Fantasy

The Tombs of Atuan

The Tombs of Atuan

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-10-08 09:53:49
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ursula K. Le Guin
  • ISBN：1473223571
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Summary

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。

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Reviews

Connor Kenehan ，

Too short！ A great book， but seemed to exist simply to bridge the first and whatever will happen in the third。 Such an interesting way to bridge/broaden the Earthsea setting。

Daphne Mayberry ，

I've never written a book review before， nor have I thought of doing so， but I am glad to have this opportunity to share my opinions。 I have given this book a four star rating， and based on my standards， four stars is very good。 I had read the first book of the series， “A wizard of Earthsea '' last year for my 9th grade English literature class， and before then I had never heard of Ursula Le。 Guin， nor any of her works。 Within our two months of reading as a class， I followed along， but following I've never written a book review before， nor have I thought of doing so， but I am glad to have this opportunity to share my opinions。 I have given this book a four star rating， and based on my standards， four stars is very good。 I had read the first book of the series， “A wizard of Earthsea '' last year for my 9th grade English literature class， and before then I had never heard of Ursula Le。 Guin， nor any of her works。 Within our two months of reading as a class， I followed along， but following along was all I did for many weeks， for I had stayed up at night and finished the book on my own within the first two weeks。 I look back now and can't imagine a better use of my time than reading this story。 I had fallen in love with the characters， the plot， the perception of historic magic， and the thrilling adventure each page took me through。 I had read this book twice more over the summer， along with a few others I enjoyed， but little did I know that there were more than just one！ I wish I had known about the quintet sooner， for it made me sad every time I was brought to the last page and reached the “end” of an adventure。 After discovering what book came next， I immediately ordered it off a website called “thriftbooks"。 I started it the day I got it， September 4th， and finished on Sunday， October 3rd。 I deeply recommend this book， along with the whole quintet to any who may wish to explore a world of magic and exploration of the mind and soul。 Not only do these stories portray each character’s growth and development， but the wisdom gifted through the characters to each other， are gifted to the reader as well。 This knowledge may even benefit the reader during their own journey of self discovery。 The dynamic between Ged （Sparrowhawk） and Tenar （The eaten one）， created a wonderful duo of a powerful master and the overly curious student。 In a way these characters could be seen as the Author and the Reader， one， more knowledgeable， guiding the determined towards adventure for themselves。 All of these aspects had created a wonderfully planned story， with the right amount of passion in the world of magic。 My favorite quote can be found on page 204， paragraph 2。 It reads， “Freedom is a heavy load， a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake。 It is not easy。 It is not a gift given， but a choice made， and the choice may be a hard one。 The road goes upward toward the light; but the laden traveler may never reach the end of it”。 I am quite aware this is a long quote， but the purpose for Ursula’s message can only properly be portrayed through every sentence。 A generous amount of wisdom and truth is always gifted to the reader in every story， in every chapter， and in every word spoken from the great sparrowhawk。 Through every perspective， a reader will receive different meaning in the words of an arc mage。For anyone still possibly hesitant to reading this book， this is for you。 A short summary of the story and its meaning。 Tenar， a young girl living in a far off labyrinth， follows her destiny foretold， as she had grown up raised by the ladies of the labyrinth， and the praisers of the Godking， she had only one life purpose， to look after the tombs of Atuan。 Since she was born， she was taken and named “The Eaten One”。 She was the new life of one who died， a reborn version of the tomb’s owner。 She had no problem with her position as priestess， and quite enjoyed her authority， after coming of age to explore the tombs， she began to learn all of her future responsibilities。 With no true family， and a planned “destiny”， Tenar bagan to question her existence。 After an unexpected encounter with the archmage， Sparrowhawk， the complication of her situation began to grow。 All that she had been raised to believe was turned around in her head。 Based on what Sparrowhawk had told her， everything in the outside world was different。 Now she was at the crossroads， who would she believe？ After deciding to help escape with Sparrowhawk， now as she knew him to be Ged， her whole perspective on the world was changed。 She learned what the meaning of freedom could be and that she deserved every second of her freedom。 I won't dig too deep in detail so that I dont ruin the experience， but I believe that this story can and will benefit any reader in just the way they need it to。The themes of the story are mostly based on the lessons written in the lines of each page。 The main themes are the definition of freedom， self-discovery， trust， and the effect of one’s experiences。 The definition is put into words nicely in the last chapter。 Self-discovery is rippled throughout the entire story， with Tenar’s changes of perspective and her opportunity to change her own future。 Trust is what was a crucial part of the story， the trust between Ged and Tenar is what lead them to freedom。 And lastly， the effect of one’s experiences is what brings the context of the story into the dynamic of its lessons。 I hope you decide to read this book， but only after you read “A wizard of Earthsea”。 I recommend this story and all in the quintet。 。。。more

