My my, how readers hate these books! Yes, Thomas is a cruel, foolish man who does an--at least one--unforgivable act.
That's the *point.* He is never forgiven, and in later books, the evil fallout of his actions are... disturbing.
This is one of those books that actually taught me one of the foundational author's lessons: you do not have to like your main character. But by God, you must understand them. And this character is very real (albeit, at times insufferably so!) ( )

That was good fantasy and the begining was inventive, interesting..; ( )

When Vamplit Publishing offered to take on my book they likened my style to Stephen Donaldson Author of the Thomas Covenant Chronicles and others. Now I have never heard of Stephen Donaldson so that meant little to me. I have now however acquainted myself with the author’s work and stand perplexed. Does my publisher really think that I right like the creator of Thomas Covenant?

Some people do not like The Thomas Covenant Chronicles because of the self-pitying angry anti-hero. I for one do. The writing is so fluid and descriptive in ways that many authors could only envy. If the questers are following a river the prose keeps pace with the flowing waters. You feel the bite of the stinging rain and cloying grasp of the living darkness. There’s a spring in the earth that you can feel in every breath that the land takes. The land that is truly living and beautifully rendered as indeed are its varying indigenous peoples.

I was never bored reading this book, of which I have now completed the first part of the trilogy. I’ll tell you nothing of the story whatsoever. To tell you anything of the plot will tarnish it in your mind. Read it and let it polish that dulled, tarnished metal that has encased so many reader’s minds over innumerate years as you have been fed endless trite as excuses for fantasy. This is classic fantasy. Not the fuzzy teddies on a picnic but a visceral festival of extravagant prose that demands a reader’s attention. This is not the likes of Harry Potter, Twilight or any of the modern urban brigand. This is the work of a skilled raconteur, a teller of high tales and bard of lost lore and legends well remembered.

Before I knew where I was I had strayed 80 pages into the sequel just for mild curiosity. If you like your fantasy high and classic like that of Tolkien then you will enjoy this. But as for whether I write like the author or not I never dare to mount such a lofty pedestal.

So, Thomas Covenant has returned to his own world only to become even more hated just for being alive and having an illness that will eventually kill him if the residents don’t first.

With his mind reeling at the intrusion of his ‘dream’ Covenant begins to unravel. Not surprising. He spends three weeks battling with reality and the growing rejection of his own world until an accident renders him unconscious and he wakes up once again in The Land. This time however the stakes are much higher, so to defend himself Thomas Covenant builds his barriers even deeper to keep the unreality from seeping in. The Land is thrust into the titular Illearth War from which, somehow, Covenant must escape intact.

He quickly surmises that either he or the one who summoned must die in order for him to escape back to his own world. Therein lies the greatest emotional turmoil that the cowardly Covenant has to face. I’ll not give any spoilers no review ever should, but his choice is would not be easy for anyone to make.

The Ravers are ravaging the land. War is everywhere. A second person has been summoned to The Land from Covenant’s world but he is only too willing to take up his place and fight for the good of The Land. War is everywhere, death surrounds all but still a demand is placed on Thomas Covenant that he cannot resist – ah Unbeliever what is the truth of your heart? That is the deepest question the Thomas Covenant must answer if, indeed, he can.

Yet again Stephen Donaldson has produced an outstanding work that flows straight on from the first. The rich tapestry that makes up The Land is continually woven with ever increasing majesty. Though at times I found myself reaching for a dictionary and then wishing that simpler, more down to earth words had been used. Not once was my enjoyment spoiled by my limited vocabulary, the story is too strong for that.

Battles ebb and flow like a ceaseless tide across the pages that must at times be read thoroughly so as not to miss the slightest passion of the writer. Take your time when reading the world of Mr Donaldson, his are not the comfort books of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, his are works of art there to be admired and beheld.

Another book deserving of full marks.



The Power that Preserves is the third part of the Thomas Covenant series and the end of the first trilogy. Simply put: a great book. The Unbeliever comes of age at last and accepts that he has a purpose in life other than to survive. He confesses his love for the Land into the face of lord Foul the Despiser and then simply tells him that it does not exist. Thus he unlocks the paradox to the wild magic.

