A Wizard of Earthsea: The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1

I can't believe I didn't listen to or read this book sooner. Ursula K. Le Guin has rekindled my believe that fantasy can be a legitimate literary genre.

Charming and entertaining like a fairy tale but simultaneously dripping with the suspense, drama, and authenticity of a Viking Saga or Epic Poem, A Wizard of Earthsea (the first of the series) cannot be ignored by any serious fantasy reader. So much sub-par fantasy is written in this, age of World of Warcraft and Eragon, that it's refreshing to have Ursula K. Le Guin to discover and delight in.

The narrator of this book makes it sound like he is recounting an ancient tale around some campfire in the Iron Age. Amazing!

Incredibly engaging, masterfully crafted, full of some of the best-written and most complex wizards you will find in literature, A Wizard of Earthsea is the fantasy genre at its absolute finest.

Those of us who read a lot of fantasy have read too many "kid goes to wizard school" books. Many are badly written with flat characters and predictable plotlines. Ursula Le Guin dazzles in this book, which though originally published in 1968, reads as fresh and new and inspiring as all great art does. The old fantasy archetypes are brilliantly and creatively revisited, and adventure abounds.

Anyone who loves fantasy will love Earthsea, and those who don't may find this an ideal introduction. Kids, adults, you name it, Earthsea is short, well-paced, suspenseful, epic, and a delight to read. This audiobook version is excellent.

While Ursula K. Le Guin wrote several novels about the fantasy world of Earthsea, A Wizard of Earthsea appears to be the first of the main cycle by that name. I found it difficult to pin down whether the series is written for children and/or adults. I concluded that while there are a number of philosophical themes that adults could appreciate, the target audience was probably that of a younger age. Let’s say YAs.

Further, on the subject of age, this is basically the coming of age story of a young mage named Ged who is drawn to wizardry and develops into just that as the story unfolds. There’s much in the way of magic, spells and personal discovery along the way. However, as Ged learns, all of the power and might of of a wizard comes with a price. Wizardry is not for the faint-hearted nor is its magic lightly wielded by the ignorant or arrogant. Much of this is taught Ged by Ogion his primary mentor along with his own life’s little (and not so little) foibles in and around Earthsea. Does all this sound a bit familiar?

The monster of the story we learn is… uh, not so fast. That would be a major spoiler. And I believe the book is worth reading to discover that as well as the other things Ged learns along his way through apprenticeship and personal discovery. The book is very straight forward. That appears to be Le Guin’s style. After recently reading a bunch of China Mielville prior to Earthsea, the latter was a refreshingly, relaxing read. However, we probably should not be fooled by her simplicity. Contained within the pages are a depth and breath that can be easily missed if we’re not paying attention. What can I say; it’s obviously a classic and who could not recommend that.

A Wizard of Earthsea is the first installment of Ursula K. Le Guin's classic fantasy. Having read the Earthsea novels (five in all, plus a collection of short tales) years ago, I was very happy with this audio version, which is beautifully done. Re-visiting Earthsea, it's interesting to notice how many of what are now conventions of fantasy writing were in fact pioneered by Le Guin so long ago.

One thing that's different about her books: the writing is beautiful but spare. She can tell you in a few paragraphs what other fantasy writers seem to need long chapters to explain. Each of the Earthsea books comes in at something around 200 pages, quite a contrast to the bloated tomes of so many contemporary fantasy writers.

absorbing the deatail - i tend to speed read so as always listening to books ive read is a treat

the textured appreciation that one makes mistakes and pays for them

hard to say as it all fits togehter in such a balanced manner

not really; but i did feel the shared satisfaction of finally facing ones demons

Audible needs to present the missing books of the series asap

Rob Inglis has the perfect voice for this book. He gives the story weight, gravity and power. I can't imagine anyone else reading it!

I use this story with my English 9 class, not just because it fits so well with my curriculum, but because it is such a good story. I first read it as part of my children's lit class in university and found myself enjoying it so much I read the remaining books in the series just for fun.

For a young adult novel, this one is fantastic. There is a serious amount of character developement and connection as Sparrowhawk matures and grows into himself. However, I was supremely disappointed by Le Guin's choice to omit Jasper from the majority of the novel, and I was supremely disappointed with the ending. It's like she just decided to stop writing and publish the story with some random paragraph of a "fade-to-black narrator" style conclusion. It just seemed like a cop-out for someone with so much potential. I understand that there are two more installments, but those two hardly follow Ged into his Arch-Magehood. There is so much left unanswered, and it's irritating. Maybe that's the rub. Still, Rob Inglis does a fairly excellent job with reading the story, and I appreciate much of what Sparrowhawk goes through, if in a different way than the way he experiences it. A non-life-threatening, non-magical, non-epic-hero way.

I'm still looking for the fantasy writers who can sweep me off my feet . . . I think if you're already a fan of the genre, you would enjoy this---the descriptions of magician-craft were well-done and interesting---but I'm beginning to wonder if fantasy just isn't my genre . . . because at the end of the book I'm just left with a half-hearted feeling. (one exception was the first book in Game of Thrones, but I'll be damned if I'm going to invest that much time in a sequel(s) to a book that ends with a "tune in next week."

So for this book . . . well-written, fair use of a credit, but I wouldn't recommend to someone not already into the genre.

Perhaps, but I'm in no great hurry

Plot-wise, there are superficial similarities to Harry Potter, but it reminds me more of books like "The Dark is Rising."

A little sedate. Narrative voice was good, but the characters came across a little dry.

I believe there are several. It's not a bad book, but it shows its age in terms of style. Liked it, but didn't love it.

This is a digitizing of the old cassette recording. Unfortunately, the producers couldn't be bothered to remove all the "Please fast-forward to the end of the cassette..." bits. It's not that difficult.