This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.
r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. We ask all users help us create a welcoming environment by reporting posts/comments that do not follow the subreddit rules.
This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.
r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. We ask all users help us create a welcoming environment by reporting posts/comments that do not follow the subreddit rules.
This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.
Welcome to r/bookclub! Current schedules can be found on the sidebar, in the top tabs, and pinned on the front page of the sub. We read and post about several books each month that are suggested by members and selected by popular vote. There's no requirement for joining, so pick up your book(s) and come read with us!
r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. We ask all users help us create a welcoming environment by reporting posts/comments that do not follow the subreddit rules.
Welcome to r/bookclub! Current schedules can be found on the sidebar, in the top tabs, and pinned on the front page of the sub. We read and post about several books each month that are suggested by members and selected by popular vote. There's no requirement for joining, so pick up your book(s) and come read with us!
Because sometimes: a book review says more about the reviewer than it does about the book. r/BadReads is a showcase of the most unhelpful book reviews from all over the internet: reviews that are shallow, vapid, vacuous or otherwise totally missing the point. Parody/satirical and tongue-in-cheek reviews are also welcome.
Welcome to r/bookclub! Current schedules can be found on the sidebar, in the top tabs, and pinned on the front page of the sub. We read and post about several books each month that are suggested by members and selected by popular vote. There's no requirement for joining, so pick up your book(s) and come read with us!
This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.
r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. We ask all users help us create a welcoming environment by reporting posts/comments that do not follow the subreddit rules.
r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. We ask all users help us create a welcoming environment by reporting posts/comments that do not follow the subreddit rules.
This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.
A subreddit to discuss the life and work of Ursula K. Le Guin., author and translator of dozens of novels, essays, and poetry. Best known for “The Left Hand of Darkness”, “The Dispossessed”, and the Earthsea novels.
** Due to the ubiquity of spam, the moderator will review all posts from new users with low comment karma before approving them. If you have a new or low karma account, this may cause a slight delay in your submission appearing on the sub.
[Potential spoiler for A Wizard of Earthsea, I guess?]
I see around me the consequences of my own bad decisions - I see it in my chaotic mind, I see it in my body becoming more unhealthy, and I see it in some of my closest relationships. I lay in the evenings and drown myself to sleep with self-criticism. It is my loosed "shadow" that finds me and tries to break me. I run from it, but the places of refuge that I go to often become toxic in themselves. By eventually confronting the shadow, Ged also confronts himself - he confronts both his pride and his fears. He sees himself clearly and meets the force of his weakness with a more powerful force of resolute wisdom, a wisdom borne as the lovechild of suffering and time. Every day, in small ways, I make an effort to seek that which I am running away from, be it difficult things at work, in my marriage, or the weight of parenthood. I do not always succeed, but when I do, I know that I have broken an important barrier - I have overcome a shadow that hunts me - and my next decision, my next action, small as it may be, becomes better than what it would have been otherwise. Thank you Ursula K Le Guin, for helping me gain the courage to stand up to myself and to be a better human being.
r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. We ask all users help us create a welcoming environment by reporting posts/comments that do not follow the subreddit rules.
This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.
r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. We ask all users help us create a welcoming environment by reporting posts/comments that do not follow the subreddit rules.
r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. We ask all users help us create a welcoming environment by reporting posts/comments that do not follow the subreddit rules.
Honestly i'm just going to get right to it and then backtrack. The Wizard of Earthsea is my favorite out of any book i've read so far this year. And if it didn't come through in my Redwall review I REALLY enjoyed Redwall. In just over 130 pages Ursula Le Guin gives a more interesting and entertaining storyline than some writers manage to achieve with triple that page count. I read this book on a flight from Florida to Las Vegas for the weekend and it was time well spent. The only time I stopped reading was when I chose to stare out the window for a few minutes, picturing what I was reading in my head as I stared at the cloudy sky. This book is magic, character driven storytelling at its finest.
