Novel Review

“Tombs of Atuan, the second book of Earthsea cycle”

Synopsis:

            Because the last dark priest has died, so the new the great priest must be borned just at the same time with the death of the last woman priest. After the search all over the Atuan land. Finally they found  the new tomb guard. The great dark woman priest or mistress is a woman that must protect the tomb which contain the wizard that build Atuan and contain a lot of treasure, one of the wizard want to take is The Erreth-Ekbe Ring.

            After the ritual, now the new woman priest must  learn about all of the tombs, because in the next year, she must be know everything because she is the great dark woman priest. The leader of all the dark woman priest. She called Arha.

            When Arha learn, she really scare because of the dark and one of the woman priest. She learn really fast. The tombs is dark, lights didn’t allow at that tombs. So, Arha just use her hands by feeling the wall of the tombs, she can feel all the stone of the tombs, all the branch, and all the rooms like prisoner room, treasure room, and the other.

            Finally, when Arha is really ready, she become the true great dark woman priest. She can lead all the woman priest, but her responsibility is a lot, like about the prisoner and guard the tombs from wizard that almost never come to the tomb. Sometimes, the prisoners make Arha doesn’t feel comfort, and sometimes she feels like her name isn’t Arha. But, almost everyday all Arha’s work is just same.

            But, everything is change when she walked at tombs. She see a light, a beautiful light in the tombs. And when she see where is the light come from, she just shock because the light is from a wizard’s stick. She knows that he is a wizard, and just in seconds the wizard put the light gone and runaway. Arha get out from the tombs and find the man from small holes that spread at the castle.

            After a while, she found the man looks tired. He looks really thirsty, and after 2 days, Arha just left him like that. Finally, Arha gives him some water from the holes and see what is he doing. Arha see the man like find some room. She guess that that man want to find the Erreth-Ekbe ring, that located in the treasure room.

            He looks really tired cause of he didn’t found the room. But Arha knows where is it, it just need walks some steps to the branch and go to left and at the next branch go to right, the room is at the right. The man just sit there and make small lights from his stick. After see that situation, Arha wants to help that man. Arha gives the direction, but to the prisoner room. While he was there, Arha always give him some food and drink. She also ask his name, but he refuse to answer it, cause he said that, “in my land, tell your name means tell your character”.

            But finally, Arha give him the direction to the treasure room. After that, Arha said to the man,”This is the room that you want to find, you can found that ring and after you go inside, you can’t go outside, because they’ll kill you”. “okay, I get it”, said the man. For 2 days that man still in that room, but finally Arha open the door and talk with the man.

            After long talk all about the wizard in the north land, the man directly said to the woman priest, “my name is Sparrowhawk, would you come to my land, with this ring”. First, Arha doesn’t know what is the answer, but finally she say yes. And after Sparrowhawk take Erreth-Ekbe ring that really big, he wears it to the Arha’s hand and suddenly, the woman said that her name wasn’t Arha but Tenar. And when Sparrowhawk and Tenar get out from the treasure room, there suddenly an earthquake. They get out from the tombs quickly.

            They walk from Atuan to the harbor that really far from the tombs. Firstly, Tenar doesn’t confident to his decision. But finally she knows that she just make a right choice. After sailing, they arrive at the Havnor, the northern land. She shows the ring to the king and walk confident in the white road Havnor with Sparrowhawk, the wizard.

My review :

I think this novel is great because the moral is really great, it shows that everybody can get out from the darkness. This is a translated novel, actually this novel is in English, but I only read the Bahasa Indonesia.

And the author, is one of the great author in America, Ursula J. Le Guin. Even I only buy the second book, and just read another review of the first and third book, I think this book is great. Actually I read this on 8^th grade on Junior High School, but until now, Gramedia still sell it because one of best seller.

The Tombs of Atuan has its own identity as a fantasy novel in Earthsea. The story of a young woman’s discovery of freedom, the narrative depends less on the supernatural and more on character interaction toward resolving the issues that arise. So, it is easier to understand by anybody.