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- Novel written by Ursula Le Guin
- Published in 1971
- Part 2 of the Earthsea Cycle
Listened to the audiobook with Rob Inglis – like A Wizard of Earthsea, well read.
As I wrote in my review, A Wizard of Earthsea is a rather traditional novel. So when I pressed ‘play’ on The Tombs of Atuan, I rather expected the same. Instead, my surprise kept rising as even several hours into the book, the main character from A Wizard of Earthsea had not appeared yet, nor did his arrival seem particularly imminent.
Of course, the connection to A Wizard of Earthsea does eventually come, but I love that Ursula Le Guin set out to write a novel that can essentially be read independently and that only slots into the wider story later in the novel.
The Tombs of Atuan has a completely different protagonist that allows us to see the events and characters of A Wizard of Earthsea through a completely different lens. As a result, the first trilogy of the Earthsea Cycle is unlike the ‘standard’ fare of fantasy trilogies in which we follow a protagonist in three stages of their life.
The Tombs of Atuan is moreover a very original novel which focuses on the indoctrination of a child priest and her isolation in a theoretically powerful but in practice highly constrained religious role. That is pretty heavy stuff for a fantasy novel for young readers, but I think Le Guin writes it in such a way as to make it relatable despite the bleakness of the subject.
Le Guin also uses this plot to essentially write a story from the perspective of what most people would instinctively describe as the antagonist, which makes the development of the main character all the more interesting.
Because The Tombs of Atuan is centred on a single location, there is unfortunately less worldbuilding. In a way, the reader feels as confined to the Place of the Tombs as the book’s main character. In the case of this novel, though, that is not necessarily a bad thing; it adds to the atmosphere and the wider world of Earthsea spends more than enough time in the spotlight in A Wizard of Earthsea and the third novel in the trilogy, The Farthest Shore.
Overall, The Tombs of Atuan is a short novel, but it is full of surprises. It is focused, original, darker, but still suitable for younger readers. I think it showcases a completely different side of Ursula Le Guin’s quality than the other novels in the Cycle, and I love it for that.
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- Novel written by Ursula Le Guin
- Published in 1968
- Part 1 of the Earthsea Cycle
Listened to the audiobook with Rob Inglis – it’s an older production but very well read.
Finally, I finished a Le Guin novel!
Ursula Le Guin has been on my to read-list for a long while. Given the length of that list, even great names such as Le Guin need some patience. Some time ago I tried The Left Hand of Darkness , but the audiobook was so poor and mumbled that I had to quit.
But I finally gave the Earthsea Cycle a shot, and I am glad that I did.
A Wizard of Earthsea is a very traditional fantasy novel, but given that it was published in 1968 and feels intended as an early teenager’s first introduction to Fantasy, I am willing to forgive a lot of the tropes being played straight. One could even argue that some of the tropes – the ‘magic school’ one in particular – originate with A Wizard of Earthsea. Moreover, Le Guin takes more original paths for the next instalments in the Cycle – the first novel being exactly as you would expect is no strike against her.
Le Guin’s prose and style in Earthsea are a joy – she doesn’t generally dwell on any scene or storyline, but moves on quickly. A Wizard of Earthsea moves at the pace of an epic, leaving much to the readers’ imagination. While this means the book has a somewhat more episodic structure, it does mean the pace is very high and the plot progression never slows down.
It is interesting to compare Earthsea to many modern novels, which tend to take a lot more words, both to describe settings, scenes and persons, but especially to get the story going.
I think the comparison favours Earthsea. In Earthsea, Le Guin proves she has the skill to say a lot in few words. She does a remarkable job in the worldbuilding, evoking whole cultures in the space of a few lines.
In that sense, Earthsea is very different from a longer novel like The Left Hand of Darkness, which leaves a lot more room for detailed descriptions and really delving into the imagined societies. I think the difference between those two really showcases Le Guin’s range as an author.
Earthsea is a simple tale and many hardcore fantasy readers may find that it doesn’t quite scratch their itches. But just like one of my favourites, Brief voor de Koning, a novel like A Wizard of Earthsea that is intended for younger readers can be a great, light palate cleaners in between long and heavy stories, even for veteran fantasy fans.
