Rating: 
Summary: A superb read! Good for all ages!
Review: Let's put Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter aside and look at the Earthsea series; it is a superb read without a second doubt of the intense story plotline. Every chapter of the story captures my eye, it makes my reading time all too much shorter.
The story tells of a legendary wizard called Sparrowhawk (real named Ged) in the world of Earthsea. At young age, Sparrowhawk discovers his talent in magic and wizardry, after one victory of protecting his village from the enemy. He was taken away by a wizard to learn the art of magic. However, due to his pride and ambition, a curse was brought to him by his pride. He goes on an adventure of travelling throughout the Earthsea; to search for the cure or answer to his curse.
The writing style is descriptive, and Le Guin really catches the character's personality. After this first book you'll want to read the rest of the series. I strongly recommand it to anyone at any age, even though you are never a fantasy fan. This book may open your eyes to a whole new different view!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Epic Fantasy
Review: In "A Wizard of Earthsea," Ursula K. Le Guin has a very distinctive tone that shines out and makes the book different from other works of fantasy. From the opening page you see how Le Guin is like a storyteller that is reading or telling something to you, as the story that is being told is very descriptive and easy to follow. This makes this novel a classic of the fantasy genre, among other things which will be discussed later on. Our main character, Ged (Sparrowhawk) is a resident of Earthsea, a huge world of islands. He is blessed with a gift in magical arts, and he is sent to work as a prentice of Ogion, the master wizard of Gont. Ged feels that he is leading a humdrum life with Ogion and doesn't think that he is learning anything that could advance his gift in magic. Ged decides to go to a wizardry school on the island of Roke to study with other young men of his age. But before he leaves Ogion, Ged attempts a spell and unleashes a shadow that will follow him and try to take over his soul. When Ged gets to the school he makes a very good friend, Vetch. After graduating from the wizardry school Ged goes and fights dragons and does a few other things, but mainly is trying to defeat the shadow that is trying to take over him. Up until the climactic finish that will leave you ready for the following "Earthsea" books, this novel will entertain. In a way this book is a lesson on life. The novel shows how our main character, Ged, goes through the first stages of his life and must cope with things that come up. At the wizardry school he must deal with the vile Jasper and come over this boy's tauntings. When he travels on a boat throughout the sea he has to survive and cope with stresses from the shadow. This book shows how people could overcome the odds when everything seems like it is going against them. Most of the novel is descriptive and there is not a whole lot of dialogue, which I happen to love. Although Le Guin's writing style may get a bit tedious at times this book was written by a master of not only fantasy, but also the English language, so the book is still great. That said the description of the novel makes the book feel very realistic. Le Guin's world is very believable and is fun to read. In addition, the characterisation for the main character Ged is wonderful and I'm sure that as the series progresses I (and you, if you pick up this book) will feel more for him. "A Wizard of Earthsea" is a short novel but don't think that this book isn't good because it is not as long as other epic fantasies. In fact, it is better than most of today's fantasy. I am wholeheartedly looking forward to reading the next two novels in this trilogy, and possibly the others of the series. Happy Reading!
Rating:
Summary: A powerful, evocative fantasy tale
Review: Ursula K. LeGuin's novel "A Wizard of Earthsea" is a fantasy that takes place on an ocean world that is speckled with a large number of islands. Earthsea is a pre-industrial society of farmers and fisherman, where the weapons of choice are swords and lances. It is also a world of wizards and dragons. "Wizard" is a coming-of-age story that follows its hero, Ged, from boyhood to young manhood. Along the way he learns the craft of wizardry. This is a story of friendship and rivalry, of arrogance and self-knowledge. A key concept is the equilibrium that true wizards strive for. Although the story is fantasy, I found Ged's journey to remind me somewhat of the journey of the hero of "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," another great coming-of-age story (although a real-life one). This indicates to me that Ged's story, despite its fantasy setting, is firmly grounded in real emotions and ethical concerns. LeGuin has created a complete and compelling world. Masterfully woven into her narrative are geology, meteorology, linguistics, racial diversity, oral and written literature, dragon biology, and other aspects of this world. Her prose style is simple but elegant, often poetic and mystical; the book has a timeless, classic quality. If you only know LeGuin as the author of classic science fiction, "A Wizard of Earthsea" will reveal her to you as a master of the fantasy genre.
Rating:
Summary: could be better
Review: The story is fun and complex, but I do not care much for the style of the writing. It seemed too much a takeoff of the style of Tolkien's Silmarillion, though the story somewhat weaker. I would have enjoyed it more had it been written in the form of a true novel.
Rating:
Summary: great book I loved it!!!
Review: I think that this a good book for kids in fourth grade who like magic and fantasy. I'm in fourth grade and I loved the book. The books that come after it are good to.
Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt Entertainmen
Review: A rousing story that chronicles the coming of age of a young man, much like any you would see on the street today. This book hits the heart like few others can, as it is easy to relate to the world of magic and dragons. Just yesterday, as I was driving down the street, someone cut me off, and I instantly was reminded of this book, of the struggles and challenges this young wizard faces as he is brought into the mysterious world of magic. I certainly wished, at that precise moment, that I could blow that other driver away with a bit of magic.
Rating: 
Summary: Wizard of Excitement and Snore
Review: The Wizard of Earthsea is a comming of age story that tracks the development of a young man. Earthsea has a plot that involves an internal good vs evil theme. Ged, the protagonist goes learns many lessons throughout this novel. First Ged must find his place in as a wizard. Ged is faced with issues that will force him to enter conflict about how to use his magic. Tricked to use his wizardry at an inappropriate time, Ged battles the evil side of himself. Ged must conquer the evil to bring a balance back to his world.
