The Word of Unbinding

Earthsea Cycle #0.1

by Ursula K. Le Guin

The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and the Pushcart Prize, Ursula K. Le Guin is renowned for her spare, elegant prose, rich characterization, and diverse worlds. "The Word of Unbinding" is a short story originally published in the collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, High Fantasy, Young Adult, Classics, Science Fiction

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Ursula K. Le Guin published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry and four of translation, and has received many awards: Hugo, Nebula, National Book Award, PEN-Malamud, etc. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, an essay collection, Cheek by Jowl, and The Wild Girls. She lived in Portland, Oregon.

She was known for her treatment of gender (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Matter of Seggri), political systems (The Telling, The Dispossessed) and difference/otherness in any other form. Her interest in non-Western philosophies was reflected in works such as "Solitude" and The Telling but even more interesting are her imagined societies, often mixing traits extracted from her profound knowledge of anthropology acquired from growing up with her father, the famous anthropologist, Alfred Kroeber. The Hainish Cycle reflects the anthropologist's experience of immersing themselves in new strange cultures since most of their main characters and narrators (Le Guin favoured the first-person narration) are envoys from a humanitarian organization, the Ekumen, sent to investigate or ally themselves with the people of a different world and learn their ways.

Reviews

[Lorellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such elegant, sharp prose and to fit so much into so few pages! What a gorgeous story. I will definitely need to start The Earthsea Cycle sometime soon.

[Nikola Pavlovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Odlicna mala prica!
Ursula K. Le Guin opasno dobro barata recima, bilo je pravo uzivanje citati po prvi put nesto od nje.
Ovo moze biti dobar nagovestaj necega velikog.

[Tyrell ⚔️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a good wizard who is imprisoned by a powerful evil wizard. More importantly, this is LeGuin's birth of the idea of Earthsea.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK on its own as a story of a good wizard who is imprisoned by a powerful evil wizard, but most readers will find it primarily interesting as Le Guin's first story in her Earthsea world

[Chinara Ahmadova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ursula Le Guin sadə dillə sehirli ab-havaya saldığı bir hekayə daha - əbədi düşmənindən çevrilmə ilə qaçmağa çalışan insan həll yolunu Ölülər diyarına keçməkdə görür. "Ən uzaq sahil"ə göndərmə dolu.

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting because it is the first story in the Earthsea cycles and what inspired the author to write the series. I found it confusing.

[Jemppu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief exploration of a world that would become Earthsea.

[Kansas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dentro de: "Las doce moradas del viento".

Universo Terramar. Un joven mago llamado Festin, introvertido y amante de la naturaleza, despierta en una habitación oscura sin puertas ni ventanas. Festin habia salido en un viaje para explorar sus poderes y afianzarlos y en el camino es hecho prisionero por Voll, un mago oscuro y poderoso. Festin intenta escapar transformándose en diferentes elementos hasta que se convierte en trucha... Un cuento maravilloso que con pocos elementos Guin te sumerge en la atmósfera, en la tensión claustrofóbica de alguien queriendo recuperar su libertad.

[Etain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't like this one very much, I found it difficult to understand, alot of the writing lacked clarity. It has very strong thematic links to Earthsea and conveys them very well given it's short length but it's much too simplistic

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

short and sweet and has me wanting to re-read Earthsea.

[Vivone Os · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5
Sasvim kratka pričica, lijepo napisana, osjećala sam se kao da sam u tim šumama s likovima. Ali to je sve, radnja i likovi ništa posebno. Prekratka je da bismo saznali nešto više o likovima, nedostaje mi i još pokoja stranica radnje. Čarobnjačke transformacije i nadmudrivanje su mi bili zanimljivi, ali htjela sam još. I kraj mi je malo nejasan.

Orilium: Astronomy – Qualified: Lunar Alignment – Read from a finished series

[Ricardo Carvalho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoje, 22 de setembro de 2021, eu começo minha odisseia pela saga de Terramar, de Ursula K. Le Guin. Fora do usual, começo pela ordem proposta nesse site, Earthsea Cycle.

O que posso notar da construção fantástica da autora é o foco em aspectos da fantasia que não são tão clarificados em outras obras clássicas, como o próprio Tolkien. Tolkien não foca em magos e nem mesmo nos feitiços que eles conjuram, tornando seus poderes obscuros durante a obra. Essa abordagem aos magos e seus poderes é mais semelhante ao trabalho de Glen Cook, mas não parece focar (nesta obra) na guerra e seus consequências. Nota-se que autoras como J. K. Rowling, que não têm preocupação com o refinamento da própria obra, pegaram aspectos do trabalho de Le Guin e o corromperam, enfraquecendo seus conceitos para uma audiência mais jovem e leiga. Apesar disso ser vital para a acessibilidade do conteúdo, não deixa de ser uma corruptela, e a leitura do trabalho inspirador é vital para uma compreensão completa do próprio gênero fantástico.

