The novel “The Tombs of Atuan” (1969) is part of the writer’s famous fairy-tale tetralogy “A Wizard of Earthsea.” They are united by common acting heroes - the priestess Tenar and the Great Magician - Ged. In the first novel, the wizard Ged will save the very young Tenar, who serves the Great Powers of Darkness, from the dungeon where she is doomed to spend her whole life. Ursula Le Guin's book is the story of Ged, a self-taught man from a remote village on the very outskirts of the Earthsea archipelago, who became the greatest wizard of all Earthsea. But first, the aspiring wizard Ged will have to save his village from pirates, take a course at the Academy of Magic, almost die by releasing his shadow, and experience many adventures in different parts of Earthsea - the amazing country of Ursula le Guin - an outstanding American writer, winner of numerous literary awards , Doctor of Philosophy, who created a fairy-tale epic that is equally interesting to both children and adults. Le Guin's fairy-tale narrative is inhabited by magicians, dragons, witches, ancient and mysterious creatures, unknown forces of water, earth and air. This exciting book is built on an intricacy of fantasy. However, she raises very real problems of maturation and personality development, invites the young reader to figure out for himself what Light is and what Darkness is, and where is the line beyond which these two concepts merge together. The very first novel of the famous Earthsea series put Ursula Le Guin in the ranks of outstanding fantasy masters, along with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. Lewis. In the intricate labyrinth of the fairy-tale land of Earthsea, it is not surprising to get lost, but the reader, guided by the imagination and talent of Ursula Le Guin, does not face such an unenviable fate. Thought out to the smallest detail, the world, painted in rich colors, contains a unique charm that has already fallen under the sway of millions of science fiction lovers around the world