Earthsea is interesting at the beginning but lags a little at the end. I enjoyed the book myself but It can be boring and slow moving, especially toward the end of the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Lessons of Life in Earthsea
Review: In the Wizard of Earthsea, we are introduced to the character Ged who has to find out who he really is. He grew up abandoned (to some extent) by his family and denied the type of love that could only be given from a family. He accepted by the one societal institution that should have shaped him into an adult. Ged then finds acceptance and in the form of control over nature by learning a being's true name. This is the form of control that is exerted over nature and coincidentally is the way in which Ged makes himself accepted.
Ged learns a powerful lesson in his drive for acceptance in the novel that readers can use in everyday life. He releases a demon of catastrophic proportions that will later become his greatest rival. A very powerful and great master of magick is killed when this demon is released and tried to kill Ged. This event brought a certain mortality to Ged which was not present before. He entered into an awakening of sorts and vowed to do right by his master and comply as he was being taught in magick school.
The real life lesson is the death of the great man who selflessly saves Ged's life. He realized that he cannot control everything and that there are rules to life that must be respected and follwed to maintain harmony. This is true to real life because in our society, rules are set up to protest our race from self destructing. When an individual breaks the rule and laws, things happen that are not favorable to both the society and the individual. As humans, we learn from tragedy after adolescence leads us to believe we are indestructable. Ged learns this by accepting a dare of his classmates and performing the spell that released the demon.
Rating: 
Summary: An Unfulfilling Plotline Lacking Rich Characterization
Review: Ursula K. Le Guin's short novel about a young man learning to confront his own flaws in judgment and inner turmoil could have been a powerful, moving journey of discovery. A strong tale of adventure whose focus is on the development of the protagonist, rather than the excitement of confronting evil monsters and wizards, surely has the potential to be a well developed and rewarding work of fantasy. Unfortunately, "A Wizard of Earthsea" does not achieve these aspirations, primarily due to the lack of substantive connections between the events helping to move the plot along. The most important developments that occur to young Sparrowhawk seem to rise out of nowhere, without warning or explanation. Rather than sharing the reader's surprise at the incredible events developing so suddenly and swiftly in his life, the young mage takes everything with an eerily cold acceptance, distancing him from the reader and masking his motivations. The plotline of the story is full of adventurous twists and turns, which, when viewed before their resolutions, seem acceptably fresh and creative, if not earth-shattering. However, the methods Le Guin uses to solve the problems presented in the story horribly mar the established sub-plots, as the problems are solved too easily and without warning. This lack of "realism" does not encompass solely the ordinary unrealistic elements one expects in a work of fantasy, such as the use magic or fantastic creatures. This surreality comes from Sparrowhawk suddenly gaining knowledge he never learned, or magical ability he never revealed or practiced, and these mysteriously-appearing powers are the keys to solving all of his greatest problems. If this were used once or twice, it would be acceptable, but this is the method by which nearly all of the protagonist's troubles are assuaged. This lack of logical plot development extends beyond damaging the credibility and power of the tale. By not allowing us to see Sparrowhawk's struggles as he learns to master the great magics he wields so freely near the book's end, nor allowing us to see how he decides what tactics to use when battling great foes or navigating uncharted seas, Le Guin flattens Sparrowhawk's character into an unknowable, archetypal hero. Reading about such a character is similar to reading a history text book, but far more illogical, as in history, problems arise due to defined causes and are solved in a realistic manner. Unfortunately, the lack of deep characterization is not limited to the characters themselves. On the surface, Le Guin's world seems a unique realm with much potential. The archipelago-like setting provides a wealth of different islands, each ready to support its own unique culture and teach Sparrowhawk about different facets of the world and himself. Thus, it almost comes as a shock when the young man journeys from island to island, meeting only people and cultures identical to his own. This dearth of fantastic lands to explore is unusual for a fantasy novel concerning a man's great journey. While the argument may be made that this tactic focuses the reader's attention on Sparrowhawk's internal developments, it actually lessens the scope and impact of these same developments. Truly, how much can one learn, even about oneself, if one never goes anywhere containing people unlike those who live in one's own home? While individual characters may have defining traits that help them stand out from their background to a degree, these characters are few, far between, and frequently abandoned by the wandering mage, forcing Le Guin to continually begin building up new characters from scratch. Through the beginning of the book, this is a natural and effective part of the exposition, but abandoning well-established characters (such as the teachers and most students the mage meets on the isle of the wizards) cuts Sparrowhawk off from the few people that caused him to reveal his inner feelings, leaving the remainder of the tale emotionally dry and empty. A Wizard of Earthsea attempts to fill many of the niches presently occupied by the great fantasy epics of J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, and Terry Goodkind within the space of under 200 pages. Unfortunately, the effort is a failure: the characters are flat, the many lands Sparrowhawk visits are similar to one another, and the plot elements are unrealistically and unfulfillingly resolved. In the realm of high fantasy, Le Guin has been outdone by Tolkien and her successors.
Rating:
Summary: The EarthSea Books Trash Harry Potter
Review: If I could give this series 10 or 20 stars I would. These books are dense, rich and beg to be read and re-read. I first read these books in my 20's; many years later, I still become engrossed in the wonderful imagery. Ms. LeGuin is the BEST writer I have ever encountered who can write with a 'sense of place' that makes you know that the book's world indeed does exist, and boy do you wish you could visit. I had trouble reading the Harry Potter books. They are boring and juvenile compared to this award-winning series. I can't understand the hoopla surrounding the Potter books when this series is a magnitude better. I'll bet people in their 40's will not be re-reading the Potter books. They will re-read again and again this superb series. My only complaint is that there aren't another dozen of books in this series. A stunning accomplishment from a truly gifted author.
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