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
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
colleenf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse and Kidnapping
I found it a bit of a letdown after A Wizard of Earthsea, but I'm glad that there is a fantasy classic about deprogramming someone in a death cult.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
kartoffel_00's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
5/12/22:
This was not exactly a cheerful book but not exactly a despairing one either. It is simply an exploration of the choices and circumstances of the characters mentioned. Ursula LeGuin for me is an author who's very good at portraying the themes she wants to explore in her books. In contrast to the previous book where Ged is the protagonist, the reader follows a different character here. We view the world through their lens and see them experiences changes and also coming to terms with those changes.
Its a bit hard to precisely place this book in terms of plot and mood. Some might it's terribly bland and some might say the opposite. I rather just enjoyed it for what it was.
I guess for now I can only say I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.
final rating: 4/5
This was not exactly a cheerful book but not exactly a despairing one either. It is simply an exploration of the choices and circumstances of the characters mentioned. Ursula LeGuin for me is an author who's very good at portraying the themes she wants to explore in her books. In contrast to the previous book where Ged is the protagonist, the reader follows a different character here. We view the world through their lens and see them experiences changes and also coming to terms with those changes.
Its a bit hard to precisely place this book in terms of plot and mood. Some might it's terribly bland and some might say the opposite. I rather just enjoyed it for what it was.
I guess for now I can only say I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.
final rating: 4/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Racism
The trigger warnings mentioned are not graphic. They are not the minor in the sense mentioned once and passed over. Just that they are a very present theme without going into gruesome details.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
nohousekey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and Death
Minor: Child 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
touchegiantsquid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
slow-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
3.0
While it was good and the ending was emotional, it took a long time for me to get into it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, and Torture