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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
Is he dreaming or not? One thing I can say about this book is it has one of the most unrelatable protagonists I've ever encountered. He's rather unpleasant and I just don't understand his thought process, some of his decisions seem to come from nowhere...then again I know some people like this so nevermind.
http://www.literaryfeline.com/2009/04/sunday-salon-april-reading.html
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Despite the three stars, I really had a hard time forcing myself to finish it. I thought that because it was fantasy that I would obviously like it. Well honestly, it only just reminds me of Lord of the Rings and Avatar at the same time.
I think what I really disliked about the book in general is that it makes absolutely no sense in the beginning, and I kept thinking about the beginning while reading the rest of the book. Fantasy really isn't realistic sometimes, okay, but the transition from the "real world" and the Land made absolutely no sense in my opinion.
Second of all, Covenant might be the character I dislike the most of any other book I have read. I'm fine with the idea of not being attached to the main character, but he is just such a horrible person. And fine, he is a leper, but when you understand that the people around you either don't understand or don't care what that is, then just stop saying it all the time. This was really annoying. All the elements of his personality, the way he acts, just got me to hate not only the character, but the book in itself.
I did give a three stars because if you forget about Covenant and the fact that the novel make no sense, it is really well written and some ideas are really good. Even if it was really hard to actually enjoy and finish this book, I still think I might read the end of this trilogy. If I really don't like it then I won't bother reading the Second Trilogy but I am trying to be positive about this, maybe Covenant needed his little adventure to lighten up a bit.
I think what I really disliked about the book in general is that it makes absolutely no sense in the beginning, and I kept thinking about the beginning while reading the rest of the book. Fantasy really isn't realistic sometimes, okay, but the transition from the "real world" and the Land made absolutely no sense in my opinion.
Second of all, Covenant might be the character I dislike the most of any other book I have read. I'm fine with the idea of not being attached to the main character, but he is just such a horrible person. And fine, he is a leper, but when you understand that the people around you either don't understand or don't care what that is, then just stop saying it all the time. This was really annoying. All the elements of his personality, the way he acts, just got me to hate not only the character, but the book in itself.
I did give a three stars because if you forget about Covenant and the fact that the novel make no sense, it is really well written and some ideas are really good. Even if it was really hard to actually enjoy and finish this book, I still think I might read the end of this trilogy. If I really don't like it then I won't bother reading the Second Trilogy but I am trying to be positive about this, maybe Covenant needed his little adventure to lighten up a bit.
(Review written 7/18/08 - It should be noted that the reason I particularly dislike this book is because it completely deflated my plans for a novel I was trying to write at the time by demonstrating that one of my central premises could not possibly work. But anyway...)
Lord Foul's Bane, written by Stephen R. Donaldson, is the first book in the fantasy series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (talk about a mouthful for a title). Let's just say that I'm probably not going to be reading the second one anytime soon.
I mean, it's not awful; it's not one of those books that make you wonder how the hell the author got published in the first place. It has its good points. Donaldson pays a lot of attention to his Land (the imaginative title to the region where most of the book takes place), making it unusually vibrant, original, and interesting for a fantasy landscape. His characters are also fairly original and believable. The plot isn't the best, but it shows occasional signs of promise.
Still, these positive aspects get drowned out by the overwhelming amount of negative ones. First of all, Thomas Covenant, the main character, is a complete dick, entirely devoid of any even remotely likeable characteristics. He's not even one of those "love to hate him" types of characters; he's just annoying. He whines for the entire book and never actually does anything positive. You're supposed to root for him to overcome all his problems (and he certainly has many of them), but then he goes and rapes a girl for absolutely no reason other than that she was being sort of annoying. (It's sort of interesting that Covenant is also the only fantasy main character I've ever seen referred to exclusively by his last name, not only in dialogue but also in the text.)
