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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
I JUST FOUND OUT ONE OF THE MAIN PLOT POINTS FOR THOMAS COVENANT THE MAIN CHARACTER IS THAT HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTS A TEENAGER!!!!
Not my favorite sci-fi, but Thomas is an interesting character. I just never bought into him enough to enjoy his story.
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
I've had a few books sitting around my house for a year that I never read because they had mediocre reviews. In the last week I've tried to read 3-4 of them and ended up quitting each one. This book is one of that group. I gave it a good try - 200+ pages but it was just so boring. There's a quest, and a guy with a magic ring, and a very long journey that is filled with overly long descriptions about everything - the scenery, the history of the people, their songs and stories (very Tolkien-esque - except he did it first and better).
Much has been written in the reviews about what a despicable guy Thomas is - that isn't what bothered me about the book. I just can't force myself to read 200 pages of a guy traveling and nothing happening. It's boring. Also, Thomas Covenant says "Hellfire" about 5 times per page and I just can't take it anymore.
PS - the bad guy's names are "Lord Foul" and "Drool RockWorm" - seriously.
Much has been written in the reviews about what a despicable guy Thomas is - that isn't what bothered me about the book. I just can't force myself to read 200 pages of a guy traveling and nothing happening. It's boring. Also, Thomas Covenant says "Hellfire" about 5 times per page and I just can't take it anymore.
PS - the bad guy's names are "Lord Foul" and "Drool RockWorm" - seriously.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(3.5)
Two things I couldn't get over in this book...
1. The rape at the beginning. There's just no need for it. There are other ways for Thomas Covenant to deal with facing the reality of the Land. It was really tough to get over and I'm glad I knew about it from other reviewers before I started cuz I might have quit. Covenant deals with his actions near the end. Kinda. Overall, it had a negative impact of how I viewed the book.
2. The awful names and LOTR-themed ripoff (a ring? Really?) were grating and a reminder of why I didn't read fantasy for years.
All that said, I'm glad I stuck with it. While I could care less about the consequences of what they were questing for, I enjoyed Covenant grappling with his disease in the new world, tethered by tortures in the old. The humanism and philosophy were both done well and gave me a lot to ponder. I feel like this book encapsulates the best and worst of fantasy. Despite my issues with it, I'll check out more of Donaldson's work.
Two things I couldn't get over in this book...
1. The rape at the beginning. There's just no need for it. There are other ways for Thomas Covenant to deal with facing the reality of the Land. It was really tough to get over and I'm glad I knew about it from other reviewers before I started cuz I might have quit. Covenant deals with his actions near the end. Kinda. Overall, it had a negative impact of how I viewed the book.
2. The awful names and LOTR-themed ripoff (a ring? Really?) were grating and a reminder of why I didn't read fantasy for years.
All that said, I'm glad I stuck with it. While I could care less about the consequences of what they were questing for, I enjoyed Covenant grappling with his disease in the new world, tethered by tortures in the old. The humanism and philosophy were both done well and gave me a lot to ponder. I feel like this book encapsulates the best and worst of fantasy. Despite my issues with it, I'll check out more of Donaldson's work.
I may be in the minority but I really loved this book. No Thomas is not a likable protagonist. He is barely the protagonist in the story. He is certainly not a hero. But, I felt like I understood the message of this book. I connected with what it said about deep and overwhelming emotional pain. I appreciated the lyrical writing and I liked the side characters.
Probably one of the most interesting protaginists in any fantasy book I've ever read. He varies from the traditional protaginist (especially in a fantasy book) in that he is often not a very good person. This is a very traditional fantasy series in many ways, and the [book: Lord of the Rings] influence can be seen very clearly in it (the theme of the preservation of nature, rings being important, etc.) but this book explores the full spectrum of motivations and allows it's characters to make many more bad decisions and to be negatively motivated without being "villians." The series lies somewhere in between traditional fantasy and more grittily realistic and complex modern fantasy like [author: George R. R. Martin]'s [book: Song of Ice and Fire] series.