A Wizard of Earthsea
core novel 1968 Earthsea Cycle
Record
| First published | 1968 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.01 (376,616 ratings, collected 2026-09-11) |
| Page count | 183 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780547773742 |
Synopsis
A boy named Duny, nicknamed Sparrowhawk, grows up on the island of Gont in the archipelago world of Earthsea, where an ancient being called Segoy is said to have raised the islands from the sea and where most inhabitants possess some innate gift for magic. After his raw power is discovered, he is taken as an apprentice by the mage Ogion, who teaches a quiet, patient philosophy centered on maintaining the world's equilibrium rather than performing flashy spells, a lesson that frustrates the ambitious young Sparrowhawk. Renamed Ged and sent on to the school for wizards on the island of Roke, he studies alongside the loyal Vetch and clashes with a rival student, Jasper, whose taunts provoke him into a reckless magical duel.
Where it sits
- Universe: Earthsea Cycle
- Series: Earthsea Cycle core; position 1 of 6 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Awards (verified)
- Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (Fiction), 1969: won
- Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1979: won
Notes
- From the series record (Earthsea Cycle): Six-book cycle (5 novels + 1 collection), 1968-2001.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Earthsea Cycle: position 1 of 6: next The Tombs of Atuan (1971)
Sources
- https://www.ursulakleguin.com/a-wizard-of-earthsea
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wizard_of_Earthsea
- https://www.ursulakleguin.com/awards-honors
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