Second, Donaldson's train of thought is annoyingly unclear during some of the most critical moments of the book. He does a good job at describing the landscape, but he's awful at describing action. Half the time, you have no more than a vague idea of what's going on, and completely random developments pop up often, generally inadequately explained. It's like he's introducing stupid plot twists just for the sake of having stupid plot twists. The aforementioned rape is a good example of this, as is a scene where warriors protect two elders during a battle only to find out afterward they were dead the whole time. Even if you can tolerate Covenant, this murky writing prevents you from ever really being able to get into the book.
Finally, the ending really sucks. It's ridiculously abrupt, and leaves the reader completely unsatisfied. There's no resolution at all: Covenant's annoying internal problems are still fully intact, and he hasn't learned anything at all; the characters have only made very small progress in the battle against evil, and haven't even finished escaping from the last of the bad guys chasing them; and the themes that Donaldson seemed to be going for throughout the book are never fully developed. Donaldson probably does this because there are more books to come; yet the last chapter has a finality to it that suggests that you should come out of the book thinking that there are going to be squeals, but the book could still stand on its own. But it really can't.
Lord Foul's Bane, written by Stephen R. Donaldson, is the first book in the fantasy series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (talk about a mouthful for a title). Let's just say that I'm probably not going to be reading the second one anytime soon.
I mean, it's not awful; it's not one of those books that make you wonder how the hell the author got published in the first place. It has its good points. Donaldson pays a lot of attention to his Land (the imaginative title to the region where most of the book takes place), making it unusually vibrant, original, and interesting for a fantasy landscape. His characters are also fairly original and believable. The plot isn't the best, but it shows occasional signs of promise.
Still, these positive aspects get drowned out by the overwhelming amount of negative ones. First of all, Thomas Covenant, the main character, is a complete dick, entirely devoid of any even remotely likeable characteristics. He's not even one of those "love to hate him" types of characters; he's just annoying. He whines for the entire book and never actually does anything positive. You're supposed to root for him to overcome all his problems (and he certainly has many of them), but then he goes and rapes a girl for absolutely no reason other than that she was being sort of annoying. (It's sort of interesting that Covenant is also the only fantasy main character I've ever seen referred to exclusively by his last name, not only in dialogue but also in the text.)
Second, Donaldson's train of thought is annoyingly unclear during some of the most critical moments of the book. He does a good job at describing the landscape, but he's awful at describing action. Half the time, you have no more than a vague idea of what's going on, and completely random developments pop up often, generally inadequately explained. It's like he's introducing stupid plot twists just for the sake of having stupid plot twists. The aforementioned rape is a good example of this, as is a scene where warriors protect two elders during a battle only to find out afterward they were dead the whole time. Even if you can tolerate Covenant, this murky writing prevents you from ever really being able to get into the book.
Finally, the ending really sucks. It's ridiculously abrupt, and leaves the reader completely unsatisfied. There's no resolution at all: Covenant's annoying internal problems are still fully intact, and he hasn't learned anything at all; the characters have only made very small progress in the battle against evil, and haven't even finished escaping from the last of the bad guys chasing them; and the themes that Donaldson seemed to be going for throughout the book are never fully developed. Donaldson probably does this because there are more books to come; yet the last chapter has a finality to it that suggests that you should come out of the book thinking that there are going to be squeals, but the book could still stand on its own. But it really can't.
Wow, I hated this book. The plot isn't dissimilar to [b:A Princess of Mars|40395|A Princess of Mars (Barsoom, #1)|Edgar Rice Burroughs|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1332272118s/40395.jpg|1129624] crossed with a bit of [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388181159s/33.jpg|3462456]. The difference between this and those books is that the protagonist of this novel is utterly and completely unlikable. He's a leper, which is a clever twist, but good lord, he's unpleasant. His self loathing isn't amusing, it's annoying. Even when he's seemingly cured of his afflictions he's unbearably gloomy. Oh, and he expresses his return to health through a brutal sexual assault on a sixteen year old girl. Maybe he was under the thrall of a dark lord during that act, maybe not. It's not clear, and the author doesn't seem to care much.
So yes. I loathed this book. I always finish what I start, but this was a slog I had to push through. I have no plans to read the others in the series. One was quite enough for me, thanks.
