The Earthsea Cycle continues with The Farthest Shore, the third instalment in the phenomenal fantasy series by Ursula K. Le Guin. I am writing this before starting, deciding to shake it up a bit and do a bit of an anticipatory look at the next novel. With such a premise as this, I have so many thoughts bouncing around in my head, and I cannot wait to get into it!

Darkness 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 to restore magic to a land desperately thirsty for it. With millions of copies sold, Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere. Complex, innovative, and deeply moral, this quintessential fantasy sequence has been compared with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and has helped make Le Guin one of the most distinguished fantasy and science fiction writers of all time.

It may not seem like much, but there is so much potential in that short blurb. The addition of Prince Arren to the mix alongside Ged provides so many great opportunities for interesting interactions, deeper communications and understandings, and more worldly knowledge I keep finding in Ursula K. Le Guin’s writing. She has a magnificent ability to bring out such compelling and well-spoken commentary on humanity and life, and it is such a joy to find such passages in her works.

I love the world building, and will continue to appreciate and praise it not only for its sheer breadth and depth. The people, the cultures, the histories, the conflicts, the species, the encounters between, everything has such vivid and lush detail. Everything is meticulously crafted, forming such beautiful tapestries to uncover as you read more and more. sometimes I find myself getting lost in the world building and forget that there is a story I need to read – I just want to stand there and admire all the creations that fill the space. My edition of the books comes with these stunning colours illustrations at the start of eac story, and several black and white illustrations throughout, and I cannot help myself; I just have to stop and stare and absorb all the fine detail incuded in these pictures.

I have been having such a fun time reading these books. I wasn’t expecting to get so much rich detail in all honesty. I recall there being wonder and enchanting description in children’s fantasy books, but this feels like it is on another level. Maybe I just forgot how amazing it is, so it is a good thing I’m picking up more children’s fantasy in the coming months. Reading A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan is such an immersive experience, and I am excited to get that with The Farthest Shore.