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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
Why, in the name of all that is Holy, do people like reading hundreds of pages of the adventures of a whiny douche?
And he's not just awful, like a well written anti hero. He's just a despicable, contemptible, awful, small minded, self centered douche. He makes you yearn for Ghenghis Khan or Jack the Ripper.
And the book follows this boring, small, petty, awful protagonist over the most boring journey in the history of literature. Seriously, this book is alike spending a thousand pages in line at the DMV.
I really don't think I ever liked a book less. I even changed the date I read this book to Dec 7, 1945, because it is a day that will live in infamy.
God, it was awful. I look forward to senile dementia if it means I will forget this book.
And he's not just awful, like a well written anti hero. He's just a despicable, contemptible, awful, small minded, self centered douche. He makes you yearn for Ghenghis Khan or Jack the Ripper.
And the book follows this boring, small, petty, awful protagonist over the most boring journey in the history of literature. Seriously, this book is alike spending a thousand pages in line at the DMV.
I really don't think I ever liked a book less. I even changed the date I read this book to Dec 7, 1945, because it is a day that will live in infamy.
God, it was awful. I look forward to senile dementia if it means I will forget this book.
Este libro no me da más que una profunda indiferencia y un ligero desagrado. No me engancha ni me atrae. Tal vez en otro momento o en otro lugar
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
I want to be clear that I had more than one problem with this book, but let me jump right to the thing that made me stop reading: a hundred pages in the protagonist rapes a young girl. Pretty much out of nowhere because, y'know, he can.
The underlying idea of "what if the Chosen One was a terrible person" is an interesting one, but you can go too far. If I absolutely hate the protagonist you need to give me a really good reason to keep reading, and there simply wasn't one. The writing was fine but not great, the pacing was bad, the worldbuilding somewhat lazy (I could have drawn the map almost exactly if someone had said "give me a generic map of Fantasyland") and I really don't need to spend quite that much time learning about leprosy even if it's relevant to the plot. But it was raping that kid that did it for me.
The underlying idea of "what if the Chosen One was a terrible person" is an interesting one, but you can go too far. If I absolutely hate the protagonist you need to give me a really good reason to keep reading, and there simply wasn't one. The writing was fine but not great, the pacing was bad, the worldbuilding somewhat lazy (I could have drawn the map almost exactly if someone had said "give me a generic map of Fantasyland") and I really don't need to spend quite that much time learning about leprosy even if it's relevant to the plot. But it was raping that kid that did it for me.
La seule raison qui me poussera (peut-être) à lire la suite des aventures de Covenant sera l’envie de savoir le pourquoi du comment de ses « visites » dans le Fief. Globalement, rien de neuf. L’intrigue est simpliste, sans grand intérêt. Un héros, un message de fin du monde à transmettre à un groupe de vieux sages, une quête insipide, un anneau symbolique, un bâton tout aussi symbolique, des méchants très vilains mais sans envergure, un final grandiloquent déjà vu à la télé, au cinéma et dans les jeux vidéo. En plus, je raffole pas de la magie dans les livres, surtout quand il n’y a pas grand-chose à côté qui compense la facilité qu’elle implique. Seul intérêt, la nature et l’origine du héros, écrivain à succès atteint de lèpre (pourquoi, comment on n’en sait rien !) qui se retrouve propulsé malgré lui dans le Fief dès qu’il tombe dans les pommes. Le plus drôle et le seul point digne d’intérêt c’est qu’il ne croit pas à la réalité de ce qu’il vit, et reste convaincu de rêver. Le livre se lit facilement, c’est bien écrit, jolie ambiance, mais l’histoire est si mince et tellement bateau, que j’espère que les autres volumes enrichiront la saga, que l’intrigue va prendre une autre tournure, car je ne supporterai pas de lire une autre quête de ce genre. Je préfère donc me dire que ce n’est que le premier volume, et que donc le meilleur reste à venir comme souvent dans de longues séries.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I recall thinking this was bad. Tolkien attempt gone wrong.
I appreciate the conceit of these books, but frankly, I just can't stand reading about some guy being a total dick for hundreds of pages. This is how I'd expect John Updike to write fantasy. To top it off Donaldson is a blowhard and completely self-involved with his own internal thesaurus. To say something positive, he'd kick Henry Miller's ass at Super Password. And yet, he couldn't come up with better villain names than the laughable "Lord Foul" and "Drool".
Anyway, the story itself makes no sense. He doesn't believe that the world actually exists (is it real or an illusion? F you Donaldson!) yet he goes through the motions anyway. It seems to me if you don't believe a place is real (which for some reason help him to justify his remorseless raping!) then why bother to do anything for its benefit? When the book starts, Covenant is pathetic and already has no motivation to do anything, then he's thrust into a world where he has nothing at stake, yet he suffers constant challenges for the sake of the world? The motivation makes no sense.
This book sucks.
Anyway, the story itself makes no sense. He doesn't believe that the world actually exists (is it real or an illusion? F you Donaldson!) yet he goes through the motions anyway. It seems to me if you don't believe a place is real (which for some reason help him to justify his remorseless raping!) then why bother to do anything for its benefit? When the book starts, Covenant is pathetic and already has no motivation to do anything, then he's thrust into a world where he has nothing at stake, yet he suffers constant challenges for the sake of the world? The motivation makes no sense.
This book sucks.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I struggled to get through this book. It took me several attempts and probably a couple of years before I forced myself to pick it up and get all the way through it.
I didn't connect with any of the characters (especially Thomas), and I found the story was quite dull and dragged on far too long. I found the prose irritating and outdated, and most of all, unnecessary.
I might read the other books eventually in the hope that Thomas becomes more likable, and better characters are introduced.
I didn't connect with any of the characters (especially Thomas), and I found the story was quite dull and dragged on far too long. I found the prose irritating and outdated, and most of all, unnecessary.
I might read the other books eventually in the hope that Thomas becomes more likable, and better characters are introduced.