Represented by some trinket like a ring or chalice, or not some set lesson like What makes A Wizard of Earthsea stand out is its suggestedĭepth, the impression it gives that we, along with the young Lord of the Rings creates a multi-layered, all-encompassing world into which readers can Lovably (or scarily) eccentric characters. Harry Potter novels, for example, follow otherwise normal centralĬharacters, whom children can identify with, in their interactions with

What makes it outstanding is some aspect of how the story is told. Structure, since this is more or less the same in each story. What makes a great apprentice tale then is not the overall plot (A terrific take-off on the standard story, by the way, is found in Robert Asprin's Myth series, starting with Another Fine Myth, which quickly veers off from this well-beaten path into bizarre and hilarious new territory.) Even the Bible's New Testament could be read this way. Variations on this simple plot are found in Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea, in the Star Wars movies, in Lord of the Rings, in the Harry Potter books,Īnd in hundreds of other fantastic tales.

Greatest challenge to his youthful powers, usually in the figure of an Way and eventually-often upon the death of the teacher-confronts the Magician learning his art from an older mentor, faces tests along the It goes like this: a seemingly ordinary young ladĭiscovers he has an odd paranormal ability, becomes a novice wizard or The story of the sorcerer's apprentice is retold many times in CRITIQUE | THE TEXT | THE MOVIES Old story enthralls again

The earthsea series