Bonnie's review
The Runes of the Earth (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 1)
by Stephen R. Donaldson
SRD uses vocabulary like that in all of his novels - you can't blame this particular book for that fault.
I'll admit that Runes is weaker than Fatal Revenant, but being a Donaldson fanboy, I tend to give extra stars.
Okay - thanks for pointing out vocabulary thing. I know that every author has his/her own special way or writing. And too, It's been over twenty years since I read his other books.
This has not been a bad read. I'm still turning the pages. I just felt a little need to vent.
b
There is a good summary of "What Has Gone Before" that should catch you up with the other novels. I read them in the 80s and didn't suffer much from not rereading them before. I've got Fatal Revenant on the TBR pile.
Also, Donaldson sometimes is criticized for writing with a thesaurus firmly in hand, but I actually like the odd words popping up here and there.
OK, I need to put BOOK OF THE NEW SUN on the TBR pile. I read it in 80s too, but it may be time to reread.
Bonnie's review
The Runes of the Earth (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 1) by Stephen R. Donaldson
Bonnie's review
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to-read
Working on trying to finish this. My sense is that no one gave this book a "deep edit" which is what it needs. Sometimes, (I've heard this and it is definitely not from experience), a good writer is not assigned to an editor that will actually edit him/her closely. In this case, I think this is a major mistake. One line struck me as very telling.
"The abruptly she left the room so that Sandy would not see the sudden tears in her eyes, or notice the lump of love and fear in her throat."
A good editor would have torn the above line apart by asking --
How the hell could Sandy see the "lump of love and fear in her throat?"
Sorry, but that line messed with me. Then there are words I've never seen in print before, let alone been able to decipher.
carious?
fug?
scree? (well, I do know this one but I've rarely seen it, especially in a fantasy context).
There are other words. I know there are. And, don't get me wrong, the story is good thu...more
"The abruptly she left the room so that Sandy would not see the sudden tears in her eyes, or notice the lump of love and fear in her throat."
A good editor would have torn the above line apart by asking --
How the hell could Sandy see the "lump of love and fear in her throat?"
Sorry, but that line messed with me. Then there are words I've never seen in print before, let alone been able to decipher.
carious?
fug?
scree? (well, I do know this one but I've rarely seen it, especially in a fantasy context).
There are other words. I know there are. And, don't get me wrong, the story is good thu...more
SRD uses vocabulary like that in all of his novels - you can't blame this particular book for that fault.I'll admit that Runes is weaker than Fatal Revenant, but being a Donaldson fanboy, I tend to give extra stars.
Okay - thanks for pointing out vocabulary thing. I know that every author has his/her own special way or writing. And too, It's been over twenty years since I read his other books. This has not been a bad read. I'm still turning the pages. I just felt a little need to vent.
b
message 4:
by deleted member
02/01/2008 06:40AM
Do you have to go back and read the other books to understand what's happening in this one?
There is a good summary of "What Has Gone Before" that should catch you up with the other novels. I read them in the 80s and didn't suffer much from not rereading them before. I've got Fatal Revenant on the TBR pile.
message 6:
by deleted member
02/01/2008 08:19AM
Thanks, bud.
Also, Donaldson sometimes is criticized for writing with a thesaurus firmly in hand, but I actually like the odd words popping up here and there.
message 8:
by deleted member
02/01/2008 08:29AM
Don't read Wolfe's BOOK OF THE NEW SUN if you don't like obscure words. He adds them for flavor.
OK, I need to put BOOK OF THE NEW SUN on the TBR pile. I read it in 80s too, but it may be time to reread.
