I really wanted to like this more. The Farthest Shore didn't draw me in as much as the first two volumes, and it felt like it didn't have a proper pay-off. In hindsight, it makes sense that

Cob isn’t such a central figure. He is not the villainous archetype because it is less about him and more about the implications for the world

. Still, I liked reading the Afterword more than the actual story, and that's a little sad. Maybe I just don’t get Le Guin.