A Wizard of Earthsea
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was once a young and reckless goatherd called Sparrowhawk.
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction (1969); Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1979)
About the Earthsea Series
Books in series order
- 1.A Wizard of Earthsea(1968)
- 2.The Tombs of Atuan(1970)
- 3.The Farthest Shore(1972)
- 4.Tehanu(1990)
- 5.The Other Wind(2001)
- 6.Tales from Earthsea(2001)
Reading age: 10+ years
This series should be read in order.
A mystical fantasy saga in the tradition of JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, the Earthsea novels follow the fortunes of the wizard Ged from his childhood to an age where magic is giving way to evil.
As a child, Ged is but a goatherd on the island of Gont when he comes by his strange powers over nature. Sent to the School of Wizards on Roke, he learns the true way of magic and proves himself a powerful magician. And it is as the Archmage Sparrowhawk that he helps the High Priestess Tenar escape the labyrinth of darkness. But over the years, Ged witnesses true magic and the ancient ways submit to the forces of evil and death. Will he too succumb, or can he hold them back?
Fans of JK Rowling's Harry Potter series will find much to admire in this complex and captivating predecessor.