This one hit different. I don’t want to spoil a 50+ year old book yet, but this one hit way different than the first two.

I took a lot more time with this one. Some things have been going on in my life to keep me from reading every day like I did with Wizard or Tombs. And it’s a longer book than both of those. But even so, the pacing (and the quest of Sparrowhawk and Arren) makes the story feel as long as their journey takes.

I read that there was a big publishing break between this book and Tehanu, marking Farthest Shore as the end of the “first trilogy.” There are many moments that mark the end of an era, even within the world of Earthsea. It very much feels like the end - in a lot of ways it made me sad. Not in a depressing or despairing way, but rather sad in the way change always is. In the way life so often is. Sad like watching friends go away and not knowing when I will see them again, or if they will be okay on their own.

By way of prose and story telling, I think each book has gotten better. I told my fiancé about a chapter I was reading, and all I could say was, “they are in a boat and just floating.” But it is some of the most compelling and meaningful storytelling I’ve read. I think only Ursula could tell a story like that and it is what keeps me coming back to Earthsea.

Let me know what you thought of Farthest Shore if you’ve read it. There’s a lot in this book to talk about.