- Paperback: 512 pages
- Publisher: Voyager; (Reissue) edition (18 Nov 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006161405
- ISBN-13: 978-0006161400
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11.4 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 521,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
In this story Thomas Covenant returns unwillingly to the Land ravaged by 4000 years of Lord Foul's pestilence. Under the evil Sunbane, the people of the Land submit to cruel sacrifices, the rulers of Revelstone are corrupt and the countryside is laid waste.
From the Back Cover
VOLUME ONE OF THE SECOND CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT.
The unforgettable character of Thomas Covenant is back in Stephen Donaldson’s second classic trilogy – a magnificent fantasy saga that has become a phenomenal worldwide bestseller.
Thomas Covenant returns unwillingly to a Land ravaged by four thousand years of Lord Foul’s pestilence. Under the evil Sunbane, the people of the Land submit to cruel sacrifices; the rulers of Revelstone are corrupt, the fields and forests laid waste; the healing Earth-power impotent. Accompanied by a woman from his own world, Covenant begins a new quest to save the Land from the forces that have all but destroyed it.
“The most original fantasy since 'The Lord of the Rings' … outstanding. If there is any justice in the literary world, Donaldson will earn the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with Tolkien.”
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The arrogance of the words filled him with repudiation. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The arrogance of the words filled him with repudiation. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Stephen Donaldson was brought impressive power to the page in his first chrinicles of Thomas Covenant. He surpasses himself with the second chronicles, maturing the story and characters allowing the reader to feel as infected as the land he describes. In the second Chronicles Thomas Covenant returns to the land in a dramatic blaze of fire summoned by his old enemy Lord Foul. He finds the land has changed int he time he has been away. The beutiful and healing land Donaldson created in the first set of books has been replaced with a warped and diseased place ruled by the Sun Bane nad controlled by the Clave. Both these are the work of Lord Foul who has corrupted everything that made the land a place to love and cherish. If you have ever wanted to know what it would be like if the bad guy won here is your chance to find out. This is the first of three books in the second chrinicles all of which are superbly written and gripping pieces of literature. A MUST READ!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The original chronicles of Thomas Covenant was overall a fantastic piece of work; but was seriously flawed by a very poor and slow beginning (by beginning I mean the first 200+ pages).
The second chronicles suffer from no such flaw.
This first book takes everything Covenant loved about the land and removes it or; worse, corrupts it. As he himself says; the only way to hurt a man who has lost everything is to give him back something broken. Throughout the novel he and his companions suffer constantly, and through this Covenant becomes a more interesting and sympathetic character; a counterpoint to the ludicrous amounts of sickening evil about. The only criticism I have of the novel is the vaguely repeating format of Covenant and pals get into trouble;and they are saved at the last minute; which is a standard and perfectly acceptable way to produce tension, but after a while you do want for something else.
This is a minor gripe though. Go buy this book now. Tell 'em Ric sent you.
The second chronicles suffer from no such flaw.
This first book takes everything Covenant loved about the land and removes it or; worse, corrupts it. As he himself says; the only way to hurt a man who has lost everything is to give him back something broken. Throughout the novel he and his companions suffer constantly, and through this Covenant becomes a more interesting and sympathetic character; a counterpoint to the ludicrous amounts of sickening evil about. The only criticism I have of the novel is the vaguely repeating format of Covenant and pals get into trouble;and they are saved at the last minute; which is a standard and perfectly acceptable way to produce tension, but after a while you do want for something else.
This is a minor gripe though. Go buy this book now. Tell 'em Ric sent you.
Format:Paperback
I have read a fair bit of fantasy in my time (Eddings, Gemmell, Feist, Hobb, Martin, Jordan, Abercrombie, Erikson, Williamson...), and Thomas Covenant certainly stands out from the crowd.
The first chronicles were most enjoyable, showing Covenant, a loathsome brute for the most part, muddling along and somehow succeeding despite his best efforts.
This first instalment of the second chronicles continues with a story that hooked me in, but I was constantly jarred by some truly ludicrous uses of the English language. If you've read "Everything Is Illuminated" by Jonathon Safran Foer, you will understand what I'm getting at. It is as though Donaldson has written this with an eye on making it Literature rather than a story, and so feels compelled to drop in fancy words that do nothing to enhance the story itself.
My "favourite" example of this is when a valley has nystagmus after Covenant gets hit on the head. Nystagmus is a condition where the eyeball moves from side to side, causing blurriness. How the hell a valley can have an eyeball that moves side to side I do not know. Why not say his vision was blurred?
Such an original piece of story telling destroyed by delusions of fanciness. I shudder to think of what was removed by the book's editor...
The first chronicles were most enjoyable, showing Covenant, a loathsome brute for the most part, muddling along and somehow succeeding despite his best efforts.
This first instalment of the second chronicles continues with a story that hooked me in, but I was constantly jarred by some truly ludicrous uses of the English language. If you've read "Everything Is Illuminated" by Jonathon Safran Foer, you will understand what I'm getting at. It is as though Donaldson has written this with an eye on making it Literature rather than a story, and so feels compelled to drop in fancy words that do nothing to enhance the story itself.
My "favourite" example of this is when a valley has nystagmus after Covenant gets hit on the head. Nystagmus is a condition where the eyeball moves from side to side, causing blurriness. How the hell a valley can have an eyeball that moves side to side I do not know. Why not say his vision was blurred?
Such an original piece of story telling destroyed by delusions of fanciness. I shudder to think of what was removed by the book's editor...
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