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| Review Summary |
This is the second of a trilogy of stories in the world of Earthsea, which is set in a Tolkien-time of dragons and wizards. In the first half of this story we meet our heroine, the girl who is taken early in life to grow up and become the guardian-priestess of the ancient tombs of Atuan which hold much treasure. Our hero is Sparrowhawk, the greatest mage of Earthsea, seeking in the tombs of Atuan the lost half of the amulet of Erreth-Akbe. Its value lies not in its power but in its broken rune, which is the lost key to a unifying power. In the underground maze it is easy to trapped, and many have entered never to return. The traps of the place and the guardians are certain to catch him, and even Sparrowhawk may never escape as spells alone are not enough to succeed. But he is fated to quest for the lost rune as it is the key to the restoration of peace to all the world of Earthsea.
Michael JR Jose, Resident Scholar
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On the island of Atuan, the little girl Tenar is chosen to assume the role of the One Priestess of the Tombs of Atuan, where the Nameless Ones are said to dwell. Renamed Arha, the Eaten One, she receives training in her duties from Thar and Kossil, the elderly Priestesses. Beneath Arha's small house, the Throne, and the Tombs lies a vast and complex Labyrinth, whose dark passages she steadily explores and makes her own. One day when Arha is in her teens, she discovers a thief in the Labyrinth; it is Sparrowhawk/Ged (from the first Earthsea book), come to find the missing half of the broken amulet of Erreth-Akbe. Arha has him bound and manacled, her initial purpose to starve and perhaps torture him to death. But as she comes to know him, she begins to wonder whether her teacher Kossil might be her true enemy, and whether the Nameless Ones she has devoted her life to honoring are really worthy of her fealty. This sets up a showdown between her faith -- her entire way of life -- and her strange new friend.
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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This is the second volume in the Earthsea quartet (following A Wizard of Earthsea and followed by The Farthest Shore and Tehanu).
The story takes place on the desert island of Atuan. There, in a terrifying ritual, a five-year-old little girl becomes Arha, the Eaten One. As the years go by in the Place of the Tombs, among an odd community of young scholar girls, old women and eunuchs, she learns the sacred dances and songs devoted to the Nameless Ones.
At the age of fourteen, she finally becomes the One Priestess, the guardian of the Great Treasure, and the only one to know the ways of the Labyrinth, a place of utter darkness where men are not allowed and cruelly put to death if found there.
The story was beginning to bore me, I was watching Arha becoming more arrogant, and old Kossil meaner, by the day and I was reluctantly facing the fact that I didn't care much for her... until the middle of the book, until Arha one day comes across a dim light in the pitch black of the Labyrinth. And as it brings a complete upheaval in Arha's well-ordered and dull life, with it the story also becomes enthralling and finally I almost couldn't put the book down. I hope The Farthest Shore won't disappoint me...
crooty, Resident Scholar
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A mage Sparrowhawk comes in search of a half ring belonged to a great mage and ruler. He finds a girl in the labirynths of the place who serves the dark forces. The young woman helps the wizard and they leave the place to go to the main land of the Earthsea.
irina, Resident Scholar
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Tenar is take at the age of five to be the One Priestess of the Tombs of Atuan, as she has been for all her past lives. When Tenar becomes Arha(The Eaten One), she starts to be trained in her duties as the Highest Priestess of the Kargad Empire. When a traveler from the land of wizards come to the Place of the Tombs of Atuan, Arha meets finds him in the Labryinth which belongs to the Nameless Ones whose tombs she serves, she talks to him and he convinces her to leave the place. As they leave the place is destroyed by a great earthquake/collapse of the labyrinth.
Chris, Resident Scholar
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%
Tone of book
- sensitive (sigh....)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- fantasy world/fantasy past
Coming of age
Yes
Youngster becomes
- an adult (general)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Religious overtones?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- religious figure
Age:
- a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- magical being
- Female
Age:
- long-lived adults
Profession/status:
- religious figure
Has magical powers?
Yes
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Terrain
- Desert
- Mountains
- Domed/Underground City
Earth setting:
- during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:
- humans in a primitive/fantasy society
- very controlled society
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Planet outside solar system?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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