I recently read A Wizard of EarthSea. It’s a young adult book from the 60s that is probably a bit underappreciated. I found that it was really enjoyable. It seems the fans of it are very dedicated, and for that, I commend them. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and it’s a fun read from front to back. The novel seems to reward commitment as well. Throughout the text, the islands that make up the world are expanded on and fleshed out in such a way that would make room for an expanded universe. Everyone these days loves that kind of thing, the lore, as we call it! The story is a magical adventure with lots of seafaring and high fantasy stuff. It doesn’t get too carried away with this, however, and the world is still grounded in such a way that it never takes you out of the narrative. The rules of magic in the story and the mechanics surrounding it are very interesting, and there’s no doubt lots of room for more fun things in the future books (That I may have to read now…)

I became interested in this book because of Dungeon Synth, actually. I’d found an artist I really enjoyed named Fogweaver. It turns out the entire project is a fan-project for the EarthSea series! The albums are all themed after the novels! This is very interesting alone, but the key thing that made me interested enough to read it is that in the liner notes for the album, the artist behind Fogweaver writes about how important the EarthSea series is to her, and these words moved me to the point of tears! Of course, someone basing their entire multiple album music project around a single thing is proof alone of a strong conviction; it’s inspiring. It’s also good music that I would recommend! I listened to her albums while reading the novel, and it was all good fun!

Speaking again of the novel, it’s more or less a coming-of-age story in which the main character hunts down a darkness. I won’t reveal too much, but I really enjoyed the central message of the book. EarthSea focuses a lot on Taoist themes, which, if you know me, you’ll know I resonate with that. I think such themes are important to include in media targeting youth as well. Western religion is full of muddled dogma about do or do nots that I personally think is not very useful for someone coming of age, but there is great truth in the Tao. Joy is baked into sorrow, and sorrow into joy in such a way that you can’t have one without the other. ☯

It’s refreshing to have media reflect on this in such a way as this book did, and the entire time it was also a fun adventure along the way.