A Wizard of Earthsea

The Earthsea Cycle, #1

by Ursula K. Le Guin

183 pages

English language

Published June 15, 2004

ISBN:: 978-0-553-38304-1
Goodreads:: 13642

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(48 reviews)

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".

79 editions

Fynh liest reviewed A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea Cycle, #1)

Slow-paced and enoyable read

5 stars

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.

sisn@books.babb.no reviewed A Wizard Of Earthsea (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Earthsea Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin

En fantasy klassiker

4 stars

Introduserer leseren for et episk univers, der magi og makt ligger i å vite tings sanne navn. Vi følger en ung trollmann på en dannelsesreise fra barndom i fattige kår til uteksaminert trollmann. Selv om boken ble skrevet for barn og ungdom så er den aldri barnslig og passer vel så godt for voksende. Anbefales!

sisn@books.babb.no reviewed A Wizard Of Earthsea (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Earthsea Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin

En fantasy klassiker

4 stars

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

Hmm

No rating

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.

Kaan Barmore-Genç reviewed A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle, #1)

A cool read

4 stars

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.

M.Duritz reviewed Un mago de Terramar by Ursula K. Le Guin (Historias de Terramar, #1)

Disfrutón

4 stars

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 …

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.

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

A timeless classic

5 stars

A must-read in the collection of fantasy classics

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

I suppose

3 stars

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.

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

Review of 'A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

My all-time favorite fantasy/sci-fi book! The language is like poetry but easily readable. It kept me enthralled the first time I read it as a young teenager, and it still does. This is a must-read <3

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

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

3 stars

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.