Comes Great Responsibility: One of the major themes in all three books is about the nature of power and how to use it.

Powers: Gavir is a young slave content with his lot in life until war and personal tragedy destroy his illusions of comfort and security, sending him on a long and painful trek through the lands of the western Shore.

After seventeen years of subjugation, the people of Ansul are both weary and restive, and the arrival of a famous storyteller is a spark to both sides.

Voices: Memer is a young woman in the occupied city of Ansul, desperate to have the oppressive Alds gone and studying the forbidden art of reading under the old Waylord.

Gifts: Orrec and Gry, two children of Upland families, struggle with the magical gifts of their lineage and the gifts of others in the continual power struggle between families, while they themselves don't wish to use their powers the way their own families wish.It is also a work of Feminist Fantasy and explores the differences between men and women and how they behave and are treated in society. As usual with Le Guin's work there isn't a great deal of action to speak of, focusing mainly on Character Development as each character struggles to make sense of the world they live in.Ī Central Theme of the series is the power of stories and knowledge to inspire individuals and make connections between people, as well as the wish to be nonviolent in a violent world, and the destructiveness of violence. Instead, each book is a standalone story with different places and characters of the common setting, narrated in first-person by its protagonist. Although there are three books in the series, it doesn't follow the typical Trilogy format. Each book takes place in a different area.Įach book is a Coming of Age story, told in first-person by a protagonist writing down the events from years later. The western shore is mostly a collection of city-states, apart from the mountainous Uplands and Carrantages, governed by republic or quasi-republic or plain oligarchy.

It takes place in a fantasy setting that is otherwise unnamed and is unrelated to her Earthsea books. The Annals of the Western Shore is a trilogy by Ursula K. 'There is the courage of the sword, and the courage of the word, and the courage of the word is rarer.' - Voices

Voices by ursula k le guin