Expecting a straightforward sequel to Ursula Le Guin's classic "A Wizard of Earthsea"? No, don't count on it. 
 Instead, the second book of Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle, "Tombs of Atuan," is very different from the first book. It features a different coming-of-age tale from Ged Sparrowhawk's, this time of a spirited girl who has been given everything except freedom -- a cold, claustrophobic tale that blossoms in Ged's light. 
 As a little child, Tenar was taken from her family by the priestesses, who said she was the reborn High Princess of the Nameless Ones, the dark, ruthless powers who are in the Tombs of Atuan. Her name is taken away and she was afterwards called Arha (which means that she was "eaten," spiritually), and she is raised in the cold, uninviting temple. 
 When Arha is fifteen, she finds that a wizard has somehow gained entrance to the massive mazelike Labyrinth, committing sacrilege and polluting the "center of darkness" with his staff's light. He's searching for half of a powerful ring; he has one half, she has the other. She takes the wizard Sparrowhawk prisoner, and for some reason doesn't want to kill him. 
 Instead she listens to his stories about dragons, magic and his home -- until a vengeful priestess learns that Arha is keeping the wizard alive. To escape horrible deaths, they must escape together from the Nameless Ones, and Tenar will be set free in more ways than one. 
 Ursula Le Guin's worldbuilding was masterful in the first book, and it's no less so in "Tombs of Atuan." The decayed, corrupted, darkness-obsessed religion and culture that Tenar is raised in seems very real. The only spot of warmth and life is Penthe, a childhood pal of Tenar's, who longs to get away from the temple and go live a normal, happy life. 
 Le Guin's writing is both spare and descriptive; she makes you feel like you know the characters with only a few pages. Her elegantly understated descriptions bring the grey, cold temple and tombs to life. Themes like religion, disbelief, loyalty, redemption, freedom, and enslavement are woven in, but not preachily. 
 However, the book suffers somewhat when Ged and Tenar are getting to know each other; even during a crisis, Ged spends a lot of time talking about his past and the Ring. It's less a conversation than an infodump. 
 Despite that, the relationship between Tenar and Ged is the centerpiece of the book. At first they are enemies, then gradually grow to trust one another even though rationally neither one should. Tenar is a strong, brave, slightly immature girl whose spirit has been kept enslaved to the Nameless Ones, and Ged is the brave, gentle, strong wizard we got to know in "Wizard." 
 The second book of the Earthsea cycle, while not as strong as the first, is still a compelling book. The dark, tense "Tombs of Atuan" remains a modern fantasy classic -- and does it ever deserve it.