The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book Two is out
Most that care have probably been aware of this fact, but "Fatal Revenant," Book Two of The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is now out in hardback.
I had read "Runes of the Earth" around six months ago, and enjoyed it, but the book was a bit slowly paced when compared to the previous trilogies, so I was left feeling cautiously optimistic regarding the continuation of the series.
I was at my local library the other day, and on a whim did a search for Stephen Donaldson in the electronic catalog, because I wondered without much hope whether the second book was out. To my surprise, it was, and it was available, so I immediately checked it out.
Book Two, "Fatal Revenant," is a much better read. It does start out slow, but once you get 1/4 of the way in, it picks up very nicely. All of the things I loved about the previous trilogies are there. I had goosebumps reading some parts. It brings back good memories of the first two Chronicles. I am now 2/3 through and the damned book is literally making me lose sleep, staying up way too late reading because I don't want to put it down.
Be aware that this is Donaldson's writing through and through, pretentious and verbose as all hell. If I have to read the word, "puissance" one more time I swear I'll...well, actually I'll probably just continue to read. In spite of it all, (and honestly I've come to accept Donaldson's writing style after seven books) this is a fun read.
Highly recommended for anyone that is interested and has fond memories of the series. I know for me this was one of two Fantasy series that got me interested in reading in the first place.
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
Thanks!
I do care but did not know.
private String paula = "Brillant";
Holy crap, is he still writing these? I remember trailing off halfway through the 2nd trilogy - or maybe it was at the end of the 2nd trilogy. How many are there now?
"And my son, too, thinks everything is a launchpad, every bug a meal, and every sunny day a reason to take all your clothes off and roll around in the grass." - rabbit
There were three books each in the First and Second Chronicles;
First Chronicles:
"Lord Foul's Bane" 1977
"The Illearth War" 1978
"The Power that Preserves" 1979
Second Chronicles:
"The Wounded Land" 1980
"The One Tree" 1982
"White Gold Wielder" 1983
The Last Chronicles is planned to have four books, and according to Donaldson was always part of his outline for the story:
"Runes of the Earth" 2004
"Fatal Revenant" 2007
"Against All Things Ending" 2010?
"The Last Dark" 2013?
So there was guite a gap (no pun intended) between Second and Last Chronicles.
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
Ah, but was it argent puissance or incarnadine puissance? Makes all the difference in the world...
Nice.
MechaSlinky wrote:
-on L4DI'm glad someone got the possible pun there.
And it was condign, eldritch innominate puissance, argent in its theurgy!
Hmmm I think that about covers it. Oh wait...CATAPHRACT!
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
I think I'll wait until at least one more book is finished before starting this series.
Cyrana Mage 72 ~ Artesia Druid 70
Cyranna Shaman 62 ~ Acereri - DK 61 ~ Artasian - Priest 59 ~ Lenna - Rogue 60
Probably a wise decision, as the next one isn't due until 2010.
Man, I'm gonna have to slow my reading pace waaaaay down if I don't want to wait.
I'm already in that situation with "A Song of Ice and Fire."
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
He taught me chiaroscuro.
"All that time you waste dating and having sex could be better spent scouring the web for new game developer press releases." - Quintin_Stone
For some reason, I ended up starting this series with the second trilogy years ago. This kind of spoiled me on some of the events when I went back and read the first three books. I don't remember too much about the series though, except a faint dislike overall.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
I'll readily admit Donaldson's writing style, especially with Covenant is an acquired taste. I read this series at a very formative time in my life as a Fantasy and Science Fiction reader. I was very young, and it made a huge impression on me. Add to that a nostalgia factor and you have at least a few reasons why I am enjoying the hell out of the second book in the new series.
I'm not going to posit that you would feel differently if you had read them in the proper order, but I WILL state unequivocally that it helps. In the Second Chronicles, you have to have previously seen (and fallen in love with) The Land in the First Chronicles to really appreciate the appalling wrongness of the Sunbane.
Bah I'm a fanboy, I give up.
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
That's the boat I'm in. I'll have to figure out where I left off, possibly re-read a few.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
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Although I've read both the first and second Chronicles, i like his The Gap Cycle books probably the best. Maybe because I'm more of a sci-fi fan than fantasy.
The Leper Hero books?
Sadly, I got turned off of those early and powerfully. Never made it more than about 50 pages into Lord Foul's Bane.
Mystic Violet wrote:
I got the 1st trilogy for x-mas and I really didn't like the first book that much either. I forced myself to finish it and enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd ones far more than I thought I would.
Duoae wrote:
merphle wrote:
Steam ID
My Dad was a huge fan of the original trilogy and I have his copies in my bookcase at home. I think I finished "Lord Foul's Bane" and never got into "The Illearth War"
Every so often I think about restarting the series.
Fletcher wrote:
I loved these when I read them back in high school, but I was also hugely depressed and felt as socially outcast as a leper. I'm not sure I'm in the right place to read them now.
I'll definately have to wait for the last book to be out. Long waits for the next book in the series make me stabby.
Duoae wrote:
Here's another two paw's up for the series. I went back and re-read the first two trilogies in preparation for the last one (after first reading them 20 years ago). They exceeded my recollection and renewed my feeling that, once you get into the rhythm and style of Donaldson's writing style and the ideas that lie beneath them, that he's a very good writer and storyteller. I know that puts me in a distinct minority!
