A Wizard of Earthsea

I think I would've liked this more when I was 14.

I don't know what I was expecting with this, but I guess it wasn't a pretty bog standard fantasy wizard novel with all the trimmings, and more than a few tired tropes.

I suppose you could point out that this novel was written at a time when modern fantasy novel basically meant Lord of the Rings, when a lot of these tropes were new, and with this book Le Guin literally invented the young wizard coming of age subgenre.

You might even excuse the patriarchal society of Earthsea — including the shockingly unchallenged assertion that "women's magic" is weaker than "men's magic" — as a reflection of the patriarchal 1960's US society Le Guin wrote it in. Certainly, in the afterword of the edition I read, Le Guin talks about how she felt writing about a young brown-skinned teen wizard who doesn't even rescue any damseled girls, she was already pushing tropes as far as she felt she could if she wanted to get published.

And that seems all fair and reasonable given the historical context. But unfortunately, I'm not sure historical context makes for a good read.

Like I said, I think I would've liked this better in middle school, when I was a much less critical reader and much more prone to getting swept up in adventure.

I did enjoy the ending. It was satisfying in a way that I wasn't expecting. It might've been that I was too distracted by the things that annoyed me to notice the foreshadowing (no pun intended) but I feel like Le Guin held her cards very close to her chest on this one. And it pays off instantly the moment you get there, so I'm glad that I didn't give up on it. I just wish some of the journey to get there had be a bit less tedious.

An interesting read about the coming-of-age of a wizard in the group of islands known as Earthsea that was raised out of the ocean in the distant past by forces unknown. In this realm, magic and control of an item by magic comes by knowing the true name of the object. This also applies to the wizards; for to reveal to a fellow wizard your true name implies trust that your true name would not be used against you.

The story starts with a young boy who discovers a knack for magic. After learning a few simple spells, the boy manages to protect his village from marauders, which gets the attention of a powerful wizard who proceeds to tutor him. But when the boy's desire for magical knowledge grows faster than the wizard is willing to teach, he goes off to learn it from the school at the heart of magic in Earthsea.

There he learns magic and also discovers friends; and possibly make enemies. In his desire to prove himself, he casts a powerful spell that calls up an unknown entity from the dark, which scars him before being pushed away from the school. As he recovers, he learns the truth; the dark entity is still there, waiting for him to emerge and hungry to possess him.

When at last his training is finished, he goes out into the world and protects a region from attacking dragons. But it is only a diversion, for the dark force is there, waiting for him and the time would come when it would possess him, or he will conquer it.

As he encounters and escapes from the force, he gradually learns more about it but lacks one thing to overcome it: its name. Yet, it is only during the final confrontation with the force far from Earthsea itself, does he learn it and, in doing so, learn about himself.

A fascinating, light tale about growing up, making mistakes, learning and making friendships that make the book a nice read.

The scenes in the magic school reminded me a lot of The Name of the Wind and the Harry Potter series of books (works which I encountered first). I wonder what the first ever instance was in a work of fiction which depicted young people in a magic school setting. Ged, the main character is interesting in that he doesn't fit the stereotype of a 'good' wizard initially. He is prideful, envious, and rash in his actions which eventually leads to all the problems he will confront later on. I like the world-building, but having been exposed to more massive worlds like that in Dune, the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, and the Mistborn trilogy, I am not that enthused about it. What is interesting as well is the 'Archmage' position in the island where the magic school is located, which is the island of Roke. The Archmage is sort of the headmaster of the school and considered the best wizard that currently exists. I think the background stories of Archmages would make for compelling reading. The magic concept of the importance of finding the 'true names' of things I first encountered in 'The Name of the Wind', but I like how it is used in A Wizard of Earthsea, how a society and culture developed around this concept of true names.