Details
Rent A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)
Author:
Narrator: Harlan Ellsion
Format: Unabridged-CD
Publisher: Pub Group West
Published: Apr 2003
Genre: Fiction - Fantasy - General
Retail Price: $35.00
Discs: 5
Synopsis
Often compared to Tolkien's Middle-earth or Lewis's Narnia, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea is a stunning fantasy world that grabs quickly at our hearts, pulling us deeply into its imaginary realms. Four books (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, and Tehanu) tell the whole Earthsea cycle--a tale about a reckless, awkward boy named Sparrowhawk who becomes a wizard's apprentice after the wizard reveals Sparrowhawk's true name. The boy comes to realize that his fate may be far more important than he ever dreamed possible. Le Guin challenges her readers to think about the power of language, how in the act of naming the world around us we actually create that world. Teens, especially, will be inspired by the way Le Guin allows her characters to evolve and grow into their own powers.
In this first book, A Wizard of Earthsea readers will witness Sparrowhawk's moving rite of passage--when he discovers his true name and becomes a young man. Great challenges await Sparrowhawk, including an almost deadly battle with a sinister creature, a monster that may be his own shadow.
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Reviews
Maybe I am hard on narrators, because there really is an art to storytelling outloud - but this reader seemed to have two emotions -- amused and outraged. I love Ursula LeGuin's stories, so it was grating to hear it read so poorly... I wish she had read it, herself - which is how the book actually begins. I do like some of her other stories better, such as the Lathe of Heaven and Left Hand of Darkness.
I don't think I was as blown away by this book as I thought I would be, though I listened through the whole as kind of required reading for the genre. Nothing struck me as incredibly original about the world or situations created -- I even guessed how the hero would solve his dilemma. But once I had finished and taken the book as a whole, it struck me as an interesting parable with a worthwhile lesson. Glad I didn't give up on the first disk.
Not vary Good.