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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
Beautiful prose and story. Le Guin's writing style is very refined.
The book follows a young wizard as he learns about humility, humanity and finding his place in the world and that gaining wisdom is more important than gaining power.
The book follows a young wizard as he learns about humility, humanity and finding his place in the world and that gaining wisdom is more important than gaining power.
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
I enjoyed the world building and non traditional take on a fantasy hero- it’s a classic for a reason.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
An early influence on YA fantasy that contravenes tropes, but it's thoughtful, well paced and adventurous.
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
"But need alone is not enough to set power free: there must be knowledge."
Considered a classic of fantasy and middle grade, A Wizard of Earthsea follows Ged, who will one day be known as the greatest wizard in the land. But first, he must learn magic and how to be a wizard for the good of the world. After unwittingly releasing a dark creature in a selfish duel, Ged is chased around the world and can't be rid of it without one day besting it.
I read this for my book club, Three of Clubs, for our hand of books that center around magical schools. The magic school ended up being less relevant than I was under the impression it would be, but c'est la vie. This book is still credited with popularizing the trope.
The thing that I liked most about this book was the magic system. The magic surrounds "true names": to exert power over something, you must first know its true name. There's a lot of symbolism behind that magic system, but it's also fun when taken literally. LeGuin also has the main characters all be people of color, while the only white people are described as "a savage people", which was fairly unheard of for the high fantasy genre at the time. Unfortunately, the writing style really took me out of the story. It is written like it is an oral tradition, so there's a lot of telling instead of showing and relatively little dialogue. I felt like we didn't get to know our characters below a surface level.
Overall, I'm glad that I finally read this classic of my favorite genre, but this did not hold up to the depth of the previous book I read from LeGuin. I'm not sure how long this story will actually stick in my mind.
Considered a classic of fantasy and middle grade, A Wizard of Earthsea follows Ged, who will one day be known as the greatest wizard in the land. But first, he must learn magic and how to be a wizard for the good of the world. After unwittingly releasing a dark creature in a selfish duel, Ged is chased around the world and can't be rid of it without one day besting it.
I read this for my book club, Three of Clubs, for our hand of books that center around magical schools. The magic school ended up being less relevant than I was under the impression it would be, but c'est la vie. This book is still credited with popularizing the trope.
The thing that I liked most about this book was the magic system. The magic surrounds "true names": to exert power over something, you must first know its true name. There's a lot of symbolism behind that magic system, but it's also fun when taken literally. LeGuin also has the main characters all be people of color, while the only white people are described as "a savage people", which was fairly unheard of for the high fantasy genre at the time. Unfortunately, the writing style really took me out of the story. It is written like it is an oral tradition, so there's a lot of telling instead of showing and relatively little dialogue. I felt like we didn't get to know our characters below a surface level.
Overall, I'm glad that I finally read this classic of my favorite genre, but this did not hold up to the depth of the previous book I read from LeGuin. I'm not sure how long this story will actually stick in my mind.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
funny how a book mostly set on a frigid desolate sea/islands can be so full of warmth and life! this book was rather magical (in many senses of the word) and was perfect for a moment when i couldn’t handle anything too serious. le guin’s descriptions of nature were delightful and the philosophy of this book is not in your face but interwoven in a positive and constructive way. overall a treat.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes