A Wizard of Earthsea

The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1

De: Ursula K. Le Guin

Narrado por: Rob Inglis

"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

I’m not usually into fantasy, but … WOW.

A Wizard of Earthsea was published in 1968. Read it and you’ll see that J. K. Rowling borrowed a *surprising* number of its key elements for her Harry Potter series. That said, this and the other Earthsea books struck me as covering a more inventive magical universe. The writing and dialogue are also much better.

It’s interesting to compare the magic in both series. Earthsea magic has less flash and more substance. Potter magic is flashy and occasionally illogical. You can also say the same things about their respective plots.

The Wizard of Earthsea is unconventional. For example, most of the characters are not handsome caucasians and the universe is not some variant of the England of the Middle Ages. Again, it’s interesting to compare this with the Potter series which is quite conventional. And while this book is progressive, the Potter books promote the last acceptable prejudice, that being the one against the overweight. Nice one, J.K.

Earthsea series is now my favourite sci-fi/fantasy series and I’d rank it second only to my favourite series of any type, the Hornblower books. That’s high praise.

After starting this book, I listened in every spare moment and promptly downloaded the next book as soon as I finished this one. I did the same with the second one. All the books are excellently narrated by Rob Inglis, btw.

I highly recommended this and the other two Earthsea books Audible carries. I only wish Audible had the last three books in series.

Perfect voice

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!

A Classic, Direct From Cassette.

What did you love best about A Wizard of Earthsea?

I was in elementary school when I first got the Tombs of Atuan on cassette from the library. A Wizard of Earthsea is an even better book, and I'm truly happy to have it to listen to whenever I want. As the main character grows, he learns to balance his desire for power with the need to use it responsibly, and to understand the consequences of his actions before taking them.

It's a very classic coming-of-age story and the setting is immense, rich and powerful.

Any additional comments?

This recording was not re-done for audible, it is the original Recorded Books cassette recording, including the directions to change cassettes every so often. That's rather jarring, because it's a good 30 seconds of gap here and there with the "please fast forward to the end of the cassette before loading the next one..... A Wizard of Earthsea, Cassette X"

I really wish they'd edited this better to remove those. Just a small touch that really would have made the book more enjoyable to listen to. The story itself is a classic, but for audio, the listening experience matters a lot. That definitely takes it down a notch.

A great work!

One of the great works of Fantasy by one of the finest authors of our time. A perennial favorite. Delightful.

Amazing

A fun and entertaining story, though I wish women were more than submissive maidservants in it.

Very creative.

Le Guin developed her characters, premise of magic...the whole world of earthsea.
I want to read the series. I care about the characters. I want to learn more about this world.

Inconsistent yet intriguing introduction!

Would you listen to A Wizard of Earthsea again? Why?

I don't think I'd need to, since it's succinct and readily understood, but I'd certainly recommend it to a friend!

If you’ve listened to books by Ursula K. Le Guin before, how does this one compare?

This was my first Le Guin audio book.

What about Rob Inglis’s performance did you like?

Rob's performance was stellar. Involving, compelling vocal timbre and cadence, good acting and use of varied voices for different characters. I would liken his performance to that of a grandfather reading a bedtime story, though perhaps somewhat more restrained and refined. I removed one star simply because the quality of the recording is somewhat lacking, i.e. low fidelity. If he is available, it would be great to have Rob re-record this book, or to attempt to restore the audio if possible.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

My favorite moments were when Ged showed his wit, cunning and heart, such as when attempting to learn the name of the Doormaster of the Wizard's School, and when interacting with his pet.

Any additional comments?

I gave the story a 3/5 star rating overall. In brief, I think Le Guin establishes an intriguing world that I would be happy to explore in greater depth, but I find the character of Ged somewhat uninteresting. [Minor spoilers ahead] He spends much of the book as rather unlikable, both in his personality and his interactions with his peers. As the book is something of a coming of age tale, he does undergo an arc, which is nice to see, though at the end I still find myself much more interested in the world he inhabits than in him, himself.

There are also some strange inconsistencies in the universe of the book - for instance, a significant passage is dedicated to one of Ged's teachers explaining to him why, contrary to his desires, a rock should not be changed into a diamond, for it could upset the very balance of the world. His initial encounters with powerful, antagonistic magic also leave him stupefied, or even blind and comatose. Yet immediately upon exiting his wizarding school, his first mission is to kill a bunch of dragons. His method for confronting some of them? To TURN INTO A DRAGON. I mean, the 13-year-old kid in me was going nuts - that scene was awesome! But, within a few short chapters, we go from, "don't mess with the fabric of the world! Don't change stuff! Also, magic is dangerous and seems to be draining you when you use it in confrontational situations," to "Oh, for your first mission, take on 9 dragons at once, and turn into a dragon if you feel like it." There are later consequences for Ged's abuse of transformations, but the way the book teeter-totters between building up compelling rules for the world, and then disregarding them when convenient, is disappointing.

However, it may be the case that there is some deeper meaning here that I am simply disregarding. Perhaps Ged's use of transformations is yet another by-product of his lack of maturity and, as mentioned above, he does grow up significantly throughout the course of the book. In summary, I was not greatly moved by this book, nor by the character of Ged specifically, but am sufficiently interested in Le Guin's world to be excited for, and ready to dive into, the next book in the series.

nteresting story, but the narration fell short

I really enjoyed the story, but the narration didn't always convey the mood of the words. There were moments of gravity that were rushed or just not expressed with emotion.

Good

I enjoyed it but it did feel slow and distant a lot of the time. The reader was great but the calm soft rumble of his voice was sleep inducing. I would recommend to any fantasy lovers.

Worldbuilding

The world of Earthsea is very interesting but the storytelling is distant and detached. The main character is bland and all characters feel one dimensional. The plot is fine but a little predictable. I would love to read more about the world but it’s not worth having to spend more time with Ged.