A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)

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A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle #1)

by Ursula K. Le Guin, Ruth Robbins (Illustrator)

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 68,566 ratings · 2,151 reviews

Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea,but once he was called Sparrowhawk, a recklessyouth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tamperedwith long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadowupon the world. This is the tale of his testing,how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed anancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold torestore the balance....more

Paperback, 198 pages

Published April 1st 1984 by Spectra (first published 1968)

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Nov 16, 2011 Ceridwen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who can stand stories with dragons

Shelves: dragons, fantasy, young-adult, ukl

[You can find a sound recording of me reading this review here as part of Bird Brian's Big Audio Project.]

I've read this at least twice since I signed onto GoodReads, and I haven't worked up the nerve to review it. I don't review some of what I read, for a variety of reasons. There's the things I abandon too fast to say I've even read them, like What Would Jane Austen Do? . (I'll tell you what she'd do: she'd put her own eyes out with a damn spoon, that's what.) There's things I get out from the...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Nataliya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads, ursula-k-le-guin, first-in-a-series

"It is very hard for evil to take hold of the unconsenting soul."

This seemingly simple statement actually says a lot about the human nature - just as all the Ursula Le Guin's books that I've read so far seem to do.

***

...more
"It is very hard for evil to take hold of the unconsenting soul."

This seemingly simple statement actually says a lot about the human nature - just as all the Ursula Le Guin's books that I've read so far seem to do.

***

A Wizard of Earthsea is a simple but beautiful and magical coming-of-age story of a young wizard Ged, who starts out as a brash and cocky boy who in his arrogance unwittingly releases a terrible Shadow upon the world, but who eventually grows up and succeeds in embracing the darker part of himself. A word of caution if you are expecting a traditional fantasy adventure - it is, more than anything, an introspective book, so be warned.

"You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do anything. So I thought, once. So did we all. And the truth is that as a man’s real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: until at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he must do.

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A 1968 book with a non-white hero! LOVE.

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There are the traditional coming-of-age fantasy elements - wizarding school, true friend, bitter rival, fighting a dragon, finding love. But there is something that sets this story apart from the newer variations on the similar theme, featuring Kvothe and Harry Potter and the like. Part of it, of course, is the narration. The story is told in the fairy tale tradition, with that particular strangely fascinating, lyrical and melodic fairy tale rhythm. But mostly is because instead of focusing on what is on the surface - the learning and the adventures - A Wizard of Earthsea goes straight for the deeper meaning, for what lies beneath the surface.

"You must not change one thing, one pebble, one grain of sand, until you know what good and evil will follow on that act. The world is in balance, in Equilibrium. A wizard's power of Changing and Summoning can shake the balance of the world. It is dangerous, that power. It is most perilous. It must follow knowledge, and serve need. To light a candle is to cast a shadow.

In her amazing brilliance, Ursula Le Guin takes what could have been a straightforward tale of the fight of good versus evil, and turns it into something more - a lesson in self-discovery and acceptance of the darkness that lives inside all human beings. This is a story about the fascination with knowledge and the temptation of power and dangers of presuming too much and upsetting the natural balance. It is a story about getting to know your own self, including the darkest corners of your soul. And the resulting epic battle of good versus evil... well, let me tell you that the resolution was brilliant and poetic, and I did not see it coming AT ALL.

“He knew now, and the knowledge was hard, that his task had never been to undo what he had done, but to finish what he had begun.”

Ursula Le Guin takes the elements that would be a dangerous set-up for fail in the hands of most other writers and somehow unexpectedly turns them into the strengths of this book. Take the characters - except for Ged, they exist only as sketches to support the ideas in this story; it's not supposed to ever work but it does. She brushes over the years of Ged's life and training in just a few words, not detailing the tedium as many writers are prone to doing. Her worldbuilding is not very detailed, but manages to capture the essence of this world in a few ~~brush~~ ~~pen~~ typewriter strokes. We know Ged is in no danger as from the beginning the book refers to his subsequent adventures as a great mage, but this seeming lack of danger for the protagonist does not diminish neither the suspense nor the enjoyment of the story.

My one criticism goes to the some symbolism overkill (I passionately hated all the high-school teachers' neverending discussions about symbolism - yawn!), but hey - even Le Guin can't be always perfect.
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Wonderful, mesmerizing read that fully deserves 4.5 stars. Loved it dearly and highly recommend.(less)

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Jan 16, 2011 Kat Kennedy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If there were ever a time I'd curse my constant reading of Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance or YA lit, it would be now.

Because clearly, CLEARLY this is a fantastic book that deserved to be finished. Ursula K Le Guin is a phenomenal writer and whilst this book (up to what I read) wasn't absolutely perfect, it was enchanting. It was different, it was QUALITY.

