Paperback, 183 pages
English language
Published Sept. 12, 2004 by Spectra.
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.
This was a nice, almost Tolkienesque read. I love the fact that Le Guin deliberately made the main characters non-white, because she despised the good=white, black=evil trope.
Looking forward to the next books from the cycle.
Uuuhm. I enjoyed it, and for a "men doing things while talking in a complicated way" fantasy story this is very very good. Still... I asked myself why a few times.
I generally listen to fantasy and sci-fi while I work. This was a wonderful short book that had interesting magic. I loved The Name of The Wind and I feel like this work inspired Mr. Rothfuss. The nature of this world and the magic of naming seems so similar to NOTW. The story's pace was good. I normally do not select works this short but I think I need to reconsider. It was very well written and had good prose. Not as serious as the other famous works by the author, but I like a nice and fun adventure as much as a serious commentary on human nature or society. I look forward to reading everything in the series.
It's such a beautiful story, I wish I had read this when I was younger as it would surely have been formative
A captivating tale of a young wizard. I was especially taken by the form that magic takes in this world, and it seems like there's lessons and insights there that can apply to our world also. I can't wait to find out what happens to Ged next.
Gainontzekoak irakurri ostean iruzkinduko dut istorio osoa, baina labur esanda: itzela izan daiteke!
Lo he disfrutado muchísimo! Sobretodo a partir de la mitad. Creo que ahí es donde coge fuelle el conflicto principal y empieza a entenderse por dónde nos quiere llevar. No suelo leer fantasía, de entrada no me llama nada. Este libro fue un regalo y además había leído cosas muy buenas acerca de Ursula K. Le Guin, así que le di una oportunidad y fue una buena decisión. Bajo el marco de la fantasía, este libro es un coming of age (de mis cosas favoritas en literatura) y también, un poco, libro de viajes. Me ha alucinado la geografía de Terramar, su originalidad, el dibujo del mapa, las descripciones de los territorios y sus gentes. Los conceptos alrededor del conflicto principal del personaje, de la magia y los nombres, son muy buenas.
Por último, en esta edición hay un epílogo en el que la autora reflexiona sobre la escritura del …
Lo he disfrutado muchísimo! Sobretodo a partir de la mitad. Creo que ahí es donde coge fuelle el conflicto principal y empieza a entenderse por dónde nos quiere llevar. No suelo leer fantasía, de entrada no me llama nada. Este libro fue un regalo y además había leído cosas muy buenas acerca de Ursula K. Le Guin, así que le di una oportunidad y fue una buena decisión. Bajo el marco de la fantasía, este libro es un coming of age (de mis cosas favoritas en literatura) y también, un poco, libro de viajes. Me ha alucinado la geografía de Terramar, su originalidad, el dibujo del mapa, las descripciones de los territorios y sus gentes. Los conceptos alrededor del conflicto principal del personaje, de la magia y los nombres, son muy buenas.
Por último, en esta edición hay un epílogo en el que la autora reflexiona sobre la escritura del libro y me parece, sinceramente, una tía de puta madre.
Cute Story and good length (not like LotR)
« A Wizard of Earthsea » est le premier roman du cycle Earthsea d’Ursula K. Le Guin (traduit en cycle de Terremer en français, me semble-t-il).
Derrière un récit d'apprentissage en apparence très classique en fantasy se cache en réalité un texte poétique, plus profond et original qu'il n'y paraît à première vue. Je me suis laissé emporter par les aventures et les rencontres de son jeune héros, sans totalement comprendre ce qui me plaisait tant. La post-face de l'autrice est à ce titre très éclairante : elle y explique l'origine de ce roman et ce qu'elle a voulu en faire. Pour moi, l'objectif est clairement atteint.
Je vais enchaîner directement avec le deuxième tome du cycle, en espérant qu'il me plaise autant que celui-ci.
A must-read in the collection of fantasy classics
Prose is slim and considered, the imagery vivid without being exhausting, but I did not feel engaged with Ged, personally, philosophically, etc.
I appreciate how concise and capable a novel this is; that it is in its way rubbing against the grain of what, in 1969 especially, are the expectations of a fantasy novel and setting.
But I read it today, in a different cultural milieu. While Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed still felt compelling and relevant, Wizard of Earthsea is something I can only imagine once having a greater potency.
Es genial el concepto de magia asociada al verdadero nombre y cómo lo desarrolla
What a charming story. This very much reads as classic fantasy, but at the same time, quite distinct from other classic fantasy powerhouses of the era. It is structured more like a folktale, and really succeeds in that regard. The story is comprised of quite a few smaller stories and challenges, similar to something like the Odyssey. Each of these smaller narratives paint a larger story that simultaneously builds the world around it. This was probably my favorite aspect. Seeing the main character grow and develop as aspects of the world become clearer to the reader, but also feeling like you're reading a classic hero's tale.
However I found the writing style to be very... of its time. It is very disconnected from the characters and frequently and randomly shifts between an omniscient narration to limited omniscient narration based on a character's perspective. The prose was stuffy, making it feel …
What a charming story. This very much reads as classic fantasy, but at the same time, quite distinct from other classic fantasy powerhouses of the era. It is structured more like a folktale, and really succeeds in that regard. The story is comprised of quite a few smaller stories and challenges, similar to something like the Odyssey. Each of these smaller narratives paint a larger story that simultaneously builds the world around it. This was probably my favorite aspect. Seeing the main character grow and develop as aspects of the world become clearer to the reader, but also feeling like you're reading a classic hero's tale.
However I found the writing style to be very... of its time. It is very disconnected from the characters and frequently and randomly shifts between an omniscient narration to limited omniscient narration based on a character's perspective. The prose was stuffy, making it feel more like you were reading an objective account of the events that happened rather than feeling like you're hearing about the journey from a storyteller, which I feel would lend itself better to the style of story.
All in all, I did enjoy this quite a bit. I'm excited to pick up the next few of them pretty quickly considering they're so short. I'm particularly excited to dive into the more recent three books. I'm eager to see how her writing style matured after 30 years of being one of the most skilled science fiction authors of all time.
I have no idea how this book eluded me as a kid. Reading it feels like righting an old wrong though. It's a wonderful introduction to the world of Earthsea, and I imagine my child self would have been hooked.
Coming in as an adult who has loved many other Ursula Le Guin books, this also felt like part of an ongoing conversation. Her reflections in the afterword are thoughtful as always, particularly her mingled pride (in stealthily deploying non-white primary characters) and regret (for writing a man's world where women are secondary).
Social/meta-concerns aside, this is a beautiful world full of wonder and I want to spend more time there!
All power is one in source and end, I think. Years and distances, stars and candles, water and wind and wizardry, the craft in a man's hand and the wisdom in a tree's root: they all arise together. My …
I have no idea how this book eluded me as a kid. Reading it feels like righting an old wrong though. It's a wonderful introduction to the world of Earthsea, and I imagine my child self would have been hooked.
Coming in as an adult who has loved many other Ursula Le Guin books, this also felt like part of an ongoing conversation. Her reflections in the afterword are thoughtful as always, particularly her mingled pride (in stealthily deploying non-white primary characters) and regret (for writing a man's world where women are secondary).
Social/meta-concerns aside, this is a beautiful world full of wonder and I want to spend more time there!
All power is one in source and end, I think. Years and distances, stars and candles, water and wind and wizardry, the craft in a man's hand and the wisdom in a tree's root: they all arise together. My name, and yours, and the true name of the sun, or a spring of water, or an unborn child, all are syllables of the great word that is spoken by the shining of the stars. There is no other power. No other name.
Fun and short. I could see quite enjoying this when I was younger as well.
