A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin
I’ll be reviewing Ursula LeGuin’s whole Earthsea trilogy* over the next few weeks. This is the first book.
When I was eighteen, I invented a wonderful world based on the Indonesian archipelago. It contained literally thousands of islands, and hundreds of diverse cultures. When I first read the Earthsea books several years later, I discovered that not only had my archipelago idea already been done, it had been done by a masterful writer who was already a classic. Fie upon you, LeGuin! You preemptively stole my idea and had the gall to do it better than me.
So: the world is excellent, and the writing is beautiful. The rest of this review is at Comfy Chair, where I get paid for it.
Felicity Banks 
W said,
May 25, 2012 at 8:19 am
The first bit I saw was “LeGuin’s writing sucks”, and I was thoroughly shocked! Then I saw the rest of the verb phrase.
The fourth book isn’t well regarded, that’s true. It’s been a very long time since I read Earthsea. I should find a copy and read it again. Your reviews are adding to my TBR pile.
Louise Curtis said,
May 25, 2012 at 11:09 pm
W: Heh. TBR piles among my friends and associates do tend to spark wildly out of control. I read when I put Louisette to sleep – generally three times a day (and CJ does one, and at night she just goes to sleep) – awesome.