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Title: Fantasy of the highest order
Review: I don't often read books that combine a fantasy setting, spare, evocative prose with ideas of such great depth and - dare I say it? - universality. There is no real need to intellectualize about this book: there is a real case to READ it.The young Sparrowhawk, wizard aspirant falls afoul of the shadow of his own hubris and spends the rest of the tale trying to master the consequences of his arrogance and ignorance. Earthsea is a beautifully realized setting - with a minimum of verbiage, which so often in fantasy can overwhelm with its detail. The ideas - psychoanalytical, existential and drenched in an Eastern-style holism - speak gently through the simple language. I love this book and the first two sequels. Read 'em all.
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