He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever because he dared not believe in the strange alternate world in which he suddenly found himself. Ye...
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Nov 06, 2011
Stephen
rated it: 
*Soul-saddened SIGH*.....Damn, damn, DAMN...life can really be full of suck.
This book really torched my hopes and dreams. NOT because it was nightmarishly horrible (which it wasn’t) but because I wanted it to be so brimming with steaming chunks of mouth-watering awesome that I could write a stinging, snark-filled “anti-anti-Thomas Covenant” review...my rant against the ranters.
I suspected I had a excellent chance of really liking this story because most of the cri More...
This book really torched my hopes and dreams. NOT because it was nightmarishly horrible (which it wasn’t) but because I wanted it to be so brimming with steaming chunks of mouth-watering awesome that I could write a stinging, snark-filled “anti-anti-Thomas Covenant” review...my rant against the ranters.
I suspected I had a excellent chance of really liking this story because most of the cri More...
25 comments
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(42 people liked it)
Dec 04, 2010
notgettingenough
rated it: 
What I learned from this book.
Don't agree to read the book Robert tells you is the best book in the whole world ever just because he invited you over to watch the best film in the whole world ever (Close Encounters) and you slept through all but the first ten minutes.
You know you are going to hate this book before you've even opened it. You know you can't read it out of guilt. Robert's fifty. He can live with you sleeping through his favourite film.
But you ta More...
Don't agree to read the book Robert tells you is the best book in the whole world ever just because he invited you over to watch the best film in the whole world ever (Close Encounters) and you slept through all but the first ten minutes.
You know you are going to hate this book before you've even opened it. You know you can't read it out of guilt. Robert's fifty. He can live with you sleeping through his favourite film.
But you ta More...
33 comments
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(21 people liked it)
Feb 17, 2011
Brad
rated it: 
Two years after my run in with the fallen nun and the c-word, I had a near run in with our new vice-principal (not the man, thankfully, who'd given me the strap), Mr. G---.
Our school was trying to teach us study skills before we reached high school, so we wouldn't waste our spare periods playing video games or flirting with girls or role playing or whatever else kids did to waste time in the eighties. They gave us a course called "Study Hall" and put our VP in charge.
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Our school was trying to teach us study skills before we reached high school, so we wouldn't waste our spare periods playing video games or flirting with girls or role playing or whatever else kids did to waste time in the eighties. They gave us a course called "Study Hall" and put our VP in charge.
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9 comments
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(16 people liked it)
Dec 27, 2010
Gertie
rated it:
Wow. I really didn't like this book.
I think it was in large part due to the fact that I found the main character so utterly unlikable. Heck, he's even despicable.
Some people can read and enjoy a book despite not being able to empathize with the characters; I'm not one of those people. I actually like to care about my fictional characters.
It's pretty hard to give a flying fickle about some cranky jerk who rapes a woman in the first book. I didn't bother readin More...
I think it was in large part due to the fact that I found the main character so utterly unlikable. Heck, he's even despicable.
Some people can read and enjoy a book despite not being able to empathize with the characters; I'm not one of those people. I actually like to care about my fictional characters.
It's pretty hard to give a flying fickle about some cranky jerk who rapes a woman in the first book. I didn't bother readin More...
14 comments
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(8 people liked it)
Dec 16, 2009
Chazzbot
rated it:
It's not so much the story--in itself, this is a well-crafted fantasy world, complete with noble horse-riding peoples, stern giants, and delicate elven-folk on a quest of profound importance against an enemy of world-shattering magnitude--as much as Donaldson's overwrought prose that makes this series something of a drag to read. Donaldson wants his tale to carry all the mythic import of Tolkien, but he doesn't quite have the poetic flair that makes Tolkien's characters live and breathe for us.
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(12 people liked it)
Jul 21, 2007
Rob
rated it:
Another series I did in one long weekend, this was probably one of the most influential series I read during high school. For some reason I absolutely hated the main character Thomas Conevenant (probably because he was an ass) and my one driving passion was to keep reading until he was killed off. Until of course the last book in the second series where I got over it and decided he should live and then he was killed off.
