Critique: The Tomb of Atuan (Earthsea Quartet #2) (Ursula Le Guin)

Tenar is the Priestess of the Nameless Ones, a figure so important that not even the godking could command her. This story details her ascension towards her authority before it (quite literally) collapses around her.

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

There are three important plot points necessary for this review.

The One Priestess of the Tombs of Atuan is reborn on the day of her death. Tenar, when presented to the Nameless Ones before the throne, was ‘eaten’ and henceforth had no name but Arha, ‘the Eaten One’. In the throne, ‘Nothing sat in it but shadows.’ These are identified as the Nameless Ones.  

The Hall of the Throne, the place dedicated to the Nameless Gods, was in a state of disrepair. whereas the Temple of the God-Brothers has new gilt. The Temple of the Godking was ‘showier… newer.’ The better the temple’s state of repair, the more important the god it contains is considered. The Priestess of the Godking is Kossil who uses her god’s perceived importance as authority, an authority that the godking backs himself. Finally, as the godking is a god, he doesn’t need the Priestess of the Nameless Ones to communicate witht eh Nameless Ones anymore.

The Nameless Ones almost convince Arha to sacrifice Sparrowhawk. After this, ‘she cried for the waste of her years in bondage to a useless evil.’ Arha regrets being mean to people and choosing to let others die but Sparrowhawk said she was a ‘vessel for evil’.

 

There were four (minor) problems.

The map of the labyrinth and the map of the Place of the Tombs of Atuan don’t align. They would if the labyrinth map were upside-down.

‘Snap! it’s gone.’ As the start of a sentence, there should be a capital to the ‘It’s’.

Kossil says she can have Arha killed for lying about killing Sparrowhawk. I know she thinks she deserves all the power and authority but that doesn’t give her the actual capacity to command others to kill the region’s most important religious figure.

Sparrowhawk says he won’t light a fire in case the fishers saw. But he used an illusion on the mountain to keep them undetected: what prevents him from doing so now?

 

There are two pieces of information that are intriguing.

It is said that ‘the ancient peoples and the unbelievers’ aren’t reborn. Instead, they are devoured by the Nameless Ones. Yet Arha, the prime believer of the Nameless Ones, was said to be devoured and she is reborn. She experiences both what believers and unbelievers experience? I which there was inworld theology that discussed the implications and consequences of this.

We find out that dragons talk about Erreth-Akbe as if he were a dragon. It’s important to remember this for book four.

 

The worldbuilding was unravelled at a steady, yet not boring, pace. As such, nothing seemed rushed and the importance of moments were fully realised. The problems were minimal as they didn’t make the plot untenable. The extent of Sparrowhawk’s power is displayed with subtle efficiency. Further, this is my favourite story of the quartet.