A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin is a fantasy novel written by one of America’s finest writers and was first published by the small press Parnassus in 1968.This is the first book in the beloved earth cycle series.
A Wizard of Earthsea pdf – In this post, you will get the following:
- A wizard of Earthsea Summary
- A wizard of Earthsea Author – Ursula k. Leguin
- A wizard of Earthsea Book Information
- A wizard of Earthsea Book Cover Artist
- A wizard of Earthsea Romance
- A wizard of Earthsea pdf and Paperback – Buy online
- A wizard of Earthsea Reviews
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.
Read reviews on A wizard of Earthsea by Ursula k. Leguin pdf
Editorial Reviews and praise for A wizard of earthsea
The magic of Earthsea is primal; the lessons of Earthsea remain as potent, as wise, and as necessary as anyone could dream.”—Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman
“New and longtime Earthsea fans will be drawn to these impressive new editions.”—Horn Book
Customer reviews on A wizard of Earthsea
Reviewed by Allie Cahill on December 15, 2011
I found a discarded copy of A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA in my gym locker in junior high. I wasn’t familiar with Ursula K. Le Guin or her Earthsea tetralogy, but I thought the cover illustration of a ship crossing the ocean was childlike and evocative. I had discovered a few meaningful novels in the same manner, so I didn’t think twice about reading A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA. The novel’s compelling cover art was indicative of the complexity of the fantasy world within. The most recent editions of the novel don’t have the same illustration, but the story is just as satisfying today as it was years ago.
Frequently compared to J.R.R. Tolkien’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS and C.S. Lewis’ THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, Le Guin’s Earthsea books are beloved as classics of science fiction and fantasy literature. But it’s a mistake to limit the appeal of the series to science fiction or young adult fiction enthusiasts. All of the novels, and A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA, in particular, are allegorical and will intrigue anyone interested in folklore, eastern philosophy and the quest for self-knowledge.
Growing up, Le Guin was heavily influenced by Lao Tzu’s TAO TE CHING: She has written her own translation of the Chinese classic and its influence is deeply felt throughout the Earthsea tetralogy. In A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA, Ged is an awkward, proud and impulsive young wizard who repeatedly uses his considerable powers recklessly. Ogion, his quietly powerful master and the wizards he encounters at school try to make Ged understand that the world exists in a delicate balance between good and evil, light and dark, yin and yang. When he uses his talents unwisely — usually to humiliate his rivals — he risks disrupting this balance and opening the door between the realms of the living and the dead. One of his masters explains why Ged must use his power sparingly:
“But you must not change one thing, one pebble, one grain of sand, until you know what good and evil will follow on that act. The world is in balance, in Equilibrium. A wizard’s power of Changing and Summoning can shake the balance of the world. It is dangerous, that power…It must follow knowledge, and serve need. To light a candle is to cast a shadow….”
For fans of Star Wars, the wizards of Earthsea are like Jedi Knights and their power is very similar to “the Force.” A limited number of men possess power (in varying degrees) and they must make sure that the equilibrium between light and dark is constantly maintained. Ged serves as an apprentice to Ogion so that he may learn the Hardic language of the wizards and the dragons that dwell on the fringes of Earthsea. Ged’s ability to control the world around him and transform himself comes from his knowledge of the Hardic tongue. Before the islands of Earthsea became civilized, it was populated by ancient creatures who spoke this language. All of the characters in the tetralogy have names they use on a daily basis (like Ogion) and ancient names that contain their true essence (Ged, for instance). To know the true name of a thing or person is to recognize it and have complete mastery over it. Ged’s acts of wizardry usually involve finding these forgotten names and using them to protect himself or others from harm.
Like the other books in the Earthsea tetralogy, A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA is essentially a bildungsroman. Ged, powerful, but dangerously arrogant and reckless is forced to make a dramatic internal transformation. Attempting to humiliate a rival, Ged recites an ancient spell that unleashes an undead spirit that attacks him viciously. The undead creature is like Ged’s doppelganger and literally follows him to the ends of the earth to inhabit his body. The creature is also a metaphor for the dark side of Ged’s personality: Ged must acknowledge and embrace his weaknesses before he can conquer his double. When he appears in the second book of the series, THE TOMBS OF ATUAN, he has evolved completely.
