A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel written by American author Ursula K. Le Guin and first published by the small press Parnassus in 1968. It is regarded as a classic of children's literature and of fantasy, within which it is widely influential. The story is set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea and centers on a young mage named Ged, born in a village on the island of Gont. He displays great power while still a boy and joins a school of wizardry, where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with a fellow student. During a magical duel, Ged's spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks him. The novel follows Ged's journey as he seeks to be free of the creature. The book has often been described as a Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, as it explores Ged's process of learning to cope with power …
A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel written by American author Ursula K. Le Guin and first published by the small press Parnassus in 1968. It is regarded as a classic of children's literature and of fantasy, within which it is widely influential. The story is set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea and centers on a young mage named Ged, born in a village on the island of Gont. He displays great power while still a boy and joins a school of wizardry, where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with a fellow student. During a magical duel, Ged's spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks him. The novel follows Ged's journey as he seeks to be free of the creature.
The book has often been described as a Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, as it explores Ged's process of learning to cope with power and come to terms with death. The novel also carries Taoist themes about a fundamental balance in the universe of Earthsea, which wizards are supposed to maintain, closely tied to the idea that language and names have power to affect the material world and alter this balance. The structure of the story is similar to that of a traditional epic, although critics have also described it as subverting this genre in many ways, such as by making the protagonist dark-skinned in contrast to more typical white-skinned heroes.
A Wizard of Earthsea received highly positive reviews, initially as a work for children and later among a general audience. It won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in 1969 and was one of the final recipients of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1979. Margaret Atwood called it one of the "wellsprings" of fantasy literature. Le Guin wrote five subsequent books that are collectively referred to as the Earthsea Cycle, together with A Wizard of Earthsea: The Tombs of Atuan (1971), The Farthest Shore (1972), Tehanu (1990), The Other Wind (2001), and Tales from Earthsea (2001). George Slusser described the series as a "work of high style and imagination", while Amanda Craig said that A Wizard of Earthsea was "the most thrilling, wise, and beautiful children's novel ever".
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.
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.
The sequal to Monster Earth! picks up in time where the previous collection left off. Some of your favorite authors may make a re-appearance here with additional tales of kaiju madness (see Erdelac's excellent 'A Haunt of Jackals'), others are fresh faces. As the alternate history timeline catches up with present day (as of publishing date at least) it starts to increasingly dovetail with real events. Unlike the first collection, there is an overall story arc being told here involving a worldwide illuminati like cult bent on using the kaiju to help usher in some sort of apocalypse/possibly welcome some sort of extraterrestrial kaiju? Its not exactly clear, honestly, and a little bit disappointing as it feels like its gradually descending into the realm of the Weird or even Bizarro by the end. returnThere are also some editing issues that could have made this a bit more readable...there's no index …
The sequal to Monster Earth! picks up in time where the previous collection left off. Some of your favorite authors may make a re-appearance here with additional tales of kaiju madness (see Erdelac's excellent 'A Haunt of Jackals'), others are fresh faces. As the alternate history timeline catches up with present day (as of publishing date at least) it starts to increasingly dovetail with real events. Unlike the first collection, there is an overall story arc being told here involving a worldwide illuminati like cult bent on using the kaiju to help usher in some sort of apocalypse/possibly welcome some sort of extraterrestrial kaiju? Its not exactly clear, honestly, and a little bit disappointing as it feels like its gradually descending into the realm of the Weird or even Bizarro by the end. returnThere are also some editing issues that could have made this a bit more readable...there's no index of the stories with titles/authors/page numbers...possibly because there are no page numbers either throughout the book? Maybe its an issue with the newer edition I got, as I couldn't track down the edition with the original cover art that more closely resembled the previous book. returnErdelac's story is outstanding, and I really enjoyed Beard's 'Big Juju' as an opener and McInnis' 'Reggie', but overall the collection was a let down, even as a big fan of its predecessor. The cult subplot, which isn't very well fleshed out or explained feels very forced throughout. I think trying to find some common thread to bind the stories together, besides just retelling historical events in this new world, was a big detractor. Read it if you really love one of the authors involved, but otherwise probably skip it.
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 …
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.
« 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 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.
Enjoyed rereading this brought me back to seventh grade. I remember the whole concept of the shadow and it’s something that has always stayed with me.
Now that I’m older I think some parts are over explained and others aren’t setup. For example what is Ged going to do after wizard school. It’s never talked about or hinted and the choice is random and unimportant seemingly in the overall narrative.
Enjoyed rereading this brought me back to seventh grade. I remember the whole concept of the shadow and it’s something that has always stayed with me.
Now that I’m older I think some parts are over explained and others aren’t setup. For example what is Ged going to do after wizard school. It’s never talked about or hinted and the choice is random and unimportant seemingly in the overall narrative.
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.
we all have parts of ourselves that we run from, that we hate. this book is helping me with the torturous work of reconciling with my own shadows. if you're struggling to see yourself as a whole and complete human being, you aren't alone. i struggle. ged does too. but we can begin healing, one step at a time.
be safe out there.
we all have parts of ourselves that we run from, that we hate. this book is helping me with the torturous work of reconciling with my own shadows. if you're struggling to see yourself as a whole and complete human being, you aren't alone. i struggle. ged does too. but we can begin healing, one step at a time.
Felt less like reading a book and more like being told a fantasy epic from a world slightly adjacent to ours over a campfire. I only wish I'd read it earlier.
Felt less like reading a book and more like being told a fantasy epic from a world slightly adjacent to ours over a campfire. I only wish I'd read it earlier.
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.
