Rating: 
Summary: A Good Book
Review: This was an amazing book. It was about an young boy who is just beginning to discover his powers as a wizard. He is sent to a school where he finds many adventures and lots of excitement. Sparrohawk's adventure through his life as a young wizard in this school in a far away land, was both exciting and amusing. I was kept on the edge of my seat, wanting to read more and more. The author is very talented, and quite creative. I only hope that following books in this series are as well written and fun to read as this one was. I will deffinately recomend this book to others.
Rating:
Summary: A unique work of fantasy, but not for everyone!
Review: OK, first of all, in my 1st review of this book I gave it only 2 stars and I was complaining about all the geographical info the writer gives the reader and the complicated style. Well, I read the second book of Earthsea, "The Tombs of Atuan", thought it was one of the best works of fantasy I've read (it is more than fantasy, it is a very poetic exploration of the characters) and decided I should re-read "A Wizard of Earthsea". I found myself enjoying it a lot. It is a very complicated tale about limitation and about fighting one's own personal demons.
The cast of characters is deliciously real and every character has many aspects:Ged is torn in two, his bravery and courage is being tested, his honesty and goodness even more so, as he releases a great evil and must fight it with both sides of himself. His teacher is wise and tries to remain as objective as possible, yet he loves his pupil dearly and his icy manners are not as solid as Ged initially thinks. Serret is as beautiful as she is deceiving. Her need to survive in any way possible fuels many events of the book.
It is a story about power: receiving and resisting it.
The book is challenging: as exciting and beautiful as it may be, it sometimes becomes a bit tiring.
But the journey, both for Ged and for the reader, is worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: A suspenseful and spiritual fantasy classic.
Review: Published in 1968, 1971 and 1972, Ursula Le Guin's "Earthsea Trilogy" is widely regarded as a fantasy classic on a level not far from epics like Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and C.S. Lewis' "Narnia Chronicles". The story begins with a young man named Ged, commonly called Sparrowhawk, who receives training to become a wizard. His training in wizardry at the wizard school on the island of Roke begins with the power of illusion. Most magic merely involves the apparent change from one thing to another. But Ged is a brilliant student, and soon progresses to the true magic of changing. "Magic consists in this, the true naming of a thing" - when one knows the true name of an object, one can begin changing things. "Illusion fools the beholder's senses; it makes him see and hear and feel that the thing is changed. But it does not change the thing. To change this rock into a jewel, you must change its true name. And to do that, my son, even to so small a scrap of the world is to change the world." This also applies in the world of men: "Who knows a man's name, holds that man's life in his keeping." But true magic is perilous: it affects the broader world, and can upset the balance of the world "Rain on Roke may be drouth in Osskil." Tempted by pride, hate and revenge over against Jasper, another student wizard, Ged tries calling forth a spirit of the dead and succeeds only in bringing a shadow of evil into the world. LeGuin does not justify Ged's actions, but clearly portays his actions as the result of pride and hate, and resulting in ruin. Like ourselves, Ged is a hero with flaws and must now live with their consequences. In a manner not unlike a dark horror novel, this evil shadow now hunts Ged, and his quest is to hunt it in order to remove it from his world.It's a gripping story, almost too dark at times, at least for young children. But unlike some other popular fantasy novels, the magic here bears a close connection to the occult. In Le Guin's world, a wizard is a respected adviser who plays a role similar to a religious leader in our world today. His spiritual role includes aspects that are being popularized under the name of Wicca and similar pagan religions. It's obvious that Le Guin's magic is pure fantasy, but the way it is worked out seems to closely resemble contemporary paganism, and this made me somewhat uncomfortable and question the suitability of this series for young children. Unlike the Harry Potter series, this fantasy is much more serious (like Robert Jordan's World of Time there are also influences of Taoism) and never trite. Like the Taoist yin-yang, Ged is driven by both evil and good desires; even the concept of the shadow has overtones of Jungian philosophy - modern readers have seen the book as model of Jungian psychology. But this aside, there's no question about how gripping Le Guin's plot is, and how vivid her world. It's no wonder this book won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 1969, and Le Guin has proven herself by winning several Hugo and Nebula awards with other titles. I look forward to reading the rest of the series! -GODLY GADFLY
Rating: 
Summary: A majestic work of fantasy fiction.
