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

by Stephen R. Donaldson

“I tell you simply: it is Lord Foul’s purpose to master the wild magic—‘the anchor of the arch of life that spans and masters Time’—and with it bring Time to an end, so that he may escape his bondage and carry his lust throughout the universe. To do this, he must defeat you, must wrest the white gold from you. Then all the Land and all the Earth will surely fall.”

What happens if Covenant fails...?

“No,” Covenant said. “I recognized something in what you said—I’m starting to understand this. Listen. This whole crisis here is a struggle inside me. By hell, I’ve been a leper so long, I’m starting to think that the way people treat lepers is justified. So I’m becoming my own enemy, my own Despiser—working against myself when I try to stay alive by agreeing with the people who make it so hard. That’s why I’m dreaming this. Catharsis. Work out the dilemma subconsciously, so that when I wake up I’ll be able to cope.”

According to Donaldson, everything external in a fantasy is an outward personification of an internal conflict of the main character... Articulated as such here. Almost a case of opening the 4th wall.

While he was placing bread and cheese and grapes on a tray,

... and the cheese returns with nary a mention of cows, cow herds and dairies... Worldbuilding???

“Yes,” he said. “Elena asked me the same thing. For all the good it’ll do any of us. I’m coming.”

A qualified yes.

Hile Troy was sure of one thing; despite whatever Covenant said, the Land was no dream. He perceived this with an acuteness which made his heart ache.

Hile Troy gets his own POV. There are 2 options. [1] Troy and Covenant are participating in each other's dreams with all the same scenery and generated dream figments, or [2] The Land is real and they have been transported to this reality. By Occam's Razor, the Land is real.

“Right.” Troy heaved himself to his feet. His brain was working again. He was ashamed of his weakness—and, by extension, ashamed of his Hafts as well.

Poor generalship. Troy knows neither his enemy nor himself - hence defeat is certain - just ask, Sun Tzu.

“You are young and I am old. This journey has taken much from me. I have few summers left. There is nothing.” “My time has a different speed. Don’t covet my life.” “You are Covenant Ringthane. You have power. How should I not covet?” He ducked away from her gaze; and after a short pause she added, “The Ranyhyn still await your command. Nothing is ended. They served you at Mount Thunder, and will serve you again—until you release them.”

There are two points here. 1. Covenant knows full well that time passes in the Land far faster than it does in his original reality. (approx 1 year per day). The obvious conclusion is that he could spend a year in the Land without dying of Leprosy back in his original reality - his dilemma feeding his unbelief is a false dilemma. 2. The Manethrall Rue, leader of the Ramen is demonstrating that despite (pun intended) her people's professed and actualised lives of service to the fabulous Ranyhyn, she and her ilk are devoted to worshipping Covenant's power and by extension, Covenant himself. The intelligent, free-spirited, forces of nature - the Ranyhyn, who are terrified of Covenant - get thrown under the bus as soon as Covenant displayed his power over them... Ramen is a slave to power weilded through terror. And this is held up as good and right? It would have been far more believable if the Ramen were implacably opposed to Covenant.

There was only one thing for which he could not forgive Covenant. That was the Unbeliever’s refusal to fight.

So, (implicitly) Troy could forgive Covenant raping Lena? That's on the table? If Covenant fights vs Lord Foul then all is forgiven. Ahh... the moral ledger in full view. Any act of evil can be counterbalanced with an equal or superior act of good. If only that was true.

“You should have expected it. Or what did you think this Oath of Peace is about? It’s a commitment to the forgiving of lepers—of Kevin and Trell. As if forgiveness weren’t the one thing no leper or criminal either could ever have any use for.”

The Oath of Peace is the perfect victim framework for exploitation by psychopaths. A mass of people who will keep on forgiving, even in the face of atrocity, rather than instantiate justice. Mercy, without justice is weak. Justice without mercy is brittle. Together - they become tempered steel. So far, this story denies this basic truth.

Once again, he was torn between anger at the folly of the Unbeliever’s stubbornness and amazement at the extent of Covenant’s injury.

What injury? Covenant is not injured - apart from being caught on a false dilemma of his own making.

The rest of the riders followed close behind him. Together they kept pace with the Warward as it marched westward under the high south wall of Revelstone.

With the beckoning of war there are all the hallmarks of a good epic fantasy... A pity.

Out of tortured stone, the makers of the garden had designed a wide face—a broad countenance with lumped gnarled and twisted features.

The landscape is constantly personified. I understand that this is deliberate technique by the author ... but my god - this is the most boring example of portraiture that I've witnessed for a long time. It's literally making me feel ill.

In a moment, Runnik began to speak.

Here begins Runnik's told tale.

