Against All Things Ending (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant #3)

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Against All Things Ending (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant #3)

3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 · rating details · 1,270 ratings · 147 reviews

The long-awaited sequel to The Runes of the Earth and Fatal Revenant returns readers to the Land-and unravels some of the mysteries haunting Covenant and Linden Avery.

Thomas Covenant is alive again, restored to his mortal body by the unimaginable combined force of his own white gold ring, Linden Avery's Staff of Law, and the ancient dagger called High Loric's krill. His r...more

Hardcover, 624 pages

Published October 19th 2010 by Putnam Adult (first published 2010)

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Mar 29, 2011 Benjamin Chambers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Make no mistake: among all the Thomas Covenant books (of which this is the 9th, and one more to come ~2013), this is the most difficult to read. Not for the prose or style (which has been called, by various people, "Epic," "Operatic," and "too d***ed wordy,") nor for the vocabulary (even the most astute readers tend to keep their dictionaries handy when reading a Donaldson tome), but for the sheer emotional impact it will have on you.

The book is perfectly named. The ancient enemy of the Land, Lo...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Terence rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Donaldson fans

Shelves: sf-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Let’s start off with my recommendation anent Against All Things Ending: If you have read Stephen R. Donaldson and loathe him (and there are a few) then this book will not cure you of that malady. In fact it will probably solidify your animus against the author. If you’ve never read Donaldson but have heard of him and are curious, this is still not the book for you. Start with the original Chronicles, the Gap series or Mordant’s Need, all of which show off Donaldson’s talents at their best. If, l...more Let’s start off with my recommendation anent Against All Things Ending: If you have read Stephen R. Donaldson and loathe him (and there are a few) then this book will not cure you of that malady. In fact it will probably solidify your animus against the author. If you’ve never read Donaldson but have heard of him and are curious, this is still not the book for you. Start with the original Chronicles, the Gap series or Mordant’s Need, all of which show off Donaldson’s talents at their best. If, like me, you think Donaldson is a brilliant and important writer than you’ll have to read this book despite its flaws.

And there are flaws; the greatest of which is length. A hundred, two hundred pages could have been shaved off easily without detracting from the emotional impacts of Linden’s and Covenant’s dilemmas and actions. The second thing that makes it difficult to persevere in reading is Linden Avery. Other reviews have mentioned how unlikeable she is and it’s true. You would have thought that after the end of the Second Chronicles, Linden’s self-image and self-confidence would be greater but here she’s even more selfish, terrified and willfully stupid. In Fatal Revenant, Linden tore Covenant’s spirit from the Arch of Time and reincarnated him so that he could save the Land while she focused on saving her son, Jeremiah, and in the process woke the Worm of the World’s End, precipitating armageddon. In Against All Things Ending, Linden’s obsession continues to extract a horrible price from everyone around her. Galt, who turns out to be Stave’s son, dies defending Jeremiah. Liand dies trying to bring Jeremiah out of his mental fugue. And Elena, the long-suffering daughter of Covenant and Lena, is sacrificed to She Who Must Not Be Named in one of the most shocking and emotionally disturbing scenes in the book. And her other companions suffer nearly as much - Haruchai, Swordmainnir and Ramen.

Covenant, at least, appears to have learned something from his experiences. He can still be frustratingly passive beyond all reason but he exhibits some remorse for his actions and their consequences and takes pains to minimize them.

But….

All that aside, my objections are to the surfeit of details and the feeling that Donaldson is beating me over the head with a large stick not to the story itself. Again the author proves a master at evoking strong emotional reactions to his characters, and pushing them to find the limits of their abilities. And he deals with “big questions” that interest me; e.g., the corruption of power, the use of violence, how the seeds of future despite are sown by present triumphs, and how – in light of that – can one act at all.

I also think that one of the reasons Linden pisses people off so much is that she’s so much like us; she’s not the perhaps-initially-doubtful-but-soon-confident heroine we’d like (and expect) to see. Consider, you wake up one day to find yourself in the Land (or some similar situation) and are told that you have the power to destroy or to save the world depending upon the choices you make. Would you confidently stride forward to wield the Staff of Law or your white-gold ring against Fangthane and obliterate all who stood in your way? Wouldn’t you be terrified and constantly questioning yourself? Wouldn’t you doubt the reality of your situation and do everything you could to pass the responsibility to someone else?

