The Tombs of Atuan
The Tombs of Atuan is the second book in the Earthsea
cycle by Ursula LeGuin. This series is the first (and possibly only?)
LeGuin tried her hand at YA. While the first book suffered from some
pacing issues, the second book was orders of magnitude better.
The second book shifts its focus away from Ged, protagonist of the first book. Instead it follows young Arha, nee Tenar, the head priestess of a dying religion. She's mostly in charge of making sure her gods are still being sacrificed to on a regular basis. But since so few people still worship, her life is pretty boring.
This all changes when Ged breaks into her temple in an effort to steal an artifact. The two become friends and end up saving each other.
The book is mostly interesting for being a feminist tale from the early 70s. Some themes are familiar, but others are strangely foreign. There are things that are basic facts of my life that LeGuin couldn't even imagine several decades ago. She talks about this in a recently added afterward that adds a lot of perspective to the book.
It's interesting to think of these books as classic and groundbreaking now. After all the fantasy I've read (most of which has been published since these books), these stories actually seem pretty cliche. But since imitation is the highest form of flattery, I suppose that ultimately reflects well on this series.
The second book shifts its focus away from Ged, protagonist of the first book. Instead it follows young Arha, nee Tenar, the head priestess of a dying religion. She's mostly in charge of making sure her gods are still being sacrificed to on a regular basis. But since so few people still worship, her life is pretty boring.
This all changes when Ged breaks into her temple in an effort to steal an artifact. The two become friends and end up saving each other.
The book is mostly interesting for being a feminist tale from the early 70s. Some themes are familiar, but others are strangely foreign. There are things that are basic facts of my life that LeGuin couldn't even imagine several decades ago. She talks about this in a recently added afterward that adds a lot of perspective to the book.
It's interesting to think of these books as classic and groundbreaking now. After all the fantasy I've read (most of which has been published since these books), these stories actually seem pretty cliche. But since imitation is the highest form of flattery, I suppose that ultimately reflects well on this series.
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