The Books of Earthsea edition picured is one I purchased off of Amazon last year for just over $40. At the time I thought it contained the 6 Earthsea books, which I believed was the entirety of the series. As explained in Le Guin's excellent introduction this is not truly the case. The book also includes her essay titled "Earthsea Revisioned", along with what appear to be a few short stories, such as "The Word of Unbinding" and "The Rule of Names". As she explains in her introduction these are really where Earthsea began. "They are slight, more like a sailor's chance sighting of a couple of islands than the discovery of a new world. Earthsea exists in them, though, as the Americas existed in 1492 in Watlings Island, now known as San Salvador Island...Earthsea is there, though unexplored. Some things mentioned -- trolls, black magic, -- will never appear again. But one element in each story will turn out to be part of the deep fabric of Earthsea". And really this has nothing to do with the first book i'll be reviewing today, but this was such a pleasant suprise. This really is an excellent edition and the type of volume I love. It has not only the collected works for the series, it contains the authors thoughts on her series and how it changed or developed over the years. But enough of that, let's get into the first book of Earthsea.
Introduction and Character
I want to start by saying that the first paragraph of the novel makes it clear that our protagonist, Ged, will not only survive the story. It reveals that he's going to become "both dragonlord and Archmage". Therefore, any type of fear for him in the traditional sense is removed. Similar to Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy we see from the very start that the protagonist of this tale will live through it, and apparently thrive in ways that many other fantasy protagonists don't if the two titles mentioned for him hold any kind of weight to them. This automatically increases the importance of the journey in my opinion. There is no sense of surprise waiting at the story's end. It is about finding how Ged gets to that glorious end. I quite like this method of writing. As I grow older I come to appreciate more and more the chance to experience the Journey that the heroes of a story are pushed through. In many cases we already expect that they're going to survive anyway, because its traditional. By getting that part out of the way I believe the author is telling you to pay even closer attention to what is happening from one moment to the next, placing an increased importance on both the character's triumphs and failures.
Yet other cravings were in him that would not be stilled, the wish for glory, the will to act. Ogion's seemed a long road towards mastery, a slow bypath to follow, when he might go sailing before the seawinds straight to the Inmost Sea, to the Isle of the Wise, where the air was bright with enchantments and the Archmage walked amidst wonders.
The Wizard of Earthsea can be looked at as a story about self-discovery. Our protagonist will be famously known as Sparrowhawk, whose true name is Ged, but he starts the book as Duny. As many protagonists do, he grows up in an out of the way village that is far from the bigger problems of the world. The difference is that in Earthsea things like magic are common. It is traditional for many major cities to have a sorcerer assigned to them for protection, helping the people with tasks both fantastical and mundane. And even backwater village's like Duny's will often have a village witch, someone who doesn't know the true mysteries of magic but who can still summon animals to her and mix magical brews of a sort. It is after accidentally repeating the words of such a witch, his own aunt in fact, that Duny discovers he has magic. As often happens this leads to him meeting the great mage known as Ogion, who renames him Ged, and takes him away from his village to begin training him. It is immediately clear that Ged has enormous potential, something which Ogion doesn't hide from him. But it is this same potential that weaves the cord which he inevitably strangles himself with. Ged's flaw can be summarized as pride, but I would go a step further and say it is really just a combination of boyhood challenges. He has a thirst to prove himself, he wants to impress people, he doesn't like Ogion's slower approach to magic and mastering it, he wants to go out and see the world, and he simply doesn't always understand other people and their points of view. This constantly causes him strife throughout his teenage years, both when he is with Ogion and after he eventually leaves his master to attend the wizard school of Roke.