Yet I didn't finish it because, thanks to the aforementioned reading habits, my ability to concentrate and enjoy quality literature has slip...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Sparrow rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-young-adult, dangerous-hokum, reviewed, up-hill-both-ways-in-the-snow, young-adult

I have been reflecting a lot lately on the hugeness of my own limitations. This story represents one of my most obvious limitations when it comes to appreciating books. I don’t understand world building. I think this is my limitation when it comes to historical fiction as well. I don’t understand why an author would want to make a story more complicated than just what it takes to tell what happens to characters. That’s how I experience world building in both sci fi/fantasy and historical fiction...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Ceridwen

Shelves: 2011, in-by-of-the-americas, gods-myths-heroes, reviewed, fantasy-sci-fi

I don't think you can say that you read Fantasy until you've read Ursula K. Le Guin. There is a specific meaning in that word, "Fantasy." It's not just some genre definition developed in the bowels of a publishing house somewhere. Fantasy, the fantastic tale, the story of wonder, has been lurking about in our culture(s) since before the written word. The stories of heros who face a physical manifestation of our fears have always been a way for us to examine those fears, to look at those around u...more I don't think you can say that you read Fantasy until you've read Ursula K. Le Guin. There is a specific meaning in that word, "Fantasy." It's not just some genre definition developed in the bowels of a publishing house somewhere. Fantasy, the fantastic tale, the story of wonder, has been lurking about in our culture(s) since before the written word. The stories of heros who face a physical manifestation of our fears have always been a way for us to examine those fears, to look at those around us and ourselves, and ask ourselves, what are we afraid of? If this man/woman/werewolf could do it, and he/she/it was just like me once, why can't I do it? They inspire. They inspire me in a way no other type of story does.

I haven't been inspired by a lot of the fantasy I've read lately. It's been more wish-fulfillment than mythos. They've been stories of some woman with supernatural powers, things are hard for her, but she gets a really good guy and they live happily ever after (or they will, after the author has published eighteen books, milking their sexual tension and monsters as described by wikipedia, until she can retire comfortably). I started reading Fantasy as a teenager to get away from that particular storyline. There has to something more out there. Fantasy needs to be about something, something more than just fight-the-baddy-and-win-the-girl (or boy).

Le Guin does this. She stirs up the winds of magic and fills her book with ideas that push at us, like a gust at the back of your legs so strong you must plant yourself firmly or risk being blown over. It's the feeling of standing on the moor (or the streets of a city, between the high rises), without protection, and turning into the wind, instead of letting it blow you into shelter, away from where you want to be. It's exhilarating, when you do it, and sometimes it's hard.

If you ask me if I "liked" this book, I'll say, "no." I found the characters annoying, some missing too many dimensions to be more than a method of providing information in dialog instead of (yet more) description, and I had to take the author's word for their humanity, I wasn't able to see it for myself. I would also say that's the point of this story. It's more like Beowulf and a lot less like Harry Potter, which I think is mostly about character. But all three of these stories have the heart of the fantastic hero tale in them and they do them well, actually better than well. They smack me around with how strong they are.

Other fantasies will hide behind the "world building" or the "system of magic" or a light show of some sort (Look at the battles and fires and shape changers! Oh my! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain). They've forgotten what the quest(ion) is supposed to be about. The quest represents more than just walking and singing and struggling with a gollum. The meaning behind all that action is important. What the gollum represents matters more than how the character is shaped. It could be a shadow or a secret or a manifested gollum. It doesn't matter. How the author carries the meaning of the gollum through the work matters. When someone fails at it, when it's all hand waving and false philosophy, the results are excruciating.

I don't want to say that Le Guin restored the hero's tale to its original meaning. Tolkien, Lewis, and others were all writing them, and they were glorious (even if I don't agree with the philosophy). But she was definitely one of a few who were doing it and doing it right. Look for fantasies written in the forties and fifties and the sixties; there isn't much there. There are some great authors, who I now think of as heros, saving the genre from being lost entirely, like Le Guin. Reading A Wizard of Earthsea now though is like reading a primer for fantasy writers: see how it's done, boys and girls? I could see where some of the great ideas I've loved in other writers came from. So, no, I don't think you can call yourself a Fantasy reader without having read Le Guin. It's like believing the shadows are the real thing. (less)

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Apr 11, 2011 Ben Babcock rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read, didactic-fiction, fantasy, favourites, own, 2011-best10

This what A Wizard of Earthsea taught me:
* To know a thing's true name is to know its nature.
* Don't fuck with dragons (unless you know their true names).
* Summoning the spirits of the dead is a bad idea, especially on a schoolboy dare.
* Truly changing your form is dangerous, because you can become lost in the aspect you assume.
* If you find yourself hunted, turn it around and become the hunter.
* Above all else, know yourself.