[Storm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collected in The Wind's Twelve Quarters: A Story, this is chronologically the first story to take place in the The Earthsea Cycle. It begins with Wizard Festin frantically trying to escape from imprisonment by an enemy wizard, Voll The Fell. By the end of this story I had a little tear in my eye at how Festin tried, and failed but never quit. This man is a true hero. If this were to be a person's first exposure to Earthsea, I'd hazard to say most would be impressed and decide to delve further into the universe.

[Shane Duquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a whimsical little short story—nine or so pages—about a wizard trapped in a dungeon who's trying to escape. It's one of the earlier works of Ursula K Le Guin, written before she wrote her critical acclaimed Wizard of Earthsea novel, and it's included in the giant Books of Earthsea bible I just got.

This story is more about texture than plot. The writing is flowery and purple, and probably worth it just for that. Besides, that it's interesting to see the spells the wizard casts, how he is foiled on every attempt, as well as how the story ultimately resolves. Now, to be honest, the writing is purple enough that I'm not sure I totally understand how it resolves. But even so, the ending still has a satisfying feel to it.

I liked it.

[Ana Dantas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A história tem UM objetivo, e cumpre ele sem excesso de detalhes. É interessante e agora eu estou hypada para ler Terramar.

[Omar Amat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice short story, a little looser with the magic than her other Earthsea works.

[Lars Dradrach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early standalone story capturing many ideas later developed in the novels

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

And the journey begins. I love Le Guin’s writing in this short story and it has me wanting to know more already. A great start from my perspective.

[Knedelfina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ładne ale nie lekkie :'(
Mam nadzieję, że cykl o Ziemiomorzu nie będzie tak smutny jak to

[Tobio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick set piece, thematically light, but heavy on the imaginativeness. It effectively manages to create a feeling of magic in incredibly unfamiliar terrain.

[Tamara Morrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short story in the world of earthsea before ursula K le Guin worte most of the world of earthsea.

It was nice to see some of the beginning

it was an ok story just not one of my favorites when compared to her others

[Luke Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll never experience the joy of reading Earthsea for the first time again and that upsets me greatly. But this little story reminds me of how much I enjoyed being in that world.

[Rahel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved reading the different ways that a wizard might try to get out of an imprisonment and enjoyed how vivid Le Guin's description of the nature and environment was. I do have to be honest and say that it didn't grab me as much as some of her other stories have, though that is mostly due to the fact that I find I need to get used to an Earthsea story for a bit before I can fully dive in. The Word of Unbinding was just so short that I lost out on that. Also I was itching to get to the final few stories in the Cycle and that may have hurt the experience a bit as well.

Nonetheless - I am excited to reread it once I read The Wind's Twelve Quarters!

[Fredrik Malcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a moral here

To give up oneself for the saving of the world is not new but in this age of self confirmation and hunt for wealth it is still a sobering read. Mrs. Le Guin had a way of creating sentence that both bind and unbind...

[Yuliya Zhuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sad but beautiful story of being human and being able to exchange one own life for death in order to save the world

[Asli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A careless adjective might change the weather for a week." ♡

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The stars stood still above him; and as he watched them, slowly, very slowly he began to forget the voice of streams and the sound of rain on the leaves of the forests of life.”

This is included in the short story collection The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, but because it’s the prologue to Earthsea and it’s so good I thought it deserved its own review.

I love the parts of Earthsea that deal with death and the ‘afterlife’. It’s such a well executed concept and it’s the stand out part of the third book. This short story is so beautifully written and poignant, it almost moved me to tears

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per amor di completezza, dopo la saga principale sono passata ai racconti.
Questo, come mi aspettavo, non mi ha delusa. Dura appena cinque pagine (nella mia edizione, almeno), eppure è uno spazio più che sufficiente per affezionarsi al protagonista e alla sua lotta, per capire la sua disperazione, e per attendere con ansia la fine della sua storia. Ed è un finale che mi ha spezzato il cuore ma è sembrato lo stesso giusto e poetico, come mi è accaduto per Le Ossa della Terra o I Venti di Terramare. Un altro splendido lavoro.

[Maja Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, small story all on it's own about a powerful wizard taken captive by another and being forced to go to great lenghts in order to leave that encounter victorious.

But also a fascinating introduction to the world of Earthsea.

[Martin J. Rafanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elegant. Well crafted and written. Thought provoking. A great introduction to Earthsea.