A Wizard of Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin · first published 1968
50% recommend43% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Spare, poetic coming-of-age fantasy about a young wizard's education, with wise themes of mortality and true names. Often called the best starting point for Le Guin, and it rewards rereading by adults.
Common criticism: Some find the prose dry and merely descriptive
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The first novel of Ursula K. Le Guin's must-read Earthsea Cycle. "The magic of Earthsea is primal; the lessons of Earthsea remain as potent, as wise, and as necessary as anyone could dream." (Neil Gaiman) Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tumultuous 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. With sto
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…Kingkiller Chronicles * How to Win Friends and Influence People * Issac Asimov's short stories and Foundation series * The Forever War * Gentleman Bastards * Ready Player One * The Martian * A Wizard of Earthsea EDIT: Short Reading I Recommend: * http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗As a huge fan of the Wizard of Earthsea, I could never bring myself to read the other big wizard school books: Harry Potter. Harry Potter just seemed so trite, superficial, and generic by comparison.. but since I never actually read them I…
on “Ursula Le Guin Books” ↗I never even got to the later Earthsea books. I absolutely loved and treasured The Wizard of Earthsea, which I've read and reread many times over my life (something I almost never do with any books). The other two books in the trilogy: The Tombs of Atuan and The Furthest Shore were pretty disappointing…
on “Ursula Le Guin Books” ↗…thrillers, typically stories about spying or political corruption. I'm usually bored by this genre, couldn't put these down. Will read more by this (hitherto unknown to me) author. Ursula K. Le Guin, The Wizard of Earthsea. (reread) Still as good as I remembered it to be. P.K.Dick, The Man in the High Castle. (reread) Very inventive and weird in a good way, but I wish the characters would be a little different (everyone…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗"right up there next to LotR" I absolutely hated LotR and everything else from Tolkien that I've read. To me The Wizard of Earthsea is infinitely better, and Tolkien is not even in the same league as Le Guin.
on “Ursula Le Guin Books” ↗I have a bit of a different take on Le Guin's best work. I couldn't get into The Dispossessed. I will try again, though. I read The Wizard of Earthsea when I was a teen and loved it, struggled with the second book (Tombs of Atuan) at the time, then returned to it 30 years later and now consider it a truly fine work as a story and an examination of religion,…
on “Ursula Le Guin Books” ↗…Alchemist, Paulo Coelho The Book of Disquet, Fernando Pessoa The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexander Dumas Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safron Foer Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
on “Please recommend a book to read. List for 2015” ↗Le Guin is one of the all time greats. If you like fantasy, the wizard of earthsea is a classic. For sci-fi, my introduction to her was the left hand of darkness, which I devoured.
on “One of the greatest science fiction magazines is now available online (2017)” ↗A Wizard of Earthsea is still one of the wisest books I've ever read. Mostly because it cares enough to want to be.
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗A wizard of earthsea by Ursula Le Guin The moon is a hash mistress Heinlein Weirdstone of Brisingamen The red car
on “Ask HN: What book had a big impact on you as a child or teenager?” ↗My grandchildren (ages 10 - 13) have been recently given and are apparently somewhat attached to The Mouse and His Child - Russell Hoban A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel - Ursula K. Le Guin, Fred Fordham The SAS Survival Handbook - Lofty Wiseman They more or less all cover the search for being self winding.
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite children's books?” ↗…Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days 6. 7 brief Lessons on Physics 7. The Last Lecture (The energy and positivity coming from a man knowing he's about to die is infectious. Great read) 8. A wizard of Earthsea (Move over Harry Potter, this is the essential children's story about wizards) 9. Exploring diabetes with owls (Funny, irreverent) 10. Miss Peregrines home for peculiar children (Made an effort to read…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗The Magicians, Lev Grossman A Wizard of Earthsea
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗…LotR. It pioneered the wizarding school trope, later popularized by Harry Potter, as well as a magic system incorporating “true names” of things, a concept used in many other fantasies such as Eragon. A Wizard of Earthsea is my all time favorite book.
on “Ursula Le Guin Books” ↗…Card and I disagree on many critical ethical issues: eugenics, whether the "ends justify the means," and when (if ever) armed conflict is a noble activity. However, the Ender's Game series (like Dune, Wizard of Earthsea, and other young adult Sci-Fi and fantasy I read as a child) still served a valuable role for me in that earlier, more difficult time in my social development. By providing role models that were not,…
on “Ender's Game Review” ↗