I don't know how I acquired this particular copy of A Wizard of...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Ian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: author-knows-my-life, must-read-again, audiobook

I couldn’t have chosen a better time to experience LeGuin’s reimagining of the story—pardon me, I mean The Story—which we weave into our lives and the lives of those around us. At 35, I’m not really old but I don’t often feel young anymore, and it’s only now that I feel like I am finally confronting my shadow and embracing who I am.

There are an infinitude of ways to reflect upon, analyze and understand our life experiences. But LeGuin provides a framework that is just right for me. Her telling o...more I couldn’t have chosen a better time to experience LeGuin’s reimagining of the story—pardon me, I mean The Story—which we weave into our lives and the lives of those around us. At 35, I’m not really old but I don’t often feel young anymore, and it’s only now that I feel like I am finally confronting my shadow and embracing who I am.

There are an infinitude of ways to reflect upon, analyze and understand our life experiences. But LeGuin provides a framework that is just right for me. Her telling of The Story is one that I can understand, one that fits and mirrors many of my own life experiences. A Wizard of Earthsea is the story of Ged, a young man with a natural gift and a powerful potential. Ged's journey to understand his gift will be longer and more difficult than his impatience allows him to admit. He is sent away to learn from those who know how to control such a gift. Then, just as Ged is truly beginning to harness and develop his latent power, his pride leads him to overreach his abilities and loose a terrible shadow upon the world. Ged’s life then becomes one of fear and evasion, until he decides to turn and confront his shadow. Now, I don't flatter myself to think that I have the power to set free some evil that puts the world in danger. But LeGuin's story fits my life in its own way, and on a smaller scale :)

So, A Wizard of Earthsea gave me a much-needed archetype to contextualize my experiences—including my fair share of physical and emotional hardships—of the last 18 months and articulate what is happening in my life. I’ve stopped running from my shadow. I’ve become the hunter and I’ve cornered my shadow on the distant sea. I’m embracing the entirety of “me,” for better or worse, even as I write these words. Already I like the person who is emerging from this fusion. Perhaps of equal import, I think my loved ones like that person, too.

This begs the question: was it mere chance that I read A Wizard of Earthsea at this time, in this place in my life? Or was I maneuvered ... influenced in some subtle way by some deliberate force ... to read it now? That’s an unanswerable question, I suppose, and that’s fine with me. What’s important is that I did read this book. No, that’s not precise, I experienced this book, and at a time when I could get the most out of it, at a time when I most needed the counsel of an author who knows how to meet people where they are.

I still haven't read the text of A Wizard of Earthsea; instead I listened to the audiobook narrated by Harlan Ellison. What a powerful way to experience LeGuin’s work! Mr. Ellison’s sense of pacing, tone, volume, and timing, not to mention his ability to dramatize and entertain the listener, were a perfect match for LeGuin’s natural storytelling. I listened to the book while commuting to and from work, or mowing the lawn, or—my favorite way—lying on the couch with eyes closed, absorbing LeGuin’s world as her words fill my senses. My five-star rating applies with equal force to LeGuin’s story and Ellison’s reading.

Thank you, Ms. LeGuin. Thank you, Mr. Ellison. And thank you to my GR friends whose reviews convinced me I couldn’t wait any longer to read A Wizard of Earthsea!(less)

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Feb 09, 2008 Tracy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: young adults and adults

Shelves: read-and-liked-it

The fantasy classic A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin was first published in 1968 and this fantasy book deserves the praise it has often received. The fantasy world, Earthsea, created by the author is rich in detail. The fishy odor at the dock of every village and the salty tang of the sea literally wafted off the pages. The magical system revealed by Le Guin is convincingly real as well, and the way in which the wizards, witches, and sorcerers fit into the society felt natural and logic...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Keely rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, novel, reviewed

As a reader of Fantasy, this book felt like a return home, even though I had never read it before. The tale of this young wizard and his hardships and coming to terms with his own darkness is one that has been redone again and again, from Rowling to Jordan to Goodkind, and so far, despite adding gobs of length and endless details, no one has managed to improve upon it.

Though she isn't the first to explore the Bildungsroman-as-Fantasy (Mervyn Peake precedes her), he was an author who eschewed sym...more

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Feb 10, 2010 Ceridwen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: dragons, fantasy, young-adult, ukl

I'm going to leave this unrated, because I'm really just using this review as a place holder to have a bit of a rampage about the SyFy Channel adaption of LeGuin's Earthsea books, and mention something I didn't have space for in my other review of A Wizard of Earthsea.

It's maybe a secondary sport of readers to both long for and bitch about the film adaption, like betting on the sidelines during a prize fight. Back when I worked retail, one of my co-workers and I would amuse ourselves for hours...more I'm going to leave this unrated, because I'm really just using this review as a place holder to have a bit of a rampage about the SyFy Channel adaption of LeGuin's Earthsea books, and mention something I didn't have space for in my other review of A Wizard of Earthsea.

