A Wizard of Earthsea

The First Book of Earthsea

By: Ursula K. Le Guin

Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Length: 7 hrs

Publisher's Summary

Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.   

Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.  

Read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

©2018 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group

Fantastic, simply fantastic.

I am a sucker for raspy voices so I loved the narrator and the accents used.
Although the story is the show-stopper Ursula's work is wonderful in really special way not too long and not too short, the world is less bright without her.

Old story reinvigorated by best narrator ever.

I liked Ursula Le Guin's stories when I was younger, and stumbled across this audio book with Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as narrator. Could not resist buying it and well worth it. Classic mage coming of age and wisdom story and still the best narrator ever. will go looking for more now, fingers crossed.

Quality voice acting.

He sounds like a little much at first it I was impressed by the subtle transformation of his character voice for Ged: from sullen and sulky teen to brooding young lad to stoic reserved man grown. This subtlety works with rather than against the dramatic storybook narration of the tale. Good good reading of good good book. I await the next in the series.

Not for me

I love the book, but I can't just get past the narrator's silly whisper-growl voice. Listened to 1 minute and gave up.

Classic

Incredible, deep, awesome :-)
Highly recommended for everyone around :-) no matter the age or gender :-) happy reading

Fantastic

The moment I realised this book is from the 1960s my respect for it bloomed. A hero’s journey with shadow and light being integral to one another

One of the greatest Fantasy Stories written.

Fantasy lovers must have read/listened to this book series. A typical heroic story of a wizard from young and naive to wise and powerful.

Absolutely recommend this version, the narrator gives the story a wonderful sparkle and interpretation.

Fantastic

One of my Favourite books, well narrated! I am looking forward to completing the series

Love all her sci-fi and enjoyed this Wizard Fantasy

A very enjoyable well crafted story with likeable characters and an interesting story.
This is the first NON-Sci-fi Le Guin novel I’ve listened to. It did not disappoint. I don’t listen to many fantasy magic/wizard type stories, but didn’t regret in anyway using a credit for this book. I look forward to listening to Book 2 tomorrow.

Wonderful book.

Despite being a classic fantasy story about wizards and magic, Ursula K. Le Guin has created an enveloping tale about the upbringing and making of a great mage. The world it is set in, and the writing itself are both very original and fascinating. An awesome book, in every sense of the word.

A great classic, beautifully read.

I first read ‘A Wizard of Earthsea’ as a teenager back in 1969, shortly after it was published, in its classic, slightly psychedelic Penguin cover. Le Guin was always a true influence on those who followed, like Hope Mirlees, Tad Williams, or of course Tolkien, Lewis etc a decade or so earlier. Every dragon rider, every haunted wizard, every brave venturer into Death’s land in later fantasy fiction owes something to Le Guin.
What was so amazing to me, hearing it again after all these years, is that it is still groundbreaking, beautifully and unpretentiously written, the story of a young man’s personal development into maturity and confidence, with no tricks or over-stretched metaphor. And it’s short! Not an extraneous word or a self indulgent moment.
And of course - this has the wonderful Kobna Holdbrook Smith reading it! Having been a huge fan since ‘Rivers’, I now stalk him on Audible- if he’s reading it, I’m listening to it! At first I wasn’t sure about the slightly Norf Landon voice he gave Ged, but actually I grew to like it. It differentiated him from other voices.
So this too joins my list of favourites.

My first experience of Earthsea, truly excellent.

Amazing tale of being human, of facing our fears and of mastering them. A remarkable work and why I have only come to it aged 41 I do not know.

A Bit Disappointed

I Have been hugely excited ever since this book showed up for preorder on Audible, as A Wizard of Earthsea is my go-to story for sick days, lazy Sundays, or when I'm just not feeling 100%. It has been for over 10 years!

LeGuinn is a fantastic storyteller and wordbuilder, with an accessible narrative that weaves deep questions and themes into a child friendly story that will also truly delight, thrill, and hold the imagination of adults in a chokehold and refuses to let go.

I was equally disappointed when I finally opened A Wizard of Earthsea this morning to find narration that sounds somewhat akin to Neil Gaiman with a chest infection, and about half the audio frequencies removed.

I found the narrator perfectly adequate, but also somewhat lackluster after cutting my teeth on the Harlan Ellison reading; but as the options are not there, and the BBC dramatisation (which are normally very good) was also a bit of a flop with this story, im just glad to be able to have this story accessible at all times again, though the Ellison reading is preferable every time if you can find it.

Brilliant

I hope they produce the others in the series and that they are read by the same narrator. His reading is excellent.

Reputation well deserved

Le Guin can take a relatively concise description and score it on your brain indelibly. This is fantasy of the highest calibre.

A Mesmerising Tale

A simple yet strong tale of reconciliation between light and dark. The main character says so much with so little. I will certainly be taking a look at the second book of Earthsea.
I was attracted to the Author for her work with Taoist literature. This work appears to be reflected and clarified in her fiction.

Narration a touch salty

I tend to hold that a noticeable narration is adding too much, and this is one such case, adding a little too much seasoning to Le Guin's beautiful but unassuming prose for my taste. But I enjoyed the performance and the book is a genre-transcending classic. Well worth a listen.

Narrator was a good fit for the story

I have trouble fitting a narrator to my internal voice, but he fit the feeling of earthsea really well.

Mediocre

I really struggled to finish the book. It was recommended as similar to Name of the Wind but it wasn't. Very little explanation of what's happening, not believable characters, rushed story

Not for me

I adore other readings by KH-S and I know this is meant to be a classic, but I just can't get on with it. This doesn't mean others won't.