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Post by tdenmark on Jan 22, 2020 3:43:08 GMT -6
This is one of those books I missed as a youth. I remember seeing it, hearing about how good it was, I just never got around to reading it until recently.
So I'm reading it to my kids a chapter each night and am finding it to be interminably boring. Its all exposition and little story. Blah, blah, nothing really happens and the names do not roll off the tongue and are not very memorable. The world is not interesting at all.
I hear that Ursula K. Le Guin is supposed to be one of the great fantasy writers of the 20th century, but I'm just not getting into this book at all. What am I missing?
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Post by tdenmark on Jan 22, 2020 18:19:57 GMT -6
Wow, look at all the Earthsea fans jumping in to defend the book and explain why it's so great. :\
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Post by doublejig2 on Jan 22, 2020 18:38:00 GMT -6
I liked it, the first three of the Earthsea books. Haven't looked at in a long time.
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Post by howandwhy99 on Jan 22, 2020 19:02:17 GMT -6
Le Guin is not action. Or like most fantasy today.
Read up on "left hand of darkness" or other famous works for what she's doing with the fiction.
For me, there was the quality of the mystic's Journey more than the hero's journey in Earthsea
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Post by tdenmark on Jan 22, 2020 23:14:46 GMT -6
Le Guin is not action. Or like most fantasy today. Read up on "left hand of darkness" or other famous works for what she's doing with the fiction. For me, there was the quality of the mystic's Journey more than the hero's journey in Earthsea So I'll need to read some of her other books to appreciate Earthsea? Note, I'm not asking like it's a bad thing. I really didn't like The Fountain until I saw some of Darren Aronofsky's other films, rewatched The Fountain and "got it" and liked it a lot. This happens in literature too. I don't mind the lack of action, it's all the exposition that is boring me. Also, I sense that JK Rowling took a lot from Earthsea to make Harry Potter, but she was really good at creating easy to pronounce and remember names. |
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Post by tdenmark on Jan 22, 2020 23:16:17 GMT -6
Oh, dear. Well never mind then! LOL! Heh. I do want to hear your opinions on EarthSea if you've read them!  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2020 2:10:15 GMT -6
Wow, look at all the Earthsea fans jumping in to defend the book and explain why it's so great. :\ FTR, I LOOOOOOOVE Earthsea!  I like the setting, I like the overall zen vibe, and I like that, all in all, it's a story that feels "round". - Whether especially the first book has aged well in the age of "Harry Potter" and "The Name of the Wind", that's another matter. But overall, Ged & Co. still deliver for me, even as an adult. (Bought the Earthsea hardcover omnibus last year, didn't regret it in the least.) Now, to me, LeGuin seems as notoriously overrated as a writer as, say, Terry Brooks of "Shannara" is an underrated one. She does write beautiful children's books and solid sci-fi - but Franz Kafka, she is not. However, when you read interviews with her, especially post-2000, you could come to believe that she's really, whatever, Paul Auster, the way people set up questions and discuss topics with her. If your kids like the story of "Earthsea", consider tracking down the BBC audioplay, if you like: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pktp7Should be on audible, at least. A very chill, "cozy" rendering of the story. Not sure whether it's appropriate for pre-teens, but perhaps a rewarding experience a bit further down the road. |
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Post by artikid on Jan 23, 2020 3:02:54 GMT -6
It's been a long time since I last read them, so memories are hazy.
I liked the first three original books, and the newer ones a little less so. But a very interesting read nonetheless, all in all.
What did I like? That it was more or less "unheroic", it runs contrary to a lot of fantasy stereotypes.
I liked the idea of the archipelago and the cultures in it and I didn't find the names that hard.
If I had to pick a fault, it's the writing. At times it sounds a little bit condescending to the reader IMHO, like "OK, kids take my hand so you don't get lost in this. Oh, here comes a storm. Storms are baaaaad for you".
Rowling lifting Harry Potter from Earthsea? can't say, haven't read HP, just saw the movies.
But it's not like HP is so incredibly innovative as to themes, content or plot. It's a well told rehash of a thousand fantastic fiction tropes.
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Post by tdenmark on Jan 23, 2020 15:57:55 GMT -6
The themes and ideas are cool. The setting on an archipelago is interestingly different from your typical fantasy world.
We just completed chapter 4 last night. It got a little more engaging.
Ged summoned some dark spirit from a nether realm and is now in a coma. We are getting to see what an arrogant, prideful, little shirt he is.
