applequinn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Slavery and Addiction
mandler_'s review against another edition
3.0
Le Guin's books really come alive when her characters, chiefly Ged, speak openly about different topics and share nuggets of wisdom. The dialogue is wonderfully done in these moments.
I struggled with this book more than the other two. While I enjoyed the two characters, I just found the majority of the journey and story quite boring. I loved the interaction between the wise wizard and the prince, however, things just felt flat in other instances and was just boring to me. I'd be okay with rereading it to see if it is just my current circumstances that caused me to not enjoy this one as much.
Quotes
“No darkness lasts forever. And even there, there are stars.”
“You will die. You will not live forever. Nor will any man nor any thing. Nothing is immortal. But only to us is it given to know that we must die. And that is a great gift: the gift of selfhood. For we have only what we know we must lose, what we are willing to lose... That selfhood which is our torment, and our treasure, and our humanity, does not endure. It changes; it is gone, a wave on the sea. Would you have the sea grow still and the tides cease, to save one wave, to save yourself?”
“But when we crave power over life—endless wealth, unassailable safety, immortality—then desire becomes greed. And if knowledge allies itself to that greed, then comes evil. Then the balance of the world is swayed, and ruin weighs heavy in the scale.”
“Having intelligence, we must not act in ignorance. Having choice, we must not act without responsibility.”
I struggled with this book more than the other two. While I enjoyed the two characters, I just found the majority of the journey and story quite boring. I loved the interaction between the wise wizard and the prince, however, things just felt flat in other instances and was just boring to me. I'd be okay with rereading it to see if it is just my current circumstances that caused me to not enjoy this one as much.
Quotes
“No darkness lasts forever. And even there, there are stars.”
“You will die. You will not live forever. Nor will any man nor any thing. Nothing is immortal. But only to us is it given to know that we must die. And that is a great gift: the gift of selfhood. For we have only what we know we must lose, what we are willing to lose... That selfhood which is our torment, and our treasure, and our humanity, does not endure. It changes; it is gone, a wave on the sea. Would you have the sea grow still and the tides cease, to save one wave, to save yourself?”
“But when we crave power over life—endless wealth, unassailable safety, immortality—then desire becomes greed. And if knowledge allies itself to that greed, then comes evil. Then the balance of the world is swayed, and ruin weighs heavy in the scale.”
“Having intelligence, we must not act in ignorance. Having choice, we must not act without responsibility.”
frozenfrog's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
dllh's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting at the start, kind of a snooze for the next little bit, but then it picks up when they're on the sea, and in the end it was a good read. Midway through, I was iffy on whether I'd bother with the next in the series, but by the end, I decided I probably will.
joshwrose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lugalante's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Poignant and philosophical.
600bars's review against another edition
4.0
i would rate 3.75 i liked this better than #1 but not as much as #2. i rlly loved the part w the raft people. i also usually think the king/hero/prince character is boring but i liked arren
luosymekawa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
josiahpeterson17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Unfortunately Earthsea just didn't click for me, and I'm disappointed. I had to trudge through this book because I wanted to finish the trilogy. But I did enjoy some of the wisdom Ged shared with Arren throughout the story.