8/30/23: I don't ever dnf (this is my first one), but I'm having trouble caring about a new protagonist after it took me the entire first book to care about Ged. And I think Le Guin's writing isn't fully clicking for me. I'm just not interested enough to continue Earthsea.

Updated Review 9/2/23: I initially dnf'ed, but was convinced to give it another shot because I just don't like the idea of dnf'ing a book very much.

I enjoyed this more than the first book. Ged and Arha's interactions were certainly the highlight. And the lore behind Atuan was somewhat intriguing. But this still feels underwhelming considering how highly praised Earthsea is. And I think the main reason is because of how distant the characterization is in this series. I saw someone say these books are written more like "campfire stories" than a traditional fantasy novel, and that's absolutely correct. You're not in the head of any one character with a 3rd person limited perspective. You're more of a spectator from above. And that just doesn't work super well for me. I want to feel immersed in the story, and this "campfire style," if you will, detracts from the lengthy and rich worldbuilding Le Guin attempts to execute to build immersion.

But I will admit the characterization for this book was an improvement. I'll go ahead and read the third book just to see how the trilogy ends.

Update 9/25/23: lowering to 3 stars