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Ursula K. Le Guin

The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) Mass Market Paperback – September 1, 2001

by Ursula K. Le Guin (Author)

1,636 ratings

Book 2 of 6: The Earthsea Cycle

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One of the Time 100 Best Fantasy Books Of All Time

The Newbery Honor–winning second novel in the renowned Earthsea series from Ursula K. LeGuin.

In this second novel in the Earthsea series, Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, and everything is taken from her—home, family, possessions, even her name. She is now known only as Arha, the Eaten One, and guards the shadowy, labyrinthine Tombs of Atuan.

Then a wizard, Ged Sparrowhawk, comes to steal the Tombs’ greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Tenar’s duty is to protect the Ring, but Ged possesses the light of magic and tales of a world that Tenar has never known. Will Tenar risk everything to escape from the darkness that has become her domain?

With millions of copies sold worldwide, Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere, alongside the works of such beloved authors as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

Reading age

12 - 17 years
Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Grade level

7 - 9
Lexile measure

840L
Dimensions

4.19 x 0.6 x 7 inches
Publisher

Aladdin Paperbacks
Publication date

September 1, 2001
ISBN-10

0689845367
ISBN-13

978-0689845369
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Popular Highlights in this book

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She cried for the waste of her years in bondage to a useless evil. She wept in pain, because she was free.
Highlighted by 780 Kindle readers
The Earth is beautiful, and bright, and kindly, but that is not all. The Earth is also terrible, and dark, and cruel.
Highlighted by 659 Kindle readers
“To be reborn one must die, Tenar. It is not so hard as it looks from the other side.”
Highlighted by 478 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

"New and longtime Earthsea fans will be drawn to these impressive new editions."

About the Author

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) has published twenty-one novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children, six volumes of poetry, and four of translation, and has received the Hugo, Nebula, Endeavor, Locus, Tiptree, Sturgeon, PEN-Malamud, and National Book Award and the Pushcart and Janet Heidinger Kafka prizes, among others. In recent years she has received lifetime achievement awards from World Fantasy Awards, Los Angeles Times, Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, and Willamette Writers, as well as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master Award and the Library of Congress Living Legends award. Le Guin was the recipient of the Association for Library Service to Children’s May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award and the Margaret Edwards Award. Her recent publications include the novel Lavinia, Words Are My Matter, an essay collection, and Finding My Elegy, New and Selected Poems. Her website is UrsulaKLeGuin.com.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aladdin Paperbacks; Reprint edition (September 1, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0689845367
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0689845369
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 17 years
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 840L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 0.6 x 7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #367,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,031 in Teen & Young Adult Classic Literature
- #1,330 in Teen & Young Adult Fairy Tales & Folklore
- #3,090 in Children's Classics

Customer Reviews:
1,636 ratings

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Ursula K. Le Guin

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Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (US /ˈɜːrsələ ˈkroʊbər ləˈɡwɪn/; born October 21, 1929) is an American author of novels, children's books, and short stories, mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. She has also written poetry and essays. First published in the 1960s, her work has often depicted futuristic or imaginary alternative worlds in politics, the natural environment, gender, religion, sexuality and ethnography.

She influenced such Booker Prize winners and other writers as Salman Rushdie and David Mitchell – and notable science fiction and fantasy writers including Neil Gaiman and Iain Banks. She has won the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Locus Award, and World Fantasy Award, each more than once. In 2014, she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Le Guin has resided in Portland, Oregon since 1959.

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Customer reviews

5 star		70%
4 star		22%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Sophia

The EarthSea Fantasies

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2015

Verified Purchase

I've been reading Ursula Le Guin's works since 1970. Forty-five years later, I decided to go back and reread "The EarthSea Trilogy," only to find their are six EarthSea books and many others I have not read. I went to Amazon in search of a specific translation of the Tao Teh Ching, required for a class I am taking, and found a translation by Ursula Le Guin. I ordered all the EarthSea books AND her Tao translation, as well as my required reading. I was stunned to find that EarthSear is filled with Tao, that much of way I've chosen to live my life has been guided by the very philosophy that forms the foundation of much of her fantasy. Le Guin's commentaries at the end of the EarthSea novels, tells how she slipped characters of color into the book when we were passing constitutional amendments to allow AA to vote; strong women during an era we could not pass the Equal Rights Amendment, all so subtle and done with such craftsmanship, the reader enjoys the fantasy and misses the politics.Lightyears ahead of her times, she weaves a grand story of fantasy into a work that is relevant for all time. I highly recommend this book and all others I've read to date by this amazing author.

43 people found this helpful

Helpful

YC

Subtly brilliant! A tale of deep significance

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2020

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Le Guin brings a light to the boring stereotypical world of fantasy and superheroes. The Earthsea trilogy has many perhaps unintentional, albeit, meaningful life lessons. Truly a masterpiece. I must have read this series more than a dozen times and each time i find it just as refreshingly new as the last time.

