A Wizard of Earthsea is an audiobook by Ursula K. Le Guin, narrated by Rob Inglis. The unabridged Audible edition runs 7 hrs 17 mins.
Publisher’s Summary
Winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award
Winner of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
One of TIME’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time
Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death’s threshold to restore the balance.
"The magic of Earthsea is primal; the lessons of Earthsea remain as potent, as wise, and as necessary as anyone could dream."—Neil Gaiman
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Rob Inglis
- Length: 7 hrs 17 mins
- Publisher: Recorded Books
- Release year: 2009
- Audible category: Teen & Young Adult / Literature & Fiction / Teen & Young Adult
Listener Ratings
A Wizard of Earthsea holds an average listener rating of 4.3/5 from 8028 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.4/5
- Story: 4.3/5
- 5-star ratings: 53% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
4/5 stars — “A Classic”
While Ursula K. Le Guin wrote several novels about the fantasy world of Earthsea, A Wizard of Earthsea appears to be the first of the main cycle by that name. I found it difficult to pin down whether the series is written for children and/or adults. I concluded that while there are a number of philosophical themes that adults could appreciate, the target audience was probably that of a younger age. Let’s say YAs. <br/><br/>Further, on the subject of age, this is basically the coming of age story of a young mage named Ged who is drawn to wizardry and develops into just that as the story unfolds. There’s much in the way of magic, spells and personal discovery along the way. However, as Ged learns, all of the power and might of of a wizard comes with a price. Wizardry is not for the faint-hearted nor is its magic lightly wielded by the ignorant or arrogant. Much of this is taught Ged by Ogion his primary mentor along with his own life’s little (and not so little) foibles in and around Earthsea. Does all this sound a bit familiar?<br/><br/>The monster of the story we learn is… uh, not so fast. That would be a major spoiler. And I believe the book is worth reading to discover that as well as the other things Ged learns along his way through apprenticeship and personal discovery. The book is very straight forward. That appears to be Le Guin’s style. After recently reading a bunch of China Mielville prior to Earthsea, the latter was a refreshingly, relaxing read. However, we probably should not be fooled by her simplicity. Contained within the pages are a depth and breath that can be easily missed if we’re not paying attention. What can I say; it’s obviously a classic and who could not recommend that. <br/>— Robert, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “I love this story!”
I use this story with my English 9 class, not just because it fits so well with my curriculum, but because it is such a good story. I first read it as part of my children’s lit class in university and found myself enjoying it so much I read the remaining books in the series just for fun.— Marilee, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “I read this when I was a boy”
poetic, seascrolls, interesting Ged of course, main character. The whole magic used by a boy is interesting, running around full of pride, sort of full of himself. He grows and is humbled. I liked him as the narrator he had a calm cadence in his voice. He pronounced things clearly, occasionally I could hear the sound of the tape (recorded from a tape I believe ) and sometimes you could hear him take a breath. It felt very much like an old uncle telling me about Ged. I liked the Shadow tearing the hell out of Ged. Chewing him up! HA funny. That and the idea of shaping the fog to save the town, combined with concealment. interesting how the story proceeds. The time I read it as a boy, i really enjoyed the book. Listening to it, reminded me of how it was then, and how i feel now. Kind of a surreal experience, and i enjoyed it now at 50, as much as i had enjoyed it at 10. 🙂— D Montoya, Audible listener
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