The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2)

The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2)
by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Book Summary Information

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-09-01
ISBN: 0689845367
Number of pages: 192
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Accessories:

Tehanu (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 4)

Book Reviews of The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2)

Book Review: Continuing the series.
Summary: 3 Stars

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Tombs of Atuan (Bantam, 1971)

LeGuin continues her Earthsea quartet with The Tombs of Atuan, though you'll likely wonder for the first half of the novel what this has to do with A Wizard of Earthsea. (Actually, I have to admit that I'm still wondering, kind of.)

The Tombs of Atuan focuses on Tenar, a girl who is chosen to be the priestess of the Nameless Ones. Upon becoming the priestess, she gives up her own name and becomes Arha, the empty one. Her main duty as priestess is to guard the catacombs where the Nameless Ones are buried (thus the title). All goes relatively well until a thief slips into the catacombs to steal the greatest treasure of the Nameless Ones. But only Arha knows the ways through the dangerous, lightless paths...

As with A Wizard of Earthsea, I found this one readable, but every time I put the book down, I felt no real urge to pick it up again. The world, and the mythos that drives it, are exquisitely rendered and far more lavishly detailed than most, but other authors have proven that giving the details doesn't necessarily have to interrupt the action (Tolkien being the obvious choice, but more recently Steven Erikson and Elizabeth Moon, as well). Another reviewer whose take on The Tombs of Atuan I read yesterday may have summed it up best when she said that the first half of this book is very character-focused, just as the first half of A Wizard of Earthsea was. I'm all for building character, certainly, but when you're doing nothing else for half the novel, it does get a bit tiring. The funny thing is, I am well aware that LeGuin is very capable of doing this (such books as The Dispossessed and Very Far Away from Anywhere Else are perfect examples of what I'm talking about, and are not coincidentally among my favorite LeGuin novels). Maybe that's why I found the first half of both of these books a bit of a disappointment. Once Arha starts really interacting with the characters that advance the plot, things do pick up, and the fire that burns in LeGuin really gets stoked. It's just a bumpy ride from point A to point B. ***

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Summary of The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2)

WHEN YOUNG TENAR is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away -- home, family, possessions, even her name. For she is now Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. While she is learning her way through the dark labyrinth, a young wizard, Ged, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic, and together, he and Tenar escape from the darkness that has become her domain.

With millions of copies sold, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere. Complex, innovative, and deeply moral, this quintessential fantasy sequence has been compared with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and has helped make Le Guin one of the most distinguished fantasy and science fiction writers of all time. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Often compared to Tolkien's Middle-earth or Lewis's Narnia, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea is a stunning fantasy world that grabs quickly at our hearts, pulling us deeply into its imaginary realms. Four books (A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, and Tehanu) tell the whole Earthsea cycle--a tale about a reckless, awkward boy named Sparrowhawk who becomes a wizard's apprentice after the wizard reveals Sparrowhawk's true name. The boy comes to realize that his fate may be far more important than he ever dreamed possible. Le Guin challenges her readers to think about the power of language, how in the act of naming the world around us we actually create that world. Teens, especially, will be inspired by the way Le Guin allows her characters to evolve and grow into their own powers.

In this second book of Le Guin's Earthsea series, readers will meet Tenar, a priestess to the "Nameless Ones" who guard the catacombs of the Tombs of Atuan. Only Tenar knows the passageways of this dark labyrinth, and only she can lead the young wizard Sparrowhawk, who stumbles into its maze, to the greatest treasure of all. Will she?

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