Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson

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Submitted by Anonymous 
(Nov 03, 2005)

This series rocks. I'm only in ninth grade and it's a collage level series but i've been reading them for three years. All of donaldson's books that i've read rock and i've read all of Mordant's Need, Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever and The Second chronicles of Thomas Covenant. For the first time since I first read Tolkien i was unable to put the book down. If you are looking for a good series start with Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever

I completely agree with the previous two posts and many others in this review thread. I would add one nuance to the last review that in fact trumps any critisism of 'the ring' and the similarities between it and LOTR. In LOTR, the ring is at the center of everything. The ring is practically the lead entity in the film, arguably above even Frodo.

In the Covenant series, the talisman takes an immediate back seat to it's own composite. In other words, it's not really about the ring as much as it's all about the White Gold. This gives Donaldson's creations a powerful nuance that LOTR never even ventured into.

Like that overstock.com commercial...it's all about the gold...the white gold!

But again, I thought your comments were right on. And in fact Donaldson ingeniously gave his 'ring' a greater dimension than LOTR by giving it the depth and implication of it's own makeup to the lore of the land -- and eventually it's only hope.

Sure the one ring (LOTR) was all powerful in Middle Earth. But the cause and effect of it's own destruction with the demise of Sauron was always left highly ambiguous. Throw the ring in the fire, the mountain crumbles and the evil armies are somehow rendered harmless. Cue the sinkholes.

Compare that to the blinding crack of the wild magic when wielded (sorry) by it's otherwise wimpy owner. It stops just short of attacking the central nervous system. Of the reader.

And that Illearth Stone. That thing operates a lot faster than any corrupting power of middle earth's one ring. And the Staff of Life. This stuff was anti-matter reinvented.

By the way, the ravers...a lot scarier than the nazgul. And the nazgul were pretty scary, at least in the books. We'll see if the ravers are less scary on screen.

These are the greatest books ever, bar none. I first read these books when i was thirteen, and they changed my life. They taught me so much about my self and about human nature in general. Donaldson is an amazing writer and storyteller. Reading his books is almost like reading poetry, his words are so beautiful just reding one paragraph can lift your spirits. Donaldson has the rare gift of really making you care for the characters and the land they inhabit.Yes some might say this series shares too much with the LotR's but any similarities are trivial and most are shared by 99% of fantasy books. As far as the similarity of the ring goes what other token would be concievable for a modern man to carry around on his person all the time. Yes donaldson could have used a sword or something else instead but that would have been silly and unrealistic. And yes Covenant is hard to root for, but thats the point. This isnt an easy read, but its not supposed to be its supposed to make you think, and question your own nature. This book is not cheap entertainment, but if you are looking for an engaging read that will shape your ideals and opions for years to come I strongly reccomend this series.

I found the interesting part about Donaldson's books is that he creates a hero that one can relate to. He is not portrayed as a superficial savior, but as a man who has endured more than his share of hardships. I was completely taken by his first series, and throughly enjoyed his compelling imagery in creating the Land. When I read the second series, I was still unable to get my mind off of the stories, but I found myself feeling like there was something fundamentally wrong with the books. After the wonderful picture Donaldson had painted in my mind with the first series, I noticed a slight difference in his style of writing in the second series. It was as if he took his creation, the Land, and painted a haze over it, obscuring the beauty. It was extremely insightful considering that he was attempting to portray a sense of "wrongness" with the Land. I have also read his first book in the Last Chronicles, and my only regret is that I have to wait until 2007 for the next chapter!

I first read this series about 15 years ago, and was immediately drawn into the wonders and people of the Land. The storyline is well thought out, and the author has paid good attention to the details of the ravaging disease, also looking closely into the human element. The characters in the Land are strange and thought-provoking and completely believable. The story itself moves on at a fast pace and leaves you unable to put the book down. Indeed, I couldn't wait to finish one book as I was eager to go on to the next. Reading the first trilogy is like visiting an old friend... you want to get back into it so you can see whats happening. I've read the series many many times, and each time I've picked up on something I had previously missed. The detail is breathtaking and really does transport you to the Land, from the initial encounter at Kevin's Watch to the Lord's Chamber in Revelstone.

I did however find the second chronicles a bit harder to get into, probably because so much in the Land had changed, it was no longer like the old friend of the first chronicles. But I persevered with it, and I'm glad I did. I found the second chronicles to be equally compelling as the first, but with a darker undertone, as Foul and the Ravers slowly destroy the Land. But there is an upbeat ending, which does give a satisfying sense of closure to the 6 books. But, me being me, I can't help but wish there were more.

Maybe "The Third Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the protector"???????

Overall a wonderful series of books, reminiscent of the LOTR books, only MUCH better.

Do not miss out on these!