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Amazon.co.uk Review
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? --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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One of the top ten audiobooks you must buy --Fantasy Book Review
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sequels are tricky things. The world that Le Guin created in a Wizard of Earthsea was so detailed and so perfect that you might reasonably expect the sequel to be 'more voyages of Ged around the archipelago'.
It isn't.
Instead Le Guin takes us to a totally different culture, a different worldview, a different language, a different place, and different main character.
This is the story of Tenar (or Arha) the priestess of the Nameless Ones, cruel spirits in a far flung but sacred spot of the Kargad Empire, known to us from the Kargad raid which begins 'A Wizard of Earthsea'.
There can be few sequels this good. Like its predecessor, this story is absolutely perfect - to the point at which when we first meet the wizard Ged, we see him with distrust through Tenar's eyes, even though we know him as our old friend Sparrowhawk.
This is a totally different kind of story, a totally different take on plot and person, pursuing a different line of philosophical and psychological enquiry.
It isn't.
Instead Le Guin takes us to a totally different culture, a different worldview, a different language, a different place, and different main character.
This is the story of Tenar (or Arha) the priestess of the Nameless Ones, cruel spirits in a far flung but sacred spot of the Kargad Empire, known to us from the Kargad raid which begins 'A Wizard of Earthsea'.
There can be few sequels this good. Like its predecessor, this story is absolutely perfect - to the point at which when we first meet the wizard Ged, we see him with distrust through Tenar's eyes, even though we know him as our old friend Sparrowhawk.
This is a totally different kind of story, a totally different take on plot and person, pursuing a different line of philosophical and psychological enquiry.
If you enjoyed 'A Wizard of Earthsea' -, hey, even if you didn't, even if you've only just got into reading long books, - get hold of this, read it, love it, treasure it. You'll never look back.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
`The Tombs of Atuan' is a very short book, hence this will be a very short review. But despite its brevity this story is as poetically penned and effortlessly gripping as the first part (`A Wizard of Earthsea') of this on-going saga. Admittedly, this story is more slow to start, partly because the meeting between the two main characters Tenar/Arha and Ged/Sparrowhawk only occurs halfway through the book. But once these two characters do finally encounter one another, coming as they do from totally different worlds, not just geographically but also in terms of experience, worldly knowledge, beliefs and upbringing...magic can't help but enthrall the reader, which will coincide with your speedy consumption of this tale. The harshest criticism of this book would be that its primary purpose is to act as a bridge between important story elements within the quartet, with perhaps less high plot-points to it than other tales, but otherwise it's a thoroughly enjoyable story. As always with Le Guin, sparsely but superbly written, short but sweet.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book, along with its companions _A Wizard of Earthsea_ and _The Farthest Shore_, is certainly one of the finest works of fantasy to be written this century. I will not compare it to Tolkien's _Lord of the Rings_, for there really is no good grounds for the comparison. However, I will say that the writing is of the same calibre as Tolkien's, if in a different style.
The book follows the development of a girl, Tenar, from childhood through young adulthood. As a child she is identified as the reincarnation of the High Priestess of the Nameless Ones, and is reared at a remote desert place of worship. Her name is taken from her, and she is then known only as Arha, the Eaten One. As she grows older she begins to doubt what she has been taught, and spends more and more time wandering alone through the vast subterranean Labyrinth that is her domain as High Priestess. The coming of a stranger, Ged, triggers the solidification and exploration of her doubts.
This is a compelling, lyrically written book; though written for older children, it is just as well suited to adults. The author has keen insight into the nature of good, of evil, and of humans. The book can be read independently of its companions; for those who wish to know more of Tenar/Arha, her tale is taken up once more in a book called _Tehanu_, which the author wrote some 30 years after the original.
A glorious read!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Narnia meets Lord of the Rings via Harry Potter
An excellent read - great fun, and for the genre an exciting and compelling story. Le Guin is clearly channeling Tolkien and Lewis (these books were written in the '60s), and lays... Read more
Published 9 months ago by ijhodgson
"The Tombs of Atuan"
Either people will be interested in le Guin's Earthsea stories or they won't, so reviews aren't too helpful with this kind of fiction. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2010 by David Brookes
Earthsea Always Satisfy's.
Book one The Wizard of Earthsea was required reading for a children's literature course I did back in 1999. Read more
Published on 30 Nov 2008 by Steven R. McEvoy
Continuing excellence....
Mature, timeless fantasy for its timeless themes, and suitable world built around them.
This second Earthsea book is just as great as the first, if not more so, for its detailed... Read more
Published on 8 April 2006 by greenwise design
The Guardian Of The Ominous Tombs & Dark Labyrinth
The tale of the "Tombs of Atuan," is the second book in the Earthsea Cycle and begins a few years after Ged's adventures combating the "shadow" force. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2005 by Jana L. Perskie
Unexpectedly gripping.
This is the second volume in the Earthsea quartet (following A Wizard of Earthsea and followed by The Farthest Shore and Tehanu). Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2001
Takes a while to get going!
I have had to read this book as a school project and at first i wasn't very impressed at all! It gets a bit better as you go through and the end could actually be described as... Read more
Published on 28 Oct 2000 by Jenny
Brilliant
he second book of the Earthsea Trilogy, where the author describes the travels of Ged, an experienced wizard, and his journey to return the Ring of Erreth-Akbe to it's rightfull... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2000
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