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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Summary: Intersting if you work it.
Review: A Wizard of Earthsea caught me off guard. I plan to teach in the high school in a couple of years and it really took me a while to get into this book. However, I noticed that Ursula LeGuinn is very descriptive and my goal was to figure out what my students would get out of this book. There are many morals to the story. Ged, the main character, has to find something that makes him who he is. He finds himself through magic and the meaning of his name. This is good, but it can take the reader a while to realize what the story is about. When reading the book in the beginning I thought it to be very boring and didn't see a reason to encourage anyone to read it because I was focused on what was where and how it might have looked. Then an idea suddenly came to me! The idea that I came up with was an art class. Because of the descriptiveness, it would be very interesting to see how students would draw the land of earthsea and the people that live there. I would advise students who are into art and imagination to read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wizard of Earthsea
Review: In the book, A Wizard of Earthsea, you encounter a wild young man named Ged. His mother died when he was born, his father has no use for a baby that can do no work, and his aunt merely looked after him until he could fend for himself. Ged has no family support and no friends. He is looking for acceptance and he finally finds a way to gain some form of respect when his aunt, the local witch, recognizes his natural talent for magic. From that point on, Ged has found the path that he must take in life. That path finally brings Ged to the doors of the School of Roke and into the company of real friendship.
Magic was Ged's deliverance from his small little town, it was his means of saving his townspeople, but it also has a darker side. Ged glimpsed this dark magic once while under the tutelage of the great mage of Ogion, and while at the School for Wizards, he gets a horrifying view of it that nearly takes his life. Due to his proud, boastful nature, Ged accidentally looses a dark demon into his world and the balance is not offset and a great man dies in order to save him. Everyone can see that there is a great powerfully potential in Ged, but he, so starved for acceptance, is careless. Now that he has disrupted the balance of the world, he has to live up to his potential, temper it with wisdom, and right what he has set wrong. The demon Ged let loose will eventually seek him out to destroy him and Ged must be equal for the fight.
This book depicts Ged as an imperfect hero. He is greatness within him, but he does not know how to manage it. The events in his life have molded him into an impetuous child that answers to no one. Ged had no guidance as a child. No one paid him any attention until he saved the town with his spells. He led a life not necessarily in the shadows, but one of invisibility until someone saw him. Ged, like any other child, wanted to be noticed. He wanted to be a part of something. The only chance that he had was to become a wizard for with that title comes the respect and acceptance that he yearns for. In order to handle this responsibility, Ged also had to learn humility. He had to understand that greatness does not come solely from sheer skill. It is a delicate balance between skill and an ongoing search for and acquiring of wisdom.
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Summary: A Little Book with Big Adventure
Review: I was surprised by this little excellent book! A young boy named Sparrowhawk is born with tremendous power but has no training or discipline to handle it. He is taken by the Wizard Ogion to be trained but, Sparrowhawk, impatient to use his skills asks to be sent to the Island of Roke to the famous Wizard School.
There he encounters other boys with skills like his own. He comes to face his own weaknesses and greed for power when a classmate whom he hates dares him to cast a spell he is forbidden to do. This results in a tragedy and Sparrowhawk's near fatal injury. Upon recovery, he vows to change his ways and right what he has done.
Although this book was recommended for ages eleven and up, it is by no means a book for young adults only. It has some very profound life lessons that adults will identify with. I loved the fantasy world that Le Guin creates. Her writing is taut, suspenseful and imaginative. The premise that the power of a word can change a relationship or destiny is brilliant. The story stresses balance and equilibrium in life in that each action effects all as we are all from one source.
