Rating: 
Summary: A Wizard of Earthsea
Review: A Wizard of Earthsea is a mythical tale by Ursula K. LeGuin about the adventures of a young wizard to be, the curiously named Ged. The book chronicles his induction into magic and wizardry, guiding the reader through Ged's gradual growth and maturation as a wizard. However, the protagonist foolishly and pridefully delves further into magic than he is prepared for, and must correct his mistake in this magical coming of age story.
The presentation of the story, fantastic as it is, is wonderfully executed. The author adheres to the rules of fantasy writing by presenting the reader with clear, believable boundaries and rules to her mythical world, which allows the reader a measure of confidence and relation to otherwise unfamiliar territory. Her diction is comparable to that of familiar fairy tales, which is appropriate, even welcome considering the subject matter. LeGuin's matter-of-fact, sententious word style demands belief, her narration adopting the clipped but descriptively informative tones of a newscaster relaying a factual occurrence. It becomes easy for the audience to lose themselves in such a story; indeed, absorption is almost impossible to resist. The reader quickly transforms from readers into observers as her characters transcend their literary limitations.
The magic in this story has believable jargon, clear laws, and often visible repercussions that makes rampant use unethical for any moral practitioner. Were magic to exist, these elements of restraint would probably color and police its use, and its effect on the story is an increase in the tale's ability to suspend disbelief.
A Wizard of Earthsea is a delightful read for anyone, especially lovers of fiction and fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow Pace
Review: Le Quin takes the reader through the magical powers of a young
boy name Ged. He is a young boy who is born with exceptional
powers. He is trained to become a wizard with all the powers he
have, but his pride becomes over him.Through the trials and
tribulations Le Quin carries the reader through the fears he
faces in the aspects of his life. Ged becomes to hungry for
power and knowledge that he lets out the birth of the shadow
with the tremendous amount of pride he has. He masters the words
of power to maintain his balance throughout the end of the book.I think Le Quin did an O.K. job on this book, but I think it
could have been a lot more intesting. I didn't find a lot of
interest in the beginning of the book, because the beginning was
at a very slow pace. After reading a few chapters the book
became a better interest to me. Eventually the pace of this book
becomes a lot faster and interesting after you get through the first
few chapter. I advise anyone to read this book because it is a very
interesting book that focus on the setting on a island and begins with
a young boy with extreme powers that is hungry for knowledge.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-done standard fare
Review: LeGuin's first book in her Earthsea series is wholly satisfying but is not groundbreaking. It tells the story of simple country-folk type Ged encountering both the wide world around him as well as the darkness that dwells within himself. Earthsea is populated with straightforward individuals and a smattering of magical, otherworldly beings (including dragons). It is a standard fantasy world, and the coming-of-age tale of Ged is a standard fantasy plot. LeGuin's famous focus on the importance of names and their relation to being able to do magic is an interesting twist. Perhaps given its age (first published in the 1960s, I believe) the book was groundbreaking at the time. Read now, it is simply a solid novel that beckons one to read the next.
Rating:
Summary: The Search for Identity
Review: The Wizard of Earthsea is an interesting story of a young boy, named Ged, in search of his own identity. Ursula Le Guin uses very vivid descriptions to expand the depth of the readers understanding of the scenery and of the characters of her story. Ged starts off as a young, curious boy, interested in all that is unknown to him, and wanting to acquire the knowledge of wizardry. His quest leads him through many trials and tribulations. His learning starts with the local witch, his Aunt, to his beloved master, Ogion, who warns him of his wanting to learn too quickly, and then to the known school of wizardry. The most obvious of these trials is the birth of the shadow, which is released through his pride, arogance and ignorance of the unknown. His first fear and then quest for the "shadow" is the true test of gained knowledge of his own identity. His misuse of pride in his skill brings him a humility that is needed for him to fullfill his destiny and to become the greatness that all but him are aware he will be. While this book is full of adventure and insight, it is, in some places, difficult to get through. The scenes are long, and in great detail, which looses the readers interest. It is the ending that is the most interesting for those interested in double imaging and the human psyche. Though the book is not very long, it makes for a long read. If you look at this story as a preface to the adventures of Ged as the "Archemage" of Earthsea, then it makes it much more interesting. I am interested in seeing how the other two stories to the trilogy are written, and wether or not this preface is worth it's attention to detail.
Rating:
Summary: A Slow Beginning
Review: A Wizard of Earthsea began slowly but ended with a bang. In the first five chapters, I only found one adventure that truly kept my interest. It was not until the sixth or seventh chapter that I became interested in Ged, the protagonist, and his adventures. The storyline reminds me of the typical teenage boy who wants to be free and not live by the rules that are set for him until he gets himself in too deep and eventually must find his way home again. Le Guin throws some magic in the mix and comes out on top with A Wizard of Earthsea. In this story, Ged is the young man that does not want to live by the rules. He allows his jealousy and need to impress people with his skill as a mage to get the best of him, until he unleashes an evil that wants to crush his soul. Ironically, Ged realizes that home, which for him is with Ogion his Wizard Master, will set him free. I did find some passages too tedious to even read that I would skim through those dry parts, but I held out and finished the novel. I am glad I did because by the last chapter, I could not wait to find out how Ged conquers his demon. Not only does Le Guin take the reader through an exciting come-of-age journey, but she also teaches the reader a moral lesson. Unfortunately, I have no desire to read the rest of the series
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative and Creative Work
Review: I first read A Wizard of Earthsea with my gifted fifth grade class in 1993. My students loved this story and could not put the book down. It is very well written.
