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Summary: Sparrowhawk's Quest
Review: In A Wizard of Earthsea, we read a coming of age story about a boy who learns to become a wizard and a hero. Though it was a short book, there are really 3 quests that together turn Sparrowhawk/Ged into a great hero. In The Tombs of Atuan, we have a more traditional quest narrative. There is a single quest that our Hero must complete in order to cement his reputation as the greates wizard of Earthsea. The novel doesn't focus on him for much of the first third, however, and I think this is its main weakness, and why I didn't like it as much as the first in the series. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it, and think it's worth reading...but when following a classic (which Wizard of Earthsea definitely is), it's often hard to measure up.
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Summary: A buried treasure
Review: At first, "Tombs of Atuan" may not do much for a reader weaned on the likes of Jordan, Martin, and Goodkind, epic fantasy without the fantasy, books where grime and filth and pain ARE the plot. Rather than creating a powerfully imagined world, or thinking up some unheard-of novelty, "Tombs of Atuan" is an attempt to tell an inspiring story in as few words and characters as possible. Brilliance and originality are by-products.The second book set on Earthsea, Tombs focuses on a small part of the Kargad archipelago, home to a belligerent nation of fair-skinned people under the theocratic rule of a Godking. Two endemic religions exist here: popular worship of the Godking, and the forgotten, obsolete worship of the Nameless ones, evil cthonic spirits that are not gods. This is the tale of Tenar, a girl chosen at the age of five to be the "reincarnated" form of Arkha, the head priestess of the Nameless Ones, and Ged, who, having been trapped in the Nameless Ones' lightless labyrinth in search of a magical treasure, freed her from the lie she was living. In all sincerity, "Tombs of Atuan" cannot be seriously called a novel. It is a novelette, or perhaps a novella. It is two sittings - about 150 pages - long. The writing is terse, descriptive, and powerful. Le Guin masterfully shows us the tiny religious compound in the middle of a wasteland, a dilapidated temple with a small earthen labyrinth beneath, the worshippers' disbelief and the multitude of pointless rituals surrounding the adoration of these bloodthirsty beings, and then hints that there is more than the eye can see, that neither the believers nor the unbelievers are entirely correct. Every room, every twisting corridor becomes infused with the weight of countless souls, the implied power and urgency ringing in the air, and sinister majesty radiating from the Undertomb, a cavernous room no human eye was meant to see. This is THE classic fantasy to read. Period.
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Summary: What I thought about this book
Review: I thought this book could of been better, but there were some highlights in the book that were interesting to read.But overall this book was not very interesting to read.
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Summary: What I thought about the tombs of Atuan
Review: I thought the book was boring in some spot and enertaing at others but overall it was a good book.
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Summary: An Intriguing Fantasy
Review: This book was required reading for my "Women in Myth and Fairy Tale" course, and I greatly enjoyed it. Ursula K. Leguin defintely knows how to tell a great story. Tenar/Arha comes across as the typical "confused teenager" trying to figure out who she is and what she wants out of life. Her struggle for freedom is one that any young girl will identify with. Her relationship with Ged is refreshing in that it results in an ending that is not cliche or predictable. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy or a story with a strong female protagonist.
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Summary: Contemplative middle movement to a beautiful concerto
Review: The measure of the author's skill can be found in this: the protagonist who personifies the magic of this world, who is the fulcrum of the entire series, is not introduced until the fifth chapter. A lesser author could not have carried it off, or, in daring a prelude of such length, would have produced a transparent literary device, an extended prologue written only to flaunt a contrived technique. This author not only brings it off, but does so in a way that feels just right. We allow her four chapters to set the stage because it is time well spent. She does not waste a single thought. Hers is a quiet and unhurried voice, but also cleanly intelligent. She writes sparingly, allowing the reader to fill in the spaces. In so doing, she makes room for wisdom. The first book in this story was about the balance of life. This one is about identity. It features two protagonists: the mage already mentioned, and a young girl whose identity is ceded and then regained. I am giving away some of the plot, but this is not a betrayal. This story is about so many things, least of all plot. How many works of fantasy depict a magic that is boastful? The magic in them is like fireworks - all thunder, flash and vigorous action. Here, the author chances another approach: her magic is so subtle that it almost escapes notice. It is used to quiet great powers, conceal a desperate escape, forestall a mounting cataclysm. This runs contrary to what the fantasy genre has taught us to expect of magic, and yet it is precisely appropriate to the story the writer tells. This is also where the wisdom resides. The mage is more powerful than he seems. In the end, despite his humility, his power is revealed as something vast. One must delve deep to see his power, and deeper still to understand his nature. The heroine's journey takes her to such depths, and in journeying with her; we come to understand the essence of such depth. If this depiction of the book sounds serious and weighty, this is because, to some extent, such a depiction is true. It takes a contemplative soul to appreciate this book, and it will disappoint many who come seeking simpler pleasures. This is the second of a series of three (I will always think of Earthsea as a trilogy) and far and away the most muted. It is not for everyone; but for those willing to commit the emotional investment, it reveals itself as the slow middle movement in a beautiful concerto; missing perhaps the sweep and power of its sister movements, but possessing an intimate grandeur of its own.
