The Farthest Shore
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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 novel, 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 | |
| OCLC | 481359 |
| Preceded by | The Tombs of Atuan |
| Followed by | Tehanu |
The Farthest Shore is a young adult fantasy novel by the American author Ursula K. Le Guin, first published by Atheneum in 1972. It is the third book in the series commonly called the Earthsea Cycle. As the next Earthsea novel, Tehanu, would not be released until 1990, The Farthest Shore is sometimes referred to as the final book in the so-called Earthsea trilogy, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea. The events of The Farthest Shore take place several decades after The Tombs of Atuan and continue the story of the wizard Ged.
The Farthest Shore won the 1973 National Book Award in category Children's Books.Studio Ghibli's animated film Tales from Earthsea was based primarily on this novel.
A strange, inexplicable malaise is spreading throughout Earthsea. Magic is losing its power; songs are being forgotten; people and animals are sickening or going mad. Accompanied by Arren, the young Prince of Enlad, the Archmage Ged leaves Roke Island to find the cause on his boat Lookfar. They head south to Hort Town, chief port of the island of Wathort where they encounter a drug addled wizard called Hare. They realise that Hare and many others are under the malign influence of a powerful wizard who is promising life after death. They head further south to the island of Lorbanery, which was once famous for its dyed silk. All knowledge of dyeing has been lost however, and the local people are apathetic and hostile to the visitors.
Fleeing the sense of sickness and evil they encounter there, Ged and Arren again head west and south, out to the furthest parts of the Reaches. Increasingly they are coming under the influence of the dark wizard themselves. Ged is injured by a spear thrown from an island where they attempt to land, and Arren does little to help him. He can feel his life and energy ebbing from him and they both drift away on Lookfar out into the open ocean. Their lives are saved by the Raft People, who live on great wooden rafts in the open ocean, only coming to land once a year to repair them. The Raft People are so far unaffected by the spreading evil and Ged and Arren recover their wits and strength there. However, the sickness does reach the Raft People on the shortest night of the year, when the traditional singers are struck dumb, unable to remember the songs.
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