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- Novel written by Tahereh Mafi
- Published on August 30, 2016
- Part one of the Furthermore series
My sister gave me this book for Christmas. I’ve previously read the series “Shatter Me” by the same author, and don’t recall being a huge fan. This book is clearly intended for a different audience (Shatter Me was very YA), yet I enoyed it quite a bit more. I would say Furthermore is probably best for readers of ages 10-14? It’s a quirky fantasy story in the style of Alice in Wonderland. This is likely intentional, as the main character is also called Alice. Her journey takes her through a strange and unusual world, which was interesting enough to keep me, someone who is decidedly not part of the target demographic, engaged in the story.
One thing that stood out to me was Mafi’s use or language. She uses a lot of metaphors that are quite heavy handed, but work in the context of the story. Furthermore is really a fairy tale, and I think it would be a perfect choice to read aloud to a younger child.
Despite being a children’s book, I found the characters to have quite some depth. Alice isn’t necessarily a great person, but she is a very real 12 year old girl. I think she could be a very relatable character for some young readers.
Overall, I think this was a really enjoyable children’s book!
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Time to get to know our Curators better! How? By asking them the questions that really matter! This time with another special New Year edition!
2025 is upon us, and we are once again trying to be better versions of ourselves! Let’s set goals and resolutions and reduce the piles of media that are still waiting to be consumed! That’s how it works, right?
In the spirit of the New Year, we asked ourselves:
What are your 2025 to read/watch/listen/play resolutions?
1. Start reading again
I read very little in the past year and I miss it quite a bit. I would love to get lost in books again. The number doesn’t even really matter to me.
2. Have fun with writing and worldbuilding
This resolution is mostly the same as my resolution from last year and quite similar to my first resolution for this year. My interaction with these hobbies has grown more…’market-oriented’? with the years. I would like to approach them more from a position of ‘childlike wonder’ again, if it makes sense. I have some plans on how to do this, and I hope to execute some of these plans in 2025.
3. Read ‘The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi' by Shannon Chakraborty
Maybe this is a little bit of cheating, because it relates to the more broad resolution of ‘reading more’, but frankly I don’t actually know what else to put here? And I really like the Daevabad Trilogy, so I find it somewhat of a sin I haven’t made time for The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. So let’s just call this “setting myself up for succes”.
Jop
Robin
1. Indulge my cravings for dystopian fiction
For some reason I’m really in the mood for dystopian fiction, so I’ll be on the lookout for books and movies in that genre that are either new or have not appeared on my radar before. On the list so far I have the book Private Rites, and the movie Flow. If you have any other suggestions, do let me know! But please nothing too gorey or thrillery, that’s not really my kind of thing.
2. Continue to make time for drawing
I am glad to have gotten back into it over the past year, and I am hoping to keep it up. I am finding it hard these days to find the concentration to sit down with a physical book. But drawing while listening to audiobooks has been a great combination.
3. Read The Priory of the Orange Tree
The Priory of the Orange Tree has been recommended to me by several people, but for some reason I have not picked it up yet. It’s been quite some time since I lost myself completely in a fantasy world, so I am really hoping this book can do that for me.
Both this book and it’s sequel are incredibly long, so if I do enjoy them, I’ll be set for some time!
1. Read a little outside of the speculative genre
So over the past year, I think I’ve read close to 50 books and novellas, nearly all of them fantasy or sci-fi. I think the genre is amazingly broad and varied, and I loved getting around to reading some really early works by Clarke and Heinlein as well as stuff that was released over the past year. I like having a depth of experience in a genre, because I feel it gives me a better appreciation of authors’ influences and the development of literature and themes over the decades.
But I also sometimes feel like I’m missing out because I am focusing on speculative stuff this much!
So I am going to try and allow myself to miss a week of uploading sometimes to read some other books, like some non-fiction and more literary works that I’ve missed over the past years. Hopefully that’ll help me appreciate the speculative genre all the more!
2. Decorate my home
I’ve been living in my current place for a couple of years. It has a really long boring hallway that when I moved in, I resolved to fill up with art and drawings to make it interesting.
I have yet to hang a single picture there (no, wait, that’s not actually true – I do have a picture of a dragon Lotte drew!).
What is worse, I’m hoping to move in the foreseeable future.
I’m not sure why, but over the past years, I have just never felt the creative energy to actually decorate. But this is me resolving to fix that and put up some speculative themed art, whether it be at my current place or the next one.
