A gorgeous and faithful adaptation of the beloved book, this graphic novel belongs on the shelf of every Earthsea fan. I love the original book, and when I saw that there was going to be a graphic novel adaptation, I was so excited; and it was even better than I imagined. The story remains true to the book, even using the exact wording in many places, while Fred Fordham’s illustrations beautifully capture the fantastical world of Earthsea. This is an adaptation that will satisfy even the most ardent fan, while also providing an accessible introduction to the beloved story to new readers as well. I will definitely buy a print copy of this beautiful graphic novel when it publishes!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the arc! All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the e-arc!

When I saw that this beloved series got a graphic novel adaptation, I was intrigued to see how this could be pulled off. If you don't know, Tales from Earthsea follows Ged, the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but he was the reckless Sparrowhawk in his youth. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and unleashed a terrible shadow upon the world. I got inspired to read some of the series through the not-so-great Ghibli adaptation and I was mesmerized by the world Ursula K. Le Guin was able to build. This adaptation pairs the story with very realistic gritty art. I can see this not working for everyone but it worked for me in its way and I am glad to see this series becoming more accessible. If you like the series already, this graphic novel is a great addition to the collection. If you are new to the series, please check out the novels as it only gets better.

"A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel" follows the first of the "Tales of Earthsea" Ursula K. Le Guin. Being a huge fantasy reader, I thought this could be a great intro into the Tales of Earthsea. I was hoping that by reading this graphic novel version, I would find interest in the story and then hope to read the full novel. However, I truly did not enjoy this version and it has put me off from ever reading the full "Tales of Earthsea" novels.

What didn't I enjoy about it? While the art style is very detailed and intricate, it is not a style I prefer. It reminds me a lot of the older children's books such as "Abiyoyo"- very realistic looking characters. I would have been much more interested in reading if the art style had been completely different. Unfortunately the cover does not give you much to go on what the style of the artwork inside will be like. I also felt confused as to what was happening a lot of the time because the text didn't really explain some scenes.

The story itself seemed very stilted, as if they copy and pasted exact text from the book-but since they have to cut back severely due to the graphic novel format, it felt like so much was missing. Like, maybe they took one sentence from every other paragraph. There was no depth the the novel. The characters and world building were surface level, and I found myself confused as to what was happening. What I assume took many pages to explain in the full novel was probably one page of panels, and I felt like I lacked understanding of the plot due to this.

Also I'm not sure what audience this book is meant to be for, but it read like a children's book. It read like "this happened, then this happened, this character was mean, then this happened, and the main character was so good at everything", instead of getting into depth about the magic and each character. I would assume the real novel is much more intricate. But as I mentioned, this graphic novel put me off from ever reading the novel- I was just not interested to the point where I DNF'd 1/3 of the way through. I felt like I was forcing myself to read it.

Who could this be for? Like I said, this read like it was more for children, so I think children/middle grade readers might be the target audience. And while I mentioned that the art style wasn't for me, that is super subjective and I think a lot of people will absolutely love it! It was really quite beautiful, just not the style I would go for in a fantasy novel.

3/5 stars because the book really wasn't for me and didn't grab my interest, but I think it could be a great introduction into fantasy for the target audience

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this in one sitting. What a magical story! I'd never read the novel before, so this was my first foray into the world of Earthsea, and I loved every second of it!

The art is sort of minimalist watercolors, which I thought fit the story spectacularly. Now that I've consumed the graphic novel, I plan on reading the novels. I'm excited to do so!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula K. Le Guin and illustrated by Fred Fordham is an adaptation of Le Guin’s beloved fantasy classic. As Ged learns magic, he is shown to be both powerful and foolhardy. It is only through making mistakes that he can understand why his masters value patience and learning before leaping into action.

Like many long-time fantasy fans, I am familiar with Le Guin's critique of the adaptations of her work, particularly the constant white-washing of characters she fully intended to be characters of color. As such, I was cautious when requesting this but had to see for myself so I could warn or encourage other fantasy fans appropriately. Le Guin's son, Theo Downes-Le Guin, makes it clear in the preface that this was an important sticking point for him as well. Fred Fordham does not betray Le Guin's vision. Almost every character on the page is a character of color and the world does feel like one full of seafaring islands.

There are pages where the art, which has an animation-like quality, is allowed to speak for itself and there is no dialogue or prose. The prose itself is used where appropriate to either flesh out the world or to include Le Guin's narrative voice for the lessons Ged has learned. It's not the close, intimate POV many modern readers might have become used to, but it is the style Le Guin wrote in and could introduce new readers to her voice.

The color palette is full of earth tones and isn't afraid to use darker shades. The style is less cartoon-y and more what I would expect from an art house animation studio I think. The imagery does leap off the page and it does feel like it could very easily be made into an animated film.

I would recommend this to readers of Le Guin's work, fans of the Earthsea series, and those looking for an introduction to one of the bedrocks of American fantasy

A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel has some of the best illustrations I have ever seen in a graphic novel. They are realistic and colorful. I have never read the novel version of A Wizard of Earthsea, and I think I would have enjoyed this graphic novel more if I was familiar with the story.

I received an ARC from HarperCollins Children's Books | Clarion Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.