I’ll tap my fingers impatiently and grumble about publishing schedules incessantly but I’ll look forward to the release of the final volume - The Last Dark.(less)

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Jul 01, 2012 Skip Maloney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I sometimes wonder, have always wondered, why, in the middle of reading a book by Stephen R. Donaldson, that I am continuing to read. Especially with his 30+-year-old saga about Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever. This is the 9th of what is purported to be 10 novels in the series, and from the start, back in the 70s, I've been struck by how dark they are; how, at each step along the way, Covenant, and you, as a reader, are beset with tragedies, large and small and a pervading sense of despair that...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Rob Hermanowski rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, audio-book

I re-read this, the third book of "The Last Chronicle of Thomas Covenant", and the ninth Covenant book overall, in anticipation of the tenth, and final Covenant book, "The Last Dark", to be released in October, 2013. This is the unabridged audio version, read by Tim Gerard Reynolds (not Scott Brick, Donaldson's usual narrator).

Having read all the previous books in this series over the last year or so, I am struck by how incredibly precise and wonderfully detailed Donaldson has been throughout. E...more

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Apr 22, 2013 Susan Williamson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've read the previous two trilogies in the Thomas Covenant series and the first three of his final 4 to close the series. Waiting now for the last book.

Just finished this book and will probably read it again before the last book hits the bookstores. I read the previous two series when the first of the final four was released.

One of the most remarkable epic fantasies ever written, the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever.
He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever because he dared not...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Mikael rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first two Covenant trilogies, "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" and "The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant", followed the same pattern: first a slow paced volume setting things up, then two intense volumes of magnificent dark fantasy. With "The Last Chronicles", we're already on to volume three out of four, and it frankly feels like things are still being set up, and not very well at that.

Repetitious, slow moving and endlessly talkative, each of these novels moves like molasses, and the...more

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Oct 01, 2012 T rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-fantasy

I grew up on Thomas Covenant. I snuck the original books out of my brother's room when i was in middle school, and from there on out was a fan of fiction/fantasy/role playing. Granted, i was too young to understand most of it, but it was the coolest thing ever. ...that was 30 years ago. 30 years later, Stephen R. Donaldson has finally presented us the last of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. The first two books in this final trilogy were long-winded and painful, but this one is the crown jewel...more

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Sep 28, 2012 Miguelito rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was an excruciatingly painful read and I'm a huge fan of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and a big fan of the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I flipped through the last 100 pages of Against All Things Ending because I couldn't take it anymore (and I'm a very patient reader).

If the fact that nothing happens in the first 100 pages of this book doesn't tell you to stay away from it, then nothing will. Seriously, they stand around in Andelain and talk for 100 pages.

Some of the most...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've always had mixed feelings about the Covenant books. A lot of the series is overwritten and Our Heroes are always overwrought. I keep reading because I also really, really want to know what happens next. It's almost always something I didn't expect. I enjoyed this volume the most out of any of the 9 so far. There is much less thesaurus-driven description than in the others, and it really kept me turning the pages.

Covenant is back and he's still pretty much an a-hole. Linden is still taking...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Andrew rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Me, on previous book: "His stylistic quirks are... well, I can't say they're under control, but they're adequately curbed." You know, I think they *are* under control. Mostly. Donaldson does this thing where he starts a simile, nails one of its feet to the ground, and pushes it over backwards. "His hands made incomplete gestures like truncated supplications." NO THEY ACTUALLY *ARE* TRUNCATED SUPPLICATIONS. It drives me nuts. But then he also puts "may" where I want "might" and *that* drives me n...more Me, on previous book: "His stylistic quirks are... well, I can't say they're under control, but they're adequately curbed." You know, I think they *are* under control. Mostly. Donaldson does this thing where he starts a simile, nails one of its feet to the ground, and pushes it over backwards. "His hands made incomplete gestures like truncated supplications." NO THEY ACTUALLY *ARE* TRUNCATED SUPPLICATIONS. It drives me nuts. But then he also puts "may" where I want "might" and *that* drives me nuts, and I know it's just me -- the point is, Donaldson picks his words precisely and with care. He's aiming at effect, and most of the time, he gets me there. Occasionally he comes out with "surquedry" or "that dire fug" and I lose it, but -- fine, I'll say it. The bastard can write. Sometime in the past twenty years, he figured it out or I started paying attention. I won't swear which.

