Customer Reviews

White Gold Wielder

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I first read the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant over ten years ago, and each successive revisit only increases my appreciation of this series. Be warned that it is not a saga to embark upon lightly: I am a voracious reader, but it can take months for me to get through the six books, partly because Donaldson's style begs to be savored, not hurriedly swallowed, and partly because the sheer amount of angst experienced in seeing the Land corrupted in the second trilogy occasionally necessitates putting it aside for a few days in favor of something lighter. Sound painful? It is - exquisitely so.

*White Gold Wielder* is a stunning conclusion to the Chronicles, both in its power and in the unexpectedness of its method of resolution. It is especially refreshing in the wake of the drawn-out and sometimes seemingly pointless sea journey of *The One Tree* - Donaldson gathers up all the loose threads and weaves them seamlessly into a climax in which everything is seen to have its purpose after all. I would compare it favorably to the end of The Lord of the Rings, my favorite fantasy series, although detailing the parallels would spoil the plot. It is completely plausible in the context established and immensely satisfying.

I would like to add that Donaldson made a brilliant choice in bringing Linden Avery into Covenant's one-man antiheroic crusade. She is the perfect foil, and not just because she reminds us of Covenant's initial incredulous reaction to the fantastic Land. Covenant is caught, Hamletlike, between his belief in his own powerlessness and the Land's need for a saviour; Linden is terrified of using her power because she dreads the monster she knows herself capable of becoming. That these two flawed and unlikeable characters ultimately become deeply sympathetic and convincing heroes speaks volumes for Donaldson's genius.

Bottom line: If you enjoy dark, philosophical, challenging fantasy, complex characters, and a compelling Good-vs-Evil story in the tradition of Tolkien, allow this series to make your world a sadder, wiser, but more beautiful place.

White Gold Wielder is the final member of Donaldson's series of six Thomas Covenant novels. In this one, our hero finally gets around to fighting the Despiser himself. But first he has to take care of the Banefire burning from out of Revelstone. So in this book we get two climactic battles and they're both actually quite exciting with unexpected outcomes. I won't give anything away except to mention that the Sandgorgon Nom from The One Tree is back in fine form. Nom was possibly the most interesting character from that book. The One Tree is, in my opinion, the best novel in the second trilogy. White Gold Wielder, though satisfying, doesn't quite match it nor does it compare to The Illearth War (the second book of the first trilogy). It is, however, a much better finish than The Power That Preserves was to the first series.

Unfortunately, characterization takes somewhat of a nosedive from the previous books in the series (though not near as bad as the atrocious nosedive between the two books of Dan Simmons's Endymion series). The Giants in this novel are more than ever before like machines: impossibly strong and devoid of character flaws for the most part. Linden is a headcase and doesn't resemble anyone I know. The "romance" between Covenant and Linden, if you can call it that, seems ridiculously artificial and contrived. These two people never lighten up! They're stone-faced serious at all times and argue with each other more than anything else. Donaldson doesn't manage to convince the reader that they're actually lovers and I think that he should have abandoned the whole relationship from the start and just focused on the action.

The action is done very well and brings this book up to a solid four-star rating. As in all five previous books, Donaldson's development of the swords and sorcery is excellent. The first half of the book is somewhat slow, but the tension builds well as the party gets closer to the waiting enemy. The long sequence under Kiril Threndor will have you turning pages late into the night to find out what happens next.

I'm glad I read through this series. Though not quite as complex as some other offerings in the fantasy genre, the generally dark mood of the prose gives the Covenant novels a unique touch. I think that those in their late teens would get the most enjoyment out of these books.

There is so much to like in The Second Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant. Linden Avery is a totally believable and ( for me ) sympathetic character. I like Vain, the Sandgorgons, the meeting with Elena in Andelain; that tears my heart out every time. I like the Bloodgaurd's admonition to Linden, "You must give him succour. We see that he holds you in his heart". I like the camorra for the Giants at the end of "The Wounded Land". Strangely, I like the Second Chronicles more than the First, even though, yes, I realize that events in the first trilogy have big consequences in the second. The six books that comprise the Thomas Covenant novels stand out as the best that sf/fanatsy has to offer. I put them up there with Frank Herbert's 'Dune' and that is no mean company to be in.

Having read all of the first six Convenant books in a relatively short ammount of time, I will say that I came away enjoying the saga. White Gold Wielder, for it's part, provides a very good cross-section of the series as a whole. Donaldson's strengths are present in full force. Unfortunately, so are the weaknesses.

I'll mention the strengths first. Foremost is the character development. Thomas Covenant is a character unlike any other in modern fantasy, and Linden Avery is extremely well developed as his foil and complement. Alternating between their respective points-of-view, Donaldson effectively creates reader sympathy and empathy for their sometimes conflicting motives while at the same time advancing their shared cause.

Donaldson's other strength is world building. After the first five novels, "The Land" and it's encompassing world at large are fairly completely developed, so in WGW, Donaldson is able to use his setting as another character to drive the plot and draw the reader in, much as he did in the early part of the first trilogy when Covenant was many times too unlikeable to be engaging. Covenant does not revert to his dispicable past, far from it, but as his future becomes more and more bleak, the future of the land provides the story with hope of a happy ending.

