Lord Foul's Bane
Ratings76
Average rating3.2
15
Ratings76
Average rating3.2
He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in this strange alternate world on which he suddenly found himself.
Yet the Land tempted him. He had been sick; now he seemed better than ever before. Through no fault of his own, he had been outcast, unclean, a pariah. Now he was regarded as a reincarnation of the Land's greatest hero--Berek Halfhand--armed with the mystic power of White Gold. That power alone could protect the Lords of the Land from the ancient evil of the Despiser, Lord Foul. Except that Covenant had no idea how to use that power. . . .
Series
3 primary books4 released booksThe Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever is a 4-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1977 with contributions by Stephen R. Donaldson.
Series
10 primary books11 released booksThomas Covenant is a 11-book series with 10 primary works first released in 1977 with contributions by Stephen R. Donaldson.
Reviews with the most likes.
Picked this up again after having read it as a teen. Unfortunately it did not hold up. The story and world building is fine, but the constant internal dialogue the protagonist has going round and round and round makes the read a slog at best.
I really liked this book: the beginning is intense, the fantasy material is as original as its reputation would lead you to believe. The thing keeping me from really loving this book is that most of it is travel, and the scenes bleed into each other without much clear setup. That's just a stylistic thing that you can expect from a lot of seventies fantasy. If you would like to see what a great writer Donaldson is without this aspect, I highly recommend The Mirror of Her Dreams, which has a more modern feel. I am interested in reading more Covenant books, and despite the trudging, I do recommend reading this one.
Rating is 3.5
Overall:
The world Donaldson has created holds lots of promise. Thomas Covenant is a tortured and at times very frustrating character to read, but when he makes progress it feels very touching and real. The beginning of the book really grounds TC's character, it helps to explain why he is the way he is, this was critical to appreciating the character growth. Lord Fouls Bane is controversial to many, but for what it is I think the fantasy genre is much better with it, and all that has sprung from it, than without it.
Minor cons:
The narrative is blatantly structured like The Lord of the Rings, so make sure you read it after a long rest from Tolkien and classic high fantasy narratives. Donaldson's prose is at times rough, and the long passages without dialogue can test ones patience. In the end I still enjoyed this story and the character arc of Thomas Covenant. I'm hoping the writing improves.
Possible the best book about how it feels like to be a leper. The book is very well written, but if the author spent so much time in this introduction about a man with leprosy, I wonder how many pages he dedicated to other uninteresting facts.