Review: The Earthsea series, of which this book is the first part, is a majestic work of fantasy fiction. The flowing beauty of the world, the clear simplicity of the storytelling, and the mystery and depth and wisdom of some of the passages makes these books a pleasure to read and reread. Along with J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth and C.S. Lewis' Narnia, Ursela Le Guin's world of Earthsea is one of the most wonderful places to visit in the genre of fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Stick with Harry Potter
Review: When I first heard about Harry Potter, I immediately thought that the plot was expropriated from the Earthsea Trilogy (as it was called back then0> I was bored to tears by Earthsea and so resisted Harry Potter until I read book one. LeGin on her best day couldn't hold a candle to J.K. Rowling. Save your money and your time and read the Harry Potter books.
Rating:
Summary: A very different type of book
Review: THE STORY: is about a reckless, awkward boy named Sparrowhawk who becomes a wizard's apprentice after the wizard reveals Sparrowhawk's true name. The boy comes to realize that his fate may be far more important than he ever dreamed possible. Readers will witness Sparrowhawk's moving rite of passage--when he discovers his true name and becomes a young man. Great challenges await Sparrowhawk, including an almost deadly battle with a sinister creature, a monster that may be his own shadow. MY FEEDBACK:
1) This book isn't for everyone. The majority of the book is complete narration and very, very little dialogue. Some might find this borning and be tempted to skip to the next piece of dialogue. If you do, you'll miss 90% of the story. 2) I had no expectations going into this book except that it is highlye praised by the majority. Even with the long narrations it somehow captured my attention and held it there. Seeing the transformation of the teenager Ged through the story was the core of the book. Teenagers may relate and thus enjoy the story further. 3) Ged against a bunch of dragons. Way cool! Need I say anymore. 4) I agree with other reviews that Ged is really the only character we get to love and care about (Vetch is also likeable). Ged is the only character the author spends time on getting into the persona and motivations of. The postivie note is Ged as a single character does carry the story well. 5) I like how the world is made up of hundreds of little island townships vs. a large continent here or there. This added some nice man vs. nature conflict, as the battle with the wind and sea are a constant thing in this world. OVERALL: Very quick and enjoyable read. You will not waste your time getting your hands on this because you'll know real quick if the narration style of writing is boring for you or not. I enjoyed it so well, that I'm excited to read the next book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Anthropological Fantasy Masterpiece
Review: Ursula K. LeGuin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" comes from a different place then the other two fantasists with whom her Earthsea trilogy is so often compared. Tolkein's so-called fantasy was a real attempt to capture what Tolkein believed the languagues lost before the beginnings of early English, while his Oxford colleague wrote his Narnia fantasies from a Christian viewpoint. LeGuin's fantasy novels derive from her background in anthropology and show it in every way. The story concerns the Wizard Sparrowhawk and his education. Sparrowhawk comes from a desperately poor village in the mountains, from among illiterate peasants (compare to the world of the hobbits, where, though illiterate, there is no squalor) who live with their goats. His home island, Gont, is the birthplace of Goatherds, Pirates, and Wizards, and from an early age Sparrowhawk shows his powers. After saving his village from an invading army, Sparrowhawk is apprenticed to Ogion, the great Mage. There Sparrowhawk begins to learn what Wizards know: the names of all things. He also is drawn to showing off, including calling up the dead. Too powerful and curious for Ogion, Sparrowhawk goes to the isle of Roke to attend the school there ( Rowling only stole from the best) and finds he's not only the best pupil, but he can make enemies. In a boast, he calls up a spirit and brings out a sort of un-him. The un-him scars Sparrowhawk and kills the school's Archmage who uses his power to try and undo what Sparrowhawk has done. Ged, Sparrowhawk's true name, must now pursue this unhim while fighting dragons, evil stones, and gibbeths, people the unhim have entered and destroyed. Finally, Ged turns on his pursuer to fight an epic battle on the unsea and reunite himself. LeGuin's spare prose is based on folktales, and myths, and Earthsea's theology of balance, true names, and magic is clear: Ged has disturbed the balance, so he must restore it. Like Tolkein's and Lewis' books, there is a sexual innocence here: Ged is a mage first and foremost: he feel attractions, but no lust. Of course, Heros of Myth are too good to be lustful; chastity preserves their power. Unlike the other fantasies, the Earthsea Trilogy is not England, but an actual mythical place, albeit medieval in a European sense. Ged is no Englishman either, being copper-colored. LeGuin also makes more use of magic that others; it pervades everything in Earthsea. How many acts of magic does Gandalf actually perform in LOTR? I would rather have had GED along myself. LeGuin also makes it clear than every Magical act costs something which Tolkein never enters into. The deep understanding of what makes a culture a culture underlies everything LeGuin has written, from "The Dispossed" to "Terhanu." The intelligence behind these books is impressive, neither sentimental nor baroque, almost clinical in its portrayal of an premodern world where magic does work, and where every action has personal consequences and real pain.