WORLDWIDE FANTASY MONTH #3: A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin (1968)

Type of Media: Novel

Wizards are a popular staple of fantasy. If you take a random person off the street and ask them to name a wizard, they’ll probably at least be able to give you Merlin, or Gandalf, or Harry Potter, after they’ve calmed down from being abducted and interrogated by fantasy geeks. However, one name you probably won’t get is Ged, the wizard from Ursula K. Le Guin’s children’s novel A Wizard of Earthsea. This is a crying shame, because A Wizard of Earthsea is a classic fantasy book with a unique take on wizards, and it should be part of everyone’s fantasy diet.

Following the exploits of a boy wizard several decades before Harry Potter was a thing, A Wizard of Earthsea introduces Ged, an arrogant lad who has the potential to be the greatest wizard in the world. After using magic to save his village from a raid, Ged is taken as an apprentice by the quiet and mysterious wizard Ogion. When Ged becomes impatient with Ogion’s lessons, which focus on philosophy and theory over spellcraft, he starts reading Ogion’s books and accidentally finds a spell that summons a shadow. The shadow stalks Ged, following him to a magical school where he completes his training, and then to a village he serves as a wizard. As Ged runs from the shadow he tries to learn its name, which will give him the power he’ll need to defeat it.

The first thing that marks A Wizard of Earthsea as different from most fantasy stories is its world, which draws on various Pacific Island and Native American cultures rather than standard English or German folklore. Earthsea is mostly ocean dotted with small islands, and is home to a lot of different ethnic groups that are predominantly brown and black-skinned and live in relative harmony (the exception being the Kargish people, blonde and fair-skinned xenophobes who only leave their homeland to attack foreign lands, like Ged’s village). As such there is a lot of tolerance for different cultures, even for the slaveholding Osskillians, and virtually no prejudice based on skin color. The island you’re from on Earthsea is definitely a part of how others identify you, but it doesn’t define who you are.

The second thing that sets A Wizard of Earthsea apart is the depth of its magic. Magic in Earthsea is drawn from an ancient language called Old Speech, which contains the true names of all things and does not allow its speakers to lie. Wizards can use Old Speech to work their will upon the world by calling something’s true name and making statements that then become reality. This gives wizards a lot of power, but ironically the more powerful a wizard gets the less they use their magic. 

Wizards in Earthsea operate with a wisdom based on Taoist philosophy, which sees the world as a single organism that is kept in balance by opposing forces. Magic that throws off that balance must be used sparingly and only to promote greater balance in the long run. As a result the wizards act more like ascetic sages than typical wizards descended from Merlin and Gandalf. When Ogion tutors Ged he asks unanswerable philosophical questions, like, “what is the use of a mountain?” similar to the koans of Zen Buddhism, and the Master Wizards of Roke promote thought and understanding over raw magical power.

The result is that the world of Earthsea feels incredibly warm. Most societies work like communes, with some cultures seeming to function without money, and gold is only used as a currency on a few islands. Wizards, though aloof, are generally kind and in tune with the world rather than blustering fireball-slingers who impose themselves on reality at a whim. Ged’s quest over the course of the novel is one of self-discovery rather than power. He has plenty of power from the beginning of the story, and it ultimately brings him more pain than fortune. There are no epic battles or dark lords, just people trying to peacefully live their lives and a mage dealing with the consequences of his pride.

When it came out A Wizard of Earthsea was heralded as a great children’s book, but over time it has gained respect as a fantastic fantasy novel for all ages. If you read Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling when you were younger and somehow missed out on this one, pick up a copy as it makes for a great weekend read.