Humberto Caiaffa ，

Begins slow but once Chapter 5 begins， it is a pure joy to read。 Magical as always。

Lena ，

As the previous book， there is a classic fantasy without classical fantasy tropes。 Characters must defeat the darkness， but its their own inner demons and fears not some 'Dark Lord'。 Nice writing style and world-building， intriguing plot and interesting characters， but just not my type of read。 As the previous book， there is a classic fantasy without classical fantasy tropes。 Characters must defeat the darkness， but its their own inner demons and fears not some 'Dark Lord'。 Nice writing style and world-building， intriguing plot and interesting characters， but just not my type of read。 。。。more

Rachel ，

The world and characters LeGuin created for this sequel in the Earthsea series was surprising， which I found enjoyable。

Serena ，

4。5 stars

Andrew Weatherly ，

This was a really nice read， but honestly the afterword by Le Guin was the highlight。 She discusses the power to and power over differentiation and how that applies to Ged and Tenar and it was just frankly incredible to read。 So insightful and nuanced and just makes me want to read everything she's ever written even more than I already did。Tl;dr Just go buy the collected writings of Le Guin and read it all。 This was a really nice read， but honestly the afterword by Le Guin was the highlight。 She discusses the power to and power over differentiation and how that applies to Ged and Tenar and it was just frankly incredible to read。 So insightful and nuanced and just makes me want to read everything she's ever written even more than I already did。Tl;dr Just go buy the collected writings of Le Guin and read it all。 。。。more

Kailin ，

Quick and enjoyable read。

Michael Samerdyke ，

This one took me by surprise。"Tombs of Atuan" is really Gothic。 You have a young heroine living in a spooky place with two sinister older women and an odd servant。 She has to learn how to navigate the mazes of the place both material and emotional。Great atmosphere in this one and terrific pace。 Very hard to put this one down。 I never knew Le Guin wrote something like this。I know I'm very late to this party， but highly recommended。 This one took me by surprise。"Tombs of Atuan" is really Gothic。 You have a young heroine living in a spooky place with two sinister older women and an odd servant。 She has to learn how to navigate the mazes of the place both material and emotional。Great atmosphere in this one and terrific pace。 Very hard to put this one down。 I never knew Le Guin wrote something like this。I know I'm very late to this party， but highly recommended。 。。。more

Gabriela Francisco ，

"You were taught to be a slave， but you have broken free。"Finished work in a hurry so I could dive into this immediately after finishing Book 1。 This 2nd volume is definitely in the HORROR category 😳 hahaha！ Great atmospheric writing about a girl who becomes a slave to a religious order and spends most of her time in a vast underground city where she。 Is。 Not。 Alone。"There are sharks in the sea， and there is cruelty in men's eyes。 And where men worship these things and abase themselves before th "You were taught to be a slave， but you have broken free。"Finished work in a hurry so I could dive into this immediately after finishing Book 1。 This 2nd volume is definitely in the HORROR category 😳 hahaha！ Great atmospheric writing about a girl who becomes a slave to a religious order and spends most of her time in a vast underground city where she。 Is。 Not。 Alone。"There are sharks in the sea， and there is cruelty in men's eyes。 And where men worship these things and abase themselves before them， there evil breeds。"As an indictment against organized religion， this one is more powerful than most。 And of course， the crisis of conscience in the end was superbly captured。 This unique Le Guin blend of maximum emotional impact combined with minimum word count is a feat to behold。 。。。more

