A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1968, is a captivating story that explores the hero’s journey of a wizard as he develops great magical powers, while at the same time, confronting the very thing that haunts him. The story follows Ged (also called Sparrowhawk), who in the beginning of the story, saves the Village of Ront from Kargish invaders by casting a spell of mist (which he had learned from the village sorceress). The spell confuses the invaders, causing great confusion amongst them in battle, leading many to go astray and fall back. After the invaders flee, Ged becomes a hero for saving the village.
From there, Ged becomes the apprentice of a mage named Ogion, who once calmed an earthquake from destroying a city, and is respected by the people. But because of how slow Ged’s training is under his mentorship, Ged wishes to go to the Isle of Roke to learn magic at a school for wizards.
From there, he befriends Vetch, and walks around with an otak (a mouse-like creature) that rides on his shoulder. But things don’t go well for him when Jasper, a fellow student, taunts and jeers him to see who can outdo the other in sorcery. At the Isle of Roke, the students learn how to cast spells of illusion (such is making water spring from the earth), control the weather (i.e. wind), and learn the true name of things to command them at will. But one day, Ged and Jasper’s rivalry take a turn for the worse when Ged summons an entity from the Shadow realm: an evil spirit which he cannot command, and thus, it will haunt him for the rest of this tale.
As a result, Ged falls ill, and is bedridden for months while his classmates continue their studies and advance to graduate with their staffs (later to become sorceries of islands to protect people). Ged is stricken with guilt, however, since the archmage (the head of the school), Nemmerle, perished after driving the evil spirit away. Before he passed away, he cast a spell to protect the isle, although the evil spirit is still out there.
After leaving the school, Ged goes on different quests where he faces off against dragons, the Shadow (aforementioned), and an entity inside a tower that can answer any question, all while haunted by the spirit he had released.
A Wizard of Earthsea is a well-crafted story that is remarkably profound in the way it studies the inner conflict of its protagonist. It contains a rich world full of archipelago islands with their own histories, and fascinating villages and sailors that Ged meets along the way who teach him the ropes of the sea. It’s a great story that reveals how it is not just wizardry and magic that makes an individual great, but the choices they make.
Fallton Havenstonne 