It's maybe a secondary sport of readers to both long for and bitch about the film adaption, like betting on the sidelines during a prize fight. Back when I worked retail, one of my co-workers and I would amuse ourselves for hours trying to cast a perfect Sandman film, although we always got hung up on who would direct, and who would play Death.

Anyway, one of the most quietly awesome things about A Wizard of Earthsea is that LeGuin made her fantasy characters have dark skin. I don't like physical descriptions of characters, because it's so often beside the point and superfluous. (See also: sex scenes.) I'm willing to hand out exceptions: I think it's important we know that Jane Eyre is plain, and that Rochester has a big forehead. (Big forehead...ifyouknowwhatImean.) But one of the most rousing criticisms of fantasy as a genre, for me, is about how horribly lily-white the standards of beauty are, how white=good, and black=bad, and how racial purity is a sign of moral purity. Yucky, yucky, yucky. So, Le Guin slyly steps in and makes her characters not-white: Ged with his red-brown skin, Vetch with his black; no violet cat-eyes for the women, no blonds. There is no moral correlation between skin color and moral worth, no component of sexual purity tied to blond hair. (As a natural blond, I have a whole bitch about this, but I'll silence myself for the moment.)

So, along comes the SyFy Channel adaption - and yes, it still hurts me to write SyFy and it always will - and they fuck all of this up. Danny Glover as Ogion was the only only only thing that was okay, but Danny Glover could read the phone book and I'd be happy. They turned Ged into a petulant white boy; they took every lovely thing about Ged's un-heroics and turned them into a sick parody of themselves. I said this earlier in a pm to a GR friend, but I'll say it again: maybe it doesn't matter what the skin color of fantasy characters is - it's not like the fictional worlds view race in anything like the way new millennium Americans do - but if it really doesn't matter, then why are they always white? Le Guin herself had some pointed things to say about the matter, and you should totally read them.

I still haven't worked up the nerve to watch the Japanese anime version of Earthsea. It sounds like the adaption is pretty loose, but at least isn't the offensive betrayal of LeGuin's stories that the SyFy version is. (Yup, still hurts to write. SyFy Channel = EPIC FAIL.)

(less)

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Jul 26, 2010 Joel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, audiobooks, sci-fi-fantasy, ya, here-there-be-dragons

I wish I'd read this one as a kid. It's one of those books that crams an epic story in under 200 pages, sketching the world and the details and the action rather than spelling everything out. As a kid, you get lost inside of a book like that, and it seems the better for it (the closest comparison I can think of is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - I was shocked to re-read that and discover the "epic battle" at the end is about two pages long).

I can tell that's what UKLG was going for with t...more

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Aug 05, 2007 Aerin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, fantasy, well-that-was-terrible

I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something here. This is supposed to be the first installment of a classic YA fantasy epic, but it read like an early draft of a much longer, more detailed, better work. Very little attention to characterization and most of the scenes seemed vague and sketched in. It's surprising, because I usually love LeGuin. This is one of her earlier books, though, and I do tend to like her more recent stuff better.

The story is a riff on the basic coming-of-age tale -- a young...more

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Mar 31, 2009 Kat Hooper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Le Guin's writing is beautiful -- lyrical and powerful. I love how she makes all of her words count. They are all necessary, there's no fluff or redundancy -- it's simple, natural, alive, and vivid. Her understanding of different people and cultures (her father was an anthropologist and her mother was a psychologist) enhances her ability to create imaginative, creative, and believable characters and worlds. When you step into Earthsea, you feel like you're...more

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Nov 18, 2007 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: sff, fiction

The thing to remember about Earthsea, like all of LeGuin's writing, is that it is less fiction that it is Taoist parable. LeGuin is a philosopher cleverly disguised as a sci-fi/fantasy writer. Her writing is beautiful and languid; her characterization and plotting range from excellent to mediocre. But character and plot serve as a vehicle for the themes of balance, simplicity and serenity that infuse all of her works.

Earthsea is, on its face, a fantasy saga along the lines of Tolkien or Rowling....more

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Oct 29, 2010 Jeanette rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-fiction, fantasy, young-adult-books, four-star-fiction

Ged, aka "Sparrowhawk," goes to wizard school on the Isle of Roke. In rivalry with another student, he abuses his new powers, unintentionally unleashing a dark force. He pays dearly for his foolish dabbling and is scarred for life. He feels great remorse and wants to make things right, vowing to use his powers only for good, but he can't seem to outrun the shadow spirit he awakened. Finally, Ged comes to understand that he'll have to pursue the shadow and conquer it, or it will plague him and Ea...more

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Jul 18, 2010 indri rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fantasiana

Recommended to indri by: Mhd Haikal

Shelves: fantasia, a-gift

#2010-61#

Siapakah nama sejati-mu?

