Customer Reviews

A Wizard of Earthsea

5 star:		(135)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I purchased the library binding as I wanted to give it as a gift in hardcover. Sadly, quality is sinking in this country, bit by bit...the paper is dingy, dim recycled newsprint, almost Soviet in quality, and will probably yellow in a few years. Avoid the library binding. I returned it.

The book, of course, is great.

A Wizard of Earthsea is a mythical tale by Ursula K. LeGuin about the adventures of a young wizard to be, the curiously named Ged. The book chronicles his induction into magic and wizardry, guiding the reader through Ged's gradual growth and maturation as a wizard. However, the protagonist foolishly and pridefully delves further into magic than he is prepared for, and must correct his mistake in this magical coming of age story.
The presentation of the story, fantastic as it is, is wonderfully executed. The author adheres to the rules of fantasy writing by presenting the reader with clear, believable boundaries and rules to her mythical world, which allows the reader a measure of confidence and relation to otherwise unfamiliar territory. Her diction is comparable to that of familiar fairy tales, which is appropriate, even welcome considering the subject matter. LeGuin's matter-of-fact, sententious word style demands belief, her narration adopting the clipped but descriptively informative tones of a newscaster relaying a factual occurrence. It becomes easy for the audience to lose themselves in such a story; indeed, absorption is almost impossible to resist. The reader quickly transforms from readers into observers as her characters transcend their literary limitations.
The magic in this story has believable jargon, clear laws, and often visible repercussions that makes rampant use unethical for any moral practitioner. Were magic to exist, these elements of restraint would probably color and police its use, and its effect on the story is an increase in the tale's ability to suspend disbelief.
A Wizard of Earthsea is a delightful read for anyone, especially lovers of fiction and fantasy.

I'm writing this review because JK Rowling's books about the Hogwarts School of Magic reminded me of this, one of the few perfect novels I've ever read.

It's not a light-hearted fairy tale, though it is "high fantasy." It's the story of Ged, from his childhood discovery of his wonderful yet terrible magical powers; to his education at the School of Wizardry on Roke Knoll. There he makes a misstep; overstepping his powers, he accidentally lets loose an evil creature from a shadow world. His self-imposed exile, journeys, and eventual maturation and triumph are written with a deft flair for the beauty and wonder of magic; yet Ms. LeGuin is even more masterful in depicting Ged's character: the young high achiever who must finally make his peace with his inner demons.

As a child, I loved it for the idea of a school of magic. I grew older, reread it during a dark teenage time, and cried when Ged finally confronted his inner shadow creature. Later, studying anatomy in medical school, I recalled Ged's long days in the Namer's high tower, learning the true names of things; and bent cheerfully to my task.

It still bears re-reading to this day. Readers who enjoy Tolkien, JK Rowling, or Alice Miller's "Drama of the Gifted Child" ought particularly to read it; and readers who didn't like "The Left Hand of Darkness" or "The Dispossessed" should give Ms. LeGuin another try, in this, her finest work. . It is one of my favorite novels and I recommend it to you wholeheartedly.

As a child, I read scores of fantasy novels. Surprisingly, I hadn't encountered this fabulous series until my eldest was old enough to read it. To understand the hype surrounding it, I thought I'd read at least the first book before assigning it to my son. Later that month, the entire series was completed. It's that good. It's that profound. Needless to say, our son is now enjoying what he refers to as the "Wizard of EarthseRIES". No doubt, our girls will also read them.

Each and every story deserves 5 stars. The quality of THIS particular edition is sub-standard, however. It's aggravating to witness such sloppy workmanship anywhere, but when it's done with a classic series which doesn't see re-prints as often as it ought to, then doubly so. We were lucky enough to have borrowed this from the library. If I had purchased it, it would have been promptly returned. The binding is weak and the pages are already showing signs of wear (although the series has been at the library for little over a month). Comparing this hardcover to another at the library (Tombs of Atuan printed in 1981), I can see the latter will outlast the former. Pity that Harper Collins didn't publish this edition instead.

I have loved this book since i first read it in grade 7, and I have read it several times since then. Whomever gave this book less than a four and/or compared it to Harry Potter only reads what is popular and cliche.

Oh, I have tried and tried to work up an enthusiasm for Ursula K. Le Guin's books! Being something of a sci-fi/fantasy fan since my youth Le Guin kept popping up. I just could never seem to really get into her work, though.

Wizard of Earthsea is the best of her books I've read. Won't repeat what all the others have posted, but I did find this story very readable and hard to put down - it does draw you in and interest you in the ultimate fate of Ged, who is a character you both want to shake in irritation and then cheer for in encouragement as he gets himself organized at last. Read it, and share it with your teens, if they aren't the ones handing it to you, as it so happened here!

I enjoyed reading this,wasnt the best ive read,but a good read forsure!The charactors seemed a bit fuzzy,but in a whole it was a good book.I think the magic could have been a lil more creative.Geds charactor could have a lil more spunk!Comming of age as a wizard could be a lil more exciting i think.Glad i read it tho.I might consider it as a gift for my neice for Christmas.

The 'Earthsea' books have to rank among the best written in the fantasy genre. The plot of 'A Wizard Of Earthsea' is deceptively simple, Le Guin's spare beautiful prose evoking the time-honoured themes of the age-old struggle between light and darkness, pride's fall and courage in the face of fear.
I used this book as a junior high novel for years, and added the sequels to the classroom library when students just had to know 'what comes next'.

This is a good series. Its original, interesting, has a good story and is quite enjoyable. It is often compared to Lord of the Rings and Narnia but this series stands on its own pretty well. I've been a fan of this series for about awhile now but I've only read the trilogy so I hopefully will read the others soon. I think earthsea is a very cool world and I think it's just as cool as Middle Earth or Narina.

Earthsea is a world [much like Middle Earth] that's made up of thousands of small islands. I've always found that idea very cool. Many races of humans, dragons and wizards inhabit it. I think it's a pretty cool world to set a story in but I do think it needs more creatures.

I think the main character [an adolescent wizard named Ged] is likable and isn't too much like other characters in other series. The whole trilogy follows Ged from a teenager to an old man and shows what wizards grow up like. I think that is very interesting. This book is the first part of Geds life long journey and tells of how he tries to summon a dead person only to unleash a terrible shadow creature on the world.

So overall this series is really well done and has a good story. I have only two complaints. It lacks creatures. I think the dragons and the little Otak creatures are cool but I think Earthsea could use more races, animals and creatures. My last complaint is there is only five Earthsea books in all. I wish Ursula Le Guin would write more! It's an awesome world and she could write a hundred other books set in Earthsea.

So if you're looking for cool fantasy adventures try this. I personally think it rocks so give it a try.

PS: I hope Ursula Le Quin writes more books of Earthsea [with more creatures of coarse] and that a director like Peter Jackson. Andrew Adamson or Guillermo Del Toro turns these books into a movie. The miniseries was ok but not very loyal to the books.

This is just a wonderful story, and it is masterfully interpreted and read by Ellison. I listened to this on my long commute each morning - and I found myself sitting in my car at the office parking lot....just to get a few more minutes of listening time!