As an interesting aside, this series made it remarkably less li More...
As an interesting aside, this series made it remarkably less li More...
5 comments
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(8 people liked it)
Sep 20, 2007
Michael
rated it: 
The Thomas Covenant books have always held a special place in my heart. I freely admit that the series is not for everyone; the singular nature of the protagonist turns a lot of readers away before the first book (this one) is halfway finished.
Compared to other heroic fantasy, I find the Covenant books to be somehow more believable, and to have more emotional impact. The theme of redemption, present throughout the series, resonated with me when I first read the books twenty years ago More...
Compared to other heroic fantasy, I find the Covenant books to be somehow more believable, and to have more emotional impact. The theme of redemption, present throughout the series, resonated with me when I first read the books twenty years ago More...
Dec 17, 2009
Holly
rated it:
So many people love this series. Not sure why. The hero is a leperous (no, not lecherous) rapist and incredibly whiny. The bad guy is named Lord Foul, ferchissakes. I hated everything about the first few chapters of this book. Once the main character forced himself on a girl, and then the author tried to make it a sympathetic moment (for the perpetrator), I hurled it at the wall in disgust and never finished reading it.
Right around the same level of arrogant sexist manhood as Piers More...
Right around the same level of arrogant sexist manhood as Piers More...
Dec 16, 2009
Alex
rated it:
I picked this up because I was told that it was quite good. I was disappointed to learn that it is exactly the opposite of that. If you can get past the ridiculously generic fantasy place and character names, you're left with a flat, poorly-written story and an unbelievable character that the author has desperately try to pad out with some dark attributes that just don't quite fit.
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(5 people liked it)
Feb 19, 2011
Mike (the Paladin)
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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5 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Jun 09, 2008
Bob
rated it:
When you dream, are you responsible for your actions?
You might as well admit it: you'd probably do it, too. When Thomas Covenant -- a writer who contracts leprosy and is abandoned by his wife, his friends, and society -- falls into a comatose state, he arrives at a land where his nerves are regenerated, his impotency reversed, his status legendary as White Gold Wielder. He's the Unbeliever for a simple reason: he thinks this is all delusion, all a dream. So, yes, he rapes the youn More...
You might as well admit it: you'd probably do it, too. When Thomas Covenant -- a writer who contracts leprosy and is abandoned by his wife, his friends, and society -- falls into a comatose state, he arrives at a land where his nerves are regenerated, his impotency reversed, his status legendary as White Gold Wielder. He's the Unbeliever for a simple reason: he thinks this is all delusion, all a dream. So, yes, he rapes the youn More...
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(7 people liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
Dan
rated it:
The first thing you have to know about this series, and this is the real pivotal point in whether you want to read them or not, is that Thomas Coveenant is NOT A HERO. Like, in any sense. There are a couple really fantastic heroes in this book, but all of the chapters in the 1st book, and the majority thereafter all center around covenant, the unbeliever.
The story of the book is honestly a little trite. An evil lord threatening a beautiful land. Covenenant has an important ring.
More...
The story of the book is honestly a little trite. An evil lord threatening a beautiful land. Covenenant has an important ring.
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(2 people liked it)
Aug 19, 2008
Félix
rated it:
Donaldson is not an easy read. I recall when I first got into this Covenant series I had to have a dictionary next to me all the time. That guys knows a lot of words that I had never seen before!
The stories are interesting, though, the foundation being that Thomas Covenant is a hopeless leper in our present world who from time to time takes a journey into another, very strange world where he is someone very special, who wears a highly prized gold ring (his wedding ring from a faile More...
The stories are interesting, though, the foundation being that Thomas Covenant is a hopeless leper in our present world who from time to time takes a journey into another, very strange world where he is someone very special, who wears a highly prized gold ring (his wedding ring from a faile More...