So this is the penultimate Covenant book, and things are really hotting up in the Land. Linden Avery has yanked Covenant back into mortal life, one of those things you're Really Not Supposed To Do (my caps), thus awakening the Worm of World's End (not my caps) and everybody has about a week left to finish their Christmas shopping. Thus, several mad races into and out of places after allies, power sources, and possible solutions.

I oversummarize, of course. We get: a couple of really very tense chase sequences; a couple of really very scary battle scenes; a lot of not-tense but *fraught* what-the-hell-do-we-do-now arguments... and it isn't cheap. By which I mean, this is not the third-hand fantasy gudge of "will he put aside his fear" (hint, the hero always puts aside his fear and finds magic in a giant burst of gosh-I-could-do-it-all-along). This isn't about fear, it's about doubt (and self-doubt) and trust. Linden Avery is a fuckup; she knows it; accidentally setting off Armageddon was a big hint in that direction. She has to keep moving anyway. The loops of second-guessing and fleeing/grabbing responsibility are what fucked-up people do. (They feel right to *me*, anyhow.) She *can* blast out magic in a giant burst of etc, and sometimes does, but she has to figure out what to *do* and what the cost will be. (Answer: usually irreparable.) Covenant isn't a deus ex machina either; he's just a person who has built some place to stand and trust. Their companions are, in various ways, broken and dealing with the same issues. All the plot threads reflect this, in various ways, and this is what good books are supposed to do. So I'm on board.
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Dec 28, 2011 Travis Knight rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This is the penultimate book in the decade-spanning Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever, which is considered by a good many to be among the greatest fantasies ever written. The titular character, as you may know, is a bestselling-novelist, a divorcee, and a leper. And he's not on Earth anymore. But that's all books past. Given that this is book 9, you should know what you're getting in for with Donaldson's writing.

Since the first Chronicles, Donaldson has been working towards a great and m...more This is the penultimate book in the decade-spanning Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever, which is considered by a good many to be among the greatest fantasies ever written. The titular character, as you may know, is a bestselling-novelist, a divorcee, and a leper. And he's not on Earth anymore. But that's all books past. Given that this is book 9, you should know what you're getting in for with Donaldson's writing.

Since the first Chronicles, Donaldson has been working towards a great and more universal destruction of the Land (the faery world setting of the novel). In the Last Chronicles, which is comprised of The Runes of the Earth, Fatal Revenant, and the newest book, Against All Things Ending, Donaldson forwards his catastrophic mission, pitting the ever-swelling company of Linden Avery against an ever-swelling roll of malevolent forces that don't seem to care that the Earth is Ending.

So the good guys are against all things ending. Right.

The story begins right where the last one left out. Literally. And then, unfortunately, tarries there for over a hundred pages as the characters just talk, but cover little ground. It's an unfortunate characteristic of the later books that almost everyone is cagey, over-strained, and miserable (except Liand, and Anele, both of whom have almost no idea about what is going on). They talk too much, and complain about how the world is ending, but they seem awful slow to actually act.

That complaint aside, and I caution that it is a constant complaint through almost two thirds of the books, Donaldson works his magic of construction fantasy spaces unlike anything you've ever read. This is where he is genius; the fabrication of utterly unreal spaces that bend and enrapture you. You'll finally understand what the Giants mean when they say "The Joy is in the ears that hear." Or, in this case, they eyes that read. Throughout the book, Donaldson's host journey to incredible settings and vistas that, frankly, I haven't found anywhere else in the fantasy genre. That is a huge point in the book's favor, given the bloated, self-pitying conversation that pervades much of it. I would say, frankly, that it's a decent counterbalance.

But the balance is thrown off by the very introversion that made the first Chronicles endearing; the character's sense of self (especially Linden Avery's) is so god-damned important that it eclipses eveything else. Again, and again and again you'll find her repeating the same broken mantras about how hurt she is, or indecisive, or about how the things that are happening are unbelievable. It gets tiring, especially since we're not entirely sure why Covenant doesn't have his ring, and why he isn't acting. The paradoxical lock-in of the Humbled and other characters, excluding the Swordmainnir, is maddening at times, and at other times entirely unbelievable.

Covenant's presence in the book may be its saving grace. Given the nature of the series, he hasn't been entirely present for the last few books, but now that he's back, it's a waiting game as he is restored to himself slowly, becoming more interesting all the time. He is what makes the last half of the novel into the delight that it is--that part, apart from the others, is worthy of rereading. It's incredible, tense, and well written.

