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fraeyalise's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm glad I came back to this book. I really think the first time I tried to read it I just wasn't in the mood for a book like this. It's slow to start but it does reel me in, and I really liked the ending. I'll probably pick up the rest at some point.
I would say this book is more for older teens or young adults than children, just due to the older style of writing and the language used. I think it'd be a great book to read to a child, though.
I would say this book is more for older teens or young adults than children, just due to the older style of writing and the language used. I think it'd be a great book to read to a child, though.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
shadereads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Child death and Animal death
afion's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and War
Minor: Child abuse and Animal death
amariereads's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Child death
Minor: Slavery
tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm more accustomed to reading contemporary works, so the page-long paragraphs were a bit daunting at first.
It's narrated as a biography of the great wizard Sparrowhawk. It has a distant feeling as if you were looking at the events through a veil. I enjoyed it regardless, the characters' motivations felt genuine, and I noticed homoromantic undertones in the interactions between the protagonist and his best friend.
There's a reason this one is a classic.
It's narrated as a biography of the great wizard Sparrowhawk. It has a distant feeling as if you were looking at the events through a veil. I enjoyed it regardless, the characters' motivations felt genuine, and I noticed homoromantic undertones in the interactions between the protagonist and his best friend.
There's a reason this one is a classic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Stalking, and Child death
Moderate: Death and Animal death
Minor: Child abuse
kerttuli's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Animal death, and Death
Minor: Slavery, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
nerdkitten's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Medical content, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Child death, Animal death, Body horror, Infidelity, War, Death, and Slavery
Minor: Child abuse, Excrement, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying
rieviolet's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It has been a really long time since I've read any fantasy book (it used to be my most read genre during my teenage years), so I started reading with very few expectations and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised.
I really liked Le Guin's writing style and worldbuilding. Most of all, I really appreciated how she subtly but effectively wove the different themes into the main character's coming of age story.
I look forward to slowly making my way through the entire series.
I really liked Le Guin's writing style and worldbuilding. Most of all, I really appreciated how she subtly but effectively wove the different themes into the main character's coming of age story.
I look forward to slowly making my way through the entire series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Violence, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Minor: War, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
k_aro's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A very good fantasy novel! It's for good reason that Ursula K. LeGuin is as famous as she is for fantasy. It's definitely a very different experience from a lot of 'traditional' fantasy novels (I'm thinking Harry Potter, really) in that it explores the emotional core of Ged far more than what funny magic hijinks he can get himself in and out of. Plus, the mistakes Ged makes being the literal plot is kind of funny on a meta level but also interesting in a literary way (though nowadays it feels a little derivative).
It also kind of reminds me of the Witcher books in the way that the Witcher and Dandelion feel very much like buddies rather than the weird sort of sexual tension that's on display in the Netflix show (which is not a negative review for the Netflix show).
I'd love to read more of the Earthsea cycle, it feels so full of life and in some ways reminds me of the Kingkiller Chronicle, so I guess it fills that void haha.
It also kind of reminds me of the Witcher books in the way that the Witcher and Dandelion feel very much like buddies rather than the weird sort of sexual tension that's on display in the Netflix show (which is not a negative review for the Netflix show).
I'd love to read more of the Earthsea cycle, it feels so full of life and in some ways reminds me of the Kingkiller Chronicle, so I guess it fills that void haha.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Child death, Animal death, and Medical content
I guess it's kind of weird to give 'proper' content warnings, especially for fantasy... all these do happen but in the sort of vaguely-but-also-sort-of-concretely consequence way.steveatwaywords's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Even as I remember it, Le Guin's first steps into this world are mythical, unwinding a story as legend, taking little or no time for incidentals, mere emotional quandaries, or development of characters. These would seem criticisms, and they are, if what you expect from this reading is an epic plotting on the scale of Eddings or Brooks or Tolkien. We seldom learn the struggles of the young wizard developing his skills (skimming over in 2 chapters what would take Rowling large 7 novels). Instead, we get the major framework for an idea of magic based on true names, a parable-like envelope for Sparrowhawk's character, someone inspired, often perceptive, destined. Gather around a proverbial fire and let the teller tell it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death