Thomas Covenant ... what do you think? (SPOILERS!)

[Turamber]

A friend has loaned me her copy of the abridged Thomas Covenant Chronicles by Stephen Donaldson. Enjoyed the first few pages set in the real world, thought the writer made a good job of describing the condition of a leper. But...

When the action moved into the fantasy world the writing, to me at least, seem to become more than a little patchy. Donaldson's literary device of not always using quotes makes it hard to tell what's an internalised thought and what has been spoken out loud.

Then you have the rape scene. Not that rape shouldn't be contained in a novel rather that it seems extremely out of character with all that we have learned about the 'hero' so far.

I had a flick through the book and found a section where somebody in the fantasy world, expressing outrage at something Covenant has done, says "Jesus!". Err, why would somebody in a fantasy world use the name of Christ as an expletive? A little bizarre.

All in all I'm not sure if the book is worth reading. What are the views of those who actually read it all the way through ... worth sticking with? Or just dodgy fantasy writing?

 

[Gengi]

Didn't realise there was an Abridged version of the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.
I have read the series, both series and his other works Mordant's Needs ? and A Man Rides Through (Gap in a mirror, I am at work and cannot go look).

I enjoyed them both, but if your a moralistic, prejudging, hair splitting, kind of reader, then you may not. The Rape is actually a very important part of the story, and while rape is never right, I think the circumstances, i.e. wakes up not in hospital, with an ability to have an erection which he had lost due to the leprosy, and finds a young woman ready to attend to his needs, takes a liberty, all the while thinking its a dream made vivid by the drugs he expects the doctors who are looking after him in the hospital, where he has been taken after being run over, which is where,If I remember correctly is where he loses conciousness, are pumping him full of, are a bit bizarre.
Almost as bizarre as the previous sentence, which may make sense if you read it 22 times

The books, the long versions at least, are well worth the read, to take a flick through them and find fault with a character using a blasphemy as an expletive and a rape scene, which while offensive is an important aspect of the character Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (ur Lord, is another of his titles) becomes.

They are not easy, and they are not high fantasy, the good guys do some bad shit, the bad guys on the other hand do worse, you won't end up cheering for Lord Foul the Despiser, but you won't be planning a ticker tape parade for Tommy boy either.

Complex books,

Then you have the rape scene. Not that rape shouldn't be contained in a novel rather that it seems extremely out of character with all that we have learned about the 'hero' so far.

Here I will try and spell it out, he is an man made impotent by the disease Leprosy, which is also killing him, he has driven the people he loves away from him because of his bitterness, including his wife, last thing he remembers is being hit by a car/van/truck and he wakes up on a hillside/mountainside with a stonker of an erection some bird comes along and he nails her. At this point he thinks he is in a dream I know, because of the sticky mess that I have in dreams shagged some women, I am moderately sure that not all of those would have let me, most of them would not have let me within 100 miles of them if they existed because they were beautiful dream girls.

Get the un-abridged versions, discard any prejudices you may have formed, then come back and say if you thought it was crap or worth the read.

With the first set of three books your ok you only need to read the first one. 3 separate encounters with the alternate world. The second set are a single trip to the alternate world.

Bit of a rant there sorry

 

[Gat_Decor]

I enjoyed all 8 (iirc) books too, though i must admit i read them about 20 years ago, so i cant really give you an honest opinion but they must have been ok seeing as i read them all

 

[Gengi]

I enjoyed all 8 (iirc) books too, though i must admit i read them about 20 years ago, so i cant really give you an honest opinion but they must have been ok seeing as i read them all

thats about when read them the first time, when I was about 16 or 17.

There was a very small book as well, the 6 chronicles, the 2 Mirror of her Dreams books and one 'mini' book, possibly even a booklet set in the Covenant world

I should maybe get out more

Later

 

[Chilly]

I was constantly frustrated reading those books. The actual way they were worded wasnt very good imo and I was constantly pissed off at old ring wielder's double standards and why he didnt just get on with owning everyone like he does anyway instead of going thru so much bullshit. Its almost as if the guilt and such were put in so he could write 8 books instead of 1 or 2. Having said all that I did enjoy them on the most part, just not nearly as much as other stuff. Didnt Donaldson write the books about the mirrors?

 

[Vae]

I read the two trilogies about 7 years and can't recall specifics. They were good but VERY VERY long. I normally breeze through books but found these hard-going to get through despite them being good. I think it has to be something to do with his writing style. I've got his new book on the shelf here (The Runes of the Earth - part one of the last chronicles- presumably a trilogy) still waiting to be read so can't comment onthat yet.