The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever started way back in 1977. As seems to be the case with much modern fantasy, the series is published in sets of threes, the first set being The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, and the second set being The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. Catchy titles, eh? The last installment is projected to be four books, starting with The Runes of the Earth and continuing with the latest installment, Fatal Revenant.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is regarded by some as a modern fantasy classic. The hero is an author from the “real” world who finds himself translated to an alternate world, the “Land.” The second trilogy demonstrates that that there is a larger world beyond the Land, but for the most part the action in the books is set in the Land proper.
Covenant has two basic problems. He is never really sure if the Land is real and he has really been relocated to this new reality, or it the Land is a product of his increasing insanity, brought on by loneliness and isolation.
This loneliness and isolation is caused by the second of Covenant’s problems: he suffers from Hansen’s disease, better known as leprosy. Much of the first trilogy is devoted to how the local population in the “real” world reacts to having a leper in their midst. Covenant is first shunned by the people of his town, a sort of collective pretending that he no longer exists. As he refuses to accept this situation, and makes ever more desperate attempts for some kind of human contact, the shunning turns to persecution.
The place where Covenant finds himself now is a place infused with something called Earthpower, essentially the living vitality of Nature made manifest. Covenant is healed of his leprosy, but the consequences for the people of the Land who have aided him in his dislocation are catastrophic in every way.
Also, the Land is beset by its ancient foe, a being who calls himself Lord Foul the Despiser. In many ways Lord Foul is the embodiment of the inner darkness of humanity. Foul’s intent is pretty simple-he intends the complete and utter ruin of the Land and indeed of the Earth itself.
Space does not allow for fuller back-story, but the essence of the rest of the series is Covenant’s ongoing battle to save the Land from the machinations of Lord Foul, and the utter and extravagant lengths he will go to achieve this. Eventually this struggle comes to include a woman from the real world, Linden Avery, a physician with her own woes of spirit and mind who becomes involved in looking after Covenant, and who eventually finds herself whisked off to the Land with him. This is the starting point for the second trilogy, and it ends with Covenant defeating Lord Foul again, but this time at the cost of his life. Along the way we get further development of the Land and this time this alternate Earth as it exists outside the Land.
The latest round of books deals with yet another threat to the Land from Lord Foul, but this time around Linden is the Land’s champion. Foul draws her to the Land by kidnapping her adopted son Jeremiah. Linden goes on to have her own series of adventures in the Land. I assume (and I hope) that the conclusion of the Final Chronicles of Thomas Covenant will be the end, one way or another. 2 books down, 2 books to go.
So why read the latest book? This is not the entry point to the series. After reading Fatal Revenant and having a few days to digest it, I think it would be almost impossible to access the series from this book. For long time readers of the series though, it is invaluable.
Many, many things dating back to the first book in the series, Lord Foul’s Bane, are clarified and explained, and Donaldson works very hard at connecting the many, many threads that inevitably develop in a story and mythology so vast.
Donaldson is really one the writers in whom you can see a change and improvement in his writing and storytelling skills as you trace his career. I found the tension in Fatal Revenant almost unbearable at times. Some of that, of course, comes from being a long time reader of the series and waiting for the next little scrap of information. But as I think about it seems there is a discernable improvement in Donaldson’s craftwork. Your mileage may vary.
Fatal Revenant, and the rest of the series for that matter, is not an easy read. Many of the characters, including the chief protagonists, are very troubled people in very, very serious ways. But that is one of the challenges of reading the series-it presents an almost endless series of moral and ethical issues for the reader to ponder. I like that in Covenant and Linden’s stories, but it is definitely not for everyone.
Another issue is Donaldson’s use of Big, Important Words When Lesser Words Would Suffice. This is one area of his writing that has not improved. I have mixed feelings about a book I need a dictionary at hand to read. Still, reading The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant will enhance your vocabulary. You will have to decide if that is a good reason for reading one of the more massive fantasy series around today.
Fatal Revenant is a must read for fans of the series, but it is not the place to try to gain entrance to the series. If you are in need of a new fantasy epic and have not read this series, and are interested in something really different, go find Lord Foul’s Bane at Edwin McKay’s, work through it, and then decide if you are hooked. If you are, then you will find some rare fantasy treasures in the stories of the Land, its enemies, and its protectors.
