eBook, 210 pages
English language
Published Sept. 10, 2012 by Clarion Books.
Originally published in 1968, Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea marks the first of the six now beloved Earthsea titles. Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tumultuous 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.
I enjoyed this story for young adults while also appreciating how Le Guin weaves some deeper themes into something that appears a little formulaic at first. Savoring how one by one the mainstream expectations are broken, especially considering what those expectations would have been in 1968, made it an appealing read.
I'm sure everyone knows this by now, but Le Guin's foray into all-ages fantasy is tremendous. Her writing style is as lean as ever, and the social specificity of all her work is refreshing. Takes the mytho-poetic mode of fantasy and the Bildungsroman and delicately rearranges both.
I really enjoyed listening to this audio book, my first read of a longer story by Ursula K Le Guin. In the beginning it was a bit slow, but the characters and especially the character development of Ged captivated me more and more. My only point of criticism is the casual sexism in the book, but which is reflected on by Ursula K Le Guin in the foreword very well.
