This second book lacked the adventure of the first and was a bit boring - lots of descriptions, not much action - or even interaction until most of the way through the book. Hoping that book 3 is a bit better. ( )

The second book of the Earthsea Cycle introduces us to Tenar, The Eaten One, or the high priestess of the Nameless Ones. Tenar was selected at birth to hold this position and she loves to do so until the wizard Ged appears.

Ged is there to rob the secret vaults of the Nameless Ones to find a ring that is rumored to help restore peace. Tenar discovers Ged when he enters the underground tunnels she loves to be in.

A nice second book to the series, and it also sets up the third (almost done with it) quite well. I wish we were able to see more of Ged's life inbetween the books, but the glimpses of his life that the books do show us are fascinating. ( )

As a child I didn't like this book as much as the first, not quite anyway, because I wanted to know more about Sparrowhawk growing up, not about this strange man who seems to have been off having more adventures without me knowing about it. But Tenar's story is powerful too, and appeals to me more now as an adult. This story has a different magic to the first, but still very powerful. ( )

Occasionally there's this difficulty in knowing how to rate things when they're parts of a whole and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. On its own, The Tombs of Atuan is a stunning, sombre little piece of fantasy--a Bildungsroman about a girl selected Dalai Lama-fashion to be high priestess of this death cult and raised cloistered and twisted, until a stranger comes into her life and teaches her how to walk away and start life anew. Gives her herself back. It's a parable about hate and healing and feeling guilty and broken and finding a way, not to love yourself, or not right away, but to start again even though you don't love yourself and move away from what happened, for which the fault was none of yours. It's a story that I can very easily imagine speaking to victims of sexual abuse, child soldiers, the innocent and damaged.

And then you slap it up against A Wizard of Earthsea, and it is certainly inventive in the ways that book is generic, and its characters are certainly psychologically real--Ged in particular seems as if he has stepped out of the pages of history or legend and come alive. But it doesn't have that mythic sweep--Wizard is a timeless story that you can imagine coming out of an unfamiliar mythology, but Tombs is decidedly and defiantly modern. In some ways it's an uneasy mix, and I wonder if Le Guin changed the way she wanted to go with the series--the first book is like a chronicle, the second one like a thriller, and the first one deals in dragons and gebbeths, whereas in this book the Nameless Ones are never directly seen--we feel them only through Tenar and Ged's reactions, and of course that plays up the fact that they are your own fears--as opposed to Ged's shadow in the first book, which is his dark ambition but also a beast with four taloned legs and no face. The indirectness is very, very effective, but it also plays up the genre clash, and I'm curious if/how Le Guin is going to resolve it in The Farthest Shore. ( )

Unlike the previous addition to this series, this is less a chronicle about the great wizard Sparrowhawk/Ged in his younger and foolish years, and more about one story that builds to a final climax. It’s not surprising that this was awarded a Newbery honor, since it gives insight into the struggle a young priestess faces as she starts to see the world get broader. This expansion of her worldview calls into question the nature of religion and the worship of beings that seem not to hear her or have any power in the world any longer.As always with LeGuin’s works, it’s a merger of real life story-telling elements with a fantasy world, unlike many of the fantasy works today, which rely far too heavily on the fantasy tropes and battles with very little story element to fall back on. I recommend this book to all readers 12 .-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com ( )

As a little girl, her name was Tenar; but when she was chosen to be High Priestess of the Nameless Ones, she became Arha, the Eaten One. As Arha now grows up among the priestesses in an isolated desert, her life is consumed with service to the unnamed powers of the darkness and the tombs where they reside. Her devotion is unswerving – until the day a strange man violates one of the holy places, the pitch-dark Undertomb. According to the ancient laws, he ought to die, but Arha slowly becomes fascinated by the tales he can tell of the outside world. The more she learns, the more she questions the beliefs she’s held all her life, and the closer she draws to a horrible choice.

This book was amazing. I read A Wizard of Earthsea about two years ago, and I liked it, but I wasn’t terribly impressed at the time. Then I read The Left Hand of Darkness and liked it a little better…and now, with The Tombs of Atuan, I was blown away. Honestly, I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t like. I hope the rest of the Earthsea cycle is this good!

This is the second book in Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series, being a sequel to A Wizard of Earthsea. I read the first book a very long time ago, probably when I was about twelve, and again more recently. My impression of it was the same both times: oddly boring. It has all the makings of an excellent fantasy adventure, but never seems to quite pull them together, resulting in a novel that's only slightly above average.

I think a large part of this lies in Le Guin's narrative tone, which is extremely dry. Unfortunately, this carries over into The Tombs of Atuan, which follows the story of Tenar, a young girl taken from childhood to be raised as a priestess in service to the "Nameless Ones." Her life is interrupted by the arrival of Ged, the titular wizard from the first book, who breaks into the tombs below her temple and raises some struggles of belief for Tenar.

