely around long, and none develop the depth of those main two; though many references are made to the previous two books, especially the second, it is not necessary to have read them to understand this. An entrancing fantasy epic and a thought-provoking look at life and death, this book is a treat for readers of any age.
Rating:
Summary: A satisfying end to a great trilogy...but get book 4, too!
Review: This series of books is phenomenal. Much like the popular Harry Potter books, they're written at a young-adult level. The difference, though, is that the plot, characters, and magic is much more dark and mature. I recommend the Earthsea books to everyone I can; you won't regret reading them. I think one or more also won the Nebula Award. Go get it!
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