Thanks to Audible for giving away pretty much every book in this series for free. God knows I need it, with how quickly I burn through audiobooks at work. As well as how little I make at said job.
God bless America, am I right?
I enjoyed my first step into the Earthsea series quite a lot. It was a fantastic character-driven classic fantasy set in a charming and magical world. Going into the sequel, I had absolutely no idea what to expect; I’m just as blind as I was for book one. Only now, I had expectations. Could this sequel live up to ‘Wizard of Earthsea‘?
The answer is yes. Yes, and more!
When the high priestess of the Nameless Ones dies, a child is chosen to take her place of worship in the dark Tombs of Atuan. This child, Tenar, lives a lonely life, but she’s content enough with her lot as a servant of the dark gods. That is, until a strange wizard appears within the tombs; Ged, protagonist of the previous book. As she observes and interacts him, Tenar begins to unravel the terrible truth behind her evil masters and her own identity. Will she and Ged be able to escape and reclaim their freedom?
As with most classic fantasy, the first half of this short novel is very dull. It’s a lot of exposition about the setting and characters. If not for Ursula K. Le Guin’s excellent pros, I’d have dropped the book barely an hour in.
Even if the dialogue in this initial half is kind of… how do I put this…? It’s bad. Most of it boils down to this:
Tenar: “What is this thing?”
Other character: “It is this thing because of that thing.”
Tenar: “I understand this thing now. But what is that thing?”
I’ve seen some clunky exposition in my time, but wow.
Thankfully, once Ged shows up, the story becomes significantly more interesting. The pacing picks up momentum, the characters come to life, and the story becomes far more engaging. It’s a charming and dark classic fantasy story.
Granted, it’s not like grimdark fantasy dark. But for a book from the 70s, it can be surprisingly grim.
Tenar makes for an interesting protagonist. Toward the beginning of the story, she seems to be shaping into the antagonist. She tries to be the cruel and dangerous priestess of the dark gods that she was chosen to be. Indeed, when Ged shows up, that’s exactly the part she tries to play. But beneath that act, the girl has a curious mind and a kind heart. Where everyone else wants her to kill the wizard and be done with it, she tries to do everything in her limited power to keep him safe in order to learn from him. She’s a fantastic character and a strong lead for the story.
Which is especially surprising when you consider the time when this book came out. This was published back in 1971, when the fantasy genre was dominated primarily by white men and its protagonists were farm boys made warrior kings. Having a dark-skinned female protagonist was rather progressive for the time. That may seem quant by today’s standards, but it’s still an important landmark in the genre’s history.
While Ged is no longer our leading man, he’s still given some strong characterization. He’s older and wiser than he was in the previous book, with plenty of adventures under his robes. The mistakes of his past have made him a kind and humble man; when he realizes he’s trapped in the tombs, he doesn’t rage or panic, he just laughs at himself for messing up. When Tenar accuses him of arrogance, he visibly flinches out of shame for the person he used to be. It puts a smile on my face to see little Sparrowhawk all grown up.
The setting makes for an interesting change of pace from the first book. We’ve left the sea and archipelago behind. Now, we’re wandering a vast desert and the dark tombs of evil gods beneath. It adds a nice bit of variety to Earthsea while giving us a glimpse at some of its more grim history and cultures.
One of my only complaints is regarding the ending, albeit a minor one. It’s not a bad conclusion; seeing Tenar confront the guilt she feels for her terrible actions earlier in the story puts a nice ribbon on her character arc. My only problem is that it meanders for a bit too long for my taste. The climax happens, then Tenar and Ged just kind of wander the desert for a while without doing much, and then we get the falling action and conclusion. It’s not bad, per say, it’s just slow.
‘The Tombs of Atuan‘ is another piece of solid classic fantasy. If you can get past the dull first half, you’ll find a compelling character-driven narrative well worth the time investment. Besides, it’s a short read as a whole, so you’ll get past that slump at the beginning fairly quickly.
Let’s be honest: it’s classic fantasy. If you’re familiar with those, you’re well familiar with slow, dry beginnings. I may as well be complaining that sandpaper is rough.
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