Reading Order
The Tombs of Atuan Reading Order
The Tombs of Atuan (1971) by Ursula K. Le Guin is the second volume of the Earthsea Cycle and, by many readers' estimation, the most perfectly constructed of the series — a novella-length story set almost entirely in a labyrinthine underground temple on a desert island, centered on Tenar (called Arha, 'the Eaten One'), a girl who was chosen as a small child to serve as the living vessel of the Nameless Ones, ancient powers who predate the world's gods. Tenar has grown up knowing nothing but the Tombs, the priestesses, and the rituals of service. When Ged (from A Wizard of Earthsea) enters the Tombs seeking the lost half of a ring, he is captured by Tenar — but their relationship transforms from captor and captive to something more complicated. The Tombs of Atuan is formally remarkable for a fantasy novel of its period: it is centered entirely on a female protagonist (and Le Guin deliberately gave the second Earthsea book a girl at its center after the first was about a boy), it takes seriously the interior life of a person who has been formed entirely by an oppressive religious institution, and it refuses the easy liberation narrative (Tenar's escape from the Tombs is also a loss of her identity, and Le Guin does not pretend that freedom comes without cost). The Tombs of Atuan can be read as a perfect standalone novella or as the second step in the Earthsea Cycle.
Where to start
The Tombs of Atuan — any Atheneum or Puffin edition. Can be read as a standalone but is enriched by A Wizard of Earthsea (1968). The short length (under 200 pages) should not deceive; this is one of Le Guin's most concentrated achievements.
Complete The Tombs of Atuan Book List
- 1Buy
The Tombs of Atuan
Ursula K. Le Guin·1971·The novel — Tenar/Arha in the underground Tombs, Ged's capture, and the transformation of their relationship; Le Guin's most concentrated fantasy achievement; Newbery Honor book. - 2Buy
A Wizard of Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin·1968·The Earthsea Cycle's first volume — Ged's education at Roke and his confrontation with his shadow; the essential predecessor whose protagonist Ged appears in the Tombs. - 3Buy
The Farthest Shore
Ursula K. Le Guin·1972·The Earthsea Cycle's third volume — Ged and Arren's voyage to the edge of the world to find the source of a leaking of magic; the trilogy's conclusion and National Book Award winner. - 4Buy
Tehanu
Ursula K. Le Guin·1990·The Earthsea Cycle's fourth volume — Tenar as a middle-aged farmer caring for an abused child, Ged returned powerless; Le Guin's feminist return to Earthsea after 18 years, reconsidering the trilogy's assumptions. - 5Buy
The Left Hand of Darkness
Ursula K. Le Guin·1969·Le Guin's Hugo-winning Hainish novel — published between A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, showing Le Guin's simultaneous SF and fantasy projects at their peak; the gender-speculation companion to Tenar's female-centered narrative. - 6Buy
The Dispossessed
Ursula K. Le Guin·1974·Le Guin's Hugo-winning anarchist utopia — published two years after The Farthest Shore, showing the full range of Le Guin's 1970s achievement in both SF and fantasy. - 7Buy
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis·1950·Lewis's Narnia opener — the predecessor in British fantasy that reaches young readers through a secondary world; Tenar's underground Tombs are in conversation with the religious symbolic structures that Lewis uses in Narnia, but Le Guin's are not Christian. - 8Buy
His Dark Materials
Philip Pullman·1995·Pullman's trilogy opener — the companion in fantasy that centers on a girl's journey toward autonomy and away from a controlling religious institution; Lyra's relationship with the Magisterium is the most direct successor to Tenar's relationship with the Nameless Ones.
The Tombs of Atuan — Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Tombs of Atuan about?
The Tombs of Atuan is set on an island called Atuan, where an ancient religious institution (the Place of the Tombs) is maintained by priestesses serving the Nameless Ones — ancient, dark powers who predate the world's other gods. A girl named Tenar was identified as a small child as the rebirth of the previous Eaten One (the high priestess of the Nameless Ones), and taken from her family to be trained as the living vessel of those powers. Renamed Arha ('the Eaten One'), she has grown up knowing nothing but the Tombs, the rituals, and the underground labyrinth she is charged to guard. When Ged (the wizard from A Wizard of Earthsea) enters the Tombs to steal the lost half of a ring of peace, he is trapped in the labyrinth by Tenar — but their months together in the underground transform both of them, and Tenar must choose between the only identity she has ever known and freedom.
Can The Tombs of Atuan be read as a standalone?
Yes — The Tombs of Atuan is formally complete as a standalone. Ged appears, and knowing his story from A Wizard of Earthsea adds context, but it is not necessary. The novel is centered entirely on Tenar, and the story of her formation, captivity, and transformation is self-contained. Many readers encounter The Tombs of Atuan before A Wizard of Earthsea and find it works perfectly on its own. It is, arguably, Le Guin's most formally accomplished piece of long fiction: in under 200 pages, it creates a complete world (the Tombs, the Place, the labyrinth), develops a complex protagonist whose entire identity has been shaped by an oppressive institution, introduces a second protagonist who disrupts that identity, and resolves their relationship in a way that is moving without being sentimental.
Why is The Tombs of Atuan considered a feminist text?
Le Guin has said that she gave the second Earthsea book a female protagonist deliberately — A Wizard of Earthsea was about a boy, and Le Guin wanted to show that Earthsea's stories could be about girls too. But The Tombs of Atuan goes further than simply centering a girl: it takes seriously the interior life of a person formed entirely by a controlling religious institution, it refuses the easy liberation narrative (Tenar's escape from the Tombs is also a loss of her identity, and Le Guin does not pretend that freedom is easy or complete), and it portrays the relationship between Tenar and Ged without romance or dependency — Ged needs Tenar to escape, and Tenar needs Ged to imagine a different life, but the relationship is not about one rescuing the other in a simple hierarchy. Le Guin's return to Earthsea in Tehanu (1990) continues the feminist reading of the Earthsea world.
What is the Ring of Erreth-Akbe and why is Ged seeking it?
The Ring of Erreth-Akbe is a legendary ring made by the wizard Erreth-Akbe, which carried the Rune of Peace — a spell that maintained peace among the peoples of the Archipelago. The ring was broken and half was lost in the Tombs of Atuan, which is why the world has been without peace ever since. Ged is sent by the Archmage of Roke to find and restore the ring — the recovery of the lost half would allow the reunion of the ring and the restoration of the Rune of Peace. This is the plot's MacGuffin, but Le Guin is less interested in the ring than in what happens between Ged and Tenar in the process of seeking it. The Ring of Erreth-Akbe appears again in later Earthsea texts as part of the political history of the Archipelago.
What should I read after The Tombs of Atuan?
After The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore (1972) is the third volume of the original Earthsea trilogy — Ged and the young prince Arren's voyage to find the source of a leaking of magic from the world. Tehanu (1990) returns to Tenar as an adult and is the most important companion to The Tombs of Atuan specifically, as it shows what happened to Tenar after her escape. For Le Guin's SF, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) and The Dispossessed (1974) are the most important companions. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials (beginning with The Golden Compass, 1995) is the most important successor in fantasy for young readers that centers on a girl's relationship with a controlling religious institution.
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