A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le GuinMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
"There is a horror follows you. I will tell you its name."
Utterly devoured Book 1 in a single sitting, on a school night (!!!) because reading it seemed like the most essential thing to do!
Le Guin wrote it for younger audiences, but it certainly did NOT feel nor sound like that to me! The story made me tear up in some parts!! A comparison that comes to mind is C.S. Lewis, such is her grace and command with the pen, and the gravitas of what's at stake (the ruination of a soul and of a world). Of course, her poetic style is all her own. Very few books make me hear a narrator say the words in my head. This was one of those "play a mental Audible recording" ones where you hit PAUSE and REWIND only about a million times!
Le Guin said "In the name is the magic" when she wrote this story of a young mage's education. To compare it to Harry Potter would do it a disservice. She herself is the archmage of Earthsea and her words weave the best kind of conjuring spell: A short meditation in terms of page number, that felt like it aged the reader a million years and came away so much wiser!
This is not a book to be taken lightly, despite any impressions the cover may give (Wizards? A quest? A dragon?). To be honest, it felt like horror to this reader, of the best kind. And despite the elements of fantasy, the evil is scary because it tells of what humans can bring into the world, so easily.
The hype is more than justified. Am going to the docks tomorrow at first light to explore the rest of Earthsea. Look for me in a few years, or better yet, join me and read this book as well!
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