Keangkuhan, seperti kita ketahui, bisa menjatuhkan seseorang, dan membuka sisi tergelapnya. Demikian juga Ged, karena terpedaya oleh emosi dan keinginan tak terkalahkan, berusaha membuka satu sisi tergelap yang seharusnya tetap tertutup. Keahlian sihir yang diperoleh dengan cepat karena bakat yang luar biasa, menjadi terpenjara oleh ketakutan dikejar-kejar oleh sisi gelap yang berhasil dibukanya. Sosok bayangan yang sulit ia ketahui nama sejatinya.

Nama sejati, ya...more #2010-61#

Siapakah nama sejati-mu?

Keangkuhan, seperti kita ketahui, bisa menjatuhkan seseorang, dan membuka sisi tergelapnya. Demikian juga Ged, karena terpedaya oleh emosi dan keinginan tak terkalahkan, berusaha membuka satu sisi tergelap yang seharusnya tetap tertutup. Keahlian sihir yang diperoleh dengan cepat karena bakat yang luar biasa, menjadi terpenjara oleh ketakutan dikejar-kejar oleh sisi gelap yang berhasil dibukanya. Sosok bayangan yang sulit ia ketahui nama sejatinya.

Nama sejati, yang pada jaman sihir masih berkuasa di bumi ini, tidak dibagi pada siapapun juga. Orang hanya membagikan nama sejatinya pada orang-orang yang benar-benar ia percaya. Begitu juga dengan kehidupan Ged. Segera sesudah bakat sihirnya diketahui, ia mendapatkan cara untuk mengetahui nama sejati beberapa binatang, yang membuatnya dapat memanggil binatang-binatang tersebut dengan mudah. Perjalanan hidupnya pun berubah, dan harus mengambil keputusan-keputusan dengan cepat.

Mulailah ia dengan perjalanannya. Melintasi laut, mengenal orang-orang baru, belajar untuk berjuang sendiri, mencari apa yang bisa membebaskannya dari bayangan gelap yang mengikutinya. Bahkan hingga ke tepi dunia. Itulah harga yang harus dibayar untuk keangkuhan ini.

***

Saya tidak terpengaruh oleh kata-kata ‘buku yang mengilhami Harry Potter’. Dari awal dibuat threat diskusi covernya di GR, saya sudah tertarik membacanya. Entah karena tersihir oleh covernya yang cantik (walaupun sebenarnya saya pilih yang lebih dark) tapi hasil cover jadinya yang terang, seolah melepas dogma bahwa buku tentang penyihir harus bernuansa gelap. Penggambaran tokoh penyihir di sini pun tidak melenceng dari stereotipe tentang penyihir. Penyihir tua (Archmage) digambarkan berjanggut panjang, bertopi runcing, semua rambutnya sudah memutih, seperti yang digambarkan di LOTR, dan diikuti juga oleh Harry Potter. Penyihir muda dengan jubah panjang, dengan wajah yang cukup tampan (bila diamati covernya dengan baik) dengan tongkat yang dapat dijadikan senjatanya.

Keistimewaannya justru pada alur ceritanya yang tenang, tidak terburu-buru dalam satu pertempuran atau percakapan-percakapan yang banyak. Seringnya Ged dalam kondisi sendiri membuat ceritanya sangat berpusat pada Ged dan pemikiran-pemikiran dan pertentangan dalam hatinya. Perjalanan yang dilakukan sendiri, perenungannya selama masa pelarian, membuat kita merasakan apa yang dialami Ged. Bahkan terkadang saya merasa berada di lautan bersamanya, menjadi bayang-bayang yang membantunya mendirikan layar melawan badai, membaui udara laut yang segar, merasakan hembusan angin, seperti menemaninya di kala sendiri.

Walau cerita sudah berakhir, tak sabar menantikan jilid kedua dan ketiganya. Inilah asyiknya membaca novel berseri, karena jadi ada yang ditunggu. Semoga penerjemahannya tak berhenti sampai buku pertama saja.
(less)

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May 09, 2007 Grey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Le Guin is quite possibly my favourite female author, and this book is the prime reason why. This book, like Zelazny's Lord Of Light never fell from my Top 5 Fantasy/Sci-Fi books. It reads easy, with a language everyone can understand, and a style that flows well.

