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The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2)
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Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Publisher: Simon Pulse
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Our Price: $6.99
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Average Customer Rating:
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The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) Description
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
EAN: 9780689845369
ISBN: 0689845367
Label: Simon Pulse
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 192
Publication Date: 2001-09-01
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Reading Level: Young Adult
Studio: Simon Pulse
EAN: 9780689845369
ISBN: 0689845367
Label: Simon Pulse
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 192
Publication Date: 2001-09-01
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Reading Level: Young Adult
Studio: Simon Pulse
Editorial Review 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.
Customer Reviews of The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Continuing the series.
Review: 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. ***
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Earthsea Always Satisfy's.
Review: Book one The Wizard of Earthsea was required reading for a children's literature course I did back in 1999. I enjoyed it so much I read all the books and collections of short stories set in that world. Yet even though this novel finishes by revolving again around Ged, it is really about Tenar/Arha, a young girl believed to be the reborn High Priest of the unnamed ones. (Nameless ones.) Her name is taken from her at 6 years of age, a year after she was taken from her family and home. She is given the name/title "Arha" - "the one without a name."
She grows, learns and becomes high priestess under the tutelage of Kossil, priestess to the God-Kings and Thar of the God Brothers.
Then one day she sees Ged in the under tomb, and he has magic light. She traps him in the labyrinth. She then chains him and visits with him. Kossil finds out about this and plans to kill them both. Tenar, fearing this, visits Ged in the treasury where she has hidden him.
He renames her Tenar and together they escape and return the Ring of Erreth-Akbe to the inner islands that they may have peace. For the 9th rune that had been lost when the ring was broken when the rune was cut in half. Now with both pieces Ged could recover the rune and restore peace.
The book ends with them in the city of Havnor.
Note: Pay close attention to the names of boats in the series. In this one Ged guides a boat called Lookfar.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A disappointing follow-up to "Wizard"
Review: This book contains the elements of writing that have made LeGuin such a popular author--readability, substance, style, etc. However, this book pales in comparison to its predecessor, "A Wizard of Earthsea." My main critique of this particular volume is that the story simply takes too long to get off the ground. Almost the first half of the book is dedicated to setting up the main plot, which begs the reader for more patience than should be required. Once things get moving, it is an enjoyable tale with rich turns and twists. Worth reading for fans of the Earthsea series, but be warned that it is slow going for several chapters.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: on audio
Review: The Tombs of Atuan is very different from A Wizard of Earthsea. It focuses on a young woman who has spent her life cloistered in the tombs of gods who she serves but doesn't know. Just as the reader feels completely miserable at the state of this disillusioned young lady, Ged (who nobody would describe as particularly cheerful or up-beat), arrives and brings with him a much-needed ray of sunshine, even though he spends most of the book under the earth. After Ged's arrival, things start to slowly make more sense to Tenar and it is interesting to watch her well-developed character gradually move from darkness to light.
This is a slow-paced book. There's not a lot of action until the end, but Ged's quest in the tombs is related to the rest of the Earthsea series, so it's valuable in that sense. And, of course, an Ursula Le Guin is always a pleasure to read and this audiobook version is very good. --FantasyLiterature.net
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: the tombs of Atuan
Review: 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 (particularly the coming of age of the main character, the crucial choosing of one's future and trust). 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.
This edition is a sturdy one and will resist well the hazards a book is exposed to, but the paper lacks whiteness and is of a harsh type.
Review Summary: Continuing the series.
Review: 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. ***
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Earthsea Always Satisfy's.
Review: Book one The Wizard of Earthsea was required reading for a children's literature course I did back in 1999. I enjoyed it so much I read all the books and collections of short stories set in that world. Yet even though this novel finishes by revolving again around Ged, it is really about Tenar/Arha, a young girl believed to be the reborn High Priest of the unnamed ones. (Nameless ones.) Her name is taken from her at 6 years of age, a year after she was taken from her family and home. She is given the name/title "Arha" - "the one without a name."
She grows, learns and becomes high priestess under the tutelage of Kossil, priestess to the God-Kings and Thar of the God Brothers.
Then one day she sees Ged in the under tomb, and he has magic light. She traps him in the labyrinth. She then chains him and visits with him. Kossil finds out about this and plans to kill them both. Tenar, fearing this, visits Ged in the treasury where she has hidden him.
He renames her Tenar and together they escape and return the Ring of Erreth-Akbe to the inner islands that they may have peace. For the 9th rune that had been lost when the ring was broken when the rune was cut in half. Now with both pieces Ged could recover the rune and restore peace.
The book ends with them in the city of Havnor.
Note: Pay close attention to the names of boats in the series. In this one Ged guides a boat called Lookfar.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A disappointing follow-up to "Wizard"
Review: This book contains the elements of writing that have made LeGuin such a popular author--readability, substance, style, etc. However, this book pales in comparison to its predecessor, "A Wizard of Earthsea." My main critique of this particular volume is that the story simply takes too long to get off the ground. Almost the first half of the book is dedicated to setting up the main plot, which begs the reader for more patience than should be required. Once things get moving, it is an enjoyable tale with rich turns and twists. Worth reading for fans of the Earthsea series, but be warned that it is slow going for several chapters.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: on audio
Review: The Tombs of Atuan is very different from A Wizard of Earthsea. It focuses on a young woman who has spent her life cloistered in the tombs of gods who she serves but doesn't know. Just as the reader feels completely miserable at the state of this disillusioned young lady, Ged (who nobody would describe as particularly cheerful or up-beat), arrives and brings with him a much-needed ray of sunshine, even though he spends most of the book under the earth. After Ged's arrival, things start to slowly make more sense to Tenar and it is interesting to watch her well-developed character gradually move from darkness to light.
This is a slow-paced book. There's not a lot of action until the end, but Ged's quest in the tombs is related to the rest of the Earthsea series, so it's valuable in that sense. And, of course, an Ursula Le Guin is always a pleasure to read and this audiobook version is very good. --FantasyLiterature.net
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: the tombs of Atuan
Review: 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 (particularly the coming of age of the main character, the crucial choosing of one's future and trust). 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.
This edition is a sturdy one and will resist well the hazards a book is exposed to, but the paper lacks whiteness and is of a harsh type.