Which Wizard of Earthsea recording should you buy?
One complete reading, and a BBC box set of radio dramatisations that covers this book — along with its sequel and a different novel altogether — in well under the running time of the reading.
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Ursula K. Le Guin · 2 Audible UK recordings compared
Short answer
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith for the book: complete, solo, and he also reads The Farthest Shore, so two of the first three Earthsea books share a voice. The BBC collection is a different thing: full-cast radio adaptations of the first two Earthsea books and of The Left Hand of Darkness, sold as one product. Its own description calls it a retelling of Ged's and Tenar's stories, and one running time holds all three adaptations, so it is a companion to the book rather than a substitute for it.
The recordings, compared
| Narrator | Length | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kobna Holdbrook-Smith Our pick | 7 hrs | Unabridged | Complete and solo. Holdbrook-Smith also reads The Farthest Shore. |
| Toby Jones, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Lesley Sharp, Adjoa Andoh and a full cast | 7 hrs 50 mins | BBC full-cast dramatisation, three-work collection | Radio dramatisations, not a reading: Earthsea (covering this book and The Tombs of Atuan) and The Left Hand of Darkness in one box set. Longer than the reading only because it holds three adaptations. |