4 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Nov 24, 2007
Michael
rated it:
At first I wasn't sure that I liked this novel. I had a hard time with the idea that Thomas Covenant is the ultimate anti-hero, with none of the redeeming qualities of an average anti-hero. He is a sniveling, irritating, coward who has to be prodded every step of the way. The only thing that makes him likable is that he is acting in a very human way in a very inhuman circumstance. I had to let go of wanting Covenant to shape and act like a hero. I am looking forward to the rest of the serie
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(2 people liked it)
Oct 27, 2007
Thomas
rated it:
Warning: Readers should not expect the main character to show up, draw a magic scimitar or lightsaber, and slice through the enemy. In this series, the bad guys are just part of Thomas Covenant's problem. He is also fighting enemies within himself. Be prepared to feel troubled over his plight and occasionally frustrated by his unwillingness to accept his situation and to fight. There's still plenty of excitement and all the elements of well crafted fantasy. But there's so much more.
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(3 people liked it)
Nov 18, 2008
Misha
rated it:
I've often lamented that five-star rating systems, such as the one used by GoodReads, don't allow for ratings lower than one star. Were it possible, I'd give this book negative stars; I think it actually sucks the quality away from books shelved near it, and generally makes the world a less joyful, less intelligent place to be.
You might assume from the previous statements that I dislike this book. Given that "dislike" is a pretty mild, milquetoast term on the sliding scal More...
You might assume from the previous statements that I dislike this book. Given that "dislike" is a pretty mild, milquetoast term on the sliding scal More...
Apr 18, 2009
Manny
rated it:
A Swedish friend told me I just had to read this series - it was like Tolkien but better. I borrowed the first three, and dutifully read them, waiting for the point to dawn. It never did. Tolkien, to me, is all about the language and the names, and Donaldson's names ranged between uninspired and downright moronic. ("Berek Halfhand". Bleah.) It just grated.
To add insult to injury, I managed to drop one volume into the bath while reading it, so I had to buy a new copy to retu More...
To add insult to injury, I managed to drop one volume into the bath while reading it, so I had to buy a new copy to retu More...
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(5 people liked it)
Apr 11, 2010
Scott
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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(1 person liked it)
Dec 28, 2009
The blank stars reflect the fact that not only did i hate this book but I didn't even finish it and I won't because I just have too many other books that I am certain are better. I lasted about a hundred twenty pages before I could take no more of the cantankerous anti-hero of Thomas Covenant. I pitied him for his unfortunate state of health but it wasn't enough to bear the brunt of his corrosive attitude that left me feeling as sick as he was and since he was a fictional character I felt I di
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Jan 03, 2008
Adam
rated it:
This book was much better than I thought it would be. (I mean what would you think anything called Lord Foul's bane? I imagine horrible period fantasy with a lot of dark halls and flagons of mead or something like a Renassance Faire gone wild--but it's not). Another of the Alternate Reality sorts of books, where a leprous character in the real world is a healthy warrior in the other--however unlike other books of this type, there is no clarification of whether Thomas Covenant is really just h
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(1 person liked it)
Jun 15, 2008
Bax
rated it:
Bobo was whining about my spendthrift ways with 5 star rating, so I figured I'd better mix in a few fish carcasses amongst the fillet mignon.
Pretentious, whiny tripe.
If I could change one decision in my life it would be picking up this whole series at one go. At the time I felt compelled to finish anything I started (a habit I have since successfully exorcised), so I soldiered on to the bitter end of the first trilogy, cheering loudly every time a diseased bit of the protagoni More...
Pretentious, whiny tripe.
If I could change one decision in my life it would be picking up this whole series at one go. At the time I felt compelled to finish anything I started (a habit I have since successfully exorcised), so I soldiered on to the bitter end of the first trilogy, cheering loudly every time a diseased bit of the protagoni More...
