A Wizard of Earthsea (The First Book of Earthsea) - Ursula K. Le Guin

The first book of Earthsea in a beautiful hardback edition. Complete the collection with The Tombs of Atuan, The Furthest Shore and TehanuWith illustrations from Charles Vess''Drink this magic up. Drown in it. Dream it'' David MitchellGed, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth. Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death''s threshold to restore the balance.''The Earthsea trilogy . . . is a memorable exploration of the relationship between life and death. . . Ged, its hero, must face his shadow self before it devours him. Only then will he become whole. In the process, he must contend with the wisdom of dragons: ambiguous and not our wisdom, but wisdom nonetheless'' Magaret Atwood