A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

Mass Market Paperback, 183 pages

English language

Published April 1, 1984 by Bantam.

ISBN:
978-0-553-23461-9
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
15322057

View on OpenLibrary

(37 reviews)

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.

5 editions

reviewed A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

A nice short fantasy novel

I've just never gotten around to reading Earthsea, so I finally did it, and it was an enjoyable fantasy novel that is technically YA but doesn't feel icky reading as an adult.

Do yourself a favor and read the author's afterword at the end. It's a nice perspective and a wonderful message by Ursula K. Le Guin, who has such an amazing talent and voice.

reviewed A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

Wizard of Earthsea

Like many audiobooks of its day, the narration is... sleep-inducing. This makes it difficult to appreciate just how wondrous a world Le Guin crafted, and how complex a character the protagonist is.

However, as other reviewers have mentioned, even without my issues with the narration, it is a bit of a slog. And it just sortof... ends. There is suggestion of tales to follow, but I don't really feel excited by the time I get there.

reviewed A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

Satisfying ending, but kind of a slog to get there

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 …

A wizard's journey in a world where true names are important.

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 …

reviewed A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

Review of 'A Wizard of Earthsea' on 'Goodreads'

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 …

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Subjects

  • Fantasy - General
  • Non-Classifiable
  • Fiction - Fantasy

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