“No!” Lord Shetra cried. “We will take the Ranyhyn no deeper into Sarangrave Flat.”

This is the 'Hobbits will freeze if we continue...' moment. So the 'fellowship,' turns to another path. This is a 'told tale,' by Runnet, Covenant is not on scene. The difference is striking. As awful as Covenant is, he is more nuanced and well drawn than anyone in this tale of Korik's mission.

Behind the burst, a black tentacle flicked out of the water. It twisted, coiled, caught Lord Shetra.

And now the lurker in the dark waters strikes with a tentacular attack... (The parallels with LoTR are painfully obvious).

With Pren and Tull, Korik swam for the place where Lord Shetra had been taken.

All these characters are quite faceless. I have no idea what any of these characters look like. I suppose I can assume the Bloodguard all look like Bannor, stolid, flat-faced, impassive... The lack of visual reinforcement diminishes the sense of individual character identity - why should any reader care what happens to these interchangeable card-board cut outs?

“This is not the end. There will be pain and death to humble this. Hyrim son of Hoole, you are a coward.”

First instance of a Bloodguard criticising a Lord...

The fire had died down to coals, and without its light Troy could see nothing—nothing to counteract the images of death and grief in his mind.

Runnik's 'told tale,' is done. It could have been covered off in a 2 page Q&A... instead pacing was thrown out the window to showcase a bunch of barely-there tertiary characters. I'd normally DNF at this point... But the bee is still in my bonnet.

The Lorewardens and apprentices of the Sword and Staff did all the work of the city—all the cooking, farming, herding, cleaning—but they were not its only inhabitants.

A-ha ...herding ... perhaps there will be a dairy ... and the elusive cheese makers!

Without meeting her gaze, Trell dismounted, and walked to the Llurallin’s edge. At first, he did not appear to know the ford’s secret. Troy had learned a few quick words in a strange language and two gestures to raise the bed, but Trell used none of them.

While rushing to position their forces for a climatic battle vs a terrible foe ... there is always time for the good guys to smell the roses and sing a song... I certainly hope that the time the good guys spend at the university (Revelwood/Loresratt, aka 'Lothlorien') is worth it... Of course, no one is in a hurry... (Shakes head) it is so hard to suspend disbelief when actions constantly undercut stated character motivation.

“Hail, white gold wielder!—you who are named ur-Lord Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever and Ringthane. Be welcome in Revelwood! You are the crux and pivot of our age in the Land—the keeper of the wild magic which destroys peace. Honor us by accepting our hospitality.”

And as usual, the rapist is welcomed and feted above all others wherever he goes. A narcisstic sex predator's dream world come true.

The Lore of the Sword will not neglect your defense. And Lord Amatin will remain with you, to do all that a Lord may do to preserve the Valley of Two Rivers.”

Nothing like dividing your forces to win a battle....

The air swirled suddenly, and Amok became visible in Troy’s grasp. He was the same incongruously ancient youth who had appeared before the Council of Lords in Revelstone.

Ahhh ok. The whole point of the 'hurry up and wait,' at Revelwood was to allow Amok to make a dramatic entrance. If the good guys were serious about fighting Lord Foul's army, they would have arrived. Had their war council (1 hour max) to get the new comms tech, then stripped Revelwood of anyone who could swing a sword or a staff and left. Just as easy to throw Amok into the mix in a brief war council, and would have made the 'pressing issue of speed,' supposedly motivating everyone believable.

He wanted to visit the grave of the student who had summoned him to the Land.

Now Troy is infected with idle personal distractions. No one is focused on fighting Lord Foul.

In blind isolation, he stared uselessly into the darkness, and tried to recover his balance. He felt certain that he was going to lose Elena. He ached to talk to her, to dissuade her, cling to her.

This is Troy, the General of the good guys, and like Covenant, from Earth. He has formed a one-sided juvenile obsession with Elena and his dithering implementation of a strategy of 'divide and conquer,' of his own forces must ensure the defeat of the Land and Lord Foul's victory. Yes, his generalship is that bad.

unaware. And remember that if Revelwood cannot be saved, the Lore still must be preserved, and Lord’s Keep warned. The Loresraat and the Wards must find safety in Revelstone at need.

Of course, the smart option of sending everything back to Lord's Keep is not taken.

Yet even in this mood, he could not cross the ford of the Rill out of Trothgard without regret. He loved the sun-bright beauty of Revelwood,

Ch 16. Troy Hile (fellow Earther) gets a lot scene time. Covenant is barely visible lately.

Evenly and openly, Lord Mhoram said, “I have no special virtue to make me resent him. One must have strength in order to judge the weakness of others. I am not so mighty.”

