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erikwmj's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Confinement
Moderate: Slavery and Xenophobia
Minor: Murder and Violence
maidinnah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As spellbinding and progressive as its prequel. As classic as A Wizard of Earthsea is, The Tombs of Atuan affected me more, focusing on a young girl grappling with a paradigm shift and the terror of choosing freedom after a life of indoctrination into a religious cult . Le Guin is a masterful worldbuilder and storyteller; her writing is both concise and emotionally resonant. She crams so much depth into such a short book, that it feels like sorcery. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Blood, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death and Death
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
I enjoyed this one until Ged shows up. Then he’s such a patronizing asshat I almost threw the book across the room several times. “Oh, Tenar, you’re free now—as long as you go exactly where I take you and do exactly what I say!” He treats Tenar as much like a treasure as he does the Ring, and it’s super gross.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Confinement
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Xenophobia, and Sexism
Minor: Child abuse, Racism, and Slavery
Graphic: Darknessyourbookishbff's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Child abuse, and Trafficking
Moderate: Xenophobia, Death, Murder, and Religious bigotry
eauderat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, Confinement, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Violence
Minor: Xenophobia and Sexism
saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"To be reborn one must die, Tenar. It is not so hard as it looks from the other side."
The Tombs of Atuan is pretty different from its predecessor. Unlike the first book, it has a continuous plot and it is darker. It's also notable for having been a high fantasy book with a female protagonist published at a time that was rare.
I liked how this one was deeper than the first book, dealing with ideas of power and redemption as our heroine questions the only life she has ever known. I wish that it was a little longer and that we'd gotten more from the side characters and these themes. I found it a bit too sparse, though well written. I can see why Earthsea series is considered a classic fantasy and one that still holds up well today, notable for it's great writing, deep themes, and surprisingly inclusive cast.
The Tombs of Atuan is pretty different from its predecessor. Unlike the first book, it has a continuous plot and it is darker. It's also notable for having been a high fantasy book with a female protagonist published at a time that was rare.
I liked how this one was deeper than the first book, dealing with ideas of power and redemption as our heroine questions the only life she has ever known. I wish that it was a little longer and that we'd gotten more from the side characters and these themes. I found it a bit too sparse, though well written. I can see why Earthsea series is considered a classic fantasy and one that still holds up well today, notable for it's great writing, deep themes, and surprisingly inclusive cast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Grief, Xenophobia, and Torture
Minor: Ableism
afion's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Xenophobia, Racism, and Drug use
crowcore's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Themes/motifs: gender & power; religion & power; yin/yang symbolism; coming of age & escaping abuse
Favorite scene: the entire last chapter
Favorite quote:
""He died because he loved me, and was faithful. He thought he was protecting me. When I was little he was kind to me when I cried-" She stopped again, for the tears rose hard in her, yet she would cry no more. Her hands were clenched on the black folds of her dress. "I was never kind to him," she said. "I will not go to Havnor. I will not go with you. Find some isle where no one comes, and put me there, and leave me. The evil must be paid for. I am not free."
The soft light, greyed by sea mist, glimmered between them.
"Listen, Tenar. Heed me. You were the vessel of evil. The evil is poured out. It is done. It is buried in its own tomb. You were never made for cruelty and darkness; you were made to hold light, as a lamp burning holds and gives its light.""
Tenar my beloved 💗💗💗😭😭😭
An examination of gender, religion, nationalism, & power from the point of view of a teenage girl growing up in a nationalist cult. Fascinating additions to the Earthsea series' lore and a compelling & relatable main character. Still definitely more of a YA book than Tehanu, but as I said I my review of the first Earthsea book, it's necessary groundwork for the perfection of the fourth one.
Favorite scene: the entire last chapter
Favorite quote:
""He died because he loved me, and was faithful. He thought he was protecting me. When I was little he was kind to me when I cried-" She stopped again, for the tears rose hard in her, yet she would cry no more. Her hands were clenched on the black folds of her dress. "I was never kind to him," she said. "I will not go to Havnor. I will not go with you. Find some isle where no one comes, and put me there, and leave me. The evil must be paid for. I am not free."
The soft light, greyed by sea mist, glimmered between them.
"Listen, Tenar. Heed me. You were the vessel of evil. The evil is poured out. It is done. It is buried in its own tomb. You were never made for cruelty and darkness; you were made to hold light, as a lamp burning holds and gives its light.""
Tenar my beloved 💗💗💗😭😭😭
An examination of gender, religion, nationalism, & power from the point of view of a teenage girl growing up in a nationalist cult. Fascinating additions to the Earthsea series' lore and a compelling & relatable main character. Still definitely more of a YA book than Tehanu, but as I said I my review of the first Earthsea book, it's necessary groundwork for the perfection of the fourth one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Child abuse
Moderate: Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Death
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
Religious bigotry and xenophobia are not related to real-world religious or cultural groupstoffishay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It's interesting for the second book in a series to focus primarily on a character totally unconnected to the main hero, but it was really interesting to hear the perspective of a group separate from the main world and with a warped ideology. I also appreciate having race discussed in a fantasy series in a way that is not theoretical. Ged and many others in the world are specifically brown-skinned and Kargads are white and distrust others in the world based on skin-color and ideology. I also like the journey of Tehar. She has to work against a world that took her from all that she knows and gave her some power, but power that is ulimately empty and built on nothing. But it is also all that she knows and she has to rely on Ged and herself to fight for a different, more open, but a more free life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Murder, Racism, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Death
nerdkitten's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Colonisation, Murder, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Stalking
Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Racism, and War
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