A Wizard of Earthsea

I'm not into wizards and dragons at all. Life is too short to read bad books, and I've had some terrible experiences with fantasy fiction, so I'm unlikely to be found in that particular section of the bookshop. However Ursula K. Le Guin is an awesome, towering presence, so A Wizard of Earthsea has been on my list of books to read before I die. I'm glad I made the effort. This is quality stuff. Yeah, there are dragons and wizards, and the Bildungsroman first half drags a bit. But the pace gathers, and soon a work of great imagination is revealed, rising far above the soup of common pulp fantasy in which this world is awash. If anything says anything about A Wizard of Earthsea, it is my new desire to read the rest of the series.