(This is regarding Mhoram's lenient attitude toward Covenant). And yet Mhoram judges Lord Foul, most severly - hypocrite much. If Mhoram and the rest had taken an 'Oath of Justice," instead of an Oath of Peace, they might think differently about the rapist within their ranks.

As the day passed, Troy was able to turn his thoughts more and more toward his marching army.

This is the good guy's general. Now that he's not able to see Elena and Covenant, and obsess about Elena like an insecure teenage male virgin - he's thoughts turn to his army... (Shakes head)

Once Quaan arrives, we’ll have the upper hand. Foul may not even know we’re there until it’s too late for him. But even if he does, he’ll still have to fight us.

I suspect Quaan and his force is already dead,

Troy could see nothing outside the primary glow of the graveling, but when he was sure he was out of earshot of the Stonedown, he said to Mhoram, “You knew about Triock before tonight. Why didn’t you tell me?”

The key theme of the last few chapters is Troy Hile finding out the full circumstance of Covenant's rape of Lena and the associated effects. The war is secondary to Hile's journey of discovery, and the reinforcement to the reader of what Covenant has done.

“No, Warmark,” Mhoram answered. “The High Lord does not bear with her any of the lomillialor rods.” “No?” The news dismayed Troy. Until this moment, he had not realized how much trust he had put in Mhoram’s power to contact Elena.

Troy, went to all the trouble to get the comm tech - talking wooden rods - and now demonstrates he has now idea how its been deployed for effect within his forces. What a complete idiot.

After the deaths of Lord Shetra and the Bloodguard Cerrin, there was rain in Sarangrave Flat all that day.

Tull's 'tolds tale begins.'

Lord Hyrim stepped forward, planted his staff, said bravely, “Come no closer, turiya Raver. I am Hyrim, Lord of the Council of Revelstone. Melenkurion abatha! Duroc minas mill khabaal! I will not let you pass.”

"You shall not pass!" LoTR echoes loud and clear...

Callindrill was trying to help them. Rapidly he tore their clothing into strips, made tourniquets and bandages. He did not look up to see his danger.

Lord Callindrill does something stupid in the middle of a strategic and tactical retreat which puts everything at risk. Yes, he acted to save brave soldiers - but they are all dead a few moments later. His act changed nothing while putting the mission at risk. Donaldson does this all the time. He does not build defined characters who then play out against each other - hence having the characters drive the narrative. For Donaldson, the process is reversed. The narrative drives the characters. If the narrative requires that a character behave 'out of character,' then they do. Callindrill, who is 'wizard smart,' is suddenly dumb, to enable another round of derring do. [1] This blows out my reader engagement with the action due to a sudden attack of disbelief that Callindrill could be so stupid at a critical moment*, and [2] Provides another evidence point of the incoherency of Donaldson's paper-thin characters. *If Donaldson had simply played his characters to the best of their ability, there'd be plenty of action, and the narrative would be much sharper and believable. Part of his problem is that his villains are also weakly defined, like all his characters - mere cardboard cut-outs. The good guys and the bad guys are mirrors of each other. And like mirrors - any depth is an illusion. On further reflection (no pun intended), this is aligned with Donaldson's stated view (paraphrased) that characters play out their internal struggles in the events and opposing characters. I.e. the external is the internal writ large ... mirrors indeed. Perhaps it can be said, that for Donaldson, characters are ciphers for the drawing of specific internal/external conflicts. The point of driving narrative focus becomes the conflict itself (and its eventual resolution) rather than the characters. Hence why the characters are so thinly drawn. They have to be transparent, or else they'll get in the way of Donaldson's focus on externalising internal conflicts.

But when the Giant was within ten yards of him, Verement made a forbidding gesture. “Come no closer, moksha Raver!” he shouted hoarsely. “I know you, Jehannum Fleshharrower! Go back! Back to the evil which made you. I deny you passage—I, Verement Shetra-mate, Lord of the Council of Revelstone! You may not pass here!”

Back to the Shadow... More LoTR.

Unbelief was his only defense against the Land, his only way to control the intensity, the potential suicide, of his response to the Land. He felt that he had lost every other form of self-protection. And without self-protection he would end up like the old man he had met in the leprosarium—crippled and fetid beyond all endurance. Even madness would be preferable. If he went mad, he would at least be insulated from knowing what was happening to him, blind and deaf and numb to the vulturine disease that gnawed his flesh.

Covenant's false dilemma.

He sighed. “That’s what Rue said. But that’s not the point. Do you see? I was trying to give her something, make it up to her somehow. But that doesn’t work. When you’ve hurt someone that badly, you can’t go around giving them gifts. That’s arrogant and cruel.” His mouth twisted at the bitter taste of what he had done. “I was really just trying to make myself feel better.