War is everywhere in Land but everywhere that Thomas Covenant goes he is faced with the memory of those that he, in his own eyes, has slain. Those that he loved, cherished, and abused to meet his own need and denial of the Land. And it would seem that the Land itself believes in Thomas Covenant to the point where it ensures that he fulfils his declaration to destroy Lord Foul. At some point or other every place that means anything is assaulted and destroyed by Foul’s Ravers until only Covenant remains standing amid the protection of his unbelief. When Covenant and Foul finally stand toe to toe and duel for the very existence of the Land we are treated to one of the most spectacular magic battles ever written. The power in the passages that depict the final confrontation make Lord Voldermort pale into insignificance. Here is magic running wild, pure evil battling the paradox between love and denial with a conclusion so satisfying that I doubt anyone will better it.

There is movie called Avatar that borrows heavily upon the themes in the series, so much so that I find it impossible to believe that it was not the foundational influence for that tale. In the Land people ‘see’ one another; they see the heart, the wholeness, the power, and the deep truths. They are all one with the Land, a land that is sentient. There is the One Tree, the one forest and the great spirit – the Creator. Too many things that work in the same way to be coincidental. But Stephen Donaldson tells it with much more detail and passion. It’s as though he walks the land and ‘sees’ its people. He is a writer that lives his stories and thus brings them to life.

In summation, the trilogy is a triumph of storytelling: epic in its truest sense.

A thoroughly deserved 10 out of 10


( )

I first read these books in high school. I read them many times; the strength and intensity of the story blew me away. I was reading Lord Foul's Bane the first time it occurred to me that I wanted to write fantasy. Took me a while to come round to that, but the memory is still vivid. ( )

It turgidly goes on and on. ( )

When this trilogy came out, I was a young adult sharing an apartment with my brother. He and I went to our separate jobs (thank goodness, he worked nights, I worked days) and read. Got to the end of the first book, took deep breaths, thanked whoever responsible that the three came out together, and started on the next.

We've read a lot of the same books (more then than now) and never have come as close to fighting over who got possession for the time it took to get another cup of coffee.

They are powerful, disturbing, and wonderful. ( )

A classic fantasy trilogy ( )

I found this trilogy terrible. It staggered around with no substance.

The books didn't work for me for several reasons, namely:

The characters were shallow. They didn't come across as real in any universe/dimension/whatever. In particular the main character was totally obnoxious. He had no saving attributes whatever. There was no way I could develop any empathy with him.

Another point was the lack of any reasoning about the other world. There was no attempt to build a back story/reasoning for the other world or why white gold should be so important. It was simply contrived to get a "somewhere else" to base a story. You may argue this is true of many novels, but the other world and the story in that place were not sufficiently good to justify an unexplained dimensional shift.

Even the other world building was cumbersome and no explanation of why things happened. There was a nebulous "something" that caused the vegetation to stress, grow chaotically, etc...

I found the story very predictable and could see the author was leading the main character into a contrived situation where he would commit incest with his daughter.

Apart from the above, I found the whole exercise pointless and the plot contrived and forced. By reading six books I did give the author pleny of opportunity to impress me and improve, but I felt as disappointed and let down when I finished the sixth book as I had when I finished the first one.

Do not get me wrong, I am grateful for this experience as it taught me never to waste part of my life finishing books I am not enjoying or believe to be poor. ( )

Ah yes. Stephen Donaldson may be tedious in his writings, as if checking every paragraph for a scratch or cut and he may be a bit more darker when dealing with a Character whose only hope was to live with what he had - leprosy. Never have I found a fictional story that brought a sense of 'life-force' from the 'land' with much vivid detail that even a person with Leprosy couldn't help but feel 'alive' when reading these books. Clever covers too. ( )

The premise is interesting, what with a reluctant, leper saviour-of-the-world. However, Donaldson's writing is v.e.r.y. tedious. I've read the First Chronicles, followed through the Second Chronicles, even laboured through Runes of the Earth...However, I just cannot read Fatal Revenant. This is one story that did NOT did sequels and could have been wrapped up in a trilogy. Linden Avery's character is even more tiresome than Thomas Covenant's.

