Out of all the sci-fi/fantasy works she has produced, Ursula Le Guin's first Earthsea trilogy is undeniably the crown jewel. 
 And "The Farthest Shore" is a beautiful climax to that original trilogy, combining subtle, evocative prose with realistic characterization and a pair of equally important, entwined plotlines. Dragons, magic, wizards, and dozens of different islands are all entwined in an intriguing contrast between the young and the old, death and life. 
 Arren, prince of Anlad, comes to Roke to tell the wizards there dire news: Magic is seeping out of his country, where words no longer have power and spells are forgotten. The aged Archmage, Ged Sparrowhawk, sets off with the eager, sheltered young prince to find out what is draining the "wells of wizardry." 
 As they cross Earthsea, they find more difficulties, places where magic is draining away, the dragons are dueling, spells and songs are forgotten, and the dead are crossing over under the influence of a mysterious figure who is at the source of it all. Great changes are in store for both Arren and Ged before they can deal with the strange forces changing Earthsea... 
 "The Farthest Shore" displayed Ursula Le Guin at the height of her creative powers -- her writing had matured from the more formal style of "A Wizard of Earthsea," but she hadn't gone off on the dismal man-bashing tangent of "Tehanu." It's the perfect balance of skill and high-fantasy perspective. 
 Well, her prose is still relatively formal. But she's loosened up enough to insert some gentle humor into her story (Arren and his "nuncle" Ged playing around with accents and dialects), and the horror of the story's villain. And she evokes some truly sorrowful imagery in scenes such as the dead looking out at the living, and an old woman hysterically crying out her true name, because "there are no secrets, and there is no truth, and there is no death." 
 As with "The Tombs of Atuan," the story's centerpiece is Ged Sparrowhawk's relationship with a younger, more naive companion. And in this story, it presents an intriguing contrast between youth and age, knowledge and inexperience. Ged's experience and wisdom are necessary as Arren knows virtually nothing about what could cause the crisis, while Arren's innocence and loyalty are necessary as a counterbalance. 
 Here Ged is a weary, middle-aged man who is beinning to reflect on his life and mortality. Arren is an essentially good young prince -- not a spoiled brat, but has never been given the opportunity to do anything. 
 An entrancing fantasy epic and a thought-provoking look at life and death, "The Farthest Shore" is an exquisite midpoint for Le Guin's series -- and a brilliant end to her first trilogy.