Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
This is a series I have always been meaning to read, even though fantasy is not my preferred genre. Anyway I began with the first book, and it was interesting and not what I expected. It did have a repulsive scene near the beginning which just seemed quite weird and the ending did seem almost a cop-out, but perhaps it will be explained more in the next book, but overall a good read, and I look forward to exploring this world more in coming days.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It started out great, but I got bored. There's almost no incentive to continue reading and TC is a heavily unlikable main character. Of course this is kind of the point of the novel, being a tale of hopes & dreams of an almost exiled ex-member of society due to something our main character cannot help while simultaneously providing a prime example of how much of a burden solitude is and what it does to a person.
I might return to it someday, but I just as well might not either. I DNF'd at about 60%.
I might return to it someday, but I just as well might not either. I DNF'd at about 60%.
After Game of Thrones (2011-2019) finished (disappointingly) I decided to take a break from reading Goosebumps and Point Horror so I could throw myself into a rich fantasy world. I looked up some recommendations and the premise of Lord Foul's Bane sounded really interesting. And it is quite interesting, for the first couple of chapters at least. Then something that should be very impactful happened but is delivered in such a bland way that it didn't really leave the mark it should have, and the ethical and moral questions that it should have raised are also largely ignored. The book then settles into a story about journeying and travelling and this is where it becomes painful to read. So much of this book is just characters travelling from one place to another with very little of interest happening in between. I stuck with the book, as I do like to finish the books I start, and right at the very end it piqued my interest again. But nowhere near enough to continue reading this series.
1.5/5
1.5/5
It was a bit slow in the beginning and it took me a while to really get into it. First at the middle of the book it caught me.
3.5/5
Thomas Covenant, for me, was a dive back into the classic fantasy I was not exposed to a younger reader. Some say that it is difficult to appreciate older fantasy works when you are more used to modern fantasy. I have to say, that was not true here. I enjoyed this book. The exploration of the classic trope good vs. evil is personified by the land itself, it’s creatures, and it’s people. I found the themes and settings to be quite dark and ominous. The prose is beautiful. The immersion into the Land and it’s people becomes real. And, then there is Thomas Covenant. A strange character, who I feel I never truly understood. His motivations, his thinking, his always burning rage felt underdeveloped to me. I think all of those characteristics are fine — I don’t need a morally good, happy protagonist, but I needed more insight to believe them. Perhaps this was purposeful (and then masterfully done?). In a world where everything is so vivid, that Thomas Covenant, the unbeliever is the enigma.
Thomas Covenant, for me, was a dive back into the classic fantasy I was not exposed to a younger reader. Some say that it is difficult to appreciate older fantasy works when you are more used to modern fantasy. I have to say, that was not true here. I enjoyed this book. The exploration of the classic trope good vs. evil is personified by the land itself, it’s creatures, and it’s people. I found the themes and settings to be quite dark and ominous. The prose is beautiful. The immersion into the Land and it’s people becomes real. And, then there is Thomas Covenant. A strange character, who I feel I never truly understood. His motivations, his thinking, his always burning rage felt underdeveloped to me. I think all of those characteristics are fine — I don’t need a morally good, happy protagonist, but I needed more insight to believe them. Perhaps this was purposeful (and then masterfully done?). In a world where everything is so vivid, that Thomas Covenant, the unbeliever is the enigma.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I cannot believe that it took that much of a turn for the worse. I am perfectly fine with anti-heroes, but Donaldson took it too far. I'm appalled that I read what I did. The prose, itself, was brilliant to me, but the story, not only dragged on, became too much to take in. "Lena daughter of Terll son of blah-blah kin of someone special." I couldn't do it.
I'm going to be filming a full video review for my YouTube channel about this book, if you would like to see that then please subscribe to http://youtube.com/c/QueenAssbuttXO