A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. LeGuin: **1/2

I was disappointed by this both because it has such a good reputation and because I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did her Left Hand of Darkness, which is in my pantheon of Amazing Books. This one's a fine enough book, and a very quick and mellow read, but I found the world to be pretty small and inconsequential. It reminded me of my experience reading Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone, though the LeGuin is much superior to the Moorcock.

This was the second book I've read recently that is told as a fable, and I'm beginning to think that's not going to be my favorite narrative format. There's a real lack of any terror or tension in both this and the other book (Tanith Lee's Volkhavaar), and this stems from the narrator's detached and reassuring tone. This book had a couple of surprises nonetheless, but they were fit almost into a school lesson by the narrator afterwards. Maybe if I was 15 I would have liked it more.

Also of note is the fact that one of the main aspects of this book is directly copied as a major premise of the Harry Potter series, which I found funny because my friend Craig always rails on Harry Potter and its lack of originality. I enjoy fueling that fire.
(Winter 2005)


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