"A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel" is a perfectly paced and beautifully illustrated volume that brings Ursula K LeGuin's original story to life with vivid and captivating imagery. The book narrates the early life, frequent failings and ongoing adventures of a the boy Ged, prior to his meteoric rise to wizarding greatness. In doing so the book avoids unnecessary embellishments or deviations from the original story. Additionally of note, the book also restores LeGuin's original intent for the depiction of her characters by portraying significantly more diversity than has been shown in previous book covers or adaptations to graphic novel and movie form.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, HarperCollins Children's Books | Clarion Books, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars out of 5 rounded to 4.

Sparrowhawk, aka Ged, gets his own graphic novel retelling in this rendition of A Wizard of Earthsea which outlines his early beginnings as a young wizard having to fight a mysterious shadow. This retelling is very faithful to the original, even including the various skin tones Ursula K. Le Guin envisioned for her characters. It is a lovely visual and readers who might be feeling a little confused by the text may find this a helpful addition.

The only downside to this is that the dark panels are so dark that it barely registered on an eReader and in print, it's not much better. The darker scenes could have been lightened a little to make it easier to follow. Otherwise, a faithful retelling.

A Wizard of Earthsea
By Ursula K Le Guin
Adapted by Fred Fordham

I’ve always loved this story and I have enjoyed several different adaptations over the years and this is one of my favorites. Fred Fordham uses watercolors beautifully for the story. He allows the page to breathe. Using minimal wording. It becomes far easier to be swept up and carried into the story.

Well worth the effort to get a copy to own.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-copy of this gorgeous Graphic Novel.

I have not read any of Le Guin's novels, so this was my first foray into her writing.

This was a immersive, beautifully laid out representation of this story. Even though there were pages without words, I could follow along and really felt the emotion of the story and the characters.

This now makes me want to read the novel. Beautifully done!

I’ve never read the original Wizard of Earthsea novel, not because of any dislike, but often lack of time or interest, but I’m aware it’s a huge fantasy classic from the 1960’s. When I saw the graphic novel adaptation on Netgalley, I finally decided to give it a try. And I enjoyed my time with a new version of a fantasy classic, and feel like a more enlightened reader because of it.

For those in the dark, A Wizard of Earthsea is a classic coming of age fantasy of a young boy, Duny/Ged, growing to become a wizard and his desire for power unleashing a dangerous shadow and having to travel the world to vanquish it. It’s very much a book that makes you think about the dangers of power, and goes at a slower pace. The characters were easy to understand, even if we don’t know them for too long. This unique world, set on a series of islands on a large ocean, was immersive. The magic system was easy to grasp, with a lot of depth to it. Now I can see why this book established many common fantasy tropes in the decades since. Even so, I appreciated what it contributed to the genre.

As for the adaption: I enjoyed the watercolor like quality to the artwork, using a mostly muted color palette, it felt like it fit the story perfectly with its majestic and almost magical look to the whole thing. I did appreciate that there wasn’t a lot of speech bubbles except where absolutely needed, which left much room for the art to speak for itself, and speak it did with vast emotions and feeling like you’re reading a living and breathing story.

The original book was first published in 1968, so it does have some aspects that might be dated by today’s reader, but the graphic novel brings a breath of fresh air for readers of all ages in 2025.

What a stunning book with incredible art! I wasn't sure I'd like a graphic novel interpretation of this story, but this was done very well.

There is no adaptation that can fully encompass the beauty of Ursula LeGuin's words, but Fred Fordham adroitly and reverently aims to infuse the beauty of her narration in his illustrations and wisely keeps her narration as a guide for this graphic novel.

His watercolor scenes suit the original prose, harkening back to other classical adaptations like Greg Hinds' "Odyssey" and imbuing the scenes with natural wonder. There are many pages of a small boat sailing off into the horizon that may feel wasted in other stories but it shows the position of how even a magical prodigy like Ged is small within the beautiful tapestry of LeGuin's world and its many names.

