This book is the first in a series of
fantasy books from an
author who otherwise
writes mostly
science fiction and
nonfiction, this book is
a
fairy tale story that frequently waxes
poetic.
The book starts with a poem:
Only in silence the word,
only in dark the light,
only in dying life:
bright the hawk's flight
on the empty sky.
The Creation of Éa
This poem emphasizes the contrasts needed to appreciate
what we have. The story of the book tells the beginning of the
first phase of
Sparrowhawk's life, and the contrasts he creates in it.
Early on in his career as a
wizard, he unleaches a
powerful evil, which
in turn gives him the power to do powerful good for the rest of this
phase of his life. But first he must pay the price...
next book: The Tombs of Atuan