A Wizard of Earthsea

Dragon riders! Heroic quests! A flawed hero! Schools of magic!

The Earthsea trilogy has to be considered, alongside Lord of the Rings, as a template-setter for all the fantasy epics that have followed. What I loved about it, instantly, was the contrast in style to Tolkien’s book. Tolkien’s writing is ornate, his story epic. Leguin’s books, however, are short and lean with prose like a polished gem.

It inspired the style I aspire to in my own writing: slim, elegant prose, not a wasted word. And characters with flaws. In this first book, we follow Ged, a new student at… show more.

Earthsea is a special place created from the imagination of Le Guin, and one that is firmly lodged in my mind.

I discovered this book as a young adult, and was enthralled by the adventures of Ged; how he grew from an arrogant youth with magical abilities to a fully rounded, humble man of enormous power. With dragons and shadows to overcome, and magic that felt so real, I was drawn into the world of wizards that Le Guin had created.

This story and the others in the Earthsea series have a simple moral message, but one with a long-lasting… show more.

While The Lord Of The Rings will always remain my benchmark for epic fantasy world-building, there is something almost hypnotic about the ease and economy of Ursula K. LeGuin’s worldbuilding here, making it my “go to” book whenever I want to slip back into a fully-realized and authentic fantasy world without a lot of effort. 

At barely 182 pages, this tale of a young wizard trying to undo a spell gone terribly awry also stands as a thoughtful exploration of the mysterious and inextricable relationship between life and death. The world of Earthsea is described with scant prose, but every… show more.

A Wizard of Earthsea is a coming-of-age story. I also didn’t discover it until long after I’d passed out of my teens. Yet, A Wizard of Earthsea affected me deeply at a time when I was moving through earthquaking life changes. 

As someone who had been creatively blocked for decades — I had not yet started writing my book—I was immediately sucked in by the first line of the quote that opens the book: “Only in silence the word…” 

In the end, I was so inspired by the Earthsea series and by Le Guin’s writings on creativity that I sent… show more.

The original boy wizard with a scar, A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel that has influenced writers to this day.

Sparrow Hawk/Ged is a boy with a lot of power and pride. As a result of both, he releases a great evil into the world which he has to defeat. It is a cautionary tale of the need to know thyself, and the dragons are a nice touch.

One of my favourite coming-of-age fantasy novels which, even many years later, remains so firmly imprinted in my mind. I remember having a bit of difficulty at the start (perhaps I was a little too young) but soon became utterly immersed in the magical world that Le Guin created, devouring the series with an ever-increasing wonder and obsession. There was a spiritual essence to Ged’s journey which I found incredibly powerful and moving, with mature ideas so elegantly and poetically expressed. A heartwarming tale, perfect for both children and adult readers alike. 

Growing up, I always dreamed of what it would be like to sail from island to island, exploring the simple villages and quiet meadows of a natural, peaceful world. A Wizard of Earthsea drops the reader into such an idyllic world, but then takes us on a complex journey that explores the morality of great power and the challenges of growing up. A timeless take on the hero’s journey, A Wizard of Earthsea is sure to stay with the reader throughout their life, regardless of how old you are when you read it. 

This fantasy adventure is a classic for good reason. From page one, Le Guin whisks you away to a faraway island in a storm-racked northern sea where we meet Ged, a soon-to-be wizard bound for greatness. Le Guin’s storyteller voice makes you feel like a kid again, hearing the first fairy tale that truly captured your imagination. Add to that the non-stop adventure and subtle philosophical undertones that set this novel apart from male-written fantasy classics, and A Wizard of Earthsea is a timeless story.

As a boy, Ged accidentally releases a dark force that shadows him throughout his magical education; as a young wizard, he sets out on a quest to meet and destroy it. When Ursula Le Guin published this novel in the 1960s, she quietly subverted many then-prevalent conventions of fantasy—making her protagonist a person of color, building a plot that didn’t revolve around violence. Personally, I wish she’d gone even further by creating more interesting female characters. That said, this book is a seminal work that explores the limitations of magic, and shows how magic can reveal character in a novel.… show more.

This one's a bit of a cheat because the Wizard Ged isn't a pirate, and he's usually just a crew of one on his boat Lookfar, but it's worthy of inclusion in any book list.

A Wizard of Earthsea is a classic fantasy story that doesn't feature on many lists of the best fantasy novels, which is a shame because it truly deserves more love.

I love this story because it is so singular. It has a full coming-of-age story about a person searching for salvation. While you might guess the twist at the end of the story, it's no… show more.