The last act Ged performs before leaving his master is to read from one of Ogion's books of magic, which transfixes him, causing him to summon a shadowy spirit of the dead. Though Ogion saves him this is an extremely important moment in Ged's life, maybe his first true mistake in fact. Ged only did this at all to impress a girl who had mocked him after asking what magics he could perform. As we learn she is the daughter of a local witch, who never appears but we are told works at cross purposes to Ogion. This brief section is very interesting, because we don't ever find out just why this girl pushed Ged the way she did. Why did she want him to summon a spirit of the dead? We later learn that this is one of the most dangerous acts a mage can perform. And with her mother being a rival to Ogion, at the least, it is possible that it was an attempt to kill Ogion's prize student. At the same time it could also just be childishness at work. Two young magic users playing around, getting into heated exchanges, and eventually causing unmeant harm to one another. What I appreciate about this however is that things that are mentioned between them become very pivotal as time goes on. The spirit of the dead Ged summons? Well, that's basically going to be the main threat of the story. But the two of them also speak of things like summoning animals or even changing shape into an animal. Both of these are things Ged will later do and they are pivotal moments when he does them. The animal he summons becomes his companion for a time, even saving his life. Both Ged and the girl, who appears many years later after Ged has completed his training, will take on the shape of an animal to save their own lives. And in doing so it is explained afterward how doing this can be especially dangerous, because staying in the shape of an animal for too long can lead to you being trapped in that shape, forgetting what it means to be human. It is amazing how tidbits of information are mentioned early in the story, which many writers might use as throwaway lines to take up space, but in this case become crucial far after you have forgotten about them.
Rivalry
Even foolery is dangerous in the hands of a fool
While attending the academy at Roke one of the first people Ged meets is an older student named Jasper. The two of them become bitter rivals, sniping at one another during conversation, downplaying the other's accomplishments, and eventually challenging one another to a magical duel which has disastrous consequences for both. The thing about this is...I am almost 100% certain that this rivalry springs from a misunderstanding born from clashing cultures. Ged, as I explained previously, is from an out of the way village. Jasper is the son of a rich merchant. When the two meet Ged takes offense at Jasper using words like "Sir" to refer to him or saying "I am at your service today". This puts him in a sullen mood and he assumes the other boy is mocking him, replying in morose tones. Jasper in turn assumes Ged is rude and outright states he believes he lacks proper manners. And this is where their mutual dislike is born. It's fascinating to me how simple this is, but it feels very true to life as well. Neither really does anything wrong in their first meeting, both making assumptions about the other, which get worse as the other replies based off incorrect assumptions. Yet because of this you have two characters who might have been friends bringing about the ruin of the other.
The duel they get involved in is basically for Ged to perform some great feat of magic. Of course, he recalls the words he used to summon a spirit of the dead in Ogion's home and repeats them. He is one again successful, calling upon the spirit of an ancient queen. However, with no one to interfere this time the end result is the queen's spirit dissipating, a rip being torn in the fabric of the world, and a vicious Shadow leaping out of it to horribly scar Ged. While the Shadow is driven off it leaves Ged bedridden for months, the current Archmage dead, and Jasper apparently losing all confidence in himself. I say apparently because he never appears again in the story after this. Ged eventually asks of him and its stated he never completed his training, leaving to become a minor sorcerer in another city. And I assume the incident with Ged is what caused this, because by all accounts Jasper was a talented student beforehand, who even Ged envied. Jasper falling into obscurity (and straight out of the story) and Ged fleeing from the Shadow he summoned for the next few years of his life is perhaps the perfect way to showcase just how damaging the unnecessary conflict between the two boys truly was. Yet it is also right in line with the story as it involves Ged's character flaws. Just like the previous incident with the girl Ged only summoned the spirit because of another person's tauntings, the need to prove himself. There was nothing truly at stake. Nothing would have been lost from simply walking away. And this same need to know or do more is everywhere in his training at Roke. While he excels in all of his studies he is constantly asking for more, constantly trying to push the boundaries of magic. When his teachers, just like Ogion, respond with gentle warnings and simple answers on the way things work he is not satisfied. He is frustrated. There is a very real sense of a boy who is too young to truly know better assuming that he does. So, when Ged is finally brought low by the Shadow he summons it truly does seem like a well earned thrashing.