What is particularly IRKSOME is Donaldson's love for using unpopular words in the writing; it feels like the author is trying very hard to sound/read learned. There are three frequently-used-but-not-much-heard-of words in First Chronicles and again another three in the Second ones. Even if you LOVE science-fiction-fantasy, you can give these a miss.
Two stars.

I haven't read much fantasy literature but I'm glad I read this trilogy. The entire Chronicles by Donaldson is one of my all-time favorites. The main character is almost an anti-hero and the story, while it slows briefly, never let me down. Other than Tolkien, Donaldson is the best writer I've come across in (my limited reading of) the genre. ( )

Very dificult to get into. More often than not many readers end up wishing they could whack the protagonist! It's not that he's a wimp, just hideously morbid and negative. For this reason, he steadfastly refuses to believe he is where he ends up.

Now this obviously opens up all kinds of possibilities for philosohic and metaphysical contemplations - which is is one level at which gargantau tome excels. But this is also a fantasy novel so, according to the unquenchable light og Tolkien (among others) there's a near-invincible evil to be thwated and entire world to be saved And, as an afterthought a ring!.
Hard to get into, as mentioned, but, for me, worth the effort and concentration undoubtedly required

(And, no, I'm not a habitual reader of modern 'penny-dreadfuls!) ( )

I really enjoyed this when I was younger. I'm not really reading fantasy stuff any more, but when I read this I thought it was excellent, something as grand and epic as Lord of the Rings, but darker! ( )

An incredibly dark and despairing novel, based on a Tolkien-like scenario, but no hope for Thomas Covenant. Depressing. ( )

This is the three books in this series in one volume (Lord Foul's Bane; The Illearth War; The Power that Preserves). It is a spare copy passed on to me by a friend, as I have the three volumes in hardback my own personal collection.

Thomas Covenant is a leper, shunned by our world, and transported to another land where his nerves regenerate and the white gold wedding band he wears is a powerful weapon. To the people of The Land, Covenant is Berek Halfhand reborn - a hero whose wild magic is the only possible answer to the evils of Drool Rockworm and Lord Foul the Despiser. But Covenant cannot and will not believe in The Land. He cannot accept the responsibility the Land demands of him. To do so would be to ignore the discipline and vigilance he must maintain as a safeguard against the constant reality of his leprosy.

There is, however, a puzzle at the heart of the novel which is never adequately explained. If the Land is a dream, whatever Covenant does cannot affect him in the real world. So he may as well help the Land and fight its foes taking whatever risks to himself are necessary. On the other hand, if the Land is real, Covenant is not a leper there and need not exercise such caution. Whenever he is confronted with this logic, Covenant can only mutter, "It isn't that easy." At times, Thomas is not an especially likeable protagonist and I often wanted to give him a good shake!

A lot of people have compared it to Lord of the Rings - some positively; some negatively. To me, while both are by definition fantasy tales, that is where the similarities stop. Some people complain that "The Land" is not as thoroughly developed as "Middle Earth." But the situations are totally different. Set foot into Middle Earth and that's where you stay; in this tale, Thomas makes regular excursions to the real, modern world.

This is a series you either love or you hate - and I loved it. ( )

Fantastic. Donaldson endears us to an insufferable protaganist trapped in a terrible duality.

I laughed. I cried.

Read it. ( )

After a car knocks him unconscious, leper outcast unclean anti-hero Thomas Covenant finds himself transported to The Land, an imaginative world with such tangible beauty and life that one can't help but care about it as passionately as the characters themselves. Covenant's nerve-ends awaken; his leprosy is fading. In stark contrast to his years as an outcast in his home-town, he is now hailed as a reincarnation of the legendary Berek Halfhand, a saviour of the land. But is it illusion or reality? Should Covenant attempt to save The Land from the deadly Despiser as its legends prophesise, or retain his detached leper mentality to survive should it prove to be the former? This is a tale of sanity, survival and discipline, of struggle and purpose, of love, of redemption, of conquering despair and despite, where the external and internal run parallel with the line between them frequently blurred, and fundamental ethical questions are forced like hot knives into the mind of reader and character alike. "The Chronicles..." are as savage as they are beautiful, with a controversial rape scene forcing many to stop reading after only a few chapters, but ultimately this is a wonderfully liberating, entrancing tale - among the best epic fantasy has ever produced, and probably ever will produce. 5 stars. ( )