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

The worldbuilding in this series is absolutely great. The different peoples of Earthsea feel diverse and really creatively drafted. The only small drawback that it is very much "One great man doing great things", which I think is actually a bit untypical for Le Guin. I think this series is some of her earliest work, so that may explain this.

Great read though and I can wholeheartedly recommend this as some slow-paced cozy reading.

I enjoyed reading this. With her thoughtful writing style, the author did a wizardly job in creating the perfect mood for this slow-paced, sombre, yet hopeful adventure. I could feel Ged's unease and determination as if I had been with him.

I was enchanted by the interesting concept of magic in Earthsea. And I also liked that we accompany Ged, of whom we know from the start that he will be a great wizard, from his very beginnings of his magical journey, when he was still inexperienced and short-tempered.

The cherry on top was the world building, which was a real charm! On Ged's voyage, I often could grasp the feeling of being on the open sea, a remote island or at the edge of the world.

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 really liked the book. There are a lot of cool ideas about how the magic works in this universe, and a ton of amazing world building. Earthsea feels like a real place, with its own rules, customs, and quirks.

There is something about the writing style that felt a bit off to me though. I honestly don't know how to explain 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 del libro y me parece, sinceramente, una tía de puta madre.

I'm glad I finally read this classic from 1968. When I was heavy into Lord of the Rings in my teenage days, one of my closest friends was into the Earthsea books, but I never got into them. This time I stuck with it and was entertained to read the story of Ged, who would once be the strongest mage of the world of Earthsea.

Along the way I felt a bit sad that to make it as a female writer back then, you had to fill your story with men, and men only. There are only 3 notable women in the story at all, it's like they don't exist or are irrelevant. Minor quibble, after all this is a book from the 60s.

I enjoyed it, but it didn't wow me, yet I will likely finish the series.