A great bridge to give to readers who may be reluctant to try the classic on it's own, and a worthy read to those that loved reading "A Wizard of Earthsea" in the past.

Also finally a visual form of "Wizard of Earthsea" that honors LeGuin's descriptions about Ged's skin color when even many of the book cover artists didn't bother!

There was a couple of things that just didn't work for me.

I've been wanting to read these books for a while and thought that the graphic novel would be the perfect place for me to start. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me.

I was not a fan of the art style at all. And so much of this relied on the art so it was hard for me to push through. I also really struggled getting in touch with the main character. I did not like his personality at all.

While this had the effect I wanted in really picking up the original series - it just wasnt in the way I was hoping for

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books for the e-ARC. All opinions are honest and my own.

I have watched Studio Ghibli's Tales from Earthsea a few times, which I know vastly differs from A Wizard of Earthsea, as it is an amalgamation of several books in the series and they take liberties. Shockingly, this was the first Ursula K. Le Guin book I've ever read, but this has definitely motivated me to read more of her works. As a graphic novel I do think this does a good job portraying the story in terms of tone and voice, there is a fair bit of dialogue on each page but it does not detract from the illustrations. It seems the art style is watercolor, and while the art itself is lovely, it actually was not my favorite for the story. I'm sure there was intention behind it, but I do judge the art and my enjoyment of the story derives from how much I vibe with it. This is particularly the case with graphic novels and manga, as it is a primary component of the story and this one felt a bit robotic at times. For landscapes it was beautiful and portrayed the setting, but for character visuals and development, especially for younger characters, like our protagonist, Ged, it felt a little lacking for me. For clarity, I read this graphic novel on my iPad, in color, which is a typical way for me to read stories of this medium, so that did not impact my review in any negative manner.

Essentially, as this is the first book in The Books of Earthsea it starts us off with the origin of Ged, his discovery of magic, his desire to master it, and the lessons he must learn due to his youthfulness and hubris. The original paperback ranges around the 210 page mark, whereas the graphic novel is around 288 pages. I would assume that this reads like a pretty complete story of the original novel. However, as I previously mentioned I have not read it yet, so I will not be the best source for comparison. If you're someone new to Le Guin or a longtime fan of this series looking to enjoy the story in a new manner that this is worth the read. Personally, this is not one I would but for my shelves, but I would certainly borrow it from my library or request they add it to their catalogue. Going back to the art for a bit, there was a good variation in the paneling. Some pages had many smaller panels, typically in more action heavy scenes, so you were able to discern a scenario rather fully upon each page term. There are also sweeping landscape panels that tend to be wider and length and take up the majority of the page, oftentimes without any dialogue so one can simply take in the beauty of the scene, the stillness of the moment. Overall, I liked the flow of the story in the panels and how we got to see the beginning of Ged's supposed hero's journey. Can't wait to read the novel and then maybe update my review with a full comparison.

Adaptations of beloved classics can be scary things. Will they live up to vivid memories? Will they be true to the original? Will the material they add or take out compromise the classic? What value will they bring?

This adaptation of "A Wizard of Earthsea" was exceptionally well done. It was carefully crafted using predominantly excerpts from the original text, retaining the beauty and character of Ursula K. Le Guin's prose. The illustrator made sure to draw characters and cultures in a way that fit together with the original. In particular, the character of Ged was drawn in a way that feels true to Le Guin's original: dark skinned, young, poor, and proud, obsessed by knowledge and diligent in its pursuit.

As a reader who has loved the original since childhood, I strongly feel that this graphic novel adaptation checked all the boxes for what to do right when adapting a classic, and none of the boxes for what can be done wrong. I highly recommend it, and we'll be buying it for our library!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc. I love Ursula Le Guin’s series and the graphic novel did her book justice. I love fantasy books so reading it from a graphic standpoint was interesting and is opening up a new reading style for me. For young adults this series is a good start especially in its graphic novel form.