The prose aside, the story itself is original for its time. Many newer tales now also involve the journey of some boy as he rises to power, and how he eventually discovers his rightful place in the world.
The difference between most of T...more

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Jul 02, 2007 Evan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the first aphorisms of a creative writing class is "Show, not tell." Not that I don't believe in turning aphorisms on their heads, but this one is there for a reason. Le Guin, for the greater part of the book, just tells. It makes for a painful reading experience. Children's literature in the 21st century is not limited in its range of boy in fantasy realm turns amazing magic user, and so the dull setting, plotting and characterization of "A Wizard of Earthsea" is best left unread. In 196...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Eleanor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I saw Hayao Miyazaki's animated film, "Tales from Earthsea," and realized to my horror that I could not recall any details about the original Earthsea novel. It didn't help that Miyazaki took snippets from various LeGuin books and mixed them up to create a completely new storyline, but darn if I could even remember which ones, it's been such a long time since I read them. (It's hard to believe A Wizard of Earthsea was first published in 1968.) That said, the first book continues to delight with...more

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Jul 23, 2007 kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of middle earth, narnia, hogwart's

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

A child of peculiar talent is born to humble beginnings in a small island village. As age reveals his unique nature, the boy is invited to join an elite academy for magic-workers. Youthful folly sets the stage for adolescent transformation at the edge of the known world.

The first book of a trilogy, 'A Wizard of Earthsea' offers its readers a rich and complex world to explore. Summertime adventure literature of the highest caliber.

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Jun 07, 2007 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young_adult

The Earthsea cycle was originally classified as a YA series, but really, I think the books are far too complex for the average teen to enjoy. Le Guin is brilliant and sharp in her writing, and can hit you hard and fast in the gut.

The Tombs of Atuan is by far the best book of the cycle, but I wouldn't advise reading it out of context.

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Feb 24, 2012 Anne Toronto1 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

"A Wizard of Earthsea" (Earthsea 1) by Ursula Le Guin was first written in 1968, suffers by comparison, for me, with the film I saw first, which invented a legend amulet king priestess overplot. The author varies skin colors, a political statement at that time, but omits oriental yellow. Hm. This small tale, full of unmemorable foreign words (hero has four names), is more of a proud boy humbled by deserved punishment, than boy saves world in film; the shade here is after only his soul, not the E...more "A Wizard of Earthsea" (Earthsea 1) by Ursula Le Guin was first written in 1968, suffers by comparison, for me, with the film I saw first, which invented a legend amulet king priestess overplot. The author varies skin colors, a political statement at that time, but omits oriental yellow. Hm. This small tale, full of unmemorable foreign words (hero has four names), is more of a proud boy humbled by deserved punishment, than boy saves world in film; the shade here is after only his soul, not the Earth.
The phrasing has an archaic tilt, suits the peasant-aristocrat setting, an archipelago realm of Ninety plus islands vs 1001, the number changing with the tides. Long-winded: naming teacher is Kurremkarmerruk; one sentence, the Port of Gont, nears half a page 28; dragon Old Speech, full page 51; ship stopovers near two 31-2. Important lines and scenes were recreated in film, but lacking: slower, less combat, humor, romance, no visual extravagance, no murders in Vemish.
The final lesson is more humility than self-knowledge, a quiet word rather than world-shaking climax. Maybe, like the isolated ancient couple on Springwater isle, this is groundwork for the series, but I'm not caught up enough to continue.
Bronze-smith's boy Duny, learns hodge-podge of spells from his aunt when she catches him copying her, and travellers through Four Alders. At 12, he conjures mist, so only 5 of 18 armed boys and men die protecting the village. The roaming pale blonde Karg band mostly run off, back to the coast, where the gathered red-brown-skin islanders burn their ships, then slaughter the fugitives. Quiet dark-skin wizard Ogion heals Duny, comatose five days, and returns on his 13th birthday to name him Ged, SparrowHawk in public, and depart during the celebration feast.
Spoilers:
Like the film, the large tricksy dragon unfolds from the ruins, Ged guesses his name Yevaud, and relinquishes learning the horror's name for the safety of his people. Unlike, a bald old man in grey suggests a sword to fight shadows is at Osskil, where men are dour pale-skinned, black-haired, assign yet another name, Kelub, red one, and lovely Lady Skerret tempts him with a Stone of power. Again, fellow oarsman Skiorh attacks as the gebbeth. How the shade knows his name is never explained in this book. Unlike, a pet rodent, an unnamed otak, serves only to revive Ged from another coma, then dies inexplicably off-page.
(less)

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Apr 19, 2012 Nuno Mateus (Kratos) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Um primeiro livro de uma saga de 4 que me veio logo recordar uma mistura de "Harry Potter" com "O Senhor dos Anéis" de Tolkien!
Este livro relata a evolução de Gued desde a descoberta de seu dom a aprendiz de Feiticeiro e sua intrução e sua evolução e sua luta contra "a Sombra" um ser do mal que ele libertou sem querer e sua perseguição e aventuras pelas ilhas De Terramar tentanto descobrir que ser se tratava e como destrui-la!
Um escritora que desconhecia mas sendo do tempo de Tolkien achei uma e...more

