Wednesday, June 26, 2013

2013 read #85: The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin.

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
163 pages
Published 1971
Read June 26
Rating: ★★★½ out of 5

I like that Le Guin told the story of the Tombs of Atuan (referred to in passing in A Wizard of Earthsea) from the perspective of a new character with her own story and her own motivations, even if that character was kind of a stock fantasy heroine who helps the hero because of course she does. The story itself was kind of predictable, the sturdy but unsurprising sort of high fantasy plotline that ends in happily ever afters -- though I appreciated the emotional weight of the last two chapters, and the fact that "happily ever after" did not, in this case, necessarily mean true love. Overall, a basic fantasy tale told well, though I felt it could have been more than that with some extra effort.

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