#140 in Classics
A Wizard of Earthsea
- 205
- Pages
- about 4 h
- Reading time
- Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
- Boston Globe–Horn Book Award
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Our view
A short fantasy with the weight of a myth: in some two hundred pages Ged goes from prickly, gifted boy to a man pursued by the shadow he set loose. The spare prose shines when he is among other people; some readers find the long sea passages hard going, and some feel the later chase goes by too quickly. The wizard school is only a brief stop. For those who like fantasy lean and serious.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
A Wizard of Earthsea is a fantasy novel written by American author Ursula K. Le Guin and first published by the small press Parnassus in 1968. It is regarded as a classic of children's literature and of fantasy, within which it is widely influential. The story is set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea and centers on a young mage named Ged, born in a village on the island of Gont. He displays great power while still a boy and joins a school of wizardry, where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with a fellow student. During a magical duel, Ged's spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks him. The novel follows Ged's journey as he seeks to be free of the creature.
Reading order · Earthsea series
Full order & progress →- A Wizard of EarthseaThis book
7.87.8 / 10 - The Tombs of Atuan
8.18.1 / 10 - The Farthest Shore
8.18.1 / 10 - Tehanu
8.08.0 / 10 - Tales from Earthsea
8.08.0 / 10 - The Other Wind
8.18.1 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.8 across 1,717 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 92% of the weight and the score stays at 7.8 — the Classics average of 7.7 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.9 | 118 | 7% |
| Hardcover | 7.8 | 1.6K | 93% |
Frequently asked
How long is A Wizard of Earthsea?
It has 205 pages — shorter than 98% of the ranked books in Classics.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Classics — with scores between 7.8 and 7.9, closest to this book.