Covenant begins to see himself clearly.

As long as he did not know how to use the wild magic, he could not be blamed for the fate of the Land.

Willful ignorance to avoid responsibility - the heart of Covenant's true dilemma is revealed.

As they rode onward, the new silence between them glistened like white eyes of fear.

Classic use of Allegory.

Then the High Lord interrupted his reverie. She had left her robe and the Staff of Law on the grass by her graveling. Wrapped only in a blanket, and drying her hair with one corner of it, she came to join him. Though the blanket hung about her thickly, revealing even less of her supple figure than did her robe, her presence felt more urgent than ever. The simple movement of her limbs as she seated herself at his side exerted an unsettling influence over him. She demanded responses. He found that his chest hurt again, as it had at Glimmermere.

Covenant is sexually attracted to Elena.

She did not answer aloud. Instead she turned toward him. Tears streaked her cheeks. She was silhouetted against the darkening vista of Trothgard, as she stepped up to him, slipped her arms about his neck, and kissed him. He gasped, and her breath was snatched into his lungs. He was stunned. A black mist filled his sight as her lips caressed his. Then for a moment he lost control. He repulsed her as if her breath carried infection. Crying, “Bastard!” he swung, backhanded her face with all his force. The blow staggered her.

OMG! More violence against Lena/Elena... And once again, the Blood Guard who have vowed to protect the lords are no where to be seen.

Her answer seemed to spring clean and clear out of the strange otherness of her gaze. “You cannot ravish me, Thomas Covenant. There is no crime here. I am willing. I have chosen you.”

The daughter of his rape of Lena now proposes to Covenant, after he has just struck her.

He could see her mother in her, and at the sight he suddenly perceived that it was not anger which made him violent toward her, not anger which so darkened his love, but rather grief and self-despite. The hurt he had done her mother was only a complex way of hurting himself—an expression of his leprosy. He did not have to repeat that act.

That's a new excuse ... "This rape really hurts me more than it does you." What a pity party.

He stroked away the salt pain of her tears with his thumbs, and kissed her forehead tenderly.

End Ch 21. Covenant just manages to avoid having sex with his daughter, but is this sudden shift to paternal tenderness in character? Or just another convenience for the author as the needs of the narrative drive character choices.

Since they had left Trothgard—since he had made the discovery which enabled him to love her without despising himself—he had put everything else out of his mind and concentrated on his daughter.

Covenant decides he loves his daughter as a daughter.

His touch seemed to turn her pain to anger. She did not move, but she screamed at him, “Let me be! This is indeed your doing. You should not have sent the Ranyhyn to Lena my mother.” He recoiled as if she had struck him. At once, his own instinctive ire flamed. The panic of his fall had filled his veins with a tinder that burned suddenly. Her quick recrimination changed him in an instant.

Elena shouts at Covenant in a moment of grief. Instantly - he no longer loves his daughter.

The next instant, he saw Elena’s gaze again, felt it sear his memory. He halted. A sudden idea threw back the chill. It sprang practically full-grown into view as if it had been maturing for days in the darkness of his mind, waiting until he was ready.

Covenant conceives of the idea of sacrificing his daughter rather than himself. All he had to do is manoeuvre her into taking full responsibility in fighting Lord Foul, and he can (Phew) stay in the calm shadows of total irresponsibility. Here is the exact nature of Covenant's real dilemma. To believe in the Land and take responsibility for saving it or 'unbelieve' in the Land and avoid all responsibility for saving it.

There was something that he needed to do; he needed to try to recover his integrity in some way. But he did not know how.

The answer is obvious, let go his plan to push Elena into his role, step up himself and take responsibility. I find it very disappointing how Donaldson kinda waves his hand to create a 'sense of mystery,' by way of a character's obtuseness. As a reader, I just shake my head and wish for better, bur this is a pattern. The narrative drives the characters every single time. Donaldson needs Covenant to be completely oblivious to the obvious at this moment, so therefore he is.

“Dukkha Waynhim gave us new knowledge of Fangthane’s power.” “New knowledge, by hell!” Covenant croaked. “Do you think that was an accident? Foul released him.” He shouted the word released, and its echoes jabbered about him like dire significances. “He released that poor suffering devil because he knew exactly what you would do about it. And he wanted me to be in the Land then, at that precise time, not sooner or later.” The importance of what he was saying penetrated her; she began to hear him seriously. But her voice remained noncommittal as she asked, “Why? How are his purposes served?”

91% in. Covenant and Elena finally have an honest conversation about Lord Foul and in the process illustrate that the lords have totally avoided any strategic analysis in their conflict with Lord Foul. This is another reason I struggle with this story. The good guys are just so dumb.