marlamackoul's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
lilaceous's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
characters - ⭐️
plot - ⭐️
engaging to read - .5⭐️
would recommend -
would read again -
eh. the protagonist is interesting and her story feels unique, but overall it was just a little boring and a little lackluster.
eh. the protagonist is interesting and her story feels unique, but overall it was just a little boring and a little lackluster.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Slavery, and Death
yourbookishbff'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
abijmieds's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Religious bigotry, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Animal cruelty
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book is… fine. Nothing stunning. I want to like Ursula K. Le Guin more than I do. I like the world building, but I was kinda bored.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
saucy_bookdragon's review
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
onalark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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: Child abuse, Death, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Torture, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Racism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Murder, and Animal death
woweewhoa's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Racism and Trafficking
steveatwaywords's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.25
Le Guin's second of the original trilogy, like the first, is an odd narrative: don't enter her stories looking for a swashbuckling hero tale or one with clean ideas of good and evil, a tale of adventure magic or grand monsters. The antagonisms here are more subtle, and one protagonist (Ged) plays, in his mature years, a character of quiet gravity and humility. Instead, read it for the psychological play with the development of a young girl, with the assumptions we make of loyalties and tradition, with missed opportunities in relationships and the untraveled roads Frost recalls.
A bridge novel to the final work of the original trilogy, as carefully and patiently paced as it is, its singular pleasure is in the very absence of traditional adventure: Le Guin shows us that the real world of disorder and responsibility and consequence also apply to realms of fantasy, perhaps more so.
A bridge novel to the final work of the original trilogy, as carefully and patiently paced as it is, its singular pleasure is in the very absence of traditional adventure: Le Guin shows us that the real world of disorder and responsibility and consequence also apply to realms of fantasy, perhaps more so.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Torture
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:
Spoiler
""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 groups