Mentors
I have walked with great wizards and have lived on the Isle of the Wise, but you are my true master, Ogion.
After the incident with Jasper and the Shadow, Ged is a notably different person. Calmer, quieter, more careful when it comes to using his magic, etc. You could say that he is wiser than he was, but is still not truly Wise. He spends the next several years living in fear of the shadow, attempting to run from it as it continues to hunt him, wanting to possess his body. In doing so he actually ends up doing what he initially wanted to do. He travels the world, makes a name for himself by slaying dragons and making peace with another, performing truly impressive displays of magic which have him celebrated in songs. But he takes no pleasure in any of it. All he can truly do is focus on his fear of the Shadow. A bond was forged between them and he lives in dread of it coming for him at all times. His encounters with it take place across the archipeligo where he was born and eventually, in absolute desperation, he flees back to where he started. He returns to his first and kindest teacher, Ogion. Now I think its notable that when he does this he is in the form of a bird, with Ogion returning him to human shape. And this is when we learn about how changing your shape can lead to you forgetting your human form. Ogion sees Ged as a bird, looks him in the eye, and is immediately able to tell that the bird is Ged, returning him to his natural form. It is this kind of minor, but profound indication of a character's talent/power that I love to see. Remember, Ged left Ogion because he wasn't satisfied with Ogion's slower path. He admitted he loved Ogion and what he had done for him, but he couldn't bring himself to stay with him. And I think this moment is basically telling us that had he stayed with Ogion not only would he have been alright, he would've been much further along in his mastery of magic than he is.
Thus it's fitting that it is Ogion who gives Ged the greatest advice for dealing with his Shadow. Though he admits that he isn't certain just what the Shadow is (Just like none of the masters on Roke were either) he is confident that the best way to fight it is not to flee from it, but to face it head on. And this method is what leads to Ged's eventual salvation. It was not the new Archmage who managed to save Ged, nor any of the other masters with their high titles. It was Ogion, his first teacher, the one who he left before completing his training. I think everything about this is fantastic and that at this point the story is firing on all cylinders. Ged switches from running away to facing his enemy, his Mistake, head on. And it is this that finally gets him on the path to true wisdom.
The Shadow
Ged reached out his hands, dropping his staff, and took hold of his shadow, of the black self that reached out to him. Light and darkness met, and joined, and were one.
Ged meet his Shadow in combat multiple times after it is first summoned. And each time it is noted to be more and more solid, more and more human. While at first it is theorized this is because it is sucking more energy from Ged with each encounter in order to eventually possess him this is eventually dropped as an idea. By their final encounter the Shadow is noted to look exactly like Ged, even in the eyes of other people. And upon meeting for the final time, out in the Open Sea far beyond the lands of any living man, it is evident that this is because the Shadow IS Ged. It is all of his faults and failures, the darkness that existed inside himself. Could it even that that this is why Ged changed after first meeting the Shadow? When it attacked him and scarred him did it also steal away his more negative traits? Probably me just looking too deeply into it. But I believe that the best choice the author made was to have Ged not destroy the Shadow, but to accept it into himself. Their conflict is full of struggle across the story. Again, the Shadow nearly killed Ged when they first met. The second time it possessed the body of a sailor and almost did so again, causing Ged to flee in terror. The third time, after speaking to Ogion, Ged gets the better of it, causing the Shadow to flee in turn. Every encounter goes slightly differently and their final one ends with neither fleeing from the other, acknowledging the other as being "Ged" and meeting in the middle.
