Submitted by Anonymous  (Jun 20, 2004)The opening portion of this novel is incredibly impacting - a leprous Thomas Covenant shuffling his way through town, defying the terrified citizens' desire to keep him out of sight.
Spoken of as the first novel in an epic fantasy trilogy, I was a bit surprised by some aspects of the story (a fairy named Yahweh? sticky stuff called 'clingor'?) Also, the rape of Lena puzzled me - it appears to serve no purpose in the story, and, (maybe it's my Fantasy genre ignorance) but, I can't see why it happened.
Yet, somehow, for all of his bitterness and whining, there is still something endearing about the unwilling ur-lord Thomas Covenant, particularly in his exchanges with the giant Foamfollower.
Comparisons with Tolkien are apparent - drama on a subterranean bridge, a powerful ring, a vile creature trying to bite his ring finger off).
The story also seemed to end too quickly and easily.
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