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gussurireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Took me longer than expected to finish this. The second half of this book took me twice as long to get through than the first half. The run-on sentences and long descriptions of sea travels dragged on for far too long, the plot barely moving along, which does not help when there's barely any dialogue, and my ADHD-addled brain ended up straying quite often.
I think Ursula summarizes my feelings about the book in the afterword of my edition: "[...] A Wizard was perfectly conventional. The hero does what a man is supposed to do: he uses his strength, wits, and courage to rise from humble beginnings to great fame and power, in a world where women are secondary, a man's world." I rarely read stories with male characters, especially in Fantasy, as I just find traditional fantasy quite boring and well, male-focused. As a queer woman, I'm just not very into that kind of narrative.
And even where Le Guin tried to subvert fantasy tradition (which truly at that time it was basically Tolkien) with her darker skinned cast, she did it in such a subtle way that it allowed publishers to "fool" audiences for years and put white men in the covers of Earthsea.
Still, I'm looking forward to see how the series evolves, especially with shift in focus and protagonist with Tehanu. I might pick up the Portuguese editions from the library next though, for easier reading.
Minor: Child abuse
renicula's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Moderate: Blood, Sexism, Death, Child death, and Animal death
Minor: War, Slavery, Murder, Child abuse, and Death of parent
marsh_mall0w's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Stalking, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse and Suicidal thoughts
eauderat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Child abuse
afion's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Death and War
Minor: Child abuse and Animal death
tinyelfarcanist's review
- 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
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.
Graphic: Violence, Stalking, and Child death
Moderate: Death and Animal death
Minor: Child abuse
kerttuli's review
- 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
Graphic: Stalking and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Animal death, and Death
Minor: Slavery, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
nerdkitten's review against another edition
- 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
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
emmazan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent