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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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.

Le Guin's Earthsea books are all excellent, but some people feel that The Tombs of Atuan is slow to start, and less eventful than the other three. My opinion, for what it's worth, is quite the opposite. The introspective beginning of Tombs is not unlike the beginning of Wizard, focussing closely on a single character, that character's uniqueness, and the way that character is shaped by life. The reader approaches the threshold of adventure with the protagonist; the reader, too, is drawn into the struggle, shares bewilderment, doubt, and uncertainty; and the reader, too, has made a passage by the end of the book.

Too much of modern fantasy is all long journeys, heated battles, unquestionably terrible villains -- and swordplay, of course. Le Guin recognizes that moral ambiguity creates the greatest obstacle a character can confront...and that if the question is worthwhile, the answer is neither easy nor painless.

Tenar is a strong heroine and I would especially recommend this book for teenage girls, whose plight is sometimes not unlike that of the Eaten One; however, as all the best books are, this is a story which is based on human character and thus speaks to both sexes and all ages.


Tenar's Tale   May 29, 2001
 20 out of 22 found this review helpful

Sparrowhawk, the protagonist of "Wizard of Earthsea," the first book of the triology, is a secondary character here; important but not the focus. This is the story of Tenar, a young priestess at the Tombs of Atuan.

Earthsea has places where there are elder powers present. Readers of "Wizard of Earthsea" encountered one in the Terrenon. Tenar, as an infant, is given to the elder power of the Tombs. Her name is taken from her and she becomes Arha, "the eaten one." She serves as a priestess to a nearly forgotten religion that treats the power of the Tombs as a god. But everything Tenar has been told is twice a lie; her religion is almost forgotten and the Power is anything but a god.

This is the story of how Tenar came to understand that her life, all of what she had been and most of what she believed was a lie. LeGuin makes it utterly convincing, in a spare, terse way that is stark and persuasive. Sparrowhawk plays a crucial role in all this, but he is not the protagonist. Sparrowhawk may have been the catalyst for Tenar's changes, but like a catalyst he is mostly unchanged by the process. It is Tenar who is changed. This is Tenar's tale.

Can you imagine how devastating it must have been for Tenar? How many of us could accept and understand that what we had been taught was evil or, worse still, utterly meaningless? Could you do as well if, say, Christianity were revealed to be an utter fraud? LeGuin makes it vivid. Any thoughtful reader is left in awe of Tenar's strength and resilience. And in awe of LeGuin's writing.

In most trilogies, the middle book is the weakest. Not the Earthsea books. This is a wonderful tale, superbly told. Very highly recommended.


Stands alone   January 26, 2000
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Perhaps the greatest testament to LeGuin's abilities is the fact that I was profoundly moved by this book as a child, and until about 15 minutes ago I never knew it was the second book of a trilogy. A dark and sometimes brooding book, its mood and characters have stuck with me well into adulthood. It's a powerful little story about isolation, loss of self, fear of adulthood. Mythically and metaphorically it addresses the horrible passage from the relative spiritual freedom of childhood to the often overwhelming moral and social burdens of adulthood. It ends with an earned and mature freedom from darkness, and an understanding that all of life is a journey. This book stands alone, but I can't wait to see what the other two parts of the trilogy are like. If you have a child, particularly a daughter, niece, etc., entering into a difficult passage of life, this book would be a great gift.


Fantastic! Don't be deterred by its brevity   January 14, 2002
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Bravo! As a frequent reader of fantasy novels, I was initially skeptical of Ursula Le Guin's "Earthsea" series because it is so much shorter than most books in this genre. How could an author possibly establish characterizations, create worlds, grab readers with such a short book? The answer is, superbly. I have read only this book and the previous one (so far), and find that "The Tombs of Atuan" grabs hold and won't let go: you genuinely care about the characters, become spellbound by the world she creates, and simply are not able to put the book down. Unlike other fantasy authors, Le Guin's characters are neither inivincible nor shallowly "good": they are human, and like us, they are flawed creations whose trials and tribulations are not simply a jump from one outrageous escape to another. Fantasy authors everywhere should take note- wizards and foes alike do not need to possess outrageous, invincible powers to be compelling to a fantasy reader. As Le Guin brilliantly illustrates here, sometimes a simple act of kindness can be as powerful as the most flagrant mystical powers.


Excellent sequel   June 21, 2000
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

The second book in the Earthsea series is something of a twist in that it does not focus on the main character of the Earthsea series. It is, instead, written from the perspective of Tenar, a priestess who is stripped of her individuality right down to losing the right to have a name. This seems to do two things, it allows you to get to know a new character (something I always enjoy) and it allows you to see Ged from a new perspective. Tenar's perspective on Ged is somewhat idealized, but it's apparent that this is the character's point of view, not the author's inability to create a character with depth.

One of the things I really enjoyed about the book was (I hope I can say this without spoiling the story) that when Ged showed up, he didn't magically fix everything that was bad. So often at the end of a book the characters are 'riding off into the sunset' and the world is a perfect place again. In this one, they do ride into the sunset, of course, but they seem to do it with the knowledge that they still have work ahead of them.

I recommend reading this book, but get The Wizard of Earthsea first to get a more complete look at the world Tenar and Ged live in.