A Wizard of Earthsea

, #1

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Ursula K. Le Guin, Rob Inglis: A Wizard of Earthsea (Paperback, 2004, Spectra)

Paperback, 183 pages

English language

Published Sept. 12, 2004 by Spectra.

ISBN:
978-0-553-38304-1
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Goodreads:
13642

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4 stars (4 reviews)

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.

71 editions

Very enjoyable but of its time

4 stars

I did really enjoy reading this, and will almost certainly go on to read the other Earthsea books.

I came to Earthsea after reading several of Le Guin's Hainish cycle books and short stories, including some of the earliest ones like Rocannon's World. I can see similarities with the earliest Hainish cycle works, from around the same time - an emphasis on male characters, for example - which I am sure would have been handled differently by the same author had she written them later on. But there are still a lot of great ideas here, and it is far more open-minded than most fantasy literature of its era.

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rated it

2 stars