Bree ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 '"I thought of。。。taking you to the door。 Letting you go。""That was a choice you didn't have。 You could keep me a slave， and be a slave; or set me free， and come free with me。 Come， little one， take courage， turn the key。"' "She wept in pain， because she was free。What she had begun to learn was the weight of liberty。 Freedom is a heavy load， a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake。 It is not easy。 It is not a gift given， but a choice made， and the choice may be a hard one。 The road '"I thought of。。。taking you to the door。 Letting you go。""That was a choice you didn't have。 You could keep me a slave， and be a slave; or set me free， and come free with me。 Come， little one， take courage， turn the key。"' "She wept in pain， because she was free。What she had begun to learn was the weight of liberty。 Freedom is a heavy load， a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake。 It is not easy。 It is not a gift given， but a choice made， and the choice may be a hard one。 The road goes upward towards the light; but the laden traveler may never reach the end of it。"Ms。 le guin my beloved。 what a lovely tale。 it's so human and so full of connection。 a delight to read。 。。。more

David S Roberts ，

Great story。 I highly recommend it。

Czytawianki ，

Le Guin ma niezwykły talent do opowiadania o rzeczach złożonych w bardzo prosty sposób。 Grobowce Atuanu czyta się szybko， bo wciągają， ale wyciąga z nich dużo więcej， niż można by się spodziewać po tak krótkiej książce。 W tej powieści można grzebać do woli i wyciągnąć z niej najważniejsze prawdy życia o sobie samym， ale można też zwyczajnie cieszyć się historią， która wciąga i bohaterami， których się kocha。

isabella ，

4。5 rounded up！ yes i read the 2nd book first what about it。。。。 （i picked this up completely spontaneously from my sister's bookshelf and was intrigued by the art nouveau lettering on the cover and the prologue。 bc this book is centred around a female world， whereas the first one focuses on a male character， i probably wouldn't have picked up the first one like i did with this， but now， having read the 2nd one i definitely want to read the 1st one。。。。 does that make any sense？ it makes sense in 4。5 rounded up！ yes i read the 2nd book first what about it。。。。 （i picked this up completely spontaneously from my sister's bookshelf and was intrigued by the art nouveau lettering on the cover and the prologue。 bc this book is centred around a female world， whereas the first one focuses on a male character， i probably wouldn't have picked up the first one like i did with this， but now， having read the 2nd one i definitely want to read the 1st one。。。。 does that make any sense？ it makes sense in my head）。i've never read a fantasy before where the magic lies purely in the perceptions of the world， for example in saying ancient words in languages that no one speaks anymore， or calling someone/something by name to find it/them （the bunnies！）， or relating physical darkness to mental torment， etc。also i loved the way the mythology is on the surface completely removed from 'real' mythologies， but it's actually a very careful combination of all kinds of 'real' mythologies， the norse and greco-roman influences were the ones i recognised most easily but there's probably more （celtic， buddhist， 。。。）。 e。g。 the character Penthe reminded me of the amazon warrior Penthesilea， the name of the biggest sea trade city/island Havnor is more or less a nordic word compound from 'hav'， sea， and 'nor'， north。 and i don't even feel like i need to talk about Le Guin's writing bc it almost goes without saying that it's luscious and sososo well-crafted。 。。。more

David Tierney ，

Tombs of Atuan starts much more different than the previous book with no sign of its protagonist Ged until later in the tale， and it is easy to get lost in what feels like the much more closed-off land of Atuan。 But as the main character， Temar comes into her own and begins to realise the evil in her life， she becomes a person I felt so much love and empathy for。 She captures the fear and pain of change and regret of the past that most people feel at different times in their lives。

Susan ，

To shortWhile being such a short book I definitely enjoyed it。 It was good to see how Tenar fit into the storyline