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula K. Le Guin and Fred Fordham was a beautiful medium for this story. There were many pages I wanted to pull out and frame and put in a museum. The story follows a young boy's journey from a tiny village in the mountains to becoming a mighty sorcerer and eventually learning how to right his wrongs. As someone who's only experience with Le Guin's work was the 2006 Tales from Earthsea movie by Studio Ghibli, reading this format truly lent itself to the sheer scope and magnitude of this world. The coloring was very muted most of the time, giving the story a serious and dreamlike quality. I would recommend checking this out if you're already a fan of Le Guin's work or if you've been curious about it but don't want to read a whole novel.

Very good, I loved the visual to the original work. The ending brought everything together very well!

This is one of my favorite books of all time. To see it in graphic novel form is remarkable. The art is gorgeous and the story moves along just like the book. This is a phenomenal adaptation of the original.

This graphic novel makes for a beautiful adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's classic fantasy tale. Ged is young when he first witnesses magic, and is captivated by the power and promise it holds. He story takes him from his time as a young boy learning from his aunt, to the island of Roke, where he learns alongside other young mages and makes a terrible mistake. The watercolor style art is beautiful, and captures the dark shadows and brilliant light that shines out of the pages. This is an adaptation that will appeal to fans of the series, and will draw in new readers as well -- I can report that my kids have been taken in by the story and evocative illustrations already. I hope they continue the partnership and adapt further books in the series, too. I'll be recommending this to fantasy and graphic novel fans of many ages.

This would have been an extraordinarily tough book to turn into a graphic novel—the magic of Le Guin’s world is not visual, generally. The artist created a beautiful visual palette for the world (I got several lock screens out of it), illustrated the invisible magic, and kept the heart of the story. It isn’t always gripping, but neither is the original novel.

I have been familiar with the name Ursula K. Le Guin and aware of her significant contributions in the publishing world but had not read anything but a few of her shorter picture books. I was intrigued by the making of one of her books into a graphic novel. I came into this particular title with no background about the storyline line so I cannot speak to how closely this may or may not stick to the original.

Ged is the main character in this story, a young man who discovers he has powers. Through a series of mentors, he explores those skills (not always with optimum results). The story arch is one of a lonely soul seeking to find himself in a world without parents and the comforts of a constant home. Part of his journey involves attending a wizard school (perhaps the inspo for Harry Potter--the parallels are there). At school, Ged encounters the usual assortment of students, including bullies and allies, and the challenge of learning to tell them apart.

The book has spiritual threads and dialogue that will resonate with anyone on a journey to "find themselves" and to boldly go out to meet a darkness they cannot even name. The story has great depth to plumb for those willing to dive deep. But it can also be enjoyed on the surface as an epic adventure of boyhood into manhood and from innocence into a greater knowledge of good and evil.

It is worth noting that Le Guin was ahead of her time in creating worlds populated with people of color. Her writing offers a highly imaginative world that readers of all ages will be drawn into. While the graphic novel was a visual stunner and very well constructed, there were a few places in the story that I was a little confused. I think a background knowledge of the original novel would make this rendition more enjoyable. Hopefully this version will encourage readers to pick up not only the original but also to explore the other works of Le Guin.

I highly recommend this work. It offers a thought-provoking alternative to the worlds of Marvel and DC and elevates the graphic novel to a higher (and deeper realm). Le Guin is a writer worth studying and reading (in any form) as she has phenomenally impacted children's literature over the years.

For an interesting glimpse into the world of Earthsea, check out this short documentary and others at ursulakleguin.com.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of The Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel from HarperCollins Children's Books through NetGalley for review. No other compensation was received.

This graphic novel is a great adaptation of the novel. The art is incredible and the story flows smoothly. I really loved having the visual representation of the world.

Thank you to Clarion Books and the author for an advanced reader copy of this book.

I didn’t read the original novel, but after reading this I really want to. I thought the storyline was intriguing, with an interesting magic system, and characters that keep you routing for them. The art work in this was stunning and really added to the story.

While I can't speak to this graphic novel as an adaptation because I (shamefully!) have not read the original, this is a beautiful piece of work in its own right.