Helpful

Michael Falgoust

Revisiting an old friend

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

I read this series when very young, and rereading it had been rewarding. The introspection of Arha and the climax without violence, or much of it, rings true to fantasy that doesn't need battles or swords. Personal fantasy for people who need the escape and the reflection is given to us here.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Merlintheone

A very well written beautiful book

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2019

Verified Purchase

I read the previous book over 40 years ago. Over the past 2 days l have read that book again and this one. I simply had to finish each book from the moment I stated to read them.
Wonderful Books and I will read all of the rest of Earthsea and probably more books by Ursula K Me Guin.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

an interesting sequel

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2013

Verified Purchase

Tombs of Atuan is a sequel to A Wizard of Earthsea, but an indirect one. In this book, Ursula LeGuin focuses on the relationship between females and power. The main character, Tenar, is a priestess who nominally wields divine power but is more often a prisoner of circumstance. Ged/Sparrowhawk is in the novel, but we see him mostly through his relationship with Tenar rather than as the primary protagonist.

I love the depiction of Tenar's inner and outer struggles between her divine power and lack of worldly power. Much of the plot revolves around court politics in the temple. Yet, some readers might feel that the book lacks a driving plot. The first half of the book feels like an introduction to Tenar and her world without any sense of where the story is going. When the plot does quicken, I felt that some of the more important elements of the story near the end happened a bit too quickly.

This isn't to take away from the beauty of the novel. I appreciate that LeGuin didn't just write a sequel of Ged going off to slay dragons or something along those lines. Like A Wizard of Earthsea, this is clearly a philosophical exploration more than mere dungeons and dragons fantasy.

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

Absolutely excellent sequel. I had a difficult time getting started, because the protagonist had changed from the first book. However, once past the first couple of chapters, it gripped me, and was very satisfying to read.

The only thing I don't like about this series is the author finished writing long before I'm ready to be finished reading! Fairly abrupt endings, and I could go on another 6 or 7 chapters! :)

Helpful

Stephen M. Baldwin

So much beauty and wisdom, and also a page-turner!

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2022

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The prose was incredible, the story beautiful and terrifying and intensely deep. I feel like need to meditate on what I read so I don’t forget both the wonder and the lessons learned. This story is timeless!

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2018

Verified Purchase

I just learned of Ursula La Guin recently and though she has passed what a distinguished author. Her After Word section is insightful and profound. So glad my friend, Barbara Greene, recommended her. I also discovered Ms. La Guin and I shared the same birthday.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Denis Bridoux

A great series and a classic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

Good to get the whole series in Kindle format.
However, the missing star is due to the fact that the map at the beginning of each volume are VERY POORLY reproduced.
Their low definition makes it virtually impossible to decipher the names of the islands.
In addition, the missing middle map section deletes some of the islands, or parts of them, which makes it all but unusable.
A reader who doesn't have a hard copy to refer to, or who wouldn't make the effort to download a high quality map from the author's website, would be hard put to follow the travel of the protagonists.
The map sections should be resampled as a matter of urgency, as they are essential to the understanding of the story.

2 people found this helpful

Max Speed

A fine read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

Maybe too short, maybe too predictable, but a fine read nonetheless. Ursula LeGuin’s writing is as excellent as ever, with beautifully crafted prose and unusual words. I would have liked to see the character of the heroine detailed a bit more, she remains a bit of a cipher. Ged, the wizard of Earthsea, we know well, yet in this book he is also a bit distant, wise and inscrutable.

Overall, it was pleasure rediscovering thus novel after probably 40 years since I first read it!

IanD

A very boring first half

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2018

Verified Purchase

I loved the first book in this series. This particular book is very disappointing. The first half of the book is so incredibly boring and slow that I couldn’t read more than thirty minutes in one go.
The majority of the book is spent describing the painfully boring life of a priestess in a community of isolated lunatics worshipping long gone evil spirits in the middle of the desert with nobody around. Ample and lengthy descriptions of slow walks in dark labyrinths. That’s pretty much it. And a bit of character depth with self doubt and forgotten moments past...

One person found this helpful

Graham

Good, not as good as A Wizard of Earthsea

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2021

Verified Purchase

It’s a quick read, the main character is chosen to serve powers as old as the world that everyone is scared of. She lives with others who serve other masters. Compared to A Wizard of Earthsea I didn’t feel as much tension but the setting and the premise were interesting.

JaspMasqueline

Tenar arrives!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

With the exception of Tehanu, this is my favourite volume of the finest high fantasy series ever written. Slower-moving than the others, less obviously heroic, but thrilling. Ged supplies the breadth of this series, but Tenar gives it depth. In this first appearance we read of her childhood as priestess to sinister "Old Powers", in a take on power very different to the intellectual and systematised magic of the Archipelago- and of we men. The story is more intensely biographical than A Wizard of Earthsea, essentially that of a rescue from appalling abuse.

One person found this helpful

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