Customer Reviews

Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Variations on the Fantasy Tradition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The book "variations" is a must-read for anyone who enjoys Donaldson's writing. The two interviews alone make it worth the cover price. Before I discovered Lord Foul's Bane, I never thought I would find a better fantasy series than Lord of the Rings. I was mistaken. Donaldson has been called the best pure writer of fantasy, and I have to agree. Tolkien was a linguist, but never claimed to be a writer. He wrote LOTR as an examination of the fictional Elven language. Donaldson writes his fiction in order to lay bare and expose the workings of the human psyche, and that is why his books win out in my mind in a comparison with Tolkien. You will CARE about his characters. Feel their pain, cheer for them, even curse and possibly despise them. Best fantasy series ever, in my opinion. Lots of battles and stuff too, for the action fans!

Keep in mind, contrary to most of the reviews below, this is NOT a novel by Stephen Donaldson. It's a scholarly book written by a PhD ABOUT Donaldson's Thomas Covenant trilogies. If you're looking for the actual books, don't get this one. As for this book, Variations on the Fantasy Tradition, it's readable, if somewhat over written and in places awkward--a common failing of academic writing. It examines Donaldson's Covenant books (mainly the First Chronicles) in light of general trends and tendencies in fantasy. As such, it's often a compare-contrast operation: this is what a fantasy hero is usually like; this is how Thomas Covenant is similar and different from the standard fantasy hero. It covers in its chapters the hero and how Covenant is something of an inversion of the typical hero; comparisons to Tolkien; myth and how it is used in the Covenant books; the significance/importance of knowledge in the books and how it is gained; the narrative structure; and how life and death are viewed and what meanings they are given in the text. It also does a general coverage of the Second Chronicles. Some "trivia" are gotten wrong or misstated, so that could have been tightened up, though that in itself doesn't affect any of the main points made. The scholarship isn't ground-breaking and it's fairly straightforward, but interesting to me as someone who liked the Covenant books and has taken English courses. The interviews with Donaldson are interesting, though I wouldn't buy it only for them ....If you liked thinking about the themes and ideas in the Covenant books, you may like this, though more of it is devoted to form and structure and than the meanings/reasons behind them (i.e. how Covenant differs from typical heros as opposed to _why_ make him not like other heros). But, then, that's not really why this book was written. It's aim is to locate Donaldson in the literary canon of fantasy. So in that sense, it does all right. Say, three and a half stars.

For the benefit of the people who are reading these reviews, this book is a research paper on the trilogy, NOT the trilogy itself. It's a worthwhile read, but if you're going to write a review on the Amazon.com website (like the first 2 reviews) make sure you write it about Senior's work, not Donaldson's!!!

As a fan of Donaldson's Covenant series, I was delighted to see that there was a scholarly work of literary criticism covering the Chronicles. There have been so many written about The Lord of the Rings (deservedly so) but none regarding Covenant. I felt this was a mistake, as Donaldson's works, while certainly not equal to Tolkien's, bear significant literary merit.

One of the things I found most interesting was the shared vocabulary between Senior and Donaldson. Any reader of Donaldson knows that he enjoys employing archaic words. Senior even levies this as somewhat of a criticism. However, *he uses some of the same words*. I couldn't help but chuckle. To argue for clarity, and then go against your own argument is, well, silly.

But that's the worst I can say about the book. Other than works on literary criticism regarding Tolkien, this was one of the very few that I read from cover to cover. He didn't miss many points (although as others have pointed out there were some factual innaccuries; these were minor, though).

Here are some chapter titles, to give you an idea of what's in the book:

1. Modern Fantasy and Stephen R. Donaldson
2. 2. Thomas Covenant: Leper as Hero
3. Donaldson and Tolkien (great chapter)
4. Myth
5. Narrative, Structure, and Knowledge
6. Life and Death
7. The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: "To Bear What Must Be Borne".

There are also two rather extensive interviews, which for those Covenant fans who don't participate in the "gradual interview" on www.stephenrdonaldson.com or who don't follow the bulletin boards on www.kevinswatch.com, offer much needed insight into the mind of an author who is much more complex than he seems to the casual observer.

I really like the Covenant series, and so I picked this book up to see how others reacted to it. What I found was a work that read far to much into Donaldson's work, missed some major points, and committed simple errors (such as which hand Covenant had fingers amputated from). Maybe it's because I'm not a huge fan of lit.crit., but I found this text very dense to work through, and Senior came across as trying too hard to make his points.

I was looking to understand the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant a bit better, and this book helped out a lot, even though it deals primarily with the First Chronicles. If you're addicted to Stephen R. Donaldson's stuff and want to return to the Land (if only in a tangential fashion), this is a good book to check out.

This text is the definitive work on Donaldson and an enlightning exploration into the genre of Fantasy. This work has provided me with several quotes for academic papers as well as guide points on teaching traditional and non-traditional Fantasy. Senior never vascilates on his arguments, and there is yet to be an error found in his thinking. A cheap price for a priceless reference source.

I HAVE READ THIS SERIES OF BOOKS 7 TIMES THAT I KNOW OF. I HONESTLY BELIVE THAT IT'S BEEN MORE. IT AMAZES ME HOW DONALDSON MANAGES TO MIX THIS WORK OF ART WITH THE HOLY BIBLE, AND YET NOTHING FROM THE BIBLE EVER SURFACES! A WONDERFUL MIXTURE OF TRUTH AND FANTASY.

I first read Lord Foul's Bane in 1981 in Junior High. I was instantly hooked, who would'nt be! Donaldson created the most wonderful characters, and creatures, it was a fantasy lovers dream. The thought process of this author is so complex, he thinks out every detail and adds lifes little quircks just to make you feel like "hey, this guy is real". If you like Tolkien, Brooks, or McCaffrey, you must become lost in the LAND, or you will never know true mastery of the art of fantasy writing.

This was the best series I have ever read, I kept going back to it again and again....for those who like Tolkien you've got to read this...believe me you'll laugh, get angry, frustrated, and cry with every character in this book....this is a must read!!!!!!!!