Books like “A Wizard of Earthsea”

What to read after “A Wizard of Earthsea” by Ursula K. Le Guin: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
The Riddle-Master of Hed
Patricia A. McKillip · 1976
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Morgon, prince of the island of Hed, won a riddle contest against a ghost and now wears three stars on his forehead. When shape-shifters attack and the High One's realm begins to stir, he leaves his farm behind to seek answers about the fate that binds him to a land he has never seen.
2
The Sword of Shannara
Terry Brooks · 1977
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Shea Ohmsford lives a quiet life in the Shady Vale until the druid Allanon arrives with a warning: the Warlock Lord has returned, and only a descendant of the Shannara line can stop him. Shea sets out with a small band of companions to find the Sword of Shannara, the one weapon said to be able to destroy the Warlock Lord, before the Northland armies reach the Southland.
3
Pawn of Prophecy
David Eddings · 1982
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Garion grows up on a quiet Sendarian farm, unaware of the forces watching him. When a mysterious storyteller and a royal sorceress arrive, he is drawn into a search for a stolen artefact, travelling with a company that hides its true purpose from him. The old prophecy of the Belgariad has begun to move.
4
The Fellowship of the Ring
J. R. R. Tolkien · 1954
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Frodo inherits a golden ring that is far more than it seems, and learns it is the master ring of the enemy Sauron. With a company of dwarves, elves, men and a hobbit gardener, he sets out to carry it to the only place where it can be destroyed.
5
The Neverending Story
Michael Ende · 1979
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Bastian, a lonely boy, steals a book about the dying world of Fantastica. As he reads he is drawn into it, and discovers that only he can give the Childlike Empress a new name and stop the Nothing from swallowing the land.
6
The Book of Three
Lloyd Alexander · 1964
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Taran, an assistant pig-keeper who wants only to be a hero, loses the oracular pig Hen Wen and follows her into the land of Prydain. With a bard, a princess and a creature named Gurgi, he stumbles into a war against the Horned King.
7
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss · 2007
Same genre: “Bildungsroman”
- Magic Academy
- Coming of Age
Kvothe, once a renowned magician and musician, tells a scribe the truth behind his own reputation. His story moves from a travelling troupe to a brutal city and the magic school where he learned far too much.
8
Eragon
Christopher Paolini · 2002
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the mountains, and it hatches into a dragon. Chosen as her rider, he is hunted by the king's servants and must leave his village to learn the ways of the Dragon Riders and join the rebels.
9
The Eye of the World
Robert Jordan · 1990
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Three young men from the village of Emond's Field are driven from home by monsters out of legend. Pursued by servants of the Dark One, they learn that one of them may be the Dragon Reborn, destined to save the world or break it.
10
The Hobbit
J. R. R. Tolkien · 1937
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Bilbo Baggins likes his quiet, well-stocked hole. Then the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves arrive and sweep him off on a journey to reclaim a treasure from the dragon Smaug, and he finds a courage and a ring he never expected.
11
The Shadow of What Was Lost
James Islington · 2014
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Davian is an Augur, born with powers forbidden since the old war. When the laws of the Venerate turn against him, he flees with his friends in search of the man who might explain why the Augurs fell. What he finds tests everything he was taught to believe.
12
The Dragonbone Chair
Tad Williams · 1988
From the same world: “Epic Fantasy”
Simon is a kitchen boy in the castle of the Hayholt, who dreams of heroes while the old king's health fails. When betrayal strikes, he flees into a country of trolls and swords, and the fate of Osten Ard falls into unlikely hands.