Perhaps one of the problems I'm having is the chapters are a little long to be reading out loud to my kids, though the book itself is relatively short. They fell asleep at some point, so I don't know how much of the story they missed I'll have to reread. This is a book I'm not looking forward to rereading parts. Her writing style is like chewing on sand.
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Post by Falconer on Jan 27, 2020 15:06:40 GMT -6
Perhaps one of the problems I'm having is the chapters are a little long to be reading out loud to my kids I just finished reading The Hobbit to my son, and there were definitely times where I had to ignore the chapter breaks and stop in the middle of a chapter, or dip into the next chapter. There’s a whole middle section—“Queer Lodgings,” “Flies and Spiders,” and “Barrels Out of Bond”—where the chapters are all about twice as long as most of the chapters in the rest of the book. I think it took even more than six nights to read this section. (The first chapter is also long like this, but I think I plowed through.) |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2020 3:16:31 GMT -6
In this context - the "Earthsea" TV series starring Danny Glover is available on different streaming services, these days: It's a whitewashed abomination, and a stain on the BUT it's still child-appropriate fantasy TV, IIRC. I hope we get a better version of this, some day, but for, say, a ten-year old who's interested in the books, this show should still deliver.
The Earthsea anime that followed a few years later, at least, wasn't too bad. A bit too slow, for my taste, but a charming reimagining of the books, as far as that seemed possible. Had fun with it, and the conceptual designs were pretty amazing.
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Post by cadriel on Jan 31, 2020 8:29:55 GMT -6
I actually had to read A Wizard of Earthsea for 9th grade English class, but I wound up engrossed in it. The plotting is somewhat slow, but that seemed natural for a book we were reading in English class so maybe I was grading on a curve. I loved three things in the book.
First, I absolutely loved the way magic works in Earthsea, and the sequence of Ged's education. The whole idea that magic is about using names to gain power was really cool, and I deeply appreciated that Le Guin gave magic a logic and ethos. It's worth noting that I'd devoured Debra Doyle's Circle of Magic, a young adult series about a young apprentice wizard in a medieval magic school, several years before I read A Wizard of Earthsea and this was like a logical step on from that.
Second, I really enjoyed the island setting of Earthsea. When I read A Wizard of Earthsea, I had read The Lord of the Rings, which has a very stock medieval fantasy setting, and I had read the Dragonlance series, which has a big weird setting that nobody thinks too hard about, and the first few Elric books, of which nobody ever said the Young Kingdoms were the most lovingly drawn fantasy world. So this huge archipelago with all these different islands really appealed to me.
Third, I loved the dragon. It was just such an epic confrontation between a wizard and a dragon, and it felt truly fantastic.
Afterward I went on to read The Tombs of Atuan. I liked how Le Guin had a conflict turn into a friendship, but I also loved that the labyrinth reminded me of a D&D dungeon (this was all read when I was getting deeper into D&D). I know that I read The Farthest Shore but it didn't stick with me like the other two.
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Post by Greyharp on Jan 31, 2020 23:50:15 GMT -6
Afterward I went on to read The Tombs of Atuan. I liked how Le Guin had a conflict turn into a friendship, but I also loved that the labyrinth reminded me of a D&D dungeon (this was all read when I was getting deeper into D&D).
The Tombs of Atuan holds a special place in my heart. It was the first Le Guin book I read and indeed one of the first "adult" fantasy novels I read. I did so straight after reading the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Prior to that I'd had a diet of monsters, ghosts, UFOs and spaceships. After my first taste of fantasy I was hooked. The Tombs of Atuan remains one of my sentimental favourites and the standout book for me of all of the Earthsea novels and stories. This introduction to fantasy took place a couple of years before I discovered D&D, but it would be fair to say that the game straight away brought to mind The Tombs novel.
Despite being marketed as juvenile fiction I don't think I've ever thought of the Earthsea novels as children's books suitable for bedtime reading. All the novels are quite adult in the subjects they explore. The Tombs is particularly dark with, at its core, human sacrifice to chthonic, malevolent gods. thomden, don't bother reading the rest to your kids, skip all the others and just read the second in the series for yourself. That's my advice.  |
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Post by Finarvyn on Feb 1, 2020 8:38:03 GMT -6
I thought I had already replied to this thread, but I guess not so here goes...
I found the concept of the wizard college pretty cool, and liked the way magic worked in the series. I also liked the fact that events from book #1 come back to be significant by the end of the trilogy. It's not the kind of wizards you see in Leiber or Howard, but still a neat brand of wizards.
