The Farthest Shore facts for kids
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First edition cover
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| Author | Ursula K. Le Guin |
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| Cover artist | Gail Garraty |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Earthsea |
| Genre | Fantasy, Bildungsroman |
| Publisher | Atheneum Books |
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Publication date
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1972 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 223 pp (first edition) |
| ISBN | 0-689-30054-9 |
| OCLC | 481359 |
| LC Class | PZ7.L5215 Far |
| Preceded by | The Tombs of Atuan |
| Followed by | Tehanu |
The Farthest Shore is an exciting fantasy novel written by American author Ursula K. Le Guin. It was first published in 1972. This book is the third part of a famous series called the Earthsea Cycle.
For a long time, The Farthest Shore was seen as the last book in the "Earthsea trilogy." This is because the next book, Tehanu, didn't come out until 1990. The story in The Farthest Shore happens many years after the events of The Tombs of Atuan. It continues the adventures of the powerful wizard named Ged.
The Farthest Shore won a big award in 1973. It received the National Book Award for Children's Books. A popular animated film, Tales from Earthsea, made by Studio Ghibli, was mostly based on this novel.
Contents
What the Story is About
A strange and confusing sickness is spreading across all of Earthsea. Magic is starting to lose its power. People are forgetting old songs, and both humans and animals are getting sick or acting strangely.
The Journey Begins
The Archmage Ged, who is the most powerful wizard, decides to find out what is causing this problem. He leaves Roke Island on his boat, Lookfar. A young prince named Arren from Enlad joins him.
They first sail south to Hort Town. This is a big port on the island of Wathort. There, they meet a wizard named Hare who seems very confused. Ged and Arren realize that Hare and many others are being controlled by a powerful, evil wizard. This wizard is promising people that they can live forever.
Heading to Lorbanery
Ged and Arren then travel further south to the island of Lorbanery. This island was once famous for its beautiful dyed silk. But now, no one remembers how to dye silk. The people there seem uncaring and unfriendly to visitors.
Feeling the growing sense of sickness and evil, Ged and Arren leave Lorbanery. They sail west and south, going to the very edges of the world. They notice that they are also starting to feel the dark wizard's influence.
Danger and Rescue
Ged gets hurt by a spear when they try to land on an island. Arren doesn't help him much. Ged feels his strength leaving him, and they both drift on Lookfar into the open ocean.
Their lives are saved by the Raft People. These people live on huge wooden rafts in the middle of the ocean. They only go to land once a year to fix their rafts. The Raft People have not yet been affected by the spreading evil. Ged and Arren get their strength and clear thinking back while staying with them. However, the sickness eventually reaches the Raft People too. On the shortest night of the year, their traditional singers suddenly cannot remember their songs.
The Dragon's Message
The great dragon Orm Embar flies over the rafts. He tells Ged to sail to Selidor. This is the most western island in all of Earthsea, and it is where the dragons live. Orm Embar tells Ged that the dark wizard is there. The dragons cannot defeat him without Ged's help.
Ged and Arren begin the long journey to Selidor on Lookfar. After sailing across the open ocean, they reach the Dragons' Run. This is a group of many small islands south of Selidor. Here, they see dragons flying around in a wild, confused state. The dragons have lost their ability to speak and are even attacking each other.
Facing the Dark Wizard
Ged and Arren manage to get through the Dragons' Run. They finally land in Selidor. Orm Embar is waiting for them, but he also cannot speak. After searching, they find the evil wizard. He lives in a house made of dragon bones at the very western end of Selidor. This place is known as the end of the world.
Ged recognizes the wizard as Cob. Cob is a dark magic user whom Ged defeated many years ago. After his defeat, Cob learned dark ways to live forever. By doing this, he opened a dangerous tear between the living world and the land of the dead. This tear is slowly draining all life from the world.
Cob and Ged face each other, and Cob starts to gain power. With his last bit of strength, Orm Embar attacks Cob. He destroys Cob's physical body but is killed in the fight. The remains of Cob's body, which cannot truly die, crawl into the Dry Land of the dead. Ged and Arren follow him.
The High Price of Victory
In the Dry Land, Ged finally defeats Cob. He takes away Cob's power to live forever and closes the tear in the world. However, Ged pays a very high price for this victory. He loses all of his own magic power in the process.
When they return to the living world, after a difficult journey over the Mountains of Pain, the dragon Kalessin carries them. Kalessin takes them back to Roke Island, which is many miles away. Kalessin leaves Arren on Roke and then flies with Ged to Gont, which is Ged's home island.
Arren then understands that he has fulfilled an old prediction. Many centuries ago, the last King of Earthsea said: "He shall inherit my throne who has crossed the dark land living and come to the far shores of the day."
Over time, the kingdom had split into many smaller areas, with little peace. Now that Arren will be crowned as King Lebannen (his true name), the lands can be reunited.
The Ending of the Story
Ursula K. Le Guin first thought of two different endings for the story. In one ending, after Lebannen becomes king, Ged sails alone into the ocean and is never seen again. In the other ending, Ged returns to the forest on his home island of Gont.
In 1990, seventeen years after The Farthest Shore was published, Le Guin chose the second ending. She continued the story in her next book, Tehanu.
Major characters
Images for kids
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First edition cover
See also
In Spanish: La costa más lejana para niños
