The Tombs of Atuan

The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2

By: Ursula K. Le Guin

Narrated by: Rob Inglis

Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

A bold young wizard enters the labyrinth of the sacred Tombs of Atuan to steal the magical ring of Erreth-Akbe. Instead, he finds an unhappy priestess in need of a hero to save her.

©1970 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)1994 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic Reviews

• Winner, Newbery Honor, 1972

Narrative > Narrator

Rob Inglis's imperfect telling of "Tombs of Atuan" doesn't do justice to what is fundamentally a perfect story. Inglis's vocal range is not particularly strong, and it ignores nuances within the characters he represents. Ged, for instance, is no longer the youngster he was in "Wizard of Earthsea," but he's certainly not the elderly sage he sounds in Inglis's performance of "Tombs." Part of the problem is associative: Inglis uses precisely the same deep tone for Ged's voice in "Tombs" as he does for Ogion's in "Wizard." While this narrative decision does underscore the subtle parallels between the more mature Ged and his aged master (for instance, the way he controls the earthquake while underground), it mischaracterizes the age gap between Ged and Arha, which is not as great as Inglis makes it sound. Ged's voice is certainly deep, as the story explicitly states, but Inglis's rendition makes him sound ancient.

In Some Ways, the Best of the Original Trilogy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you liked The Wizard of Earthsea, this is a must-read sequel. I love how LeGuin pulls on a few threads from the first novel but mostly departs into a completely different tale ... in tone, structure, plot, and even in geography. Marginalizing Ged as a character until halfway through is a brilliant stroke and gives us a new character to care about in the form of a young girl, chosen one of the old powers of the Earth. The result is powerful ... lyrical, dusky, narrow in scope. Wow. It probably works best for young adults, as a coming of age story for girls. But it has a universal appeal.

Best. Fantasy. Series. Ever.

I purchased, downloaded and began reading this book the moment I finished the Wizard of Earthsea. And I did the same for the next book the moment I finished this one.

A tale of a Priestess

This is more the tale of the priestess than it is that of the Wizard. With that in mind though, it is a solid tale well worth listening to.

The Tombs of Atuan

I read this and A Wizard of Earthsea after watching the TV adaption. As I stated in my review of the previous book, I was not expecting such a well written and engaging book as this one is.
This book follows Tenar, who is a priestess dedicated to vengeful and dark gods called the Nameless Ones. She starts out as a cruel and hard girl who grows into a cruel and hard young woman. Then Ged shows up and the story becomes quite redemptive. Since this is considered a YA novel, I wasn’t expecting good character arcs, but this book surprised me! I thoroughly enjoyed both the characters and their stories, and the well written world they lived in. Le Guin knows excellent prose and character development and these books have proven it. I am looking forward to the third one!
I will say, if you are looking for something resembling the TV mini series, you won’t find it here. The dialogue is not childish, the descriptions are brief but effective, and the story is darker than expected. Read this when you are needing a break from less accomplished authors!

Alone, no one wins freedom.

"Alone, no one wins freedom."
- The Tombs of Atuan

I adore Le Guin's voice and her soul. I hate fantasy. Or, rather, I have told that to SO many people I believe it is true. But, I make exceptions. Le Guin could have writen self-help and business books and I'd gladly read them. She was a feminist, but unafraid to write a book both with a female lead, and a female lead who is helped by a man/wizard. She is interested in power, in evil, in humanity, in big questions and nuanced answers. Her prose is very good, but her characters are amazing. She recognized, I believe, that the secret to writing about strength is to write about weakness. Just like the secret to writing about light is to write about darkness. This isn't one of her GREAT novels, but I might even change my mind about that, if the ideas in this book are still pounding around in the labrynths of my brain in a couple weeks. I might need to give this book 5-stars just to escape it.

Dull and dreary compared with the first book

This book generally takes place in a dungeon setting, with a weak protagonist. This isn't inherently bad, but it's a significant departure from the vast landscape and dynamically powerful hero of the first book. I found it generally dreary and unsatisfying, but I'm still hooked on Le Guin's sage writing style and jumping right into the next book.

A slow start, but another great Earthsea installment

This second installment of the Earthsea series had a very slow start, but once Sparrowhawk arrives, the story picks up. Featuring a female teenage protagonist and a coming of age story, I was surprised that this story deals with her losing her faith in religion when she is faced with the truth, and it is handled very well. This book doesn’t have an aggressive agenda, something I can’t say for some other major Fantasy series intended for younger audiences *cough* Narnia *cough*

I also appreciate the theme of seeking truth versus believing what you are told, and the value of seeking the wisdom of expertise, a through-line theme of the series. It today’s modern age of “my ignorance is a good as your knowledge” it’s nice to return to a world where education is revered.

Besides featuring a female protagonist, I also noticed a detail I overlooked in the first book: Sparrowhawk is described as being dark skinned. We rarely get fantasy books with non-white protagonists to this day, and a female protagonist was very rare at the time this book was written, so it’s amazing to me how far ahead of its time this series was.

Interestingly, this story also flips the LOTR conception of a “ring of power” on its head. Sparrowhawks’ mission to find a certain ring of power that will restore peace is in stark contrast to the One Rings ability to increase the power of the user. This books ring is like the anti-One Ring.

The relationship between Sparrowhawk and Arha is well developed in such a short story, and it’s interesting to see the further development of Sparrowhawk through the eyes of a different character. He has clearly learned much since the first book, and has become both more powerful and more wise. The character or Arha was a bit annoying early on, but by the end her hero’s journey is as believable as it was nuanced.

The narrator, the same guy who reads the LOTR books, is great.

All in all, I am very much enjoying this series.

Transcendent, brilliant, perfect!

The story and characters are mythic! There truly are no adequate words to describe how amazing this book and the earthsea series really is. No disrespect to the Lord of the rings, Harry Potter, and even The Golden compass, but wizard of Earthsea is in a class by itself!

Earthsea keeps getting better!

First, there is something very classical about the author's writing style. Combine that with the reader's rich voice, and you will find yourself listening to a village elder's tale of Earthsea!

The Tombs of Atuan not only tells a story of adventure, but it continues the lore of the first book. It also, without preaching, teaches something about the nature of good, evil, strength, and forgiveness.

I would kick myself for not reading Le Guin's work earlier, but I'm glad that I can enjoy it now!