Ursula k. Le Guin
The Earthsea Quartet
A superb four-part fantasy, comparable with the work of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, the "Earthsea" books follow the fortunes of the wizard Ged from his childhood to an age where magic is giving way to evil. As a young dragonlord, Ged, whose use-name is Sparrowhawk, is sent to the island of Roke to learn the true way of magic. A natural magician, Ged becomes an Archmage and helps the High Priestess Tenar escape from the labyrinth of darkness. But as the years pass, true magic and ancient ways are forced to submit to the powers of evil and death.
A Wizard of Earthsea, 1968
In his day Ged, called the Sparrowhawk, became both dragonlord and Archmage. His story is told in many songs, but this is the haunting tale of a proud, lonely boy in the time before his fame. It is a tale of wizards, dragons and shadows played out in Earthsea, a world of numberless islands and vast oceans where mages, looking for adventure, wandered, working magic.
The Tombs of Atuan, 1971
When young Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away - home, family, possessions, even her name. For she is now Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan.
While she is learning her way through the dark labyrinth, a young wizard, Ged, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic, and together, he and Tenar escape from the darkness that has become her domain.
The Farthest Shore, 1972
Darkness threatens to overtake Earthsea. As the world and its wizards are losing their magic, Ged - powerful Archmage, wizard, and dragonlord - embarks on a sailing journey with highborn young prince, Arren. They travel far beyond the realm of death to discover the cause of these evil disturbances and to restore magic to a land desperately thirsty for it.
Tehanu, 1990
Years before, they had escaped together from the sinister Tombs of Atuan - she, an isolated young priestess, he, a powerful wizard. Now she is a farmer's widow, having chosen for herself the simple pleasures of an ordinary life. And he is a broken old man, mourning the powers lost to him not by choice.
A lifetime ago, they helped each other at a time of darkness and danger. Now they must join forces again, to help another-the physically and emotionally scarred child whose own destiny remains to be revealed.