3. Read the Broken Earth-series
Broken Earth is one of the recent (if you can call ten years ago recent) hits that for no reason I can think of I have never picked up yet. It might just be that they have not appeared on my audiobook app yet…
From what I’ve heard and read, the books seem ambitious, layered, grim, and original. They should be right up my alley, and I have no excuse for missing out so far. And three consecutive Hugos is an incredible achievement!
Honestly, now that I am writing about these books, I am really itching to dig into them. Robin, gimme your login!
Peter
Lotte
1.Play Baldur's Gate 3
I’ve actually already started this game and I LOVE it, but I know it’s gonna take me a very long time to finish. Ideally I’d like to do two playthroughs, but if I can finish my first one before the end of the year I’ll be very happy!
2. Get back to doing art, specifically fantasy-themed
That’s right, if in 2024 you don’t succeed, just put the resolution back on your list! I genuinely do want to draw more and I feel like this is the year! Am I deluding myself? Maybe!!
3. Play more video games
In order to play Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I purchased a Playstation 5. I’ve never had such a powerful console before (my gaming PC was pretty good ten years ago, but I only really used it for… Dragon Age: inquisition) so I really want to take this chance to play some games I wasn’t able to play before. Of course, I’m also planning to play Baldur’s Gate 3, so I’m not sure I’ll manage to play much more than that in a year. But if I find the time, I want to game a bit more!
Happy New Year, folks!
Check out the reviews of related media here:
We survived another one! Another year done, with highs and lows for everyone.
Our curators look back at their 2024 in speculative fiction, by evaluating their resolutions for the year and highlighting their favourite media/reviews of the past twelve months.
How successful were you in fulfilling your 2024 resolutions? And, when it comes to speculative fiction, what were your favourites, disappointments and surprises this year?
2024 resolutions
Judging by my resolutions for the year alone, 2024 was a bad one – I am only one for three!
I resolved to learn to paint with an airbrush. I did paint a handful of miniatures with my airbrush, but the truth is that the type of mini painting that I enjoy and the type of minis that I paint don’t lend themselves particularly well for the airbrush – the MESBG minis that are my favourites are very small and I tend to paint them one by one instead of in batches. I have bought a second hand Mûmak recently, though, so the airbrush will surely come in handy there…
I also promised myself to read a Warhammer-novel. I started on Gilead’s Blood by Dan Abnett, mostly because it was the first novel in a collection that Lotte found for me at the thrift store. I’m not done yet, but… so far its not great. I’ll upload a review if I finish it, but I a seriously considering just putting it down. Perhaps I should have resolved to read a good Warhammer novel…
And finally: I did actually finish a story! It’s one that I’ve been working on for years – it turns out it’s about novella length. To actually finish it is really satisfying and also motivating – perhaps I’ll get some serious work done on the follow-up (probably going to be a prequel? Am I writing these in the right order?) in 2025!
favourite
Going by my star ratings, my favourite media of 2024 are Denis Villeneuve’s second Dune movie and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist – two quite different stories that I liked for quite different reasons.
If I had to pick one, I think I’d have to go with The Alchemist – for some reason that little book struck a note with me and I would heartily recommend it to everyone who needs an uplifting message in their life. It’s all a little just-so, of course, a fairy tale constructed to support the message, but I really liked the vibe and Jeremy Irons did a great job reading it.
The Alchemist is from the eighties and not from 2024, though, so if that takes precedent than Villeneuve’s awesome movie with its stunning visuals is a worthy pick – I think I saw it in cinema three or four times and loved it more and more each time.
I’m almost disappointed that Ted Chiang’s Exhalation didn’t win this year, because a couple of the stories in that collection are top-tier as well.
Biggest Surprise
I think my biggest surprise is probably the Singing Hills Cycle – it was not on my radar at all, but I blasted through all five published novellas this summer and I’m still craving more. Especially Mammoths at the Gates was one of my favourite reads this year. I think Nghi Vo does an amazing job with the structure of each of the novellas and I loved how she transitioned the focus of the Cycle from the story inside the frame to the frame narrative itself. Reading those novellas actually helped motivate me to finally finish that story of my own (not that I would want to suggest in any way that it is near as good as what Vo is putting to paper), which is, I think, I great indicator of how captivating that series is.
Biggest Disappointment
For my biggest disappointment, I’m going to go with Children of Dune. I already knew the series was going to go downhill pretty steeply, but I honestly did not expect the drop off in quality from Dune Messiah, which I still really liked, to Children of Dune. I went into it at length in my review, but I just think that Herbert’s style becomes so dense that sometimes you’re wondering what you’re really reading for pages on end.
