This might be a bit controversial since we're in a thread about how good Le Guin is, but in my opinion "Name of the Wind" perfects the subgenre. It is the same

This might be a bit controversial since we're in a thread about how good Le Guin is, but in my opinion "Name of the Wind" perfects the subgenre. It is the same basic story, even based on the same magic system, but it's more polished, emotional, mysterious and riveting. The Harry Potter books are amazing, I don't think they're related to Earthsea in any significant way though. There's a reason that they're so popular, and it's not that everyone has bad taste.