I wish I could say the same about the preceding three hundred pages.

But those environments are damn cool.

Against All Things Ending, which is the penultimate novel in the series I hold most dearly, is unfortunately a one-shot novel. Read through it on your way to The Last Dark, which may be an infuriating read when it finally releases. After the powerhouse that was Fatal Revenant, this book seems stretched, pulled beyond its limits of entertainment. If the last third wasn't so good, I would have a hard time recommending it to anyone. But I will and do recommend it to fans of the series, not only as a waypoint to the final book, but also for the settings, and for the corporeal outrage that is Thomas Covenant, who really is the Land's last hope.

Linden Avery is still too damn indecisive.(less)

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May 23, 2011 Mykl rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recently I had written that this series had avoided the typical lows that can happen over a series. Well, this series still has avoided typical low as it simply crashed! My previous reviews had consistently given previous books in this series three to five stars. In this book nothing happens for the first 150 pages. Well, ok, one thing happens as one new character(the Ardent) is introduced. Then over the next couple of hundred pages the slowest escape sequence ever takes place (Yes one very inte...more

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Jan 07, 2011 Nemof rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 04, 2011 Jeff rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What an awful awful awful awful book. I read it because it's the latest in a series that should have ended after the second trilogy - we are way past the point of diminishing returns here. Mr. Donaldson has always favored deeply flawed characters who choose to wallow in self-loathing even if it takes every bit of strength and determination they can muster, but this time he has gone far too far. Linden Avery has become a pathetic joke; no one could possibly hate themselves as much as she does (sh...more

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Nov 12, 2010 Nancy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book 3 of 4 and what changed for me to take this to a 2? I will still read book 4 and so, I suspect, will anyone who reads this review as they are as committed to putting this series to rest as I am.

Firstly, for the first 1/2 it was very hard to get into and every time I set it down it was a couple of days and a sense of duty to pick it up again. The 2nd 1/2? I just wanted to get the torture over with and read as much as I could, but things DID improve towards the end, I have to admit, the last...more

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Nov 08, 2010 Paul Martin added it · review of another edition

Someone take the damned thesaurus away from Donaldson.

As much as I love his work, I hate to say it but I think he's peaked. Actually, I think he peaked with his Gap series. This new "Final Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" brings all the things I loved about the first two chronicles, but in a way that implies he was forced to write it.

I started reading "Lord Foul's Bane" when I was in 7th grade - pretty heady fare for someone of that age. The main character that the entire series is based on commit...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Henry rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A co-worker saw that I was reading this book and asked if I would recommend it. I thought for a bit and replied: "I would not read this book, nor its two predecessors. But I would read the first two Trilogies in the series." I found the ending of the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant to be wholly satisfying. I was extremely disappointed to have that lovely ending entirely unraveled in The Runes of the Earth.

I have the unfortunate uncontrolled need to finish a story regardless of how much I di...more A co-worker saw that I was reading this book and asked if I would recommend it. I thought for a bit and replied: "I would not read this book, nor its two predecessors. But I would read the first two Trilogies in the series." I found the ending of the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant to be wholly satisfying. I was extremely disappointed to have that lovely ending entirely unraveled in The Runes of the Earth.

I have the unfortunate uncontrolled need to finish a story regardless of how much I dislike it. Otherwise, I would not have bought this book nor its predecessor. Instead, I had to suffer yet again through Linden Avery's constant whining. Yes, she did that in the Second Chronicles, but here it seems much worse. It's as if Stephen R. Donaldson has some specific image of her state of mind and wants to beat you over the head with it ad nauseum until you get it. There were several times that I wanted to scream: "Enough already! you've said that 300 times now! Get on with the story!"

Donaldson's writing also doesn't seem as tight as the first two Chronicles. I found myself often thinking: "why did they do that? that doesn't make sense." or "Why didn't they ask W about W, Y, and Z?"

And, as usual, make sure you have a dictionary, since Donaldson continues to find some joy in throwing in dozens of obscure Old English words into his prose.

That said, there were nuggets of enjoyable reading. Always when the Giants are involved, and often with Stave & the Masters, as well as the Ramen. The Insequients are an intriguing addition to Land lore, though I wondered if it was too much. Often I would struggle to remember who a mentioned character was and why they were significant. After 33 years and into 9 books, it's getting hard to keep all the characters/races/events in mind.