I was really hoping for a good capstone to that initial trilogy but it turns out the decline has already set in. It actually put me off reading God Emperor of Dune, which I was planning to read as well – I’m a little scared of what that will bring now. Perhaps I’ll work up the courage next year, we’ll see!
2024 resolutions
- Dragon Age: Dreadwolf – BioWare
Yikes. Even looking at the fact that we still referred to it as “Dragon Age: Dreadwolf” makes it seem like we wrote these resolutions YEARS in the past. I suppose on a positive note I could say that I didn’t play Dreadwolf, so it could still be a really good game, just one that wasn’t released this year. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, however, absolutely didn’t even come near my expectations of the next DA game. On the plus side, I did succeed in this resolution! And we really can’t say that for the rest of them.
- Get back to doing art, specifically fantasy-themed
I barely drew anything this year. This foolishly won’t stop me from putting this resolution straight back on my list for 2025.
- Take some good photos of my Howl’s Moving Castle Sophie cosplay
Yeah, I usually go to our “local” ren faire, which is where I debuted this cosplay last year. I couldn’t take good pictures last year because it rained all day. This year, I ended up not going at all, though I don’t believe the weather was much better… So much for a simple resolution, huh!
favourite
There really wasn’t anything that super stood out to me this year, I’m afraid. I suppose the novel Howl’s Moving Castle was really good? As in, it didn’t blow me away but it was nice to read a good, immersive fantasy story after what felt like ages of disappointing fantasy books.
Biggest Surprise
My biggest surprise is probably that the Farseer book series ended with a trilogy that just didn’t work for me the way the rest of the series had so far. There were definitely things I enjoyed about it, I just expected it to touch me a little more. But I guess I should just be glad to even get to read a completed fantasy book series these days!
Biggest Disappointment
Dragon Age 🙁
2024 resolutions
I managed to complete my first two resolutions quite early in the year: I read Legends & Lattes in January, and I also played Roam around that time. Legends & Lattes was cosy, but on the whole it did not really live up to my expectations. I do remember enjoying Roam, but to be honest I have not played it in a long time now and I remember very little about it. I guess looking back at this resolution is a good reminder to dust it off and give it another go!
While the third resolution (the art challenge with Lotte) did not really end up taking off, I did manage to spend some more time this year drawing. That’s something I definitely hope to bring into the new year.
favourite
Both Prophet Song and The End We Start From rank very highly on my list of favorites of this year. Both are quite dark, dystopic tales, so I don’t know what that says about me. But I am currently rereading another dystopic favourite from recent years: Station Eleven. So apparently I have not tired of the genre yet.
Biggest Surprise
My biggest surprise of the year has to have been The War of the Rohirrim. And by this I don’t mean the quality of the movie, but the fact that it existed at all: somehow I managed to miss all announcements for it, so I was pleasantly surprised when Peter and Jop suddenly asked if I wanted to come along to the cinema.
Biggest Disappointment
It would be easy to say The Rings of Power, but my expectations for it were not that high in the first place so maybe it doesn’t strictly count as a disappointment. Other than that I cannot come up with any major disappointments though, so let’s stick with that answer. While I did not expect it to be good, I also did not expect that I would not even end up finishing the season!
2024 resolutions
2024 was not a bad year when it comes to my resolutions. I got to finally play the next Dragon Age (I have no issues whether its subtitle is Dreadwolf or The Veilguard) and greatly enjoyed it! Furthermore, some days before writing this wrap-up, Peter and I played the first MESBG scenario with my fantasy fellowship. Technically a little too late, but I say it counts.
As for writing and worldbuilding… I’m sort of on a journey of rediscovering these hobbies. Combined with beginning a new master’s programme and a job, I had little time to make great strides in this journey. However, it’s been a slow burn. I have inspiration and plans. For now, that’s enough.
favourite
This is quite ironic after Lotte’s considerations, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard was definitely the highlight of 2024 for me. It was a story of grief, regret and fighting against imposing odds that deeply resonated with me. The same goes for the Rook I created. The echoes of her and her story will stay with me for a while.
Biggest Surprise
This might be Renegade Nell for me. It was a rather impulsive watch for me, but managed to give me much joy.
Honourable shout-out to the modern Planet of the Apes movies. I decided to watch them – just to see what this franchise was about – and actually quite enjoyed them. They had more nuance than I expected.
