Another day, another Earthsea tale! I have adjusted my post schedule for these novels to better align with the number of library books I have out (currently sitting at 28), and so that I can enjoy them over most of the summer rather than rushing through them all before the year’s end. The Tombs of Atuan, the second book in the series, is just as detailed and immersive as A Wizard of Earthsea, and I can’t wait to talk about it.

In this second novel in the Earthsea series, Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, and everything is taken from her—home, family, possessions, even her name. She is now known only as Arha, the Eaten One, and guards the shadowy, labyrinthine Tombs of Atuan. Then a wizard, Ged Sparrowhawk, comes to steal the Tombs’ greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Tenar’s duty is to protect the Ring, but Ged possesses the light of magic and tales of a world that Tenar has never known. Will Tenar risk everything to escape from the darkness that has become her domain?

I love that we have a female protagonist here as the male focus of a Wizard of Earthsea, while entertaining and explorative, needed that balance. Tenar is just the right person for that. With so many emotions and pressures placed on her, her restrictive and isolating upbringing leading her to a life without adventure, and the subsequent drama of Ged and Tenar meeting, she has a lot going on and not a lot of people she trusts. There is a lot for her to learn, and a lot of similarities between the two, and I look forward to seeing more interactions between them in future books.

I didn’t realise until reading the afterword for The Tombs of Atuan that A Wizard of Earthsea didn’t have an intended series lined up. Ursula K. Le Guin notes that she mentioned all the wonders and fantastical things in Ged’s future at the start of A Wizard of Earthsea simply to show that this fairly ordinary person had an amazing future ahead of him. There wasn’t any real intention to continue the story, to have it grow into what it is now, and I both respect that and am shocked by it. I guess it does come from being a prolific writer across genres, but also just being willing to try new things, but I couldn’t imagine starting something like a fantasy series without at least a few books lined up in my head. With the fabula and sheer potential of this series, as we have clearly seen with the scope of Earthsea, I am amazed that The Tombs of Atuan weren’t in the works alongside A Wizard of Earthsea, even if only subconsciously.

The Tombs of Atuan has a mature feel to it. In fact, it is a feel I get from the Earthsea books in general. Even though this series is young adult fantasy, it has a grounded feel and more layering to the narrative and characters that I see more so in adult fantasy. I can list a few YA fantasy books with this same sense of realism – Kristin Cashore’s Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue being the lead examples – and it is honestly reassuring and refreshing to see. I would still classify the Earthsea Cycle as cosy fantasy, even with this narrative style and different tone, and I look forward to reading more of the series with The Farthest Shore.