Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Series: Earthsea Cycle
Publisher: Parnassus Press
Publish Date: 1968
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 205
Source: Bought
Buy the Book: A Wizard of Earthsea
Shaunta’s Review:
This one is an oldie, but a goodie, for sure. It was written in 1968. I am shocked that I somehow didn’t come across it when I was a kid. I wish I had. I’m really glad it’s on my radar now, so that Ruby will have access to it. This is one of those books that you look back on fondly when you’re my age and remember loving.
A Wizard of Earthsea is magical. It’s the story of a boy named Duny and how he grows into a mage named Ged. In an afterward, Le Guin says that she wanted to tell the story of how great wizards like Merlin or Gandolf become great wizards.
When I was a kid, I loved The Chronicles of Narnia. I had my own little boxed set and it had a special place on my shelf. Again, I’m not sure how I missed A Wizard of Earthsea. Anyone who likes fantasy along the lines of The Chronicles of Narnia, or The Hobbit, or even Harry Potter, will really love this book.
I’m anxious to read the rest of the Earthsea Cycle.
Le Guin does a particularly good job with characterization. Ged is the kind of kid you want to know. He has this huge future ahead of him, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the same impatience and frustration that any teenager has while he waits to get there.
Even more than 40 years after it was written, A Wizard of Earthsea is incredibly readable and relevant. I love her spare style and the way she makes Earthsea a real place for her readers. The story does have a few quirks that age it. It’s very paternalistic. Ged’s search for manhood is very traditional (he gets there through action and adventure.) Ged is also black, which in 1968 must have been a big deal.
Ged is a boy whose natural skill at Wizardry is recognized, who is then sent off to Wizard school. Sound familiar? Anyone who is a fan of that other boy Wizard (you know the one!) will love this book that did it first. Highly, highly recommended.