Continuing our coverage of Ursula K. Le Guin’s first three Earthsea books, we turn to The Tombs Of Atuan. This time, the focus is on a female protagonist, Tenar, and her very dark coming-of-age story. She’s the high priestess of one of the most depressing, oppressive religions in fantasy literature. Nevertheless, the adults in the temple keep telling her of how wonderful it is to be the spiritual leader of a faith centered on a lightless labyrinth and mute gods, all in the middle of a desert. Who wouldn’t want that job!

It’s a big shift from the first book, though it continues the story of A Wizard Of Earthsea in some surprising ways. It also has many though-provoking moments.

An eternally reincarnated priestess! The destructive power of labels! A God-King! People who seem helpful, but aren’t! A deadly game of cat and mouse! A desperate plan of escape! It’s all here.

Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of popular culture. We were geeks before it was chic!

For feedback, contact someancientgeeks@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Reddit, and Bluesky. Check out the Ancient Geeks blog on Substack, where we post daily. And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend. Also, we always appreciate a review on the podcast platform of your choice.