Wizard of Earthsea is a totally engrossing and vivid fantasy tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Really Unrealistic: An Acquired Taste of Literature
Review: Before I start, I have to admit that my review of this book is sort of biased because I usually would not read literature that deals with fantasy and as you probably guessed, I did not like the book. I will, nonetheless, attempt at giving a fair review. The book is about a young man named Ged, who is known as Sparrowhawk to the rest of the world, and his journey to become a grand wizard as well as a learned man who knows how to conquer his fear. The journey is a worthwhile read for the message that it gives but, at the same time, the plot is long and drawn-out. My last thoughts were, "I'm sure the author could have found another way of getting the message of conquering fear across to her readers." Once again, though, I must say that my statement may be biased. Looking back at the events that took place in the book, I don't believe that any one was insignificant. Every event in some way brought the protagonist closer to the story's final message. The plot may have seemed long and drawn-out to me because I am not accustomed to reading this genre of literature and, of course, every event in a fantastic story is going to seem far-fetched which is a quality that I do not look for in the novels that I choose. So, I will conclude by saying that I would only recommend this book to lovers of fantasy literature. Otherwise, readers are in for a long, tiresome ride.
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Summary: A Wizard Of Earthsea
Review: A Wizard of Earthsea was written by Ursula K. Le Guin. This book may have been interesting to kids but it wasn't interesting at all to me. Personally, I thought that this book was very hard to get through. Earthsea is the story of a young boy named Ged who seems to be climbing the ladder of becoming the greatest sorcerer ever. After discovering that he has some power, Ged goes on a quest of trying to see what else he has power to do. Ged was not satisfied with a few things he had to learn and do more. Ged starts off being a curious young boy who wants to learn every trick there is. Later on down the line his curiousty caused many problems for him. After reading the book, I realized that Ged didn't really know who he was and throughout the book he was trying to figure himself out.
This book isn't the worst but it isn't the best either. For all those readers who love fantasy, I would suggest this book. I like fastasy but not enough to really enjoy this book. I found this book so hard to get through that I'm not interested in reading the rest of the series.
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Summary: Oh No! Not Another Snoozer!
Review: The Wizard of Earthsea was an incredibly difficult novel. Ged's coming of age story lacked the necessary pieces to form a great work of art. The lack of excitement and character development made for a tedious reading. Earthsea's stop and go, choppy presentation created even more difficulties. The climactic scenes were few and far between and without those couple of events, the book would have been a complete failure. The two main confrontation scenes held the most excitement and this enthrallment simply festered out of the need for action and longing for an interesting facet to this book.
Another fault within the confines of this book was the poor depiction of time. With all of the sea travel and moving around, the time frame seemed to extend to decades. It appeared to be much like an epic, extending over an incredible amount of time. However, in actuality the lapse was only a couple of years. There was only one instance where the time passed was given an amount. The time between the first encounter with the shadow and the running into Vetch towards the end of the novel was two years. In those two years, Ged had traveled far and encountered much, so much it seemed impossible that it had only been two years. For this reason, it was extremely difficult to give age, appearance or understanding to the character, Ged. The similarities between Earthsea and Harry Potter were amazing, however, Harry Potter was written well with character development and exciting, adrenaline-rushing scenes. Despite the similar aspects Earthsea fails to live up to Harry Potter or Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Rating:
Summary: If You Like Fantasy
Review: If you like fantasy, A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K Le Guin, is an enjoyable read. Le Guin creates a wonderful world of wizards, dragons, heroes and villains, where a young boy, Duny, grows into a man and a wizard. After saving his village from maurauders, Duny is given his true name, Ged, and leaves with the Mage Ogion to gain the knowledge to fulfill his destiny. When Ged's pride leads him to unleash the evil shadow, he must face himself and his fears to restore the balance he has upset. A Wizard of Earthsea is fun for those who enjoy entering a world where anything is possible, however, the story is predictable and at times tedious. Le Guin inundates the reader with the names of the various islands, mountains and seas in which the story takes place. It becomes rather like a Geography lesson as one follows Ged on his journeys. Le Guin is exhaustive in her descriptions and histories of the people and places that comprise Earthsea. Because A Wizard of Earthsea is at times a tedious read, I would not recommend it to readers who do not enjoy fantasy. For those who do, A Wizard of Earthsea, and the remaining books in the series, will be a pleasurable excursion into a world of wizards and magic.
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