I suppose we all have gaps in our reading record.  Ursula K. Le Guin is one of mine.  I tried to read The Word for World is Forest once, way, way back, and could not for the life of me get into it.  And I’ve never gone back to her work, though I’ve meant to do so time and time again.  Heck, I’ve had a copy of The Left Hand of Darkness for well over 30 years.  Strange that I’d finally do so with A Wizard of Earthsea, a book I’ve never had any particular interest in, as I’m not really a big Fantasy reader generally, and Fantasy coming-of-age reader even less.  

The book was released in 1968, around the time that The Lord of the Rings was gaining in popularity with the youths and the counterculture.  It’s full of a lot of what I don’t like in Fantasy literature, especially the “post-Tolkein” world of Fantasy literature.  A young, special boy is noticed by a powerful mentor.  He is sent off to a school of magic (something I especially don’t like), where he’s recognized as being special, but feels bad and is morose.  If that was all there was, and the rest of the book was about him winning over classmates and learning to use his power, I wouldn’t be writing this review, or thinking about reading the second novel in the series.  Even though we do go on to learn about talking dragons with hoards of treasure, curses, cute little critters, and more, that have become quite commonplace in the genre.

Where it differs, I suppose, is in the setting itself.  It’s not just Medieval Europe with the serial numbers filed off.  The story takes place on what appears to be an endless series of islands, archipelagos, and atolls.  While there are certainly elements that feel like they’ve drifted in from Arthurian or Scandinavian mythology, there are other elements that move more toward taoism.  

Like a lot of books from this era, there is a lot of story packed into a relatively small pagecount.  A lot happens in this book.  It feels a bit like a serial, where every time it feels like there might be a status quo setting in, something happens and our lead is off again on some new adventure.  This lurching and careening story structure meant that I was unable to grow bored.  Even the magic school part, which might be one of the larger sections in the book, was over before I noticed, and w were on to something new.  

It’s worth giving this one a read.  I could imagine a younger reader being transported by it.  I likely would have been, if I’d read it as a youngster.  I’ll probably read further into the series.  I’m pretty sure I’ve heard later books are even better.  

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