Le Guin, Ursula. A Wizard of Earthsea. New York: Random House, 1968. 197 pages. (Fantasy Series)A Wizard of Earthsea, the first book of Earthsea, is long ago during the time that dragons, wizards and magic weren’t uncommon. Gont, an island in the stormy Northeast Sea, is the land famous for wizards.
Duny, a boy from the village of Ten Alders, is fascinated by his aunts small, “women” magic. Duny’s aunt was the local witch, not to be confused with a dark sorceress, but is of use to the townspeople for her herbs and simple spells. Duny had a natural talent in magic, when his aunt realizes this she teaches him everything she knows. His innate skills were put to the test when hordes of Kargs invade on his homeland. Duny’s quick thinking allowed him to create a spell that would defeat the Kargs. As the spell he created saved almost everyone, the word of his good deed was spread until Ogion the Silent was told. Ogion rides to see Duny and finds that he is much too powerful for his youth and cannot withhold the power inside him. Duny decides to leave his beloved mentor and go to Roke Island and the School (for sorcery). As he studies under the Archmage Nemmerle, he finds that a wizards life is spent learning the true name of things in old tongue. Will Duny’s new training ever help him? Or will he stay the uncontrolled wizard he was born?
A Wizard of Earthsea, was one of the best books that I’ve read! I would recommend this book to people who have an interest in wizards or magic.
Reviewed by: BlueBerryBuddy