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Summary: Best of the series; essential for understanding "Tehanu"
Review: I read "The Tombs of Atuan" before "A Wizard of Earthsea" because my school library didn't have the other books in the tetrology. I wasn't even aware it was the second book in a series until I told my father I loved it. He, fortunately, owned all four books. After many years, "Tombs" is still my favorite Earthsea novel, though I admit I may be biased because it was the first one I read, and I read it while I was a young girl. "Tombs" is a portrait of an isolated girl who struggles to find acceptable values, and to become a free and responsible human being. Tenar/Arha is a priestess who serves the nameless powers of the earth. The early chapters show her life in a religious community, and her first steps towards becoming a woman. Later, she encounters Ged, a wizard on a quest of his own. Tenar and Ged are believable characters, whose journey and friendship avoid an artificially happy and neatly-wrapped ending. "Tombs" was a godsend to me; in it, I found a strong female character who didn't have a stereotypical relationship with a "hero," and a thoughtful portrayal of the true meaning of adulthood and freedom. For many years, the Earthsea books were a trilogy, with "Tombs" the odd book out. Ged, here a supporting character (though vital!) is the all-important protagonist of the male-dominated "A Wizard of Earthsea." And as far as "The Farthest Shore" is concerned, Tenar might as well never have lived. I was fortunate enough to read the series after Le Guin completed it with "Tehanu," which again focuses on Tenar. I am grateful I read the series out of order, because I find the tetrology a balancing act between two perspectives on life: outer-directed, and inner-directed, with Ged representing the former and Tenar the latter. At the end of "Tehanu," the two characters have learned, aged, and come to terms with themselves and each other. Without "Tombs," "Tehanu" is incomprehensible. "The Tombs of Atuan" is also a miracle in its own right.
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Summary: Couldn't put it down!!
Review: As a faithful lover of sci-fi/fantasy, I found this book irresistible. I read it twice in the course of 24 hours. Ursula LeGuin's vivid description of Arha's dark life as The First Priestess, her inner struggle, and finally, the underlying hints of what she feels for Ged, the young wizard who rescues her, all make for a can't-put-it-down plot. It would be great for teenage readers who love a good fantasy (like myself). I highly recommend it!!
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Summary: Best of the series
Review: After reading the enitre Earth-Sea series over a period of time, I have to say this is the best of the series. The other two in the original trilogy were OK (and the fourth, in my opinion, was a real letdown), but his stands out from them. Its the only book in the series that I felt was written well by Ursula K Leguin. In the first she squandered her promising beginning in a meandering tale; in the third she mired her good underlying idea in tedium. This book isn't as ambitious as the other two; maybe thats why it succeeds in its aims better. Some have said that the beginning is slow, but I felt these scenes are some of her best in the trilogy; they're interesting, and you can actually feel for the character. Arha is a splendid creation, an uncertain preistess of the dark. Furthermore, this book really expands the EarthSea universe for me. The first book was cramped and kind of uninvolved; long, boring boat rides come to mind. Here there is a sense of a corner of time, left behind for a while where the dark forces still rule. On the horizon is frightful change as the Godking tries to usurp the power of the Dark Ones Arha serves. The tension between Arha and Kossil is gripping, especially near the end. Her change of mind towards Ged, over time, clearly displays her insecurities as preistess. And all through the book, there is the tension arising from the Dark Ones in the background. Here, finally, is the conflict the series needed; there is a continual battle between the forces of man and modernity versus the Old powers of the world of EarthSea. Not to say the book is without problems, but this is mostly because the story isn't really a trilogy (or a 'quatrology') but 3 or 4 separate books practically self contained. Thus it tales some time for LeGuin to build up momentum in each book; sometimes she succeeds, other times she doesnt really. Thankfully this book can be looked at as a success.
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Summary: The Tombs of Atuan
Review: In my opnion, this is the best of the four Earthsea books and the only one I really like. The other three were not very intresting or with very imaginative characters and ideas, especially Tehanu, which seemed to have no plot at all. I don't like the Earthsea series very much because women don't play much part in it as they can't be wizards, so it was good in this one to have a main character who's female. It drew me in right away with the descriptions of the strange rituals and religion surrounding Tenar's life. I don't think it was slow to start. It might be best to read 'A Wizard of Earthsea.' first to be introduced to Ged and the world of Earthsea, but don't be put off if you don't like it that much, give this one a try.
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