Ged, the innately powerful boy wizard releases an unnameable shadow into the world and sails around countless islands wowing the populations with his unearned gifts for 160 pages, each time conducting some new magic feat to keep the reader confused over what the rules are in this magical universe, until he decides he should probably do something about the darkness that keeps showing up and whooping his butt. 

A lack of momentum, a contrived plot, and deeply shallow characters. There was plenty to like in the framing of the story, the originality, and the glimpses into the world building we know and love from LeGuin, but nothing felt truly uncovered as Ged adventured the archipelago. So too, there were a few interesting points about the importance of names and an unrealized undergirding of Daoist principles in the briskly constructed magic system, but I ultimately neither could find a reason to really root for this kid nor could I comprehend what the stakes were at any given time. 

To be fair it's a kids book so maybe this is all a bit harsh!