A Wizard of Earthsea

The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1

By: Ursula K. Le Guin

Narrated by: Rob Inglis

Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

"The shapeless mass of darkness split apart. It sundered, and a pale spindle of light gleamed between his open arms. In the oval of light there moved a human shape: a tall woman...beautiful, and sorrowful, and full of fear." - from A Wizard of Earthsea, first in a tetralogy that includes The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore, introduces the listener to Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, known also as Sparrowhawk. When Sparrowhawk casts a spell that saves his village from destruction at the hands of the invading Kargs, Ogion, the Mage of Re Albi, encourages the boy to apprentice himself in the art of wizardry. So, at the age of 13, the boy receives his true name - Ged - and gives himself over to the gentle tutelage of the Master Ogion. But impatient with the slowness of his studies and infatuated with glory, Ged embarks for the Island of Roke, where the highest arts of wizardry are taught. There, Ged's natural talents enable him to surpass his classmates in little time. But when his vanity prompts him to summon Elfarran, the fair lady of the Deed of Enlad, he unleashes a shapeless mass of darkness - the shadow.

©1968 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)1992 Recorded Books, LLC

Fun story. Reminds me a bit of Harry Potter.

Enjoyable and imaginative. Wish there were more legit female characters. Light reading with some decent underlying themes.

A Wizard of Earthsea

Riveting story and performance.
Listening to Rob Inglis narrate how the main character's early prideful mistakes haunt his existence yet bear fruit later by teaching him wisdom through tolerance and listening was captivating.

Ursula K le Guin has written a great fantasy about magic but with a focus on character.

ENTERTAINING!!

Do you enjoy fantasy? Do you enjoy ANY stories with wizards in them? If you answered yes, then you CANNOT pass up this book.

The only criticism i have of this book is that it's too short. I think the target audience is younger readers, but enjoyed reading it for the first time as an adult. I have never read anything like it from this perspective.

This is the first book I've read by Ursula Le Guin, but so far I love her. She knows how to paint a scene, without being too wordy so that we can actually enjoy a progressing story. *

Love the Narrator; he's perfect for this one.

*I read an article from George R. R. Martin where he basically said if it wasn't for writer's like Ursula Le Guin and her "Wizard of Earthsea" (and a few others), that fantasy wouldn't be where it is today. That says a LOT.

fine

I was a little board when listening to it. Just never feel like anything happened and wasn't given a reason to care about the guy

Not quite what I expected

I came into this book with high hopes, given the praise it usually gets from many well read fantasy readers and that may have been the main reason for my unfavorable opinion. This is one of the most "telly" stories I have listens to. Every time it's show don't tell. I didn't connect to Ged or any of the other characters and the story felt more like a book essay on a larger history book than like an actual story. This may be the classic style of writing, but I found it uncompelling

The narration didn't help with my opinion of the book. Rob Inglis has a nice storytelling voice but it lets tiresome and he even sounded as bored as I was most of the time (often hiding yawns within his narration). Altogether not a great listening, yet not terrible either, just not memorable.

Great story. B- narration.

The story is fantastic. The narrator however dances with monotone theatrics, keeping you jjuuuuusst engaged enough to want to continue, and at the same time not very pleasant either. No offense to the narrator or crew, but the amount of "slurping" during the story was very distracting. Maybe a mic filter would help?

Timeless Story, Dated Condition

One of my favorite fantasy series of all time, well worth your notice. The audio quality is a little low, even on max volume the reader is easily drowned out and can feel a bit monotonous.

After 20+ Reads; Still Awesome

in the early 1980's I first read this. since, I have revisited it countless times. it never disappoints. The divergence of Man. Superstition and perspective of time and location creating Man's understanding. Lessons to understand and listen to. An awesome series.

Straight from Appendix N!

Appendix N is a Dungeons and Dragons reference where Gygax put a list of authors that inspired the game. Le Guin was added to it, and with good reason. It's like reading a classic work of literature, with lessons about philosophy and balance placed throughout.

When reading this, you might think that this is standard fantasy, but understand that this was written in 1968! Tolkien and other authors are active even earlier, but this brings its own innovations. I'm going to go straight into her other books now.

I should also mention that the reader's voice is perfect for this style of story.

I could not get through this book

The halting reading style of the narrator was distracting to the point of ruining the story. I didn't know I could get a refund back when I purchased this or I would have.