Editing The Earthsea Cycle (section)

==The Books==
===Main series===
*'''A Wizard of Earthsea''': The first book in the series is a bildungsroman about a young wizard named Ged, later to be known as the Archmage Sparrowhawk, who after discovering a talent for magic saves his town from invaders and is apprenticed under a local wizard who sends him off to the Isle of Roke to learn the art of magic and become a wizard of his own. Here, he gets cocky and is dared by an [[that guy|asshole kid]] into performing a huge spell which he fucks up massively bringing him back to square one. The rest of the book is his fight for redemption and self-acceptance so he can fulfil his destiny of becoming the greatest wizard in living memory. This book should be noted by DMs for its ability to, despite it's miniscule page length of 205, set up almost the entire setting of Earthsea, without so much as missing a beat from the actual story-telling. This is in part due to its detached third-person narration which makes it similar in reading to older stories like [[the Poetic Edda]] and [[Beowulf]], without the weighty and archaic words found there. It also manages to teach the reader a vital lesson, that being that even the greatest of achievers started by making mistakes, something the [[Harry Potter|book's]] [[Eragon|copiers]] [[Fail|failed]] to do.
*'''The Tombs of Atuan''': Book two takes a much slower pace and focuses more on a singular setting with a new main character. Tenar, known also by her sort-of use-name Arha (The swallowed one) is a woman chosen at birth to be the priestess of the titular Tombs of Atuan. Here she's taught that all magic and foreigners are evil. Part-way through the book, Ged shows up trying to steal a relic from the tomb and their interactions cause her to question the life she had been living so far. Notable for being one of the first fantasy books to have a female lead and, until Ged shows up, a majority female cast (of one). Perhaps not as engrossing as the first book, but still pretty well-written and short enough to justify a read.
*'''The Farthest Shore''': The story of Ged, now Archmage of Roke, embarking with a teenage prince on a journey to save Earthsea from some magic affliction which is plunging the entirety of Earthsea into chaos. Turns out there's a necromancer trying to cheat death, upsetting the aforementioned balance over the world that magic has. While Ged is a main character, the main story emphasis is on Lebannen, or Arren, the prince of Enlad who later becomes the emperor of Earthsea, after going through the similar bildungsroman treatment as the first book (might seem like a spoiler, but the book makes it quite obvious that this is going to go down). A more exciting pace than the Tombs of Atuan, it still contains similar themes of morality, but also touches on more bigger human themes such as mortality and corruption, and is marked by a step towards the [[grimdark]] for the series, though ends quite positively. Worth skipping to if Tombs of Atuan sounds too boring for you.
*'''Tehanu''': Book four returns to Tenar some decades after book two, now living on the Isle of Gont and partly looking after Ged's old teacher. Continuing the series' move towards grimdark, she's also looking after a girl with a half-burned face that was horribly treated, implied possibly raped, and is mistrusted, even despised, by the surrounding villagers. Ged returns home, this time without his powers, and has to find new meaningful ways to live his life. This book deals more with themes of gender and taoist philosophies of being and doing. Would advise a skipping if you did the same for Tombs of Atuan.
*'''The Other Wind'''

===Short Stories===
*'''Tales from Earthsea''': More or less, exactly what it says on the tin. Tales from Earthsea is a collection of short stories that seek to expand the character as well as the world building of the original novels. Some of the main characters from previous books make some noteworthy appearances, there's a story about the founding of the mage's school on Roke island, as well as an in-depth description of the world of Earthsea itself. As can probably be guessed, this book was written to tide readers over to the other wind once Ursula had decided to write some more books. Worthwhile read, though.