A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin

I cannot believe that the number of people who wrote a review of this book on dooyoo is zero, in comparison with `The Lord of the Ring`s` two hundered and eight at the last count. But to those in the know, the `Earthsea` cycle is up there in the fantasy Pantheon, with Tolkien and the `Once and Future King`, high above all the Belgariads and Shannaras. Ursula K. Le Guin is not a strictly-fantasy writer, in fact she has written much more of s-f than fantasy. Her s-f works delight in designing and describing what can be called alternative societal set-ups, sometimes simply different from ours for no apparent reason and often firmly grounded and justified by ...  Read the complete review

A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel by Ursula Le Guin published in 1968. While not the first work set in the archipelago world, it is the most famous of them. A coming of age tale, it chronicles the growth of the titular wizard, Ged, as he develops from an adventurous young goatherd, to an arrogant prodigy at the Roke school of magic, then to a sombre, regretful young man. Themes of self-acceptance and responsibility, along with Jungian elements raise it above the trite fantasy fare it easily could have been. The series has, perhaps unfairly, been targeted towards children. While suitable for children, as it is never overly elaborate, gratuitously ...  Read the complete review

This novel was everything I'd hoped for in a book about magic, without the feel-good fairiness of JK Rowling and more with the gravitas of Tolkien. Through its vividly imagined world and layers of responsible depth to the nature of her magic and lore, it's truly a long-lasting classic for the mind and spirit. I see that it was written in 1968, so it's not all that far behind Tolkien. My only criticism is that it suffers from the same patchy slowness as Tolkien's epic too (JRRT's continual descriptions of passing countryside), but it is of course more than worth it for enhancing detail, glows of companionship and atmosphere, and a strong message; a ...  Read the complete review

It's arguably more difficult to get a twelve year old to think about life, the universe and indeed everything than to do most other things in life. Intense statistical analysis of arguments with my twelve year old sister provide the basis of this assertion... if by 'statistical analysis' we're talking about a tally of the amount of times she rolled her eyes or told me to be quiet because she was missing the latest episode of Hannah Montana. It might come as a surprise, then, to find out that with 'A Wizard of Earthsea', Ursula K. LeGuin has managed to do just what many an older sister dreams of. Her thoughtful, wise and wonderful book, the beginning of her ...  Read the complete review