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Post by geoffrey on Feb 1, 2020 12:22:56 GMT -6
Perhaps one of the problems I'm having is the chapters are a little long to be reading out loud to my kids I just finished reading The Hobbit to my son, and there were definitely times where I had to ignore the chapter breaks and stop in the middle of a chapter, or dip into the next chapter. There’s a whole middle section—“Queer Lodgings,” “Flies and Spiders,” and “Barrels Out of Bond”—where the chapters are all about twice as long as most of the chapters in the rest of the book. I think it took even more than six nights to read this section. (The first chapter is also long like this, but I think I plowed through.) I remember reading The Hobbit for the first time when I was 11 years old. I loved it (and still do), but I remember feeling as though the "Flies and Spiders" chapter was endless. I wonder if this was intentional, so as to parallel Bilbo and the dwarves' feelings of the seeming endlessness of Mirkwood. As for Earthsea, I read the trilogy back when I was a teenager. I rather enjoyed them, but my memory of them is hazy. |
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Post by Falconer on Feb 1, 2020 13:00:13 GMT -6
I remember feeling as though the "Flies and Spiders" chapter was endless. I wonder if this was intentional, so as to parallel Bilbo and the dwarves' feelings of the seeming endlessness of Mirkwood. Possibly. For my money the single most vivid part of The Hobbit, and unmatched even in The Lord of the Rings.As for Earthsea, I read the trilogy back when I was a teenager. I rather enjoyed them, but my memory of them is hazy. Same, I know I did read, but other than remembering that there were boats in the first one, and tombs in the second one, I really can’t be more specific. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2020 3:25:27 GMT -6
www.netflix.com/title/70142821The "Earthsea" anime is now on Netflix. As I said above, a charming reimagining with beautiful design and music. Not more intellectually tasking than the classic "Princess Mononoke", and probably done for the same demographic, but - a delight, in my opinion, if you are willing to take it for what it is.
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Post by doublejig2 on Feb 2, 2020 14:29:26 GMT -6
Evil as isolated - The lore associated with the evil old stone. Not a place of gainful worship, but rather a stone, hidden in a chamber, protected by a keep and surrounding grounds, far from any community on an island far from any other island, because like the Tombs of Atuan it is evil as opposed to just being powerful.  |
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Post by mgtremaine on Feb 10, 2020 19:41:14 GMT -6
I should reply to this ... but the original post is kind of confrontational especially as he later says I'm on chapter 4 now...
I will comment about reading to your kids at night first. Love it! Your ability to read long books out loud will improve the more you do it. But hey you have feelings, if you are petering out tell them, "ok we are going to stop there tonight I'm getting tired." Nothing wrong with that. In fact they will probably enjoy the next night when you pick it again. I read to my son every night for well over decade. Earthsea, The Hobbit, Lord of Rings, Similliarian, Dying Earth, Shannara (Sword, Elfstones, Wishsong), Gilgamesh, Elric, Corum, on and on and on. Night after night because it was something we could share forever. Some nights it was 5 mins of reading, sometimes an hour. Don't stop, don't be hard on yourself, but don't stop. If Earthsea is not doing it for you pick up another book, when it is done.
As far as Le Guin goes, another of my favorites. Consider how thin the 3 books are and consider how detailed she got EarthSea in them. And Ogion makes Yoda look impatient ;p.
-Mike
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Post by doublejig2 on Feb 10, 2020 20:14:04 GMT -6
He he he - I was 10 years old when I read A Wizard of Earthsea - I had nightmares of the first appearance of the shadow. But then I also had nightmares from Tolkien FotR's chapter Three's Company at age 9. I may have avoided these if the books had been read to me, but after reading the Hobbit to me at age 8, my mother kicked my arse out the door (regards reading). Scary text. Good stuff.
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Post by tdenmark on Mar 10, 2020 5:11:26 GMT -6
I should reply to this ... but the original post is kind of confrontational especially as he later says I'm on chapter 4 now... I will comment about reading to your kids at night first. Love it! As far as Le Guin goes, another of my favorites. Consider how thin the 3 books are and consider how detailed she got EarthSea in them. And Ogion makes Yoda look impatient ;p. -Mike Yeah, I was a bit annoyed by the book when I posted. I was expecting something as readable as The Hobbit, and it isn't. The language is actually a bit tough and we keep getting stuck on things and each night they totally forget what happened in the story the night before. We are not quite halfway through. I'm determined to pick it up again and finish it though just because. My kids are 8 and 12, I've been reading to them since they were babes. I do enjoy it, until I don't.  |
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Post by Falconer on Mar 10, 2020 20:22:23 GMT -6
After The Hobbit I read Doctor Dolittle to my son. Definitely not as cool as Tolkien, but still imaginative and adventurous and fun, and very readable, zips right along.
