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Summary: A good start - but the best comes later
Review: The Earthsea series is one of the greatest works of high fantasy, and A Wizard of Esrthsea is a good start to the series. But it's also my least favorite book of the series. Not that there's anything wrong with it - it just doesn't pull me in like the next three books do.
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Summary: My review:
Review: this story is about a mage-wizard named ged, and (throughout the whole of the earthsea trilogy) becomes a great mage. Early in his life, a spell is cast upon him which sends a creature of darkness to haunt him and hunt him down. can he survive long enough to name the great creature so he can destroy it? Want to know how it ends? you'll just have to read it!The Earthsea collection consists of: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu
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Summary: Otak charmer
Review: It's interesting that Le Guin is now returning to Earthsea, first with her new collection of stories, apparently to be followed with another novel. It is telling that she has created a marvelous invention -- despite all promises, even she can't help returning to the scene. It starts off well. A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA is an intense starting point. It describes a harsh realm, where, even with the aid of everpresent magic, life is tough, and survival is eked out. From here, Le Guin launches her fable of Ged, the Sparrowhawk, an intensely talented but brash young man. The consequences of his pride are unleashed in dramatic fashion, and ultimately he must confront the dark forces of life. There is nothing glib, and dark surprises abound. Le Guin moves the story along at a reasonable pace, with a disappointingly (but probably necessarily) compact conclusion. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Great
Review: Born on an island renowned for its wizards, young Ged finds himself drawn to wizardry. Astonishingly, it all seems to come naturally, and he soon outstrips the witch who is teaching him the art. Arrogant and willful, he goes off to Roke Island to study under the greatest master wizards. His pride proves his undoing when, in an attempt to show his superiority to a rival, he summons up a shadow creature powerful beyond human understanding. Ged finishes his studies, and then must begin his career, knowing that somewhere out there the shadow is waiting for him. Being such an old story, I did not expect to enjoy this story too much. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the story was entertaining and quite absorbing. I was fascinated to see what the nature of the shadow was, and what Ged needed to do to overcome it. I have not read any of Ursula Le Guin's books before, but I intend to now. I recommend this book to any fantasy reader.
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Summary: Definition of High Fantasy
Review: I don't think that many people truly understand what the term "high fantasy" means. For example, I have heard people refer to Anne McCaffrey as high fantasy, when that is not the case. High fantasy is when the author creates an entirely new world, with new languages, new societies, and new realities, which, strangely enough, allows the author to get closer to the truth about human nature and the ways of the world. I know of few authors that really live up to that definition, and one of them is Ursula LeGuin. Although she draws from ancient folklore, as well as basing some of societies in Earthsea on our ancient societies and cultures, a great portion of her work is straight out of her imagination. The book is not for those who like their fantasy light-hearted and with witty or sarcastic comments made by the characters every few minutes. Although there are moments of comic relief, most of the book (and the series) is rather austere and dark. This is because the world that she tells of is harsh and unforgiving, much like Europe in the middle ages. Back then there wasn't a lot to smile about, so you had to find you light in strange places. The good guys aren't always good-looking, and a happy ending sometimes requires that you don't end up with what you want. There is another book that was written ten years after this series, called Tehanu, and it continues where the saga left off, tying up some loose ends, and giving closure. I would definately reccommend Earthsea for those who prefer their fantasy raw and un-sugar coated. It is gritty, and not for the faint of heart, to the point where I wouldn't even really call it fantasy, because it gets about as close to the truth as I have seen any book get.
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Summary: A great starting place for readers getting into fantasy
Review: I first read this book when I was eleven or twelve--shortly after reading the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I found the tone to be distant, yet pleasing, and I wanted to meet Sparrowhawk. I wanted to be a wizard and have a true name. The bad things that happened in the plot were not so high on my wish list of experiences to have, though, as anyone might imagine. Those were my feelings at the time. I recommend this book and the other two in this trilogy to readers both young and old. However, do NOT read the fourth book. (I'll go over why in that review!) This novel can provide readers with a basis for their imaginative wanderings in the fantasy genre. I liked the characters, I loved the setting, and I enjoyed the magic system that the author revealed as she wrote. I didn't find the novel quite as colorfully vivid as any of the Narnia ones, but the change in descriptive palettes was still GOOD and enjoyable.
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Summary: A grey world
Review: To liken Earthsea to Tolkien's Middle-Earth is really an overstatement. It simply doesn't measure up to Middle-Earth in terms of depth of detail, grandeur and beauty. No doubt it is an excellent product of artistic imagination on its own right, but one can't help but feel a sense of dreariness and bleakness in it. Ged's one-man show throughout most of the series adds to the general feeling of lonesomeness. Definitely not for those who prefer the gayer world of Tolkien or even Harry Potter.
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Summary: A Wizard of Earthsea review
Review: The book, A Wizard of Earthsea, was a good book, but it is kind of hard to understand at first, but as you get farther into the book, it is easier to understand. I like the part where he sets the evil shadow into the world, and when he finally captures it by a clever plan. He also has a very nice friend, Estarriol, who helps him after he releases the evil shadow into the world, and he went with him when he went to capture it, even though Ged didn't want him to go with him.
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Summary: This book was ok
Review: This book was kind of hard to follow. I thought it was a little too much fiction for me. I like books that are right on the edge of fiction and nonfiction.
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Summary: Yawn...
Review: I really wasn't impressed with this novel. I found it lacking not only in action but also in depth, plot and meaning. I guess I'm just missing something, but to me it seemed like nothing happened, like I wasted a few good hours of my life that I could have spent drooling in front of the TV. I don't know why i kept reading through the third book, probably my misinterpreted view that there is to be a point to novels. Three books of short, shallow sentances that move the plot along at a snail's crawl. She introduces characters and then just forgets about them(Tombs of Atuan?) What was the second book for anyway? To prove he could hunt treasure and lure small girls from their homes? But I digress, the first book is a bore of epic proportions(despite being 150 pages) that track the misdemeanors of an ignoble youth who (SURPRISE!) eventually becomes the Archmage. I didn't even think it was written well...
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