Now, for the negatives. The biggest problem is that the whole thing is just so dark. Like the Despiser, Donaldson assails his characters with blow after blow, failure after failure. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but in this instance, the darkness is not often enough tempered with moments of light. In spite of everything, we've grown to like Covenant and Linden, and their uninterupted plight is draining. Without giving anything away, while the climax ties up nearly all of the loose ends (not all though), it occurs too close to the end of the book to allow the characters and the reader to soak in the consequences of the saga.

The other problem I'd list as a negative is the overall pacing of the Second Chronicles. The events at the end of The One Tree and the beginning of White Gold wielder render much of the middle book meaningless. The story as a whole could have been more effectively told as two longer books while not leaving out anything significant to the main plot. I spent much of the sixth book waiting for the fifth book to be endowed with some significance, and it just never came.

Despite it's flaws though, White Gold Wielder is a good read and an acceptable conclusion to the Second Chronicles, even though it falls short of matching the level of the previous trilogy. Viewed for what it is, it's a very good book, but as a fan of the series and the genre, it's hard to overlook what the book is not.

The title of this last book in the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenantis gives a different idea of the ending of this book, than conceived in the book. It is brilliant that Mhoram's assertion to Covenant in the very first book of the six is the crux from which the ending is created. It stinks of an author who can start a myriad of ideas, then complete them all by the end of the book so that the whole plot is finally disclosed, everything making sense. The cleansing of Thomas in the Banefire is one of the pinnacles heading many highlights in this book. These were the first Sci-Fi books, First and Second Chronicles, that I had read. I've since read others, including Tolkein and Feist, and though they may be of similar merit to my mind, none surpass the intimacy felt with Donaldson's story and its characters.

Despite the crushing failure at the Isle of the One Tree, Covenant and Linden realize that they have no choice but to go on fighting the nefarious plots of Lord Foul. They decide to return to The Land and attempt to extinguish the Banefire hoping that this will slow the desecration of the Sunbane. The minions of Lord Foul are poised to oppose them every step of the way. They also know that even if they slow down the Sunbane, they still must eventually find a way to stop Lord Foul himself.

Donaldson brings the trilogy to a brilliant conclusion in this volume. Linden finally comes to terms with the "ghosts" of her past and realizes that she is not inherently evil despite having made mistakes in the past. Covenant achieves an inner peace after he finally accepts what he must do to defeat Lord Foul. The triumph of two flawed human beings over the "devil incarnate" provides an interesting premise for Donaldson to explore the frailties of human nature. I finally began to like Covenant in this volume and I actually began to empathize with him. Although we expect Covenant and Linden to win in the end, the ending was inventive and engaging and not at all what I expected.

There is a rumor that Donaldson may write the Third Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I, for one, am avidly awaiting their publication.

As I turned the last few pages, I was delighted to see how all the loose ends were being woven together (i.e. Vain & Findail) and I knew the ending wasn't going to have your stereotypical "final showdown" (something like, "... and with a mighty swing of his enchanted battleaxe, Gorgo reaved off the head of the would-be world destroyer SuperEvilBadGuy...) - no, while it was a showdown, it was resolved in a way that really payed off for all the long hours you spent reading the previous books. I agree with lots of other reviewers that the depression and misery that the characters heap upon themselves gets old (does Donaldson have psychiatrist license?) but this is still a great story told over six books. My favorite books were The Illearth War and The Power that Preserves (more action - less misery-babble).

I give Donaldson credit for attempting to do a very difficult thing: returning to the realm of his first successful Covenant trilogy. The idea that "You can never go home" is hard to overcome. Making matters even harder from a storyteller's point of view is the fact that three millenia have since passed, the Land is no longer attractive and the interesting characters from the first trilogy are no longer alive. While the second trilogy is still good, I did not enjoy it as much as the first. I found there to be a bit too much psycho babble among the lead characters. They were forever examining their worth and questioning to death every decision they had to make. Donaldson is a great writer and obviously has a fantastic vocabulary. I highly recommend the first Covenant trilogy and I do recommend this one as well, though at a slightly lower level. Interesting reading.

Returning to the Land after failing, it would seem, in their quest for the one tree, Thomas Covenant, Linden Avery, the Haruchai, the Search, Vain, and their new addition - Findail, are at a loss. The Sunbane still rains down hades on the land, as if its rays were all the Horsemen of the Appocolypse encapsulated in light. In the eye of the paradox, truth is found, demanding sacrifices that will rend their hearts as it heals them. You'll need a whole box of tissues for the last chapters alone. But the tears will wash your soul.

Donaldson has concluded his second epic trilogy on a high note. Both the First & Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are not for the faint of heart, but for those who like books that challenge them. Donaldson is worlds removed from the formulaic, trite swords & sorcery novels that fill up so much of the Fantasy section in bookstores. His characters all have great depth and complexity, and this makes reading his novels truly worthwhile.

While I do admit that some of the books drag a little (the beginning of Lord Foul's Bane, for example), there are many moments of poignant emotion and beauty throughout. The Giants reaction to the sight of Revelstone, Covenant's caamora for the Unhomed; passages like these are a joy to read.

All in all, I highly recommend all six Covenant books to anyone who is looking for thoughtful and well-written fantasy.