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Original Essays | June 27, 2009

All posts by Fran Cannon Slayton On Wakes and Rum (and Coke)

"Unfortunately, I've been to my fair share of wakes." Continue »


  1. $11.89 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    When the Whistle Blows

    Fran Cannon Slayton

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Other titles in the Earthsea Trilogy series:

  1. Wizard of Earthsea

Wizard of Earthsea

by Ursula K Le Guin

Wizard of Earthsea Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea cycle has become one of the best-loved fantasies of our time. The windswept world of Earthsea is one of the greatest creations in all of fantasy literature, frequently compared with J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth or C.S. Lewis's Narnia. The magnificent saga begins with A Wizard of Earthsea, continues in The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore, and concludes with Tehanu — each book a treasure of wisdom, wonder, and literary wizardy.

A Wizard of Earthsea
Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, but once he was called Sparrowhawk, a reckless youth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

Review:

"The first volume of her wonderful and haunting fantasy trilogy for children; as good as anything she has written for adults, or perhaps even better." The Reader's Catalog

Review:

"Among the looms of fantasy fiction, Ursula Le Guin weaves on where J.R.R. Tolkien cast off. It's a large claim; heresy perhaps to legions of Hobbit fanciers. But in a superb trio of novels, Le Guin's invented world of Earthsea — fuming with dragons and busy with magic — has replaced Tolkien's Middle Earth as the chosen land for high, otherworldly adventure." Sunday Times (London)

Synopsis:

Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea,     but once he was called Sparrowhawk, a reckless    youth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tampered    with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow    upon the world. This is the tale of his testing,     how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an    ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to    restore the balance.

Synopsis:

A boy grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to the Master Wizard.

About the Author

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin was born in 1929; her parents were the anthropologist Alfred Kroeber and the writer Theodora Kroeber. She writes both poetry and prose, including realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, young children's books, books for young adults, screenplays, essays, verbal texts for musicians, and voicetexts for performance or recording. She has published five books of poetry, seventeen novels, over a hundred short stories (collected in eight volumes), two collections of essays, eleven books for children, and two volumes of translation. Several of Le Guin's major titles have remained continuously in print for over thirty years. Her best known fantasy works, the first four Books of Earthsea, have sold millions of copies in America and England, and have been translated into sixteen languages. Three of Le Guin's books have been finalists for the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and among the many honors her writing has received are the National Book Award, five Hugo Awards, five Nebula awards, the Kafka award, a Pushcart Prize, the Howard Vursell award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the L.A. Times Robert Kirsch Award.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
Katherine Stuart, January 14, 2009 (view all comments by Katherine Stuart)
This is my second reading of the Earthsea trilogy and I am just as enchanted as I was with the first reading. Le Guin captures the character of Ged with such clarity and without overproduction. She crafts the story of his coming of age with such a light touch without preachiness. I admire the lengths to which she takes this character even to the point of death and then brings him back.
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(2 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
ericdt2, January 16, 2008 (view all comments by ericdt2)
It is such a fantastic novel not about wars and violent acts of humanity, but about fixing problems and trying to understand both yourself (as you are put in the main charachter's shoes) and those around the main character. I read "The Wizard of Earthsea" in the summer of 2005 when I went to New Zealand with People to People, having typed only the word "Wizard" into an online search box -- I am glad I picked the first book that appeared. It's now one of my two favorites books --ever.
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(7 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)
timlarson99, May 26, 2006 (view all comments by timlarson99)
A Wizard of Earthsea was the first novel of fantasy literature introduced to me a the age of 12. It was, however not chosen by our class to read, but another book. Enthralled nonetheless, I took it upon myself to read this book and have since fallen in love with its land, people and the mysteries therein. From there I have ventured into many far fantastical lands, but this was my first experience and I shall never forget it. It is a great book that can awaken in the mind of a child the thoughts and desires kindling, but never fully known, in a heart.
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(27 of 45 readers found this comment helpful)
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780553262506
Author:
Le Guin, Ursula K
Publisher:
Spectra Books
Illustrator:
Robbins, Ruth
Illustrated by:
Robbins, Ruth
Author:
Guin, Ursula K. Le
Author:
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Location:
New York :
Subject:
General
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subject:
Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Fantasy
Subject:
Magic
Subject:
Fantasy
Subject:
Fantasy - General
Subject:
Fantasy fiction
Subject:
Fantasy - Series
Subject:
Wizards
Subject:
Wizards -- Fiction.
Subject:
Fantasy & Magic
Subject:
Imaginary places
Edition Number:
Bantam ed.
Edition Description:
Paperback
Series:
Earthsea Trilogy
Series Volume:
1
Publication Date:
January 1982
Binding:
Mass Market Paperbound
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
192
Dimensions:
6.88x4.42x.57 in. .23 lbs.
Age Level:
12-17

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