(Originally published 1977, Mass Market Paper 474 pages)
Sure, if your familiar the 'Lord of the Rings' then Mr. Donaldson's Thomas
Covenant trilogy might seem like a cheap knockoff of the whole Middle-earth
franchise. Please, cast that assumption aside. Yes, 'Lord Foul's Bane' has an
evil entity with immense powers and, yes, both Tolkien's and Donaldson's books
have a powerful ring at the center of it all, but that's where the similarities
end. The mythical place where Thomas Covenant finds himself has no orcs,
dragons, trolls, elves or dwarves. And yet, the richly described characters in
Donaldson's book are just as interesting and engaging as the beings who inhabit
Middle-earth. In fact, I found Mr. Donaldson's writing much more to my liking
than Tolkien's style.
Thomas Covenant was a happily married father who suddenly contracts leprosy. Needless to say, his wonderful life takes a major dive into the crapper. The author takes pains to explain what the horrible condition of leprosy is as well as how it destroys a person's physical and mental wellbeing. This is very important to understand, because the protagonist, Thomas Covenant, is a very bitter, tactless, humorless, self-loathing dude THROUGHOUT the book. Heck, the leper is as far remove from a whimsical Hobbit as you could possibly get without turning him into a villian. For some reason that is not explained in the first book, Covenant and his white-gold ring fit the bill of what The Land needs. He's transported to a world that views him as their reincarnated savior, Berek Halfhand, because of his wedding ring and the two missing fingers on his right hand. There's a big problem with this scenario. Covenant hasn't a friggin' clue how his ordinary ole wedding ring works its dormant magic.
The book is an immersion into a fantastic world of well-defined characters, exciting adventures and adult moral quandaries. As Thomas Covenant, who believes he's dreaming this whole thing, travels about the magical world, the reader also learns about The Land, its wonders as well as dangers at the same time the sourpuss leper does. It's obvious that Thomas Covenant isn't going to be kicking the bucket in the first book of the trilogy. However, there are plenty of likable characters to make it an edge-of-your-seat adventure. It should be pointed out that I'm not sure if the book is appropriate for anyone younger than high schoolers. The story involves a one-page, somewhat-vaguely-described rape scene. I read this back in 1978 when I was 18. I enjoyed it then and I'm enjoying it even more this second time around.
Thomas Covenant was a happily married father who suddenly contracts leprosy. Needless to say, his wonderful life takes a major dive into the crapper. The author takes pains to explain what the horrible condition of leprosy is as well as how it destroys a person's physical and mental wellbeing. This is very important to understand, because the protagonist, Thomas Covenant, is a very bitter, tactless, humorless, self-loathing dude THROUGHOUT the book. Heck, the leper is as far remove from a whimsical Hobbit as you could possibly get without turning him into a villian. For some reason that is not explained in the first book, Covenant and his white-gold ring fit the bill of what The Land needs. He's transported to a world that views him as their reincarnated savior, Berek Halfhand, because of his wedding ring and the two missing fingers on his right hand. There's a big problem with this scenario. Covenant hasn't a friggin' clue how his ordinary ole wedding ring works its dormant magic.
The book is an immersion into a fantastic world of well-defined characters, exciting adventures and adult moral quandaries. As Thomas Covenant, who believes he's dreaming this whole thing, travels about the magical world, the reader also learns about The Land, its wonders as well as dangers at the same time the sourpuss leper does. It's obvious that Thomas Covenant isn't going to be kicking the bucket in the first book of the trilogy. However, there are plenty of likable characters to make it an edge-of-your-seat adventure. It should be pointed out that I'm not sure if the book is appropriate for anyone younger than high schoolers. The story involves a one-page, somewhat-vaguely-described rape scene. I read this back in 1978 when I was 18. I enjoyed it then and I'm enjoying it even more this second time around.
(Meyers - A few years ago, I
started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short
reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #339)
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