A Wizard of Earthsea

[Earniel]

I liked Earthsea, it was different from the rest I've read. I could picture the Tombs of Atuan very well in my mind, I loved the way she made them. The Farthest Shore was special too, I loved the dragons! I liked Tehanu less but it was still okay. The last book (what's it called again, The Other Wind?) was very good IMO. But it was a good thing I had read the short story 'Dragonfly' somewhere because without it you miss some of the background of an important character.

A wizard of Earthsea: 7
Tombs of Atuan: 8
The farthest shore: 8,5
Tehanu: 6,5
(Dragonfly: 7,5)
The Other Wind: 9


I'd love to see the miniseries, but alas they will probably never air it here.

[Yodaman]

I know this is a topic about the novel but I might as well put this q here. Does anyone know if the miniseries is going to be just AWOE of all three books? They say jack s*it on the scifi site.

[Nurvingiel]

Are you referring to "Earthsea", the movie that was made based on the books? I don't know much about it.

[Yodaman]

I don't know, but I mean the new Earthsea miniseries coming onto Sci Fi channel this December, which is just called 'Earthsea'

[Fion]

Hey. I especially love the first book. It has to be one of my favorites. The others are good as well. It wasn't a huge problem for me the whole time gap thing, it was more like the writer was paying attention to the most importent adventures of the character. The begining of his story, some of the things he became famous for, and finally how he helps others complete their storys.

I also heard that Earthsea is going to be a miniseries, and have also seen pics and short clips. I'm very disappointed. Not that I expected to be very good, being made by the SciFi channel. Also the fact that it's going to be the first two books in one is very promising. What I wouldn't give for the first book alone to get a full budget hollywood adaptation.
Anyway, I highly recommend the first book, and you can figure out if you want to continue after you judge from the first.

[Tessar]

I love the EarthSea books.

I really enjoyed the way she set up her magic, so that it was less "mystical" and seemed more about what you know--for instance he beat the little dragons with magic, but with the ancient one it took his knowing a name. I mean how cool is that?

My favorite charactor was probably Vetch. He was such a nice guy, and he ended up having a pretty important part too.

[EarthBound]

Ok, you just about have to beg me, hit me, and kick me to get me to not like a fantasy or sci-fi, but I tried to read an EarthSea book, a later one I think though perhaps writen as a pre-series to the main (make sense? lol). Anyway, didn't like it, couldn't finish it. I'm willing to try the series again since I trust mooter's opionions, which books, to be exact, are the ones that rock so much?

[Yodaman]

Well, I've only read 1+2, but here's the three that I know of (in the order you should read them in):

A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore

I know there's a couple of other books and a story collection, but I won't worry about that until I find the Farthest Shore.

[Elemmírë]

Originally Posted by EarthBound

Ok, you just about have to beg me, hit me, and kick me to get me to not like a fantasy or sci-fi, but I tried to read an EarthSea book, a later one I think though perhaps writen as a pre-series to the main (make sense? lol). Anyway, didn't like it, couldn't finish it. I'm willing to try the series again since I trust mooter's opionions, which books, to be exact, are the ones that rock so much?

I love them, but the first two, maybe three, are the best. Definitely start with "A Wizard of Earthsea."

Personally, I love the whole philosophical aspect of the books... It's so beautifully Taoist.

[PippinTook]

Maybe I'm just impatient and have a shallow taste in books, but I couldn't make it through the first book. I had seen an advertisement for the miniseries on scifi (offtopic, but did any of you watch that miniseries Taken a couple years ago? I loved it, and therefore have clung to the scifi channel since. we watched it 10 hours in a row, dad and I)--and I went to go pick up the book. I thought it was very boring, the characters were so bland and there was scarely any dialouge at all! Someone else mentioned the way Ged moved around constantly, I didn't feel like the story ever really had a beginning or a middle (and heck, I never got to the end!). I didn't like the characters, or feel like there was any character development going on. The character that I thought had the most personality was Vetch, and we didn't get to see him a whole lot. I tend to cling to characters easily, I love them, I think it's what really carries the story, and I didn't feel like that was going on in this book.

*shrugs* Maybe I've just been spoiled by great books that fit my taste so well, but I didn't enjoy it at all. I think I was expecting it to fit along the lines of Eragon or something...I don't know. It needed more dialogue, it felt like it dragged.

[Bombadillo]

YO! The Wizard of Earthsea was the first big book I voluntarily read. I remember being at the Library in second grade, reading the back covers of books, waiting for my mom to find the one I needed for school, and the Wizard of Earthsea sounded so cool to me that I had to read it. And now I don't remember the story at all. In fact I may never have finished it, but now I think I'll pick that up again. I had no idea that it was one in a series or that it was heard-of elsewhere.

I'm really excited now. I've been jonesing for a good read lately but haven't been able to get into any books I've picked up.

I'll be back to this thread.

[brownjenkins]

enjoy! it's a good one

[Jabberwock]

Great series. Unlike most people, I think, I actually think Tehanu is the better book. The first three are mythic in nature, and though I enjoyed them, they didn't touch me the way Tehanu did. Other Wind was just ok. I was not impressed with the movie they made of the Earthsea books, though. Of course, that's usually the case.