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Post by tdenmark on Mar 12, 2020 5:51:52 GMT -6
So the book took a turn for the better!
After Ged summons the shadow, nearly dies, goes to some fringe place (Low Turning or something like that, a lot of her names don't stick well) and becomes the island wizard where he screws up trying to save some boy's life - chasing his soul into the afterlife and the shadow finds out where he is. Then Ged learns the true name of the ancient dragon on Pendor and makes a deal with him, well that whole dragon thing was pretty cool. Now I feel with the shadow chasing him there is some tension in the story and we're much more engaged with the book. Hope it keeps getting better.
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Post by Finarvyn on Mar 12, 2020 12:04:01 GMT -6
It is a decent trilogy, overall. I hesitate to say "great" because it wouldn't make my top ten of book series or anything like that, but I enjoyed it and read all three a few times over the years.
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Post by doublejig2 on Mar 14, 2020 1:19:00 GMT -6
I would put Earthsea on a 15 item Appendix N style reading list (for those who gamed hardest in the early 80's). No particular order: U Le Guin RE Howard KE Wagner HP Lovecraft CA Smith Fritz Leiber Michael Moorcock Jack Vance Roger Zelazny Andre Norton Piers Anthony John Norman JRR Tolkien Lloyd Alexander Robert Asprin  |
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Post by asaki on Mar 15, 2020 1:34:41 GMT -6
Haven't read it since middle school, so I don't remember much, but I do remember liking it quite a bit. I have one or two of the other books now, so one of these days I'll need to get around to re-reading it....maybe after I tackle Narnia...
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Post by tdenmark on Mar 24, 2020 10:45:45 GMT -6
Yes, we are still trying to get through this book.
Powered through another chapter last night. Interestingly my youngest daughter is picking up on things better than I am. She realized one of the characters was an earlier character in disguise; Serret is revealed as the daughter of the lord of Re Albi.
Ged escapes Terranon as a hawk, makes his way back to Gont and his first master Ogion makes a new staff for him and nurtures Ged back. Now Ged has decided to stop running from the shadow and is going to hunt it.
I can't say we're loving it, but it has certainly gotten more interesting than the first half of the book. I think when we are done we are going to watch the Studio Ghibli animation. I don't see reading the next book in the series, though if this one ends spectacularly and my kids want to continue I will.
I don't mean to be hating on the book, especially for those who love it - and I know it is a beloved book - it just isn't working for me. Though I now see a few really good ideas I do like, which were probably much fresher when the book was first published.
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Post by Zenopus on Mar 24, 2020 12:22:25 GMT -6
The second book, The Tombs of Atuan, was actually my favorite of the original trilogy! I read them about ten years ago for the first time. The main protagonist is not Ged, but a young girl named Tenar who is trapped in a difficult situation. In a way it's almost a stand alone story. The tombs referenced in the title are also a great dungeon location. These maps alone made me want to read the story:  |
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Post by Finarvyn on Mar 24, 2020 14:39:34 GMT -6
The second book, The Tombs of Atuan, was actually my favorite of the original trilogy! Actually, it's probably my favorite as well. I like the info about the world and the wizard college in book #1, but this one has the best plotline and the best writing. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2020 15:35:36 GMT -6
Ged as a literary figure is generally most useful when he sets up more interesting secondary characters - and Tenar is, at least in "her" novel, way more interesting than Ged in his, especially from a contemporary perspective in which readers might tend to see Ged as some sort of primordial Harry Potter. Not sure how I feel about Tenar's later development, but I think LeGuin characterized her relatioship to Ged better in later novels, despite the ongoing problems with Tehanu as the new main character.
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I like the setting, I like the overall zen vibe, and I like that, all in all, it's a story that feels "round". - Whether especially the first book has aged well in the age of "Harry Potter" and "The Name of the Wind", that's another matter. But overall, Ged & Co. still deliver for me, even as an adult. (Bought the Earthsea hardcover omnibus last year, didn't regret it in the least.) 