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Sep 13, 2008 Martine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, modern-fiction, north-american

The first book of the Earthsea Cycle starts off much as you'd expect. A young boy, Sparrowhawk, discovers that he has special powers, is sent to a wizards' school where he is hailed as the next big thing, and gets a bit too proud for his own good. So far, so clichéd. What is original is that in his eagerness to show off, Sparrowhawk (now called Ged) unleashes an evil shadow that kills people and haunts him. Can he hide from this shadow, or does he have go on the offensive? He tries both, unsucce...more

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May 03, 2007 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You've gotta read this book. Yes, it's science fiction. But no, it's not boring, badly written or weirdly detailed. These people are us, but of course they don't exist, and yet Le Guin uses sci-fi to make perceptive commentary on the world around her. I'm not someone who reads Tolkien (well other than the Hobbit because I get bored with long detailed novels on made up places). Le Guin bridges the gap between science fiction and literary fiction. She is able to build convincing worlds without was...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Apatt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-top20, favorites

I remember reading this book as a child and loving it, and that is all I can remember, the reading and the loving. Anything about the contents have slipped through the old grey cells somehow. As it turned out my brain knew what it was doing when it jettisoned all the details of the book so yesterday I was able to read it as if for the first time. Like A Virgin.

Nowadays any fantasy book that feature a school of wizardry can not help but bring up Harry Potter comparisons (I can't help it any way)....more I remember reading this book as a child and loving it, and that is all I can remember, the reading and the loving. Anything about the contents have slipped through the old grey cells somehow. As it turned out my brain knew what it was doing when it jettisoned all the details of the book so yesterday I was able to read it as if for the first time. Like A Virgin.

Nowadays any fantasy book that feature a school of wizardry can not help but bring up Harry Potter comparisons (I can't help it any way). A Wizard of Earthsea was published several decades before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's / Philosopher's Stone, and I wonder how much of it inspired the Rowling books. No disrespect to the deservedly popular Potter series but certainly Earthsea's Roke Island's school of magic seems like a precursor to Hogwarts, and Le Guin's protagonist Duny / Sparrowhawk / Ged starts off as a boy with an unusual degree of natural talent for magic. In all fairness the similarities dwindle to nothing by about half way point through A Wizard of Earthsea though. OK, got that out of the way, no more pointless HP comparisons henceforth.

A Wizard of Earthsea is - to some extent - a bildungsroman about a boy name Duny who has an unusually high aptitude for learning and using magic. After saving his village from invaders he was discovered by a wizard who gave him his true name Ged. After travelling with the wizard for a while and not learning very much magic thanks to the wizard's "Mr. Miyagi" style of teaching he was sent to the Roke Island to enroll in a wizardry school. He learned magic very quickly of course but soon make a huge mistake and accidentally invoked Something Better Left Alone. Much gnashing of teeth and a search for redemption ensues. (I am appallingly bad at synopsizing as you can see).

When Ms. Le Guin wrote this book in the 60s there was not much of a fantasy genre, some Tolkiens here some Lewises there, very little else. This makes A Wizard of Earthsea something of a landmark for the now thriving fantasy genre. Also in those days the term "magic system" did not exist but Le Guin knew even then how thoughtless, frivolous use of magic in a book can render the story unbelievable. So she cleverly imposed some logic and limitation to the use of magic and thereby created one of the earliest magic systems.

"Listen, I don't understand: you and my brother both are mighty wizards, you wave your hand and mutter and the thing is done. Why do you get hungry, then? When it comes suppertime at sea, why not say, Meat-pie! and the meat-pie appears, and you eat it?"
"Well, we could do so. But we don't much wish to eat our words, as they say. Meat-pie! is only a word, after all... We can make it odorous, and savorous, and even filling, but it remains a word. It fools the stomach and gives no strength to the hungry man."

See what I mean? Genius! The magic in the Earthsea universe is based on the "words of power" and "true name" idea. "One who knows the true name of an object has power over it." is fairly self explanatory, this applies to people's names also; giving someone your true name is a little like giving them your Paypal password, not something to be done lightly.

The book is necessarily fast paced and eventful due to minimal length, though the climax is not as spectacular as I thought it would be, it is quite satisfying and leads to an elegant wrap up of the story. The prose is beautifully written as you'd expect from Le Guin, the book was written for children so it is more easily accessible than her adult science fiction books. Don't let the "for children" label put you off though, there was no YA category at the time, or this book would have been hailed as the best of them. Characterization is very nicely done, Ged starts off as a fairly typical arrogant young whippersnapper and grows into a kindhearted, responsible (and melancholy) adult. If you have kids this would be a great book to read to them. The principle of "with great power comes great responsibility" is much better learned here from Ged's experiences than from Peter Parker's.

