A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)

audio cassette

English language

Published July 26, 2001 by Audio Literature.

ISBN:
978-1-57453-421-4
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OCLC Number:
47787543

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4 stars (20 reviews)

A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel written by American author Ursula K. Le Guin and first published by the small press Parnassus in 1968. It is regarded as a classic of children's literature, and of fantasy, within which it was widely influential. The story is set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea and centers on a young mage named Ged, born in a village on the island of Gont. He displays great power while still a boy and joins the school of wizardry, where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with one of his fellows. During a magical duel, Ged's spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks him. The novel follows his journey as he seeks to be free of the creature. The book has often been described as a Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, as it explores Ged's process of learning to cope with …

23 editions

reviewed A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle, #1)

Review of 'A Wizard of Earthsea' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I'm glad I finally read this classic from 1968. When I was heavy into Lord of the Rings in my teenage days, one of my closest friends was into the Earthsea books, but I never got into them. This time I stuck with it and was entertained to read the story of Ged, who would once be the strongest mage of the world of Earthsea.

Along the way I felt a bit sad that to make it as a female writer back then, you had to fill your story with men, and men only. There are only 3 notable women in the story at all, it's like they don't exist or are irrelevant. Minor quibble, after all this is a book from the 60s.

I enjoyed it, but it didn't wow me, yet I will likely finish the series.

Review of 'A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)' on 'LibraryThing'

4 stars

Sweetly told coming-of-age story, that preaches Daoism as much as Daoism may be praught. I loved how it takes a very male story and turns machismo into a self-punishing weakness, but was also troubled by how even Le Guin wrote a story in which the women were all minor characters and very limited in what they could do. I gather later Earthsea books fix that, and look forward to them.

Review of 'A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)' on 'LibraryThing'

4 stars

Sweetly told coming-of-age story, that preaches Daoism as much as Daoism may be praught. I loved how it takes a very male story and turns machismo into a self-punishing weakness, but was also troubled by how even Le Guin wrote a story in which the women were all minor characters and very limited in what they could do. I gather later Earthsea books fix that, and look forward to them.

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Subjects

  • Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
  • Juvenile Fiction
  • Children's audiobooks
  • Children's Audio - Young Adult
  • Audio Adult: Books On Tape
  • Magic
  • Fiction / Fantasy / General
  • Fantasy
  • Fiction