Le Guin accomplishes a great deal in this relatively short novel. In only a few pages, she establishes Earthsea as a believable world filled with brilliantly realized characters. Ged’s story is engrossing and meaningful on several levels. The other novels in this series, THE TOMBS OF ATUAN, THE FARTHEST SHORE and TEHANU enhance and elaborate on the fascinating world that Le Guin introduced in A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA.
Joseph Finley. Unique in its day and ahead of its time
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2018
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Re-reading this book reminded me of how much it influenced fantasy fiction going forward. Long before Hogwarts, Le Guin gave us the wizarding school of Roke. This was always my favorite part of the story. The novel’s protagonist, Ged, becomes a student at Roke under the tutelage of nine master wizards, all of whom may have helped inspire, at least in a faint sense, the professors of Harry Potter’s school of wizardry and witchcraft. But that is where the similarities end.
Ged is a flawed hero. Fueled by a rivalry with a fellow student, Ged’s pride leads him to show off his power by practicing dark and forbidden magic. He ends up unleashing a shadow, and Ged’s quest to ultimately hunt down this demon drives the rest of the novel. In this sense, the story is deeply personal. Even though it covers years of Ged’s life, there is nothing epic about this tale. The story concerns Ged, and Ged alone.
In 1968, this story would have seemed vastly different than Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” or the sword and sorcery tales of Poul Anderson and Michael Moorcock. For one, there is nothing European about Earthsea. Rather, the people of its archipelago appear more like one might imagine hailing off the coasts of Africa, India, or Asia. Also, there’s nary a sword to be found in “A Wizard of Earthsea.” Instead, it’s all about wizards, and wizards carry staves.
A story about wizards is naturally all about magic, and Le Guin creates one of the most interesting magic systems ever made, all based on the true name of things. A wizard who knows a thing’s true name has power over it, and Le Guin harkens back to that theme throughout her tale. Reading it, I can’t help but think it inspired modern fantasy like “The Name of the Wind,” which employs a similar magic system. Despite a few bouts of lengthy exposition, and conflict that waxes and wanes maybe more than it should, I was drawn into a story as if I was reading it for the first time. I wish it had not taken news of Le Guin’s passing remind me of these tales, but I’m fortunate it did. “A Wizard of Earthsea” is a true classic, unique in its day and far ahead of its time. For anyone, particularly those who want to explore one of the roots from which modern fantasy was born, I highly recommend it.
GossamerWriter. A good beginning
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2017
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When I decided to read only books written by female authors in 2017, there was only one name that I knew HAD to be on the list: Ursula K. Le Guin. I had never read any of her work, having only recently been introduced to her via a YouTube video in which she spoke about the lack of people of color in works of fantasy. I had never stopped to ponder this issue before, so her conversation inflicted a little self-reflection in me as well as piqued my interest in her work.
The book follows the young boy, Ged, also known as Sparrowhawk. Ged has all the qualities you’d wish in a fantasy lead: he is powerful and brave and good. But he’s also young, at times immature, brash, arrogant, and reckless.This recklessness inadvertently causes Ged to unleash an evil upon the world, and in true fantasy fashion, he has to be the one to vanquish the evil and make things right again.
There’s not a ton of action in the book. The wizarding school is not as elaborately imagined as that in Harry Potter (though it predates that series by decades), but is interesting nonetheless. What the book does have is strong character growth, and a philosophical edge not usually present in fantasy. It will make you think as well as feel.
I could not fault the writing, but as the book approached its 50th anniversary, it does feel mildly dated. Still, if you want a fantasy that is more introspective than action packed, this is a good choice, and an interesting opening to the series. I will be picking up the second novel to see how it unfolds.
Max Speed. I read this 40 years ago!- a joy to rediscover it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2020
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This book, the first of a trilogy, has inspired so many other authors, from Neil Gaiman to Ian Banks, or even underpinning the world of Harry Potter. A must read of the magical fantasy coming of age genre, complete with a magical school.
I first read this when I was 11 or 12 years old, I’ve just now re-read it, and, nostalgia aside, it is an amazing work. I was struck now by the quality of the writing, beautifully formed sentences, built from unusual and evocative words. And in this book, words have real power, naming a creature or object is what gives magical power over it. So if you enjoy fantasy, magic & self-discovery, this is a must read to discover the author who inspired so many after her.
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