He decides to fight the dragons first, and then go deal with the pesky shadow monster. He can't stay where he is because then he puts everyone in danger. See, after being traumatized by the shadow monster, Ged is way less fatheaded and less annoying.īut then, when he tries to save a friend's dying child, Ged runs into the shadow and he realizes he's in danger. Ged continues to study magic, and after he graduates, he gets a little job watching out for dragons in a small town. Ged feels terrible, but Vetch is still his friend, so that makes him feel a little better. The Archmage of Roke saves Ged, but dies after banishing the shadow from Roke. Instead, he succeeds in summoning a shadow monster.

Ged is very proud and, to shut Jasper up, he tries to summon a dead spirit. Ged goes to the magic school on Roke where he meets a friend, Vetch, and a rival, Jasper. Luckily, Ogion stops Ged and offers to send him to school. But Ged wants more power (partly to impress a girl…you know how it is), so he almost summons a shadow monster. Ogion tries to teach Ged about magic and the balance of powers. The boy uses that magic to defend his town when raiders attack.īecause of his success with the raiders, the boy is taken in as an apprentice by the mage Ogion, who gives the boy his true name, Ged. The slightly less brief version: a wild boy is born, doesn't like his dad's work, and learns some magic from his witchy aunt.

Once he's grown up a bit, we see him try to fix the terrible mistake he made.Īnd that's that! Wait, you're intrigued? You want more? OK, then, here goes… We meet a young boy who is wild and proud, then we see him make a terrible mistake and face something that he's not powerful enough to deal with. Here's the incredibly brief version: A Wizard of Earthsea is a coming-of-age story.

Le guin a wizard of earthsea