Another thing I remember from my first reading of this book in my teens is that I could not get into the second book The Tombs of Atuan due to the switch to a new protagonist, I wanted so much to know what Ged is going to do next. I was a stupid kid. At least now I have more Earthsea books to look forward to.(less)

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Apr 04, 2013 Misha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: boy-protagonist, dark, coming_of_age, death, doorway-character, doorway-language, doorway-setting, doorway-story, fantasy, read-2013

From Le Guin's afterward:

"But there are no wars in Earthsea. No soldiers, no armies, no battles. None of the militarism that came from the Arthurian saga and other sources and that by now, under the influence of fantasy war games, has become almost obligatory.

I didn't and don't think this way; my mind doesn't work in terms if war. My imagination refuses to limit all the elements that make an adventure story and make it exciting--danger, risk, challenge, courage--to battlefields. A hero whose her...more

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Aug 04, 2007 Thannasset rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fandsf

More than a good fantasy, more than a 'young adult' book, a categorization I despise even more than 'children's book'--this is one of my favorite author's best attempts at deliberately creating a myth cycle. It just gets better as the series progresses. The last two books in the series were written more than twenty years after the first three, and are by far the best.

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Aug 02, 2007 Meredith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fantasy readers

Shelves: childrens-lit

this is just the first book of the earthsea series, and i recommend all of them. in the course of the series, LeGuin not only writes wonderful fantasy but also revisions her own work in light of feminisim. don't stop with The Farthest Shore--you must read Tehanu and The Other Wind to see how LeGuin takes on the concept of feminine magic.

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Dec 22, 2007 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi-fantasy

My aunt read me this book which was awesome except she pronounced "archipelago" wrong, like "archipelAgo" rather than "ARchiPELago", and I like her way better, but when I insisted on it's accuracy in school I was, um, mocked. As well as, um, wrong.

But the book rocks!

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About Ursula K. Le Guin

As of 2011, Ursula K. Le Guin has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. Forthcoming...more As of 2011, Ursula K. Le Guin has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. Forthcoming in 2012, Finding My Elegy, New and Selected Poems. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ούρσουλα Λε Γκεν (Ursula Kroeber Le Guin, Berkeley California, 21 Οκτωβρίου 1929 - ) Πολυγραφότατη, πολυδιάστατη και πολυβραβευμένη Αμερικανίδα ποιήτρια και συγγραφέας του χώρου της «Επιστημονικής Φαντασίας» αλλά και των παιδικών διηγημάτων.

ΠΡΩΤΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ
Γεννήθηκε στο Μπέρκλεϋ της Καλιφόρνιας από τον ανθρωπολόγο Άλφρεντ Κρέμπερ (Alfred L. Kroeber) και την συγγραφέα Θεοδώρα Κρέμπερ (Theodora Covel BrownKracaw Kroeber), σπούδασε στο «Radcliffe College» και εν συνεχεία Φιλολογία (γαλλική και ιταλική αναγεννησιακή λογοτεχνία) στο «Πανεπιστήμιο Columbia». Το 1953 παντρεύτηκε στην Γαλλία τον ιστορικό Σαρλ Λε Γκεν (Charles A. Le Guin), που έγινε καθηγητής Γαλλικής Ιστορίας στο «Portland State College» του Όρεγκον και απέκτησε μαζί του 3 παιδιά.

«ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΟΝΙΚΗ» ΚΑΙ «ΜΕΣΑΙΩΝΙΚΗ» ΦΑΝΤΑΣΙΑ
Από τα μέσα της δεκαετίας του 1960 συνέγραψε περισσότερα από 100 διηγήματα (που εκδόθηκαν σε 8 τόμους), 3 συλλογές δοκιμίων, 5 ποιητικές συλλογές, 19 νουβέλες και 13 παιδικά βιβλία, αλλά είναι περισσότερο αναγνωρισμένη για τα έργα της στον τομέα της «Επιστημονικής» και «Μεσαιωνικής» Φαντασίας, όπου συγκαταλέγεται ανάμεσα στους σημαντικότερους σύγχρονους δημιουργούς (πιο γνωστά στην Ελλάδα είναι τα βιβλία της «Ο Αναρχικός των Δύο Κόσμων», Αθήνα, 1992 και «Το Αριστερό Χέρι του Σκοταδιού», Αθήνα, 1990, 1994). Το 1990 αιφνιδίασε το αναγνωστικό κοινό της όταν πρόσθεσε δίχως προειδοποίηση στην έως τότε τριλογία του «μαγικού» «κύκλου της Γαιοθάλασσας» («A Wizard of Earthsea», «The Tombs of Atuan» και «The FarthestShore», 1968 - 1972) το σκληρό «Τεχανού», για το οποίο έλαβε το Βραβείο Nebula.(less)

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