Anyway...to this third one, I believe he surpasses himself, and "Fatal Revenant" was an amazing read, in terms of story, character development, and the tying-together of all of the books. I had a hard time putting it down and am really looking forward to the next volumes......
"Eat Keel, Hellbug!"
I agree, "Fatal Revenant" was a great read.
I read the first series in order, but for some reason read the second book of the second series before the rest. To this day "The One Tree" is the only book of the Sunbane series that I could tell you the whole story of. Not sure why, it just sticks in my memory.
Elysium wrote:
Shawn Elliott wrote:
Honestly after reading "Runes of the Earth," I was a bit worried, but still optimistic. I'm glad my optimism was not unfounded. Donaldson tends to start each one of these chronicles with a lot of setup. "Lord Foul's Bane," and "The Wounded Land" both started slowly, but he always seems to pick it up after he has established things in the first novel.
Fatal Reventant is a fun read. It brings me back, especially in the latter half of the novel.
I would not have posted this if I wasn't so gratified at how the story is progressing!
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
Ok since G.R.R.M Song of Ice and Fire has pretty much ruined me for any other American fantasy literature I have to ask this question.
How does this book series compare to SOIAF? Is it still worth while? I'm willing to give it a try if it is.
Prederick wrote:
"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis.
Well, Kilroy, it is not at all like SOIAF at all; few big battles; focus is intensely on characters and story.
The thing with Donaldson is that he never lets you the reader- or his characters- escape from the ideas motivating the premise of the books; what's reality, what isn't; the consequences of the use (and misuse!) of power, the possibility of corruption that lies within everyone despite the best hopes and wishes of good people and creatures....really hard to describe....but the "knife-edge" of these things is a real hallmark of his writing.
"Eat Keel, Hellbug!"
I'm in the same boat. I tried to start it when I was young, my teens, then tried again a few years ago. Both times I ended up stopping in about the same spot. It's hard for me to read a book once I've decided that I loath the main character.
That's kind of the point. The main character hates himself too.
Originally read the series when I was an angst ridden teenager and loved it. I've re-read both trilogies several times (just a couple of months ago, most recently) and it still holds up. The series is very dark and Thomas is a bit of a prick, but you have to at least give it up to Donaldson for creating a hero who rapes a teenager 50 pages into the first book. Quite a bit of anti-hero.
Also magic (and as you said, power) plays a big role in Donaldson's world. There's really no comparing the two (Covenant and SOIAF), they are completely different animals, as far as fantasy storytelling is concerned.
I, too disliked Covenant at times. Covenant is a leper. He's definitely not a typical "hero," or protagonist, not at all. However I found lots of characters and things in both the First and Second Chronicles to love. It really is an interesting, imaginative story, definitely a classic in my mind at least. The world in which it takes place is rich, with its own history and it's quite well imagined. In fact the world (called simply, "The Land") has been called a character in its own right. It's one of the things that kept me reading, Donaldson really made me care about this world. Donaldson's characters are for the most part not black and white characters. Many of the "good" guys have failings and foibles which make them more "real." These failings can sometimes (in the case of Covenant certainly) drive you nuts.
That said, the series is still head and tails above the majority of Fantasy I've read. I'd place it in my top three Fantasy series, in fact, along with "A Song of Ice and Fire" and (of course) "The Lord of the Rings." Three very disparate series, very different from one another in their writing style and plot construction, but all three were wonderful stories.
I just finished "Fatal Revenant" a few minutes ago. The final pages were pure distilled awesome.
Great book, I enjoyed it far far far more than book one of the Last Chronicles, "Runes of the Earth."
Advice: Do not read "Fatal Revenant" or Runes of the Earth without having first read the first two Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. This is very definitely NOT a series that you can just jump in at the middle.
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98
Jesus Christ. I read the original six books over a Christmas vacation one year when I was a teenager, and when I finally finished, I felt like I'd spent the entire week constipated. About 85% of the books were traveling, with nothing much happening. Traveling, traveling, more traveling, still more traveling, yet more traveling, traveling with a new person, traveling without someone, oh, and don't forget some traveling. They were always enroute somewhere, and hardly ever actually THERE.
As I said at the time, he took six books to tell a two-book story. Those books should have been called "The Endless Journeying of Thomas Covenant".
If this new trilogy is even SLOWER, there's no way in hell I'm touching it.
He wrote another series, "The Mirror of Her Dreams", that I enjoyed very much. Donaldson can really write, when he has enough ideas to fill his page count.
The reason I came extremely close to putting down the book was that I never really got a sense of that until I started the second book. Throughout the first one I felt like Covenant was all, "Tra la la, I did something horrible, and I expect to be punished, but apparently I'm too important to be punished so I'll just forget about it." I do highly recommend giving the series a try until at least the second book.
Duoae wrote:
merphle wrote:
Steam ID
Well the first book was a bit slow, but then so were the first books of the other two trilogies. Donaldson tends to do a LOT of setup in his first books.
"Fatal Revenant" was a terrific read.
"I have not supped of Buffy, nor have I supped in any wise during the absence of Firefly. When Firefly returns again in glory, then shall I sup at the table of Whedon." - Fedaykin98