The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K Le Guin

Publisher – Gollancz

Published - 1971

When young Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away - home, family, possessions, even her name. For she is now Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan.

While she is learning her way through the dark labyrinth, a young wizard, Ged, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic, and together, he and Tenar escape from the darkness that has become her domain.

So, what makes a series? Tends these days to be one main group of characters with a single aim and adventures on the way. But series can be location based – Discworld is a great example that allows so many more types of adventures. After Le Guin wrote A Wizard of earth sea I went into the next book in the series The Tombs of Atuan knowing very little . What I found grabbed me, surprised me and yet I feel thematically links the books together really well. It is also a stone-cold classic for good reason.

Arha was chosen as a baby to be the Priestess to the Nameless Ones who live beneath the Tombs of Atuan where there are temples, dark labyrinths and hidden treasures. Everyday rituals and lessons to learn but Arha sometimes wondered if this would all life can be. One day she is aware of an intruder in the Tombs who is a sorcerer. One she has long been warned must be stopped but Arha finds this man offers her life changing decisions.

If A Wizard of Earthsea is a gentle poetic tale of mini-adventures with a theme of recognising yourself then Tombs of Atuan reads like its opposite. This is a dark and menacing tale focused on one person and one location, and the theme is very much about how a person balances their sense of self versus what a society tells you to be.

Working backwards let’s explore the society le Guin creates. This is a religion where ethe search for their high priestess feels a little in the Buddhist tradition of looking for the reincarnation who was born when the previous Priestess died. But we see very quickly this is a religion that knows and uses violence. The Priestess is placed in a situation of near execution at her confirmation! Trespassers will be killed and there is a feeling of a stagnant, decaying organisation that yet serves a far-off GodKing for simple reasons of power. The Nameless Ones are underneath the temples but hardly seem to have much influence…or so we think. It feels very provocative that Le Guin in a book being aimed at children is saying beware of structures that seek to control and lack any key messages of kindness or help others and that such structures actually exist just to prop up other forms of power. As the tale continues while Arha is the de facto head of the religion the older and much more sinister Kossil actually seems in charge, knows the wider politics of the area and increasingly looks at Arha with suspicion for not being compliant. This is a story where a key message is don’t just accept authority without question which feels incredibly subversive for the US of the early 1970s.

Then with Arha we get someone who can be both sympathetic but also on occasion downright scary. Le Guin captures a child growing into a teenager really well and we watch her rebel and start to use her position for her own ends, but we also see her send three men to their deaths by starvation in the labyrinth underneath. This is our main character we are expected to love and yet le Guin give sus this divided character and for me she is compelling all the way through the story sa to where is she heading as a person. We are being asked to judge how responsible is Arha for her actions. What I loved is as the story continues there is no getting away that Arha has done some truly horrible things its her level of culpability where the reader must decide what is fair.

A key part of that change is when we meet Ged in the Tombs. Here its an older incarnation, wiser, more powerful and yet when we meet him powerless thanks to the Nameless Ones’ power. This creates a fascinating dynamic of Arha and her prisoner who fascinates her and places her in huge danger. The temptation to banish and kill him is rises but Ged’s kindness and questions challenge her. It is all very subtle and yet gives us a fascinating debate on what is the right thing to do. Le Guin makes these scenes sing and yet there is still a cost to Arha - a character we actually sort of like will die as a consequence of her decision and that every action still has a cost means nothing is easy. Even right at the end we get a glimpse of the more dangerous woman Arha could become in a scene that hums with tension, and we think we’ve lost her. It is really beautifully balanced across and never feels an easy character arc.

What though pulls this together is the fantasy and the storytelling that Le Guin weaves around the plot and themes. The early part of the story makes it feel oppressive, ruined and foreboding. Then we discover underneath these completely dark mazes that Le Guin makes us eel rather than see. There is danger here but as readers we just get hints of corners and rooms the lack of form or light really starts to overpower the reader. While above the religion feels to have no interest in the Nameless Ones down underground there feels a mysterious something.  This is very much in the feel of cosmic horror as and the story progresses we realise this unknown force is actually using everything it has on Ged and that’s why he is powerless as he is just keeping the roof above their heads. A force that neutralises a wizard’s power is a mighty one and so that means it is up to Arha as to how they escape. One young woman versus an ancient and powerful evil force. The latter sections in the Tombs hum with tension with few big action sequences or epic confrontations just one foot in front of the other in the dark. Its gorgeously delivered and the icing on the cake for me is a gorgeous scene where Ged explains the Nameless are real, evil and yet not in charge of Arha – she can choose her own path.  Le Guin weaves in this links to the dark side of nature and the choices humans make and it sings with passion and insight readying us for the escape from the Tombs while also saying anyone can refuse to let others dictate your future. Named feature here as Arha has to reclaim her own actual name, aged uses his as a form of trust and we have Nameless Ones who share nothing - it’s a little symbol of this story that you have to discover who you are which again relates back to Earthsea.

A simpler storyteller would then say everyone lived happy ever after Arha has defied the gods and escaped but actually Le Guin has Arha question does she deserve that? Ina world where redemption arcs often miss any consequences this young girl actually decides she doesn’t want power and glory. There is a cost here that really hits home and Arha’s future is still a little uncertain which for me makes it  a much more realistic and powerful ending.

The Tombs of Atuan is engrossing, provocative and just a joy to savour reading. Powerful storytelling, intriguing ideas, a touch of horror and two compelling characters that for me are a step up on A Wizard of Earthsea but still is in dialogue with it. The kind of read you take a moment after the last page to process. I loved it and yes very strongly recommended

The next Le Guin to read – The Lathe of Heaven