I found the plot interesting after it finally got moving after a too-long stay in Andelain, with a few large surprises. I can only hope that the last book will reduce Linden's musings and improve on the 1st & 2nd Chronicles.(less)

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Oct 09, 2010 Smcfee rated it 5 of 5 stars

The final Thomas Covenant series is improving as it goes. That isn't to say that the first two books weren't good, but Donaldson had to spend time early on setting up all the chess pieces and introducing the context, and now the narrative moves along more briskly. This book, not surprisingly, is about choices and consequences. It opens with Linden confronting the consequences of her actions; the resurrection of Thomas Covenant and the awakening of the Worm. Throughout the book, characters make d...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Brenda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The third (of four) books of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and the ninth (of ten) book in the series. The last book ended with Linden Avery and her Giantish companions entering the last bastion of health in the otherworldy Land, the Hills of Andelain. The novel ends with most of those characters dead or missing, and the world about to end (no spoiler, it's in the title).

Four fifths of the book takes Linden on a walking tour through various attractions in the Land, feeling sorry for her...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Lucinda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A remarkable, ambitious work on such an epic scale as to astonish and delight fans of old-style fantasy fiction.

Stephen Donaldson changed the face of modern fantasy when he created ‘the chronicles of Thomas Covenant’, by combining the complexity and exquisite detail of old-style (i.e. JRR Tolkien, Feist and Hobb) with a freshness and distinctive voice. Astonishing creative imagination combined with simplistic sophistication, makes this series comparable with Tolkien at his best although somethi...more A remarkable, ambitious work on such an epic scale as to astonish and delight fans of old-style fantasy fiction.

Stephen Donaldson changed the face of modern fantasy when he created ‘the chronicles of Thomas Covenant’, by combining the complexity and exquisite detail of old-style (i.e. JRR Tolkien, Feist and Hobb) with a freshness and distinctive voice. Astonishing creative imagination combined with simplistic sophistication, makes this series comparable with Tolkien at his best although something truly original at the same time. Vast and full of poignant, profound meaning and clarity this sublime literary masterpiece is so outstanding as to outshine many within this genre, as it professes all the qualities recognizable in a true classic. Beautifully atmospheric and wonderful world-building this fantastic creation is truly unmatched in its structure, as you are able to envisage the stunning setting and realistic ‘world’. Attractive characters amidst a detailed, delicately interwoven narrative I found myself lost within the pages for hours…all 743 of them! Complete with an informative glossary of names and places this is a substantial, considerably vast work of epic proportions and inspired vision.

Here continues the Last chronicles of Thomas Covenant…in book three: against all things ending.

Desperate for help to find Jeremiah, her adopted son, Linden Avery has resurrected Thomas Covenant in a cataclysmic exertion of Earth-power and wild magic. But the consequences of her efforts are more terrible than she could have imagined. Sorcery on that scale has awakened the Worm of the World’s end. The ultimate end of all-time, and therefore of all life, has been set in motion…And on a more personal level, the results are no less extreme. The stress of reincarnation has fractured Covenant’s mind and all he once knew, upholding the Arch of time, is slipping away from him. Not only is his mind damaged, so is his health for Ranyhyn’s warnings were not heeded. Time is running out and the Despiser’s forces are ready…

I would highly recommend this noteworthy series to all who delight in impressive, grand and ambitious fantasy and who enjoy well-written, in-depth literature.
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Dec 20, 2010 Daniel rated it 5 of 5 stars

First I want to say this book was good, with some major flaws. As always Donaldson tells a great story, the problem, especially of late, is his use of the most obscure words in the English language. The only reason I can think of why he would do this is someone gave him a word of the day calendar, or he lost a bet and had to include obscure words like orogeny (by the way I have red spelling error under said word as I type this, it is a real word and it is spelled correctly). Now I like increasin...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Scott rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This got the 2nd star only because of Donaldson's amazing imagination and ability to show you the world that he created in incredible clarity. However...his endless, and often repeated, explanations of EVERYTHING makes me wonder if he thinks his fans are too dumb to think for themselves. And the characters engaging in endless debate and rationalization, even right in the middle of the some of the best action sequences just slows things down; very frustrating for the reader. And how they are alwa...more

