Audiobook Review – A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1) by Ursula K. LeGuin, Narrated by Rob Inglis (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 7 hours and 17 minutes
Publisher:‎ Recorded Books
Release Date: April 10, 2009
ASIN: B002H05F9C
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Earthsea Cycle
Source: eGalley for Review from NetGalley
Rating: 3/5 stars

“The shapeless mass of darkness split apart. It sundered, and a pale spindle of light gleamed between his open arms. In the oval of light there moved a human shape: a tall woman…beautiful, and sorrowful, and full of fear.” – from A Wizard of Earthsea, first in a tetralogy that includes The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore, introduces the listener to Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, known also as Sparrowhawk. When Sparrowhawk casts a spell that saves his village from destruction at the hands of the invading Kargs, Ogion, the Mage of Re Albi, encourages the boy to apprentice himself in the art of wizardry. So, at the age of 13, the boy receives his true name – Ged – and gives himself over to the gentle tutelage of the Master Ogion. But impatient with the slowness of his studies and infatuated with glory, Ged embarks for the Island of Roke, where the highest arts of wizardry are taught. There, Ged’s natural talents enable him to surpass his classmates in little time. But when his vanity prompts him to summon Elfarran, the fair lady of the Deed of Enlad, he unleashes a shapeless mass of darkness – the shadow.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in the Earthsea Cycle. I borrowed this on audiobook from Audible.com.

Thoughts: This is a classic fantasy I had been wanting to read for some time. I saw it was available for free on Audible and decided to pick it up. I wasn’t a huge fan of this one. I understand why some love the adventure and the deeper message here. However, I felt like the writing style was stiff and dated, didn’t engage with the characters well, and found it predictable and boring. I have also read “The Left Hand of Darkness” by LeGuin which I enjoyed a lot more than this book.

Ged aka Sparrowhawk is expected to be the next great wizard, until he does something rather stupid and accidentally summons a shapeless mass of darkness. He then spends many years trying to track this darkness down, and his travels take him on many adventures.

I didn’t really enjoy much about this book, and some of that may have been on me. I was listening to this while I did other menial activities (cleaning, folding laundry, etc) and I kept feeling like I was missing things. I would suddenly be wondering, “Wait where is Ged now?” and have to relisten to parts of this to figure out what had happened. I am not sure why that was happening with this book since I listen to audiobooks while doing mindless tasks a lot but don’t normally have that issue. I think this was just a bit boring and repetitive, and my mind kept wandering.

Ged kind of goes from place to place to place, making a name for himself along the way while hunting down this darkness. There is a twist about what the darkness is, which was incredibly predictable. Now, I know this is a classic (originally published in the late 1960’s) so this may have been the original place for this idea behind a shadow like this. However, I felt like it was a theme I’ve seen so many other places.

I also felt like this hasn’t aged well over time. There are no intriguing female characters in here; this is very much a book for young males. The language is very stilted and stiff. The book is very serious and just not that entertaining. I am honestly a bit puzzled why this book is so beloved by people. I wonder if later books in the series are more intriguing and entertaining.

As mentioned above, I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was well done. I didn’t have any issues with the audiobook aside from struggling to stay engaged in the story.

My Summary (3/5): Overall I guess I am glad I read this because I have always wanted to read it but I didn’t really enjoy it. It was a rather simple and predictable fantasy read aimed at young men. I found it repetitive, and the language and themes felt dated to me. I definitely preferred “The Left Hand of Darkness” over this book, and I do realize those are two very different types of books. I don’t plan on reading the rest of The Earthsea Cycle at this point. I just don’t find it charming or intriguing, and doesn’t seem to be a good fit for me.