Jan 24, 2009
Sueij
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 08, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
I thought this was a fantastic book. I've noticed that lots of people complain about the book as a result of the main character, but I think, beyond being the protagonist, he’s an important stylistic element. He bridges the gap between our world and the fantasy world, making it more believable in some ways, and, more importantly, provides a stark contrast to the nobility and fecundity of the Land and its inhabitants in a way that simply telling the story could never have done. Without Thomas Cov
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(1 person liked it)
Mar 23, 2011
Kevin
rated it:
From an interesting first half, which apart from the needless rape scene sounded quite interesting, the second half of the novel fell down into pretty much boring fantasy which required a lot of imagination to overcome and it was so very very clichéd that I found hard to like. Been there, done that sort of thing. As has been stated in most of these reviews, the character of Thomas Covenant is incredibly unlikeable, you just feel like you want to kick him at times, but I think this is exactly wha
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 17, 2011
Brad
rated it:
I read Lord Foul’s Bane once in grade seven (the same year I first read Macbeth and Lady Chatterly’s Lover, and The Lord of the Rings for a second time). It was a good year for me and reading. And an important year for who I would become. But I didn’t know until now how important Lord Foul’s Bane was to all of that.
This story has stuck with me in the most amazing ways. After nearly three decades, I recalled an amazing amount of detail in the pages I reread. I remembered minute detail More...
This story has stuck with me in the most amazing ways. After nearly three decades, I recalled an amazing amount of detail in the pages I reread. I remembered minute detail More...
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(11 people liked it)
Jan 31, 2011
Suzanne
rated it:
Regarding The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever:
I read Donaldson not long after reading Tolkien and CS Lewis some 30+ years ago. I absolutely loved it! I loved the concept of someone who is all but a pariah in our world being a "hero" in another, and that hero is very, very flawed. In fact, he's not likeable, but that is part of the allure of the story.
Yes, there's a ring. Yes, there's a quest. But this "coming of age" story is more abo More...
I read Donaldson not long after reading Tolkien and CS Lewis some 30+ years ago. I absolutely loved it! I loved the concept of someone who is all but a pariah in our world being a "hero" in another, and that hero is very, very flawed. In fact, he's not likeable, but that is part of the allure of the story.
Yes, there's a ring. Yes, there's a quest. But this "coming of age" story is more abo More...
Oct 16, 2010
Ethan
rated it:
This book hasn’t aged well. Perhaps back in 1978 when it was published, it was amazing and interesting because there was nothing to compare it to. Unfortunately, the world has moved on and left this poor guy in the back of the used bookstore, where he sits and twiddles his dusty laurels and hopes for some sucker to read him. That sucker was me.
Minor spoilers here, so turn away if you must, but honestly I don’t think it will alter the reading experience a whole lot…so here goes.
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Minor spoilers here, so turn away if you must, but honestly I don’t think it will alter the reading experience a whole lot…so here goes.
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May 22, 2010
Surreysmum
rated it:
[These notes were made in 1984:]. Good. Much better than it should have been, damnit, given the over-sell job. This chap knows what he's doing with his metaphors and symbols (but can he stretch the 'leper' business for nine volumes?) and still has a fertile imagination for the details of his world. (Perhaps not so much a surprise after all that I'm reading these things at the same time as the Faerie Queene - moral fables in fantasy lands breed a hunger for each other). Although 3rd-person, t
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Feb 20, 2010
Marcus
rated it:
I feel pity for Covenant. In many instances when Donaldson describes Covenant's despair I found myself close to tears, especially when he describes the story of the leper to Foamfollower. The facts are that there are outcasts like Covenant in our world today; people that are rejected because of their differences. It causes me to question if anyone deserves to be treated like that. It causes me to think about the pain that those who are too different to be a part of society go through in their fo
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Jan 18, 2010
Bob
rated it:
Taken together, the first three thomas covenant books were one of the best reading experiences of my life. Sure Donaldson uses many precedents standard to the fantasy genre. There's the giants, the human type race, the quest for the sacred object, but frankly i don't know any fantasy books that are worth while that don't draw on some precedents. Don't think that these books are just another bland fun to read fantasy genre book though. They can stand for themselves.
Thomas covenant, th More...
Thomas covenant, th More...
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