A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin follows Ged, a young boy with immense magical talent, who learns the perilous balance of power and responsibility. From summoning a dangerous shadow in his prideful youth to mastering his fears through trials of courage and wisdom, Ged’s journey spans encounters with dragons, malevolent forces, and his own inner darkness. As he ventures through the mystical archipelago of Earthsea, Ged discovers that true strength lies in knowing oneself, culminating in a confrontation that changes his destiny forever.
Summary of A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula k. Leguin
The novel follows a young boy called Duny, nicknamed “Sparrowhawk”, born on the island of Gont. Discovering that the boy has great innate power, his aunt teaches him the little magic she knows. When his village is attacked by Kargish raiders, Duny summons a fog to conceal the village and its inhabitants, enabling the residents to drive off the Kargs. Hearing of this, the powerful mage Ogion takes him as an apprentice, giving him his “true name”—Ged. Ogion tries to teach Ged about the “equilibrium”, the concept that magic can upset the natural order of the world if used improperly. In an attempt to impress a girl, however, Ged searches Ogion’s spell books and inadvertently summons a strange shadow, which has to be banished by Ogion. Sensing Ged’s eagerness to act and impatience with his slow teaching methods, Ogion sends him to the renowned school for wizards on the island of Roke.
At the school, Ged’s skills inspire admiration even among the teachers. He is befriended by an older student named Vetch, but generally remains aloof from his fellows. Another student, Jasper, acts condescendingly towards Ged and provokes the latter’s proud nature. After Jasper needles Ged during a feast, Ged challenges him to a duel of magic. Ged casts a powerful spell intended to raise the spirit of a legendary dead woman, but the spell goes awry and instead releases a shadow creature, which attacks him and scars his face. The Archmage Nemmerle drives the shadow away, but at the cost of his life.
Ged spends many months healing before resuming his studies. The new Archmage, Gensher, describes the shadow as an ancient evil that wishes to possess Ged, and warns him that the creature has no name. Ged eventually receives his wizard’s staff, and takes up residence in the Ninety Isles, providing the poor villagers protection from the dragons that have seized and taken up residence on the nearby island of Pendor, but discovers that he is still being sought by the shadow. Knowing that he cannot guard against both threats at the same time, he sails to Pendor and gambles his life on a guess of the adult dragon’s true name. When he is proved right, the dragon offers to tell him the name of the shadow, but Ged instead extracts a promise that the dragon and his offspring will never threaten the archipelago.
Chased by the shadow, Ged flees to Osskil, having heard of the stone of the Terrenon. He is attacked by the shadow, and barely escapes into the Court of Terrenon. Serret, the lady of the castle, shows him the stone, and urges Ged to speak to it, claiming it can give him limitless knowledge and power. Recognizing that the stone harbors one of the Old Powers—ancient, powerful, malevolent beings—Ged refuses. He flees and is pursued by the stone’s minions, but transforms into a swift falcon and escapes. Ged flies back to Ogion on Gont. Unlike Gensher, Ogion insists that all creatures have a name and advises Ged to confront the shadow. Ogion is proved right; when Ged seeks out the shadow, it flees from him. Ged pursues it in a small sailboat, until it lures him into a fog where the boat is wrecked on a reef. Ged recovers with the help of an elderly couple marooned on a small island since they were children; the woman gives Ged part of a broken bracelet as a gift. Ged patches his boat and resumes his pursuit of the creature into the East Reach. On the island of Iffish, he meets his friend Vetch, who insists on joining him. They journey east far beyond the last known lands before they finally come upon the shadow. Naming it with his own name, Ged merges with it and joyfully tells Vetch he is healed and whole.
About the Author of A Wizard of Earthsea- Ursula k. Leguin
Ursula K. Le Guin was born Ursula Kroeber on October 21, 1929, in Berkeley, California, the youngest child and only girl among four siblings. Her mother, Theodora, was a writer who chronicled the life of the last Yahi tribe member, Ishi, while her father, Alfred, was a celebrated anthropologist. Le Guin was raised in a household in which the exploration of art, ideas and cultures was encouraged, with members of the Native-American community becoming well known to the family. She published over sixty books of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, children’s literature, and translation. She was the recipient of a National Book Award, six Hugo and five Nebula awards, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Information about the book A Wizard of Earthsea (Amazon)
- Publisher : HMH Books for Young Readers; Reissue edition (September 11, 2012)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 240 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0547851391
- ISBN-13 : 978-0547851396
- Reading age : 12 years and up
- Lexile measure : 1150L
- Grade level : 7 – 9
- Item Weight : 12.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.88 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #99,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #459 in Teen & Young Adult Wizards & Witches Fantasy
- #460 in Teen & Young Adult Classic Literature
- #478 in Teen & Young Adult Myths & Legends
- Customer Reviews:4.4 out of 5 stars 3,642 ratings

Who is the Book Cover Artist of A wizard of Earthsea by Ursula k. Leguin?
The first edition book cover of the fantasy novel published in 1968 called A wizard of earthsea by Ursula k. Leguin was designed and illustrated by Ruth Robbins.
Is there any romance in A wizard of Earthsea?
I’ll start with a key idea from Wizard: that friendship is love, and that love inspires trust. A notable aspect of the Earthsea trilogy is that it contains no romance. The only romance that is seen in the fourth part of the earthsea series, where there is love between elderly people.
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