Kimberly ，

3。45

Ben Truong ，

The Tombs of Atuan is the second book in Earthsea Cycle written by Ursula K。 Le Guin。 It follows the story of Tenar， a young girl born in the Kargish Empire， who is taken while still a child to be the high priestess to the "Nameless Ones" at the Tombs of Atuan。The Tombs of Atuan is an ancient desert society of women and eunuchs， where Tenar is taken at six and renamed Arha， the Eaten One， because her former existence must be cast off when she becomes high priestess to the Nameless Ones， the spir The Tombs of Atuan is the second book in Earthsea Cycle written by Ursula K。 Le Guin。 It follows the story of Tenar， a young girl born in the Kargish Empire， who is taken while still a child to be the high priestess to the "Nameless Ones" at the Tombs of Atuan。The Tombs of Atuan is an ancient desert society of women and eunuchs， where Tenar is taken at six and renamed Arha， the Eaten One， because her former existence must be cast off when she becomes high priestess to the Nameless Ones， the spirits of the tombs。 She is raised with other neophyte priestesses until at fourteen she assumes her grand and isolated role of guardian of the sacred underground labyrinth， where light is forbidden and no one but Arha may enter。She accepts her new identity solemnly and completely， and the account of her life as a growing priestess is appropriately stately。 However， the story becomes more than the skilled creation of a closed， exotic world when a trespasser enters Arha's underground domain and then the stifling formality becomes a background that adds impact to the stranger's violation of the Place and drama to the girl's subsequent rebirth。The man is Sparrowhawk， the Wizard of Earthsea some years older， and he has come for the missing half of the amulet of Erreth-Akbe， which can bind the warring kingdoms and which is buried with other treasures in the labyrinth。 Arha traps the wizard in the labyrinth and plans to kill him， but instead she begins to pay him compulsive visits， first to taunt， then to listen to his tales and watch his feats of illusion， finally to weep because her gods are dead。 However， the wizard answers that they are not dead as they are immortal as they are the dark and hate the light， but are not gods。 Thus Sparrowhawk gives Tenar back her name and helps her to escape from the Place and the dark powers of the Nameless Ones。The Tombs of Atuan is written rather well。 Le Guin has set the narrative on one island of her archipelago world and focused on one of many religions。 It is a bildungsroman that explores Tenar's growth and identity。 Tenar's coming-of-age is closely tied to her exploration of faith and her belief in the Nameless Ones。 The Tombs of Atuan explores themes of gender and power in the setting of a cult of female priests in service to a patriarchal society， while providing an anthropological view of Kargish culture。All in all， The Tombs of Atuan is written rather well and is a wonderful continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series， which I plan to continue in the very near future。 。。。more

michael ，

the shift to more intimate and local story（compared to the first book） is cool， but it drags and doesn't explore it's premise to the fullest the shift to more intimate and local story（compared to the first book） is cool， but it drags and doesn't explore it's premise to the fullest 。。。more

Natalie Guillet ，

By far a favorite of the Earthsea books。

Robert ，

"The Tombs of Atuan" is the engrossing sequel to the wonderful young adults fantasy tale， "A Wizard of Earthsea"。 I had read this as a young teenager and now， more than 30 years later， it hasn't lost it's lustre。 In fact dare I say， on rereading this as an adult， in my humble opinion， this sequel book is even a better read than the first book in the series （a tall order， considering how fantastic "A Wizard of Earthsea" was）。 Ursula Le Guin， the author， has such a talent to say so much with a bre "The Tombs of Atuan" is the engrossing sequel to the wonderful young adults fantasy tale， "A Wizard of Earthsea"。 I had read this as a young teenager and now， more than 30 years later， it hasn't lost it's lustre。 In fact dare I say， on rereading this as an adult， in my humble opinion， this sequel book is even a better read than the first book in the series （a tall order， considering how fantastic "A Wizard of Earthsea" was）。 Ursula Le Guin， the author， has such a talent to say so much with a brevity of words， a style I greatly admire。 This story follows a different main protagonist than the first story in this series， although the hero Ged still plays a critical role in this tale。 The main protagonist， the girl Arha is fully fleshed out by the author and her story arc and character development is so well done。 This tale is intelligent， chilling， exciting and enormously satisfying and expands the lore of the Earthsea world。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more

