Rating: 
Summary: An interesting series, but no comparison to the Hobbit
Review: This series is fairly interesting. I would not recommend it for adults. I would recommend it for kids under the age of 14. The books are far too short, there is little plot or character development. Frankly I was disappointed at how the books related to each other, there were too many major gaps in the series. In reading a review that said: "If you liked the Hobbit you will love these." This is a poor characterization. These books are not even in the same league as Tolkien. They would be good books for kids just getting into fantasy, but for the veteran fantasy buff recommend Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series or Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn or something of the like. The premise behind the plots of these books is good but is not developed well.
Rating: 
Summary: A one line what??? My attention span's too short to unders..
Review: I was manipulated into reading this book by my seventh grade English teacher (I'm in ninth grade now, so be warned, this review was written by an aliterate high-schooler). As people here have said before, "A Wizard of Earthsea" is a lot like "Lord of the Rings". It's tedious, slow to start, sexist, incredibly archaic, impersonal, and featuring a stiff (as in, Al Gore stiff) unempathetic lead character. Also, like "Lord of the Rings", it has some awesome scenes, an original concept, depth, well-written character development, and an awesome ending. Pick it up on a rainy day... it's not a must-read, but read it anyway because some day some English teacher will probably force you to.. It's a pretty good book of Tolkien caliber, but very slow to start. Once you can get past the first three chapters, you're up and moving (unlike Tolkien... just find the blasted hobbits in Rohan already and get on with it!!!) The ending is worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb! The style reminds me of The Silmarillion.
Review: Absolutely wonderful. Although it has a somewhat distant, impersonal style of writing, every word is carefully calculated. This is definately not a book for people with very little brains.It's scope is compelling and majestic. A must read!
Rating: 
Summary: no good, very bad book!
Review: this book was forced into my hands by my english teacher, and i couldn't stand it. i have to tell how ged was a hero, and that is stupid because he isn't! all the characters are vague, impersonable, and tedious. i think it should be against the law to make ordinary, self-respecting people read this over the summer! what a waste of time! fantasy is a thing that i cannot stand, but this made me hate it more so!
Rating:
Summary: A dry, shallow nothing of a book
Review: After being forced to read this book not once, but twice, once for seventh grade English and once for high school English II Honors, my verdict is the same. It is an uncompelling, poorly written waste of ink, paper, and most of all my precious time. Comparisons to Tolkien are entirely undeserved - like comparing Jewel to Bob Dylan. The characters are all unsympathetic, poorly drawn, and distant, the kind of interchangeable, assembly-line sorcerers and kings who inhabit the trashiest of dimestore fantasy novels. The writing and action are muddled and lack fluency - but there is no great contemplation or presentation of ideas to fill in the gaps between what passes here for action. The concepts at hand - the balance of magic, the evil within oneself - could be and have been better expressed. If these are themes you wish to explore, do not attempt to do so by reading this sophomoric, boring folderol. Rent "The Empire Strikes Back" and get a truly fine treatment of these themes.
Rating:
Summary: A reference Book for Life's Dark Moments?
Review: A lot of people (usually the sort of techies that read sci-fi to jerk-off over descriptions of gadgets-mankind-has-never-seen-before) totally mis-understand this book. A lot of very young children who are asked to read under the misconception that it is for them, get confused. You'll find reviews from both sorts on this web-page. The reason is that this is an allegory of emotional life. Ged is a fallible hero who has done something wrong and goes out to try and redeem himself. It's about adolescence and discovering your power and how to apply it to society. It's full of little gems of wisdom like the Arch-mage who dies quietly,going slowly down the road to the land of the Dead, as one who is familiar with that road. Wise men have faced death and have come to understand it. People who have not lived do not understand this book. It is not really fantasy at all, but about a human being's emotional life. Not surprisingly it does not appeal to those who do not know how to live. Unlike the simplicistic (racist, class conscious) plot of Tolkien, this book actually gives you something lasting to apply to life. And don't be put off-it does have odd moments of supreme drama. It develops at the pace that life develops for most of us fast and exciting at puberty / adolescence, quieter echoes later on. And it manages all this in a tiny slim paperback. Tell that to Tolkien. The film-maker Powell/ Pressburger of A Matter of Life & Death fame (another superbly crafted allegory) wanted to make the film. Maybe this detail will afford an inroad to understanding to all those techies who couldn't find a logical, step by step plot that poked two fingers up their nostrils and dragged them thru the book? This review is of the first book only.
Rating:
Summary: These books will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Review: With , maybe , only the Lord of the Rings trilogy to rival it. The Earthsea trilogy creates a world which will envelope you. A great work of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling fantasy tale
Review: Let it be known; Earthsea stands aside Middle Earth, Narnia, and the other "classic" fantasy worlds with amazing strength. Le Guin weaves a tale in a language that is set in all of our dreams, and tells her tale of good against evil and of the triumph of man over his fears in such a way as to make one think that this is not a story that was written in the 20th century, but rather a story that always was. Modern fantasy lovers beware, this is not your typical swords and sorcery romp. Fans of the Dragonlance and TSR books will miss the cartoon-like action, and fans of Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind will miss the endless meandering that dominates so much modern fantasy. Instead, you simply get a tale crafted of magic and wonder. Truly remarkable.
Rating:
Summary: The classic first novel of a noted fantasy series.
Review: This is the first volume of what would become a classic fantasy tetralogy about a world of islands (the other books in the series are "The Tombs of Atuan" (1971), "The Farthest Shore" (1972), and "Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea" (1990)). "The Wizard of Earthsea" is often a required text in college courses on speculative fiction as well as in courses in children's literature. It was originally written for juveniles and teenagers; yet, it achieved a much wider following. It won the 1969 "Boston Globe" Horn Book Award for Excellence. The story is centered about the young boy known as Sparrowhawk, later known as Ged, who goes off to be trained as a wizard. His pride and anger accidentally lets loose a shadow upon the world. Ged learns humility and duty and, after confronting a dragon threatening villagers, he goes off to restore the balance in the world by facing this shadow. The reader becomes well aware of the importance of words: words, by themselves, can become acts. We have to be very careful in what we say and how we phrase sentences. In addition, the reader sees Ged face his fears and discovers an aspect of the nature of good and evil that allows him to grow more complete.
Rating:
Summary: I loved the book!
Review: I like fantasies and this was one of the books that I truly liked. The only strange thing that I noticed was that it is in the Earthsea trilogy, which so far I like the rest of the set, but there are four books instead of three. Could anyone explain this to me?
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