A boy with remarkable powers, a school for wizards, and a shadowy villain who haunts the boy’s every step. Does it sound like Harry Potter? J.K. Rowling’s young wizard wasn’t the first to fill this role - Ursula K. Le Guin preceded her in 1968 with A Wizard of Earthsea. Ged is a gifted young magic worker whose power, temper, and tendency to get into fights leads him into unimaginable trouble. Ged has just become apprenticed to the only wizard on his small rural island when he finds himself victimized by the teasing of a girl a few years older than him, and lured into studying the most dangerous magic imaginable - the raising of the dead. Without even realizing it, Ged summons a shadow that will haunt him for years to come: unshakable, threatening everyone near him, forcing him to sail alone over empty seas trying to flee it, until he can finally learn its true name. Until he can learn what it really is.
Beloved fantasy and science fiction author Le Guin brings a family background in anthropology and literature to bear in creating the island world of Earthsea, rich in folklore and many languages, populated by peoples of many colors and cultures. The 3M Cloud Library makes it easy to access this and many other classic works in a new format; other newly revived ebook offerings in science fiction and fantasy include Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler and the works of Piers Anthony. - Michelle (Sunset)