Biggest Disappointment
Probably Lotte’s skill issue in enjoying Dragon Age: The Veilguard…
I’m jesting, of course. Firstly, I’m not cool enough to successfully use modern slang. Secondly, one’s dislike or enjoyment of media is entirely within their right, and I can at least understand how Veilguard‘s rendition of ‘choice matters’ is a disappointment to some.
Still, it’s a bummer when a story means a lot to you and you can’t properly share this experience with friends because they hated it. However, I suppose this goes both ways…
Otherwise, the second season of Rings of Power. I’m afraid they lost me before the season finished.
That’s us for today, folks! Happy holidays!
Check out some of the reviews of related media here:
- Novel written by Leigh Bardugo
- Published on September 29, 2015
- Part one of the Six of Crows duology
I’ve previously read two books by Leigh Bardugo: Shadow and Bone and Ninth House. I quite enjoyed both books, and I’d hear a lot of good things about Six of Crows. Specifically, I’d heard that Six of Crows was better than Shadow and Bone.
I quite liked Shadow and Bone, but I found the characters to lack a bit of depth, and the pacing was kind of off. However, I really enjoyed the world building of the Grishaverse. Six of Crows features all of the good Grishaverse worldbuilding, with much more interesting characters and better pacing. It’s been a while since I managed to fully focus on a book for an extended period of time, but this one managed to keep me hooked quite well.
Six of Crows is moody urban fantasy, taking place mostly in Ketterdam (fantasy Amsterdam) and partly in Fjerda (fantasy Scandinavia?). I’m personally a big fan of authors who know that they can ground their worldbuilding in existing places that most people already have an idea of, and add their own (fantastical) touches to it. The world Bardugo has built feels incredibly rich and real, without her having to explain every little detail to us. There’s a lot we can fill in based on what we know of these places in real life. A lot of classic fantasy does this, mostly with places like England and Scotland. I enjoyed seeing how well some other locations lend themselves to being turned into places in a fantasy universe. Bardugo also uses her worldbuilding really well. You can clearly tell where her inspirations come from, but it never feels cheap or lazy.
When I watched the show Shadow and Bone, which incorporates caracters from this book as well (though in my opinion not super well), I didn’t particularly care for the crows. There’s plenty of material in the book for a full 8 episode series focused just on this story, so it’s a shame they didn’t get that space. I enjoyed the characters of Six of Crows much more than those in Shadow and Bone, especially Inej and Kaz. I did think it was a little weird that they were all literal teenagers, but that may just be because they’re all definitely over the age of twenty in the Netflix show.
Though I enjoyed the book, I don’t feel particularly moved to buy the sequel. In a way, this is actually a testiment to how well structured the story is. It has an open ending, but not one that leaves you wanting, per se. Or at least, it didn’t leave me wanting to run out to the book store.
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Review: The Tombs of Atuan – Ursula Le Guin
A small girl is taken to the temple complex of the Tombs of Atuan to be inducted as the high priestess of the Nameless Ones. Said to be the reincarnation of the previous high priestess, the young girl must take on the arduous and sometimes gruesome tasks of her office alone. The child’s loneliness and isolation only grow when she finds an intruder has penetrated into the great labyrinths underneath the Tombs.
Review: A Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula Le Guin
After a magic talent helps a young boy protect his village from a savage attack by sea-born raiders, the boy is sent of to learn magic from an ancient mage living on a nearby island. It is the start of a series of adventures across the many islands of Earthsea, in which the boy does not just learn about magic, but also about the dark side of himself and the emotions that will show him that side.
Review: Furthermore – Tahereh Mafi
Furthermore tells the story of Alice, who is a colourless girl in a magical, colourful world. She sets out to find her missing father and prove that she is just as magical as the colourful people who have made her feel like an outcast all her life.
Curator Question: 2025 Resolutions
Our Curators discuss their 2024 New Year’s Resolutions – what is on their to be read/watch/listen/play list for the coming year?
Yearly Wrap-up: 2024 in Review
Our curators look back at their 2024 resolutions, and their favourite fantasy and science fiction media of the past year. Which media on their to be read/watch/listen/play piles got their attention? And what else did the year bring?
Review: Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam is a place where anything and anyone can be bought for the right price, and the right price to get a group of teenage criminals to undertake a suicide mission is a whole lot of money. The question is: will they make it out alive to claim it?