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Mar 13, 2011 Tod Mccoy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Despite the fact that Donaldson is one of my favorite authors and has greatly influenced me, I felt this book did not need to be written. Most of the book was far too static and did not move at all, in ways that the previous books did not. I believe I counted four major sections of the book where the action took place. In the first section, for instance, the major scene involving Covenant (I'm avoiding spoilers here), the characters there literally did not move from that spot for more than a hun...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Cilfa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who've read the first 8 books

Shelves: fantasy, reviewed, philosophy, end-of-world, keeps-you-thinking, raw, anti-hero, favorites

I wholeheartedly agree with another reviewer here on GoodReads: Will someone pleaaaaase take the thesaurus away from mr. Donaldson!
I'm good at reading english, even if my active producing of this language is plain horrible. My vocabulary is very large and divers for a non-native speaker. But these books are just impossible to read without a dictionary. Well, let's be grateful he keeps repeating the dictionary words and it is a long book :-)

I listened to this book while working. The audioquality...more I wholeheartedly agree with another reviewer here on GoodReads: Will someone pleaaaaase take the thesaurus away from mr. Donaldson!
I'm good at reading english, even if my active producing of this language is plain horrible. My vocabulary is very large and divers for a non-native speaker. But these books are just impossible to read without a dictionary. Well, let's be grateful he keeps repeating the dictionary words and it is a long book :-)

I listened to this book while working. The audioquality is OK, what I didn't like is that it was another narrator than for the other 8 books. With a totally different accent. Please don't do that! Characters in a book get a lot of their personality from the narrators voiceacting and changing this is disconcerting.

The Good:
This is an intense book. Starts awfully slow (and I mean SLOW) but when it at last gets going, it is one big rollercoaster. Donaldson does it again: He knows how to get us interested in a story in which you sometime are really really really annoyed with the main character.
How many times I'd loved to grab Linden Avery in her collar and shake some sense in her.
He does that too in the earlier books. Tomas Convenant is a real ass in the first one. Detestable. And while he gets better in the next books, he annoys the hell out of me. But this makes the main characters so incredibly realistic/believable.
Just imagine: you are transported from this world to a fantasyworld, with strange beings and people who insist you are going to save them all. Would you just step up and say, right, let's start cracking?
No. Well I wouldn't. I would doubt and unbelieve ;-) and doubt some more. Myself and everybody else.
In fantasy, this aspect of human psychology is highly underlighted. Real people doubt. Most of them derrive their strenght from doubt. Or fail. We all just fail, all the time, on some level. Failure may lead to great things. Because of failure and doubt we strive to be better, but really... we strive to 'not be in charge and be responsible for ending the world'.

Well, the world is ending, in this book. Absolutely. Just not in one big flash (what a short book it would have been). Linden is totally believable, annoying as she is, filled to the brim with crippling doubt and rage and, yes, despair. Whatever she's done, everything leads her to more despair. She strives to be better and just can't. This is very refreshing.
I love the character of Covenant, what he's become. Reading his parts is a joy. I missed him :-)

The adage "Joy is in the eyes of the beholder' is absolutely true. This book is rutheless on its characters. I've secretly and silently cursed the heavens blue after reading some parts of the book. I've cried and laughed. Stephen Donaldson hasn't lost his touch of creating wonderfull enthralling worlds that take youre breath away. He introduces new vista's he's never visited before.
When the book gets going, I really loved it.

The Bad.
Now that's the thing. When the book gets going. It doesn't for at least one third of the (very large) book. Said third is sloooooooow. Boring boring boring and slow. Some parts of it are necessary for background on later developments, some are good for character building and Lindens slow spiral into despair and rage. But most of it is unnecessary wordiness. Not A Good Thing.
Later in the book there's another "gosh let's have endless slow discussions and do nothing' part. This is what made me give this book a 3 star instead of 4. The actionparts really deserve a 4,5 star, but not the book as a whole.