Fantasy is meant to be escapism. We're meant to be dazzled by it, swept along in a tide of swashbuckling adventure, enchanted by gleaming white cities and jungle-covered ruins and airships floating high in the clouds. What Le Guin gives us instead is a very cold, sterile, dull world; a place of tombs and temples and strict religious orders. It is a well-realised world, but not a world I want to spend time in.

Having said that, I did enjoy The Tombs of Atuan more than A Wizard of Earthsea. It's a well-told story, much more tightly paced and structured than the last, and at only 155 pages it doesn't drag on. The crumbling of Tenar's personal belief system is particularly well-handled; as she gradually rejects what she has been taught to believe, and makes the decision to flee the temple with Ged, I never once found her mental processes to be unbelievable. In spite of its flaws, I'd give this a thumbs up, and may consider reading the rest of the series at some point. Le Guin is certainly a gifted writer; I just wish she could instill more of a sense of fantasy. ( )

MUCH better than book 1 - good story, believable lead character, interesting concept and neat world. Read the first one, only to get adequate background for the second ( )

A classic and a great series. While all three are good, I personally enjoyed the first two the most. ( )

This book is is a wonderful illustration of the term "chothic" (such a the Furies in Classical Greek religion) and there are interesting parallels to the succession of the Dalai Lama. I do not know if LeGuin knew about these things or came across them in the collective unconscious: it does not matter, she gets cthonic right.

An excellent Fantasy book that stays very close to daily life in an isolated monastic community: for those turned off by dragons and wizards this is a book very much about place and politics. Several religions share the monastic complex and the book is much more about jockeying for power than about the reality, creeds, or miracles of the invented faiths. (I think every religion mentioned in the book is scoffed at by someone: the remark about the God-King brings an amused smile to my face whenever I read about a real divine king in the Ancient Near East.)

This is a wonderfully feminist book about the journey of finding oneself and one's own voice and intentions. (For everyone: certainly some men feel they were 'kidnapped' by alien interests at some point in their childhoods and molded into a adult role that does not suit them.)

This book stands on its own, although the other books in the series (some of which continue the main character's story) are gladly recommended. This is an excellent book and one of the few I would take to a desert island.

-Kushana ( )

I was disappointed with this Newbery Honor book. It was very dark, the character development seemed contrived, and it didn't seem to have that special spark that I expect from an award winning book. It was a decent story, but not one I'd highly recommend or put on a reading list.

A great book by a great author! The Tombs of Atuan follow a priestess snatched from her home as a child and taken to the Tombs. As an adult she finds a man searching the tombs, which is forbidden. Should she kills him, as if required, or find out more about his magic?

Second book in the Earthsea Trilogy. Written so well it could stand alone. ( )

The moral here doesn’t overwhelm the story like a bad ABC After School Special. It’s obvious and not subtle, but comes out naturally in the flow of the story. There’s no long pause for a speech about trust.

(Full review at my blog) ( )

This is the second book of the earthsea cycle. The main character is not Ged the mage, but Tenar the first priestess of an old cult. It´s an uncomplicated story about human feelings. The magic is present all through it without any extraordinary manifestations, such believable is Le Guin's wizardry. It´s an easy reading that can be easily accomplished in a full day. ( )

See A Wizard of Earthsea. ( )

I can't believe I never read this trilogy before now. I read the first book in the trilogy over the weekend, then read this one in practically one sitting. I think I actually liked this book slightly better than the first book, but that may just be related to this one having a strong female lead. I also appreciate that the characters and events in the books have slight overlap, but that it really isn't necessary to have read the first book to enjoy the second. I'll definitely be reading the third book from the set after a break to read something else. ( )

The second Earthsea book -- not nearly as good as the first. The story doesn't start until about half-way through. But it's unique, and if you go in expecting that, it would probably be an interesting read. ( )

This is the story of Tenar, a young woman stolen from her family to be a priestess for the dark powers. She is rescued by Ged in a convoluted trip thru a labyrinth; she knows the way, he provides the motivation. Not a compelling read although it is helpful to read as a part of the Earthsea series.

In the second Earth-Sea novel, Ged, the mage, meets Tenar, Priestess of the Unnamed Ones of Atuan. Less traditionally fantasy-oriented than the first book (A Wizard of Earthsea), The Tombs of Atuan looks at religion and rituals, devotion and freedom, and relationships between humans instead. The story explores the question of what a person ought to do when the belief behind religious practice is called into question, and when a personal sense of morality contradicts traditional teachings. Even better, it do so without the saccharine voice that so often accompanies such conversations.

Although I found this story a little harder to get into than A Wizard of Earthsea, in the end I think it's just as strong as a book and has some very insightful things to say about reality and belief systems. The plot is not fast-paced, so those looking for nonstop action would probably want to look elsewhere, just as those looking for more traditional fantasy, with explosive magic, dragons, and elves might be disappointed. However, someone looking for a more philosophical work should be well pleased. ( )

SPOILERS ABOUND

I whipped through this one after finishing (and enjoying) the first installment of the Earthsea series. Overall I did enjoy it very much - again, not life-changing, but a better, tighter book than A Wizard of Earthsea, in my opinion.

