High Fantasy by Hugo and Nebula award winner, Ursula K. LeGuin. Book 1 of the Earthsea Cycle. "In his day Ged, called the Sparrowhawk, became both dragonlord and Archmage. His story is told in many songs, but this is the haunting tale of a proud, lonely boy in the time before his fame. It is a tale of wizards, dragons and shadows played out in Earthsea, a world of numberless islands and vast oceans where mages, looking for adventure, wandered, working magic..."