Shryke Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 The newest book is on my reading list. Both Gap and Chronicles are good reads and deserve attention. I still maintain that Lord Foul is easily one of the most easily understood "Dark Lords" in fantasy. Donaldson really does a good job of portraying why Lord Foul wants to destroy everything. ??? He wants to destroy everything cause he's pure evil. It's really the simplest thing ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Aranatiello's post? I'm not seeing it at all, and I just checked I think the point stands, though -- there's not much goodwill or excitement to this series around these parts. I don't usually post to the SRD threads. I'm a huge fan of the series, and everything that man as done. I started reading LFB when i was about 13, and have read everything he's ever published. The man, and his books, are very personal to me. They remind me of the fascination and wonder i felt when i first started reading. They reassure me that the genre I fell in love with, one filled with fucking shitty ass books, tie ins, and blatant rip offs, can still surprise me, and is actually worthy of my ardor. There is goodwill, and there is excitement, maybe those of us that experience those emotions just don't feel the fucking need to post about them. If you need goodwill and excitement, go read the lynch thread. Leave the lovers of misery, despise, and unbelief to their joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 That's because the series is old and everyone in these forums seems to be a fucking 13 year old girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 edit: never mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 edit: never mind. Please.. vent. it's kinda the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 That wasn't a snap at people who don't like SRD. That was a snap at people who have never heard of it and think GRRM invented dragons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 For a variety of reasons, I believe that the raw number of readers who are willing to read Lord Foul's Bane for the first time in 2013 would be significantly lower than it was in 1983. In 1983 the number of competing entertainments to reading LFB was far, far lower than it is today. And many of those competing entertainments, including other books, electronic distractions, and other forms of new media possess easy, early pay-offs. ASOIAF for example has a cool beheading, snarky dialogue, or hot sex every chapter. LFB has a long series of frustrating, self-loathing failures to act by the protagonist, a land that the reader isn't really sure even exists in the fictional tale at hand, and a pervading sense of unrelieved guilt. Now I have enjoyed reading the Thomas Covenant books, but I have a hard time picturing my own child picking it up off my shelves and having both the uninterrupted stretches of free time to read it or the lack of distractions that existed for me in 1983. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Please.. vent. it's kinda the point. The book just came in at the library, so I'll be reading/skimming it by tonight. I'm sure there will be a reaction or two (hopefully some positives, as well) in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 I can't say I'd take seriously the opinion of anyone who "skims" a book. I'm on chapter 6 now... Some epic stuff already in chapter 4. That was terrific and brutal. And Covenant is impressing more than he has ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 I can't say I'd take seriously the opinion of anyone who "skims" a book. I'm on chapter 6 now... Some epic stuff already in chapter 4. That was terrific and brutal. And Covenant is impressing more than he has ever. *shrug* If Donaldson is repeating the same woe-is-me crap that bloated each of the previous 3 books by 50% (and frankly had already reached the nadir of in the Second Chronicles) and I'm spending my time reading it (for completion sake if nothing else) rather than reading other, higher quality books -- I'm going to skim if necessary. Particularly given that the prose is nothing remarkable and the story so far has been both redundant/dull and overcooked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Kuenjato,oh, my bad. eyes must be slipping or something. Just reserved TLD from the local library. Despite my reservations, I do feel compelled to see how it all turns out.I'm reading TLD right now. Also from the library. Much better that AATE so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arataniello Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 TLD general review with spoilers Sad to say, rather underwhelming. Two of the Big Bads get finished off in a rather anti-climactic way (Kastenessen and SWMNBB). Roger Covenant's demise is a throwaway line in the climax. There is no onscreen confrontation between the major characters and the Worm. The Lurker becomes a useful plot device for the good guys. Additional Giants conveniently show up to assist the central characters in a running battle to get to Kiril Threndor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Kuenjato,I'm reading TLD right now. Also from the library. Much better that AATE so far. I'm around page 120. It is better than AATE, but ye gods the constant exposition! It feels as if what's occurred so far could have easily been contained in half the amount of pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston de Foix Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 It's astonishing the last Chronicles are as bad as they are. Lord Mhoram's Victory is one of the finest passages of heroic prose in fantasy I've come across and The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant were my gateway into fantasy as a child- reading the final Chronicles is like watching my pet get set on fire. Uncomfortable though it is to ask, - how the hell did Donaldson publish this crap? Didn't he have friends, editors, alpha or beta readers who served as a check? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigei Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 TLC was just too boring which surprised me a lot because I have never been bored by Donaldson before and I have read Mordant's Need, The Gap series and all of the TC books. Nonetheless, I will probably read it to the end just so I know what happens. IIRC, in interviews before TLC was published, Donaldson said that: that it would be series in which Covenant becomes the new Lord Foul which neatly ties in with Covenant's previous realization that he and Foul are one. I was just expecting it to be more epic than it turned out to be. ~ Have only read up to The Runes of the Earth and some of Fatal Revenant before I got too bored to continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 TLC was just too boring which surprised me a lot because I have never been bored by Donaldson before and I have read Mordant's Need, The Gap series and all of the TC books. Nonetheless, I will probably read it to the end just so I know what happens. IIRC, in interviews before TLC was published, Donaldson said that: that it would be series in which Covenant becomes the new Lord Foul which neatly ties in with Covenant's previous realization that he and Foul are one. I was just expecting it to be more epic than it turned out to be. ~ Have only read up to The Runes of the Earth and some of Fatal Revenant before I got too bored to continue. Yeah, that spoiler is def. a red herring, "becoming" certainly open to interpretation. 2 out of 5 stars. There were some great scenes, buried in mounds of really repetitive exposition, and the ending was a mix of interesting to ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonArryn Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I've read the first series and liked it a lot. Sure, I know some people have criticized the world building and that is probably justified. But there are things that work great considering fantasy creativity too, like the ranyhyn, the giants and the bllod guard. Damn it, the blood guard is just great. Anyway, I'm pretty tempted to read the second series, but don't have very much interest towards the last chronicles. Anyone else feel like the last chronicles seem like filler just to get a definitive finish to the story? From what I've read from synopsises and reviews it seems like it could have stopped after the second chronicles and still worked out pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 World building? Really? You listed three great examples of outstanding world building, and not a single bad one. Not sure where the hell you got that from. Hell, the Andelaine hills are one of the greatest places ever put to paper. Read the second series. They are soul crushing, yet completely rewarding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I should re read these. Read the first trilogy in oh..6th grade, and needless to say I did not, uh, really understand them so well. Also got ask my parents what rape was, that was fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of Godsgrace Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Anyway, I'm pretty tempted to read the second series, but don't have very much interest towards the last chronicles. Anyone else feel like the last chronicles seem like filler just to get a definitive finish to the story? From what I've read from synopsises and reviews it seems like it could have stopped after the second chronicles and still worked out pretty well. I agree - second series good, third series not so much, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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