Rating:
Summary: Bravery
Review: A Wizard of Earthsea was a confusing read. This particular book was filled with many examples of courage and bravery. Ursula Le Guin used a creative mind when writing this book. Her amin charcter Ged was based on one with courage. Ursula Le Guin used this character to show a brillant example of bravery. This book showed how one faced their fear head on no matter what the consequences. Ged faced fear and uncertainty in its face.
Although I did enjoy this book and it was relatively short in read, I did find fault in Le Guin's use of names for her mystical places. I found it hard to focus or keep the names straight. The names were a little diffcult to comprehend and to remember which place was associated with the charcters. I do understand that the names of her places bring a sense of fantasy and mystery to the book, whereas the reader is pondering whether these places actually existed but again the titles of these places I found hard to remember.
I do give credit to Le Guin when it comes to her writing. She expressed herself and her ideal of bravery/courage by getting straight to the point. She did not let the story linger or draw it out which is good in some instances due to the fact taht some storyines you like for it to linger and take it's time to get to the point and you want it to take its time (e.g. romance novels.)
She got straight to the point and showed her example of what it means to have courage and be brave whatever the cost. I would recommend this book to other readers especially high school students who could always use an example of what is means to be courageous and brave.
Rating:
Summary: The Power of Achieving Knowledge through Language
Review: This book proved to be very unique in its individualistic way. The plot is about a person who was born with wizardian qualities and subsequently had to learn how to use this preternatural gift that was inherited through childbirth. The author, Ursula K. Le Guin, manifested the foundation of Ged's character as having the ability to become a great wizard and eventually led him to acquire knowledge of the Hardic tongue (language). Le Guin took a very clever idea and a synergistic journey by presenting both the combination and separation of the notion of psychological awareness of thought process through illusion, mystery, and language. This conveniently enabled the readership to view the personality of Ged precisely as Le Guin portrayed and presented him.
This book also signifies the importance of one mastering the skill and knowledge associated with his specific, identified, and chosen profession. This book further conveys that if one desires to gain power and become skillful in his craft, he must be committed and dedicated to his teachings, coupled with the willfulness to achieve a certain goal. Ged accomplished this when he went to the Isolated Tower and was released early due to his quick learning ability.
Notwithstanding, I view this book as sending a profound message, that, "in order to be a profectionist, regardless of what gift you may have acquired, there must be a great deal of devotion and sacrifice." Furthermore, the characterization of Ged and Jasper amplifies how a certain personality may not be compatible to another, allowing controversy and conflict to surface. Finally, I found this book to be quite interesting because of the author's ability to vividly express the correlation between reality and illusion, compiled with power and the desire to achieve knowledge through the art of language.
Rating: 
Summary: 1 down
Review: Yes ...1 star ...I'd give it less if I could ...this was a very tedious read ...I don't know who anybody is ...not even the main character ...just a series of events ...felt like a long prologue.... Well ...I'm going to attempt the next book wish me luck... just cause ...not sure if I'll make all the way though...
Rating:
Summary: Where's the beef!?
Review: Perhaps back in the 60s Tolkien fans were ready to devour any new fantasy novel. To my dismay, "a high fantasy classic" this is not. It certainly is a good template for it: moral lessons, good vs. evil, wizened wizards, and a young wizard on a grand quest. But there's not much more than that. There's too much prose and not enough character insight to uphold the already threadbare plot. The most comprehensive description of Earthsea is in the maps which are nice and all, but this is a book - not an atlas. Too short to be a real novel, it'd do better as a children's book. However, in this case size really doesn't matter. The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle has the same template but unlike A Wizard of Earthsea, the unicorn's voyage is filled with peril through vivid lands accompanied by a colorful cast of characters in only 200 pages. Even today's current poptart, Harry Potter, has the bumbling Ron, quirky Dumbledore, and slimy Snape. LeGuin's wizards are all Arch-Changer this or Arch-Namer that - who seem ready to die at any moment. Rocks have more personality. The protaganist is Ged. Yep, Ged. Oh and he gets spiteful and thus must redeem himself. Thats all I know. Ogion tries but fails to be a Gandalf. The only moments of life shine through the dialogue and as soon as a glimpse of emotion appears... it vanishes. In spite of these faults, it's not so terrible; There is a sense of history and timelessness to the tale. The moral lessons ring loud and true. "That which gives us power to work magic, sets the the limits of that power... it if were not so, the wickedness of the powerful or the folly of the wise would long ago have sought to change what cannot be changed, and Equilibrium would fail." Lines like that make reading this book worth hacking through the bone dry parts. After reading LeGuin's speculative work - The Left Hand of Darkness and the Dispossessed, I found her intelligent & thought provoking but uninspired. So I was prepared for a more personal work through her fantasy in A Wizard of Earthsea. Sad to say, I was yet again let down.
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