"A Wizard of Earthsea," Ursula K. Le Guin

I picked this YA fantasy up on a whim and spent a weekend night reading it - the equivalent of staying in and drinking hot cocoa, I suppose, comfort-wise. I had read "Tombs of Atuan" (the second in the Earthsea series) beforehand and found it absolutely fascinating - the girl-priestess wandering around in the secret caves, the air of cloistered unreality - so "Wizard" was a bit of a let-down in that it was a classic Hero's Journey. I'm just not much of one for the Hero's Journey in its classic form, I guess - give me the point of view of the wicked villain or the hanger-on or the tragic lovers. I do like Baby Cakes' description of the Hero's Journey, though. "I guess every one of us is just hoping to turn out to be one of those forgotten chosen ones." "Right!"

Fortunately, even so-so Le Guin is still a good read, and the prose was spare, which was a bonus. So much of adult fantasy is overwritten - "Wizard" seems quite similar in plot to "Name of the Wind," but it's about an eighth of the size, I'd estimate. Perhaps someday I will get round to finishing "Name," or perhaps not. There might be a call for a "Books I Haven't Read (And Why)" section on here. It would be more vituperative, at least.

PS. Ged is brown!