Naturally, there's a lot of symbolism to be taken away from this. But i'm a simple guy. I like it because this involves Ged acknowledging his darker self, accepting it, and finally achieving true peace from doing so. He doesn't become the vaunted Archmage in this novel. Instead he does something more important, which I believe is truly becoming the man who CAN be the Archmage. You could say that the entire story is really about Duny, that boy from the start who discovered magic and recklessly used it with abandon. He ends the story truly being Ged, the Sparrowhawk.
Conclusion
I doubt I could say it better so i'll quote the author here
To be the man he can be, Ged has to find out who and what his real enemy is. He has to find out what it means to be himself. That requires not a way but a search and a discovery. That search takes him through mortal danger, loss, and suffering. The discovery brings him victory, the kind of victory that isn't the end of a battle but the beginning of a life.
I think my favorite part of this story is that Ged makes a mistake, is haunted by it for the rest of the story, and has to deal with it primarily on his own. There is no hiding from it. The Shadow doesn't flee to another land where a hero with a magic sword slays it. Nor does it really cause problems for other people. It is dangerous to be sure. It kills someone. But in the grand scheme of things it is just chasing after Ged alone. This might seem small, but I think it makes the story that much more personal. Wherever Ged goes and whatever he does is all secondary to his conflict with the Shadow. While I would like to see him return to these other locations in future books, I think having the Shadow be the overarching enemy for this story was a stroke of genius. Everything else is kind of Ged taking part in a side story. And that's important too because it shows the changes in his character, along with simple acts of kindness. He puts himself at risk trying to save the soul of his friends son, he takes pity on two people who live in poverty and help him by leaving them a magic spring of sweet water. But from one instance to the next he is always on the move. First he is running from the Shadow and then he is chasing after it. As I stated above the ultimate end to everything involves both meeting the other in the middle in a true case of neither really being able to escape the other.
If you have never read The Wizard of Earthsea you should give it a chance. If you have read it you should do so again just to remember how great it really is.
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r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. We welcome respectful dialogue related to speculative fiction in literature, games, film, and the wider world. We ask all users help us create a welcoming environment by reporting posts/comments that do not follow the subreddit rules.
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This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.
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A subreddit to discuss the life and work of Ursula K. Le Guin., author and translator of dozens of novels, essays, and poetry. Best known for “The Left Hand of Darkness”, “The Dispossessed”, and the Earthsea novels.
** Due to the ubiquity of spam, the moderator will review all posts from new users with low comment karma before approving them. If you have a new or low karma account, this may cause a slight delay in your submission appearing on the sub.
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Welcome to r/bookclub! Current schedules can be found on the sidebar, in the top tabs, and pinned on the front page of the sub. We read and post about several books each month that are suggested by members and selected by popular vote. There's no requirement for joining, so pick up your book(s) and come read with us!
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This subreddit is for all things Earthsea: For all the Novels, for all the short stories, for the Ghibli (Anime) Movie, for the 2004 Mini Series and the upcoming TV-Series.
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Originally in commemoration of u/SomeHairyGuy (real name Laurence), a D&D player who passed away from cancer. We all came together to remember him as Galder the Conjurer, and now r/AdventuresOfGalder has expanded to remember any TTRPG player who has passed away.
// In this sub, you will find deceased players whom we all remember together by incorporating their characters and any other creations into adventures and backstories through all RPG worlds, homebrewed or official.
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A place where you can talk about a new timeline of events if one event in a movie occured differently/not at all.
For example: what if Hagrid never went to tell Harry Potter that he was a wizard?
New timelines could be created and expanded on using comment threads.
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Welcome adventurer. What is that you say? You are the tank in your party composition? Well then where is your wand? Oh I see, you are inferior minded. You decided to tank as a barbarian and not a wizard, what a shame. What is that you say? Teach me your ways? I guess.
This subreddit is dedicated to building the best way to tank as a wizard in the newest form of D&D. As of now that is 5th edition.
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Saruman did nothing wrong. He was a wizard of many colours, a ringmaker, he fed his orcs and created jobs and industry in his local community. Praise be the White Hand!
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