BTW: I loved having to use a dictionary, whatever I said in the start of this review. It's refreshing ;-) Donaldson has gone far from his crude use of language in his Gap and less so in his Mordant books.(less)

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Sep 07, 2011 Chris Gardner marked it as wishlist

I hate to read a book at the end of a series when I have not read anything before. With that said, I will not be reading this book anytime soon, but I do want to give me review of Stephen Donaldson's writing and previous works and give you an idea of what to expect.[return][return]Stephen Donaldson is the master of the anti-hero. Starting with _Lord Foul's Bane_, Thomas Covenant is a textbook anti-hero. He hates people, his life, himself, and nothing is going to change that. Stephenson creates a...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading Stephen Donaldson is like reading a lesson in writing:

1. First there are brilliant characters--both good, evil, and mixed--which he has no qualms about killing off, because he can just invent more. Esmer--extremely powerful for both good and evil--is one of my favorites at the moment, though I love the protagonists (flawed all of them) equally as much. And She Who Must Not Be Named is one of the most horrible monsters I've run across anywhere.

2. He is master of environments both beautifu...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Peter Kalin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book reminded me why I loved the original Chronicles of Thomas Covenant so much. It's not as good as the original trilogy, but it is much more reminiscent of the awe and wonder that that series evoked about The Land, which to me is the primary character of all 3 series. It is to Donaldson's credit that he has managed, in my mind, to create a setting that the reader loves as much as the people who live there do, and which creates a yearning in the reader to visit such a place to witness it i...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Kimberly Morghan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is the third book in the third installment of Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and it was an engaging read as always. Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery featured prominently, Linden having returned Covenant from the dead right at the start of the book. With them is an entourage of interesting folk who continue to support Covenant and Linden in their quest to save the world from destruction. Said destruction is imminent largely because Linden's ritual to return Covenant to...more This is the third book in the third installment of Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and it was an engaging read as always. Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery featured prominently, Linden having returned Covenant from the dead right at the start of the book. With them is an entourage of interesting folk who continue to support Covenant and Linden in their quest to save the world from destruction. Said destruction is imminent largely because Linden's ritual to return Covenant to the world of the living woke up the Worm, and an awake Worm's only purpose is to consume the land and all life. If you've read the other books, you will probably know that Covenant is very much an anti-hero. Despite spending much of his time whining and refusing to do anything, somehow he still ends up doing what is needed. Linden is also a very reluctant hero, suffering from depression and a huge load of self-doubt. Before the Worm can be tackled, there are a few important tasks involving dealing with family troubles - rescuing Linden's son and fighting Covenant's son and his insane ex-wife. There are also some troublesome immortals to contend with. So, with much grumbling and misery, and with Covenant wandering in and out of a catatonic stage at the worst times, somehow they manage to handle business. Then, finally, it's time to face the Worm! Unfortunately, that is where we are greeted with "Continued in Book Four". The first set of books was a trilogy, and the second set of books was a trilogy, so I thought that this book three would finish things off, but apparently Donaldson felt no overwhelming desire for consistency with the whole trilogy thing. Yes, I will be back for book four, and it seems like they can probably finish things off in one more book so I don't think we are at risk of a book five. As for how this book rates compared to earlier ones, well, I liked the first trilogy best, but this book still delivered the excellent character development and adventure you'd expect. You may not LIKE the characters, but you get to understand them in all their flaws and strengths. Donaldson is not afraid to use his vocabulary, which is enjoyable for us word-nerds and folks who enjoy classical literature, though some of words threw me a bit on this one - what color is "migraine" anyhow? My co-workers think it must be a painful shade of red. So, worth reading but you might want a very comprehensive dictionary nearby, just in case. (less)

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Mar 09, 2012 Nina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

These books are so good that I find myself getting very impatient whilst waiting for the next book in the series to be written and published. In every way they live up to the first and second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the style, pace and plot twists are every bit as good. The characters are masterfully developed and as we have come to expect from Donaldson, many of them will shift and change in their allegiances and their hero/antihero status as the story progresses, making us feel warmer a...more

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Mar 01, 2011 Mark rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As an avid Thomas Covenant fan and Stephen R Donaldson fan, I have to say that I've become disappointed with the final Covenant series. I was most disappointed with this one.

The great value of the Covenant series have been the emotional redemption of the main characters from their own personal demons: first with Covenant in the first series, and then with Linden Avery in the second. This new series, however, only drags Linden down again and it's not appealing.

This book especially seems to be kin...more

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About Stephen R. Donaldson

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

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Books by Stephen R. Donaldson

Lord Foul's Bane (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, #1)

The Power That Preserves (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, #3)

The Illearth War (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, #2)

The Wounded Land (The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, #1)

White Gold Wielder (The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, #3)

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Against All Things Ending (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant #3)

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