Briefly, Tenar is chosen as a child to become the High Priestess of the Unnamed Ones (ancient gods associated with darkness & death) and is taken from her family to be groomed for this task. The book shows her at various times during her life as she goes from being a normal child to a priestess-in-training (probably not the official title for it...) to assuming full duties as the High Priestess. Her former self is 'eaten' by the gods and she loses all memories of her life before the temple and is renamed Arha. Although she is technically the first High Priestess reincarnated and the Unnamed Ones are older and more powerful than other gods, including the King of the KargishEmpire (who is considered a god), which should mean that she is the most powerful among the other priestesses, there is a sense in which Arha/Tenar is very vulnerable, as she does not really understand the hidden power struggles and the political climate of the empire and the temple. She begins to experience doubt and confusion when Ged, the protagonist of the first Earthsea book, becomes trapped in the labyrinth underneath the tombs of the Unnamed Ones and she becomes acquainted with customs and ways of thinking other than those she was raised with.

This book was of a totally different style and mood than the first in the series - much more psychological, spiritual, and intimate. Very little repetition of events, in contrast to the first, where the main character always seemed to be washing up on the shores of some island and needing three days of sleep to recover... It expands the Earthsea universe by focusing on a new nation, new politics, and new spiritual/religious beliefs. There is a contrast between Ged's society, which seems very patriarchal and restricts magic to men, and Tenar/Arha's society, which places (at least a small group of) women in a position of seemingly incredible power - technically Tenar/Arha cannot be told what to do even by the GodKing, I believe - and restricts men from the most sacred places and rituals. But Ged's society and his belief system are held up to be truer than that of the Temple priestesses, who are illiterate, isolated, petty, bloodthirsty & cruel, scheming, manipulative. (I could go on, but the point is probably clear....) They worship death and the darkness b/c they fear it; Ged, who has confronted darkness & reconciled with it, understands that the Old Gods/Unnamed Ones have nothing to offer and are not worthy of worship. Literally and metaphorically, he brings light into this world and shows Tenar/Arha "the truth."

I had mixed feelings about this....I was surprised, after hearing so much about LeGuin as a writer of sci-fi and fantasy that was less "white-male", to read yet another book in which she paints such a negative picture of women and associates women's power with untruth, darkness, evil, and danger. I'm not asking for a world in which all women are perfect, enlightened spiritual beings, but it seems strange that in a world where there are good men and bad men with power, the only good women are those who have been restricted from power. Ged literally and metaphorically destroys the foundation of Tenar's belief system (which is undeniably cruel and dark), stripping her of her power. She becomes a lost, weak child who requires his protection and is destined for a life as an ornament - as he describes to her when he tells her about the dresses she will wear when she lives in the capital - or
is to be taken under the wing of wise old men who will keep her safe (and presumably re-educate her more completely into a life of boring domesticity, so that she is more like the only other good woman in the series, Vetch's sister, Yarrow/Kest, who busies herself with baked goods in the first novel). This bothered me somewhat, since I came to the novel expecting to see a different perspective on magic and power in the Earthsea universe and basically saw the same thing as in the first one.

Still, despite all my feminist reservations, I did enjoy the book. The story-telling was tightened and I felt like the stakes were higher or I was more emotionally invested than in the first book. I am looking forward to exploring this universe more and seeing what happens to the characters in the future. ( )

The saga of the magical world of Earthsea continues in Le Guin's second installment. What I love about this one is that it comes from the point of view not of Ged but of the Priestess of the Tombs (Tenar), so it is fresh and new. The entrance of Ged enhances and pulls together the string of the tale. Wonderful reading for any age, I can't wait to start the next one! ( )

Link to a review on my personal website (might be in Swedish). ( )

By far the best of the original Earthsea trilogy (I try to forget Le Guin's further attempts at Earthsea books after the first three), The Tombs of Atuan is one of those crystalline stories with a compelling heroine, a believable culture, terse and evocative writing, and sharp emotional intelligence. Young Arha is the Eaten One, the chief servant of the gloomy female cult dedicated to the Nameless Ones. Ged, the wizard of the first Earthsea book, penetrates that isolated world in his search for the mythical Ring of Arreth-Akbe. Arha must choose between the darkness of her previous life or the painfully bright world outside her suffocating religion.

Do yourself a favor and avoid any Earthsea books other than the original trilogy. Arha and Ged are entirely ruined as characters, the storylines are remarkably uncompelling, and even Le Guin's streamlined writing seems to falter with the dearth of adequate story elements. ( )

I liked that the main character was not the same as in A Wizard of Earthsea - although I usually don't like that in a series, but here it seems that each book has a different main character, but some recurring character(s). It also seems like they could be read out of order without much confusion, but also without the lengthy explanation that often accompanies such things (summarizing the first book at the beginning of the second, a practice I hate). ( )