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I picked up this book when I had nothing else to read. My mom had read it ages ago,when she was really into fantasy and reccomended it to me. I could not put it down.It was complex,magical,and at many points exciting.Le Guin developed and amazing culture ,yet she did not go too far ,like other authors (David Eddings). I adored how Le Guin put an anti-racist thing in,very slyly.The Kargs ,had pale skin,and a good deal of Earthsea didn't(the Kargs are "evil").This book made simple classes of wizardry ,which in most books would be amazingly boring,was extremely interesting.Most of the boring parts were when the character was bored,not when you for some reason were supposed to be interested. I have to say ,besides Ged,my favorite character was the otak.So cute ,yet so loyal.Le Guin can make little things wonderful. Alright,I suppose I'll need to go to the plot now.Ged ,a young sheephearder on the island called Gont,discovers that he is a wizard.He is sent to the Isle of Roke to train.Soon he becomes powerful,but while trying to summon a dead spirit ,he unleashes a shadow upon Earthsea.That Shadow is after him.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, mellow fantasy
Review: I tried and failed to read this book a couple of times in my teens, but over a decade later I recently picked it up again and it charmed me. Your typical swords and sorcery this is not, so skip this book and its sequels if you're looking for another Tolkien clone. Le Guin is as original a sci-fi/fantasy author as you can find, and A Wizard of Earthsea is pioneering fantasy. Le Guin has a background in anthropology, and it shows here: A Wizard of Earthsea succeeds best in subtle characterization and gently sculpting the fantasy setting: an island archipelago whose mythology and mysteries are sparsely described but nonetheless captivating. The book will give you many original and refreshing delights: the practice of magic is more about learning the true names of things than memorizing incantations, death is a traversible landscape, and dragons are the true masters of the ancient language of magic, which binds ordinary mortals to truth. Read the series with an open mind and you will find ample rewards.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm
Review: I seem to be one of the few people who hated this book. I can see how it would make a half-way entertaining children's book, the kind that third graders are forced to read for school, but I can't understand what all the adult reviewers see in A Wizard of Earthsea. There are a hundred things that annoyed me about this book- I'll list a few.
1) The names. It seems like a minor thing, but GED?!? I felt sick having to read that name a million times, over and over and over. Earthsea? Wow, imaginative! Not really. All the names of the islands on the little map provided seemed to be random combinations of letters, barely pronouncable and utterly meaningless. I'm not even sure why the islands were named, since only a very few of them are mentioned.
2) The language. There actually are places with good description- but very, very few of them... Most of the language that Le Guin uses is dull and boring. Even though the shadow is a main part of the book, she couldn't be bothered to find a single synonym. The result is that the word "Shadow" is used, on average, about once per page. And these are tiny pages with big writing. Sometimes even if a plot is horrible, I can read and enjoy the book anyway because the descriptions used are interesting and I like the wording used. Not so in this book.
3) The characters. Ged is the only character who has any depth whatsoever, and what personality he has is trite and cliched. The other people in the book seem to be there just to move the plot along, without any real effort to make them worthwhile or original.
4) The storyline. As a few other people mentioned, the story just hops around. One second Ged is four, then in the next paragraph he's thirteen. You can't skip reading a single word if you want to have any clue as to what is going on, because in just a single sentence, the plot will shift hugely and the reader will be left confused. I was, anyway. Even a seven year old should be able to predict the end right from the beginning- there are no surprises to this book, besides the conspicous lack of attention to details and the poor writing. Another thought for you to consider- since the ending is so completely obvious to just about everyone, is it really necessary to use foreshadowing to "tempt" us toward the conclusion?
5)Problem-solving. How does Ged solve every problem that he faces? With magic, of course. Magic that we never see him learn. It always does seem convenient to have a main character who is a wizard, because it's no longer necessary to actually figure out how things get solved- just write "Ged waved his hand a bit and all the bad things went away."
6) Useless information packed into the corners. It's often good to have information about the character aside from what is absolutely required to keep the story going. In this case, the author WAY overdoes this. Example: He finds an otak somewhere, who then follows him around. Nevermind that it was specifically mentioned that otaks DON'T like people. But it did anyway, because Le Guin wanted Ged to have some worthless, helpless little creature randomly decide to follow him around so it could lick his face later on in the book and wake him up, even though there was no reason for a lick to have done that.
Overall, I say read this book if you want to, since a ton of people seemed to like it, but my personal opinion is that it is one of the most pointless books I have ever read.
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