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The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2)
 
 
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The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "ONE HIGH HORN SHRILLED AND CEASED..." (more)
Key Phrases: spy hole, rock door, little mistress, Nameless Ones, Inner Lands, Hall of the Throne (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

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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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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.

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
ONE HIGH HORN SHRILLED AND CEASED. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
spy hole, rock door, little mistress, empty throne, four lands
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nameless Ones, Inner Lands, Hall of the Throne, Priestess of the Tombs, Big House, Eaten One, Dark Ones, Erreth Akbe, One Priestess, Place of the Tombs, Room of Chains, High Priestess of the Godking, Tomb Wall, Treasury of the Tombs, Dark Powers, Room of Bones
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The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Passage through darkness., July 11, 1999
This review is from: The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) (Paperback)
Of course I liked The Tombs of Atuan. It is well-constructed and beautifully styled fantasy, comparable to the works of Susan Cooper and Patricia McKillip. (No, Tolkien is in a class by himself.)

Le Guin's Earthsea books are all excellent, but some people feel that The Tombs of Atuan is slow to start, and less eventful than the other three. My opinion, for what it's worth, is quite the opposite. The introspective beginning of Tombs is not unlike the beginning of Wizard, focussing closely on a single character, that character's uniqueness, and the way that character is shaped by life. The reader approaches the threshold of adventure with the protagonist; the reader, too, is drawn into the struggle, shares bewilderment, doubt, and uncertainty; and the reader, too, has made a passage by the end of the book.

Too much of modern fantasy is all long journeys, heated battles, unquestionably terrible villains -- and swordplay, of course. Le Guin recognizes that moral ambiguity creates the greatest obstacle a character can confront...and that if the question is worthwhile, the answer is neither easy nor painless.

Tenar is a strong heroine and I would especially recommend this book for teenage girls, whose plight is sometimes not unlike that of the Eaten One; however, as all the best books are, this is a story which is based on human character and thus speaks to both sexes and all ages.

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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Tenar's Tale, May 28, 2001
By James D. DeWitt "Alaska Fan" (Fairbanks, AK United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) (Paperback)
Sparrowhawk, the protagonist of "Wizard of Earthsea," the first book of the triology, is a secondary character here; important but not the focus. This is the story of Tenar, a young priestess at the Tombs of Atuan.

Earthsea has places where there are elder powers present. Readers of "Wizard of Earthsea" encountered one in the Terrenon. Tenar, as an infant, is given to the elder power of the Tombs. Her name is taken from her and she becomes Arha, "the eaten one." She serves as a priestess to a nearly forgotten religion that treats the power of the Tombs as a god. But everything Tenar has been told is twice a lie; her religion is almost forgotten and the Power is anything but a god.

This is the story of how Tenar came to understand that her life, all of what she had been and most of what she believed was a lie. LeGuin makes it utterly convincing, in a spare, terse way that is stark and persuasive. Sparrowhawk plays a crucial role in all this, but he is not the protagonist. Sparrowhawk may have been the catalyst for Tenar's changes, but like a catalyst he is mostly unchanged by the process. It is Tenar who is changed. This is Tenar's tale.

Can you imagine how devastating it must have been for Tenar? How many of us could accept and understand that what we had been taught was evil or, worse still, utterly meaningless? Could you do as well if, say, Christianity were revealed to be an utter fraud? LeGuin makes it vivid. Any thoughtful reader is left in awe of Tenar's strength and resilience. And in awe of LeGuin's writing.

In most trilogies, the middle book is the weakest. Not the Earthsea books. This is a wonderful tale, superbly told. Very highly recommended.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! Don't be deterred by its brevity, January 14, 2002
By Ted B "elysium314" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) (Paperback)
Bravo! As a frequent reader of fantasy novels, I was initially skeptical of Ursula Le Guin's "Earthsea" series because it is so much shorter than most books in this genre. How could an author possibly establish characterizations, create worlds, grab readers with such a short book? The answer is, superbly. I have read only this book and the previous one (so far), and find that "The Tombs of Atuan" grabs hold and won't let go: you genuinely care about the characters, become spellbound by the world she creates, and simply are not able to put the book down. Unlike other fantasy authors, Le Guin's characters are neither inivincible nor shallowly "good": they are human, and like us, they are flawed creations whose trials and tribulations are not simply a jump from one outrageous escape to another. Fantasy authors everywhere should take note- wizards and foes alike do not need to possess outrageous, invincible powers to be compelling to a fantasy reader. As Le Guin brilliantly illustrates here, sometimes a simple act of kindness can be as powerful as the most flagrant mystical powers.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book
I haven't read a book this wonderfully written in quite some time. Some may find The Tombs of Atuan's pacing too slow, and thus the story a bit boring (as my boyfriend would... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ayla Blythe

3.0 out of 5 stars Continuing the series.
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... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Robert P. Beveridge

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 11 months ago by Steven R. McEvoy

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 11 months ago by Steven R. McEvoy

3.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing follow-up to "Wizard"
This book contains the elements of writing that have made LeGuin such a popular author--readability, substance, style, etc. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. Harrison

4.0 out of 5 stars on audio
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... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kat @ FantasyLiterature.com

5.0 out of 5 stars the tombs of Atuan
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. Read more
Published 17 months ago by garalgar

5.0 out of 5 stars The Id
It's rare, but sometimes a novel will move me deeply. Neil Gaiman's London Underground spoke to me. Some of Paul Park's early works touched me. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Connelly Barnes

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader
The sequel to A Wizard of Earthsea is a little disappointing after the first book, and changes fairly significantly. Read more
Published on September 2, 2007 by Blue Tyson

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the ways this is different that make it special
This is wonderful novel, but it's not for everyone. A reviewer below mentioned this being a "swords and sorcery" novel. That's dead wrong, though. Read more
Published on January 24, 2007 by Oceanus Gregory

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