I think I liked this novel more than Tombs of Atuan, but again the ending feels almost anticlimactic. Maybe I've just been spoiled for fantasy that is not about action by writers like Jim Butcher and Seanan McGuire. Le Guin writes metaphors more than stories; everything has a meaning. It makes the stories progress more like philosophical arguments at times, which certainly does not diminish my appreciation, but it certainly forces me to read slowly, and with less enthusiasm than I tend to approach most fantasy/SF.