Adrielle Stapleton ，

Wow， I loved this。 I'm excited that this second book in the series introduced a female lead character， and I'm always happy to get girl characters who are taking first steps toward freedom。 I think this fantasy series is way more accessible than her sci-fi books I've read， so there's a good chance you'd love it too。 Wow， I loved this。 I'm excited that this second book in the series introduced a female lead character， and I'm always happy to get girl characters who are taking first steps toward freedom。 I think this fantasy series is way more accessible than her sci-fi books I've read， so there's a good chance you'd love it too。 。。。more

Jenna ，

A little slow in the beginning but a great lyrical beautiful book。

Semih İnan ，

ilk kitaptan daha güzeldi bu。 ilk kitapta her şey çok hızlı ilerlemişti， okuduğumdan zevk alamamıştım doğru düzgün。 bu daha yavaş ilerledi。 daha fazla zevk aldım bundan。

Carla Senoner ，

best cycle out there

Violet Kim ，

Now I felt like a parent， proud when Ged was helping someone grow。 It was him who needed all the advices to grow and now he's the one guiding another lost soul。 How gentle and humble he was with Tenar！I love how the author showed what people go through when they go through cognitive dissonance and have their beliefs turned upside down。 Now I felt like a parent， proud when Ged was helping someone grow。 It was him who needed all the advices to grow and now he's the one guiding another lost soul。 How gentle and humble he was with Tenar！I love how the author showed what people go through when they go through cognitive dissonance and have their beliefs turned upside down。 。。。more

Spark ，

There was a lot of growth between this one and the first one。 Our wizardly buddy is a lot more fun to be around。 Sometimes I like the new character， but other times she can be infuriating。

Luuk Moone ，

3。5/5Similar in structure to The Left Hand of Darkness， where the first half of the book is interesting， but not overly exciting。 Yet， the other half of the book changes pace and makes it much more difficult to put the book down。

Jake Middleton ，

A lot of the weaknesses of the first Earthsea were less apparent in this second book。 The slow game of cat and mouse with a shadow is gone， the lack of dialogue largely corrected （in fact it even had modern style dialogue info dumps that any epic fantasy author would have been proud of！）。 Brilliant story， very well written with a lot of depth and weight。

Juan ，

"Lloraba de dolor， porque era libre。Lo que estaba empezando a descubrir era el peso de la libertad。 La libertad es una carga pesada， extraña y abrumadora para el espíritu que ha de llevarla。 No es cómoda。 No es un regalo que se recibe， sino una elección que se hace， y la elección puede ser difícil。 El camino asciende hacia la luz; pero el viajero que soporta la carga acaso no llegue jamás a la meta"Un buen libro， mejor que el primero para mi gusto， muy bonito y CASI pero CASI me hace llorar， se "Lloraba de dolor， porque era libre。Lo que estaba empezando a descubrir era el peso de la libertad。 La libertad es una carga pesada， extraña y abrumadora para el espíritu que ha de llevarla。 No es cómoda。 No es un regalo que se recibe， sino una elección que se hace， y la elección puede ser difícil。 El camino asciende hacia la luz; pero el viajero que soporta la carga acaso no llegue jamás a la meta"Un buen libro， mejor que el primero para mi gusto， muy bonito y CASI pero CASI me hace llorar， se nota una pequeña evolución en la saga y es un worldbuilding muy interesante， me esta agrando e impresionando de buena manera LO BUENO: Trama， historia， worldbuilding， narración etc。。。 LO MALO: Creo que nada LO FEO: Algunos momentos en especial con los nombres fueron un poco bizarros 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Tombs of Atuan

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Tombs of Atuan&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Tombs of Atuan&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0