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46th out of 943 books
—
658 voters
Lord Foul's Bane (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever #1)
He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever because he dared not believe in the strange alternate world in which he suddenly found himself. Yet he was tempted to believe, to fight for the Land, to be the reincarnation of its greatest hero.
Paperback, 496 pages
Published
June 12th 1987
by Del Rey / Ballantine
(first published 1977)
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*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 criticism of the series revolves...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 criticism of the series revolves...more
My reviews just don't want to be part of the Amazon empire.
You can find this one here now:
alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2...
chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-the-unbeliever-1-by-stephen-r-donaldson/
You can find this one here now:
alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2...
chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-the-unbeliever-1-by-stephen-r-donaldson/
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.
It was a nightmare.
And I w...more
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.
It was a nightmare.
And I w...more
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, and contin...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, and contin...more
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 reading more to find out if things improve...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 reading more to find out if things improve...more
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....more
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 likely that I...more
As an interesting aside, this series made it remarkably less likely that I...more
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 Anthony.
Right around the same level of arrogant sexist manhood as Piers Anthony.
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.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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 young woman -- it's...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 young woman -- it's...more
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.
But! Thomas, oh...more
The story of the book is honestly a little trite. An evil lord threatening a beautiful land. Covenenant has an important ring.
But! Thomas, oh...more
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 series.
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.
Nov 18, 2008
Colin
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
no one.
Recommended to Colin by:
someone who later changed his mind.
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 scale of affection, you woul...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 scale of affection, you woul...more
Jul 11, 2012
Sara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction-fantasy
First of the Thomas Covenant series. My husband remembers this was all the rage in 1976. I started reading this series much later. Everywhere I went with this book people told me they had read it and how good it was. I was doubtful at first but my roommate's boyfriend told me it got off to a slow start but not to give up. He said it was worth it to keep reading and boy, was he right! I think Stephen R. Donaldson became a better writer as he went through this series. I had read a couple of his la...more
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 return to him. I've not lo...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 return to him. I've not lo...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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 didn...more
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 havi...more
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 protagonist fell off and pra...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 protagonist fell off and pra...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I read this book when I was in 5th or 6th grade. I had just read lord of the rings, and I was searching through my dad's books for something else to read and I found this...
I remember thinking at the time that for as much as I liked the LOTR, the bad guys just weren't bad enough. The good guys were a little too good. For as much as I loved middle earth, I felt like the world Tolkien built was much grander and complex than the characters that inhabited it.
Lord Foul's Bane answered those issues...more
I remember thinking at the time that for as much as I liked the LOTR, the bad guys just weren't bad enough. The good guys were a little too good. For as much as I loved middle earth, I felt like the world Tolkien built was much grander and complex than the characters that inhabited it.
Lord Foul's Bane answered those issues...more
I came to this book with high expectations. A lot of people had recommended the series to me, and so I was looking forward to something special.
The good points:
Epic in scale, well written, an incredibly detailed back story, a really well designed ensemble of supporting characters. Tales of daring do, high adventure, might and magic... I can understand why some people think that Donaldson is better than Tolkein.
And I would agree with them except for...
The bad points;
In all honesty, there is only...more
The good points:
Epic in scale, well written, an incredibly detailed back story, a really well designed ensemble of supporting characters. Tales of daring do, high adventure, might and magic... I can understand why some people think that Donaldson is better than Tolkein.
And I would agree with them except for...
The bad points;
In all honesty, there is only...more
Read this book when I was freshman in college, the first in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, a trilogy by Stephen Donaldson. I was curious so I bought the book. And then the others in the series. Looks like LOTR, isn't it? But nah, the story's different. And the world...another Middleearth. I haven't read the other two in the series yeat but I already have them.
The tale of Thomas Covenant, a leper in our own world. Everytime he hits his head in anything hard, he faints and wakes...more
The tale of Thomas Covenant, a leper in our own world. Everytime he hits his head in anything hard, he faints and wakes...more
In my teens, I was an avid fantasy reader. It was my favorite genre. I'm surprised I missed the Thomas Covenant series because it would have come out during the height of my fascination with fantasy series. Perhaps I started it in the 70's and was turned off by Thomas Covenant. He's not a likeable main character. It's possible...
But I recently discovered this book and series in my local library's e-book loan program, and decided to check it out. I enjoyed it - (though at times it felt a bit too...more
But I recently discovered this book and series in my local library's e-book loan program, and decided to check it out. I enjoyed it - (though at times it felt a bit too...more
Read the original series many years ago......here's the deal. I was/am a Tolkien snob. I read the Hobbit and then the Rings books and was totally smitten. First true "fantasy" I had read. In truth, this spoiled me. Just about every other fantasy book I picked up was a cheap copy of Tolkien works and not worth spit.......a very good friend (thank you Mr. Newman) suggested I try the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I put him off for years, assuming it was more trash and a ripoff of JRRT. Wow, was I...more
A hate-able, anti-hero character... okay. Bitter after his family leaves him because he has leprosy, makes sense. Unfortunately, that's about all the sense I got out of this book. Hardly any of the descriptions paint a coherent picture in my head as I read. I feel like an archaeologist, sifting my way through layers of bs to find some treasure that makes sense.
On a sentence to sentence level, the story is painful to read because it's obvious the writer was just using uncommon words for the sake...more
On a sentence to sentence level, the story is painful to read because it's obvious the writer was just using uncommon words for the sake...more
When I was in college, friends tried to get me to read Lord Foul's Bane,, recommending it as "like Tolkien!!" I was so in love with Tolkien's books I hated to think of reading what I imagined was a pale imitation. So I'm glad I did not read Donaldson's books then, and for one other, very important reason: back then, I needed to like the main character of a book. My spirit was too fragile at that point to have taken the journey Donaldson takes readers of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbe...more
I ignored this series for a long time because of the fact that there's a huge ring on the spine of the books--obvious Tolkien knockoff. I eventually picked it up during the Borders liquidation after seeing it on the "Top 25" list of another fantasy writer whose opinion I trust on such matters.
Lord Foul's Bane is difficult and frustrating to read, but ultimately rewarding. I found the protagonist unsympathetic and obnoxious and the writing somewhat awkward. The author has some good ideas in here...more
Lord Foul's Bane is difficult and frustrating to read, but ultimately rewarding. I found the protagonist unsympathetic and obnoxious and the writing somewhat awkward. The author has some good ideas in here...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's The Name o...: unlikely, sceptic hero, questions reality of new world [s] | 8 | 20 | Apr 03, 2013 09:12am | |
| The anti hero | 40 | 144 | Nov 23, 2012 10:55pm |
Stephen Reeder Donaldson is an American fantasy, science fiction and mystery novelist. He earned his bachelor's degree from The College of Wooster and master's degree from Kent State University. He currently resides in New Mexico.
Stephen R. Donaldson was born on the 13th May 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio. His father, James, was a medical missionary and his mother, Ruth, a prosthetist (a person skilled i...more
More about Stephen R. Donaldson...
Stephen R. Donaldson was born on the 13th May 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio. His father, James, was a medical missionary and his mother, Ruth, a prosthetist (a person skilled i...more
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updated May 02, 2013 04:10am
May 11, 2013 10:38pm