A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Danger must surround power as shadow does light.

Why I read this book

This was the February pick of the month for the Sword and Laser book club. If you need more reasons to read it I suggest that you read the following article from io9: 10 Reasons Why Le Guin's Earthsea Books Can Still Change Your Life

What the books is about

The book follows the life of Sparrowhawk a young wizard that will grow up to be the most powerful wizard of his time. Before that though, he will have to learn how to be a wizard and above all, to control himself; to stop being a kid and become and adult and in the process to confront his biggest fears.

First impressions

The first thing that caught me in this story was the writing itself. The author has a lovely way to turn phrases and construct sentences. It didn't feel dated as I had feel with some of the "older" reads of the book club. I also liked the pace, things happened at a nice rhythm.

Final thoughts

I liked the overall story even though the time spent on him learning the trade was quite short and I would've liked it to be a bit more extensive on this point. I enjoyed the way friendships were forged at the beginning of school and how the author used the typical teenager pride and desire to show off to build on what would shape Sparrowhawk's character.

The book is full of symbolism, which was expected with a book based on magic, but at some points made it hard to stay concentrated, for me that is; when a lot of this is in a book it gets me distracted since I have to start looking up for the meaning of each thing and then I fall in the spiral that is Internet Information.

It has been mentioned in the discussions boards of the book club that the book felt (to some people at least) as if it didn't treat women kindly, and that this was surprising, considering it has a female author. I didn't feel this. It is true that the book doesn't have a lot of female characters, but the ones I read didn't feel as poor maidens in distress or anything of the sorts.

In all I liked the book, but I do not think I will be continuing with the story.

For a word to be spoken... There must be silence