So yes. I loathed this book. I always finish what I start, but this was a slog I had to push through. I have no plans to read the others in the series. One was quite enough for me, thanks.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is one of my earlier fantasy novel books that I attempted to read this depressing novel. I've tried twice, but never finished it. I cannot recall much (it is a good thing actually. I am forgetting some bad moments of my life) but I like to share my opinion here: the main character is not likable based on his POV. People in the story respect him because the prophecy and he has distinctive physical traits that can prove he is The One. The depressing inner thought of character hardly entertained me, and there was no action, magic scenes, interesting secondary characters, etc that could redeemed this novel.
I hated this book, so much that I couldn't finish it. I got 3/4ths through and had to stop. Awful novel. Please don't bother. It really is an unenjoyable read.
Oh, how I wish I could properly DNF a book. This was a fine candidate for consideration of this. My prime intention in reading it at all was part of a general interest in the history of fantasy publishing. This book often appears in accounts of fantasy history as the book that first established that fantasy could be suitably adult. I guess in between Lord of the Rings and 1977, fantasy novels were thought to be adolescent and immature. Fortunately, the genre has since progressed well beyond the need for a wretched book like this.
I get the whole thing where Thomas Covenant, the leper from the real world, abandoned by his wife to protect herself and their child, has had to (or felt he had to, or chose to) develop this intense mindset to protect himself from further deterioration, physical and mental. Wracked by self-pity, loathing, fear, fury at the world and everyone in it, he lashes out and refuses to accept the evidence of his senses when he is thrust into a secondary world and transformed instantly into a pawn of the titular Lord Foul. He fears being destroyed by hope of a better life if he accepts that fantasy that he finds himself in. This sets him apart for all traditional fantasy characters, but it doesn’t make his perspective or any of his interactions worth reading. His constant self-pity and internal struggle is not interesting, it simply makes for bad, frustrating scenes. He shuts down all dialogue. He ruins the reader’s experience of every other character. He fails to develop in any way. He does nothing to advance any aim, and only does what he does by compulsion or to try to get out of his predicament. His presence should rightfully be barely tolerated by other characters, who inexplicably accord him honors and offer friendship. In short, regardless of his reasons, he is an ass and a bore. It that’s who you like to read about, have at it. If you want to see how to make a detestable, self-loathing character interesting, look no further than Joe Abercrombie’s crippled torturer in [b:The Blade Itself|944073|The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)|Joe Abercrombie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1284167912l/944073._SX50_SY75_.jpg|929009].
It’s not even just the character. All other aspects of the novel are terrible too. The prose is heavy-handed, burdensome, in many ways reflective of Covenant’s character which may be a literary achievement in itself, but the overall effect is dreary. It’s a drag to read. The author applies a supremely expansive vocabulary, occasionally evoking a clever or poetic description of something or other, but it all feels masturbatory. So many moments and descriptions cry out for plain language. The worldbuilding is dull. Were Covenant not even part of the book, I would have no investment with the history, geography or people of the Land. I don’t give a damn what Lord Foul plans to do or whether or not his machinations will be countered. Go ahead and kill off all of the characters, they matter not. Just let this book be over. Spend the whole dictionary describing the environments, all I took in was hills, plain, forest, mountain, get to the end already. Magic: dull. Uber-horses: dull. Immortal monks: dull. Monsters: dull. Woman who tends to all of Covenant’s things while on the grand Quest so he can spend his time feeling miserable instead of packing up his own bedroll and who is the only figure in the book to not be named and then is killed: ???
And yes, Thomas Covenant’s rape of a teenager in a moment of utterly misdirected rage and grief: unnecessary, as far as I can see. Some favorable reviewers state that it is referenced throughout the later books. I don’t care, it was still awful and pointless. Covenant expressed no regret, only fear of being caught at first, then trying to make nice with the girl’s mother who is forced to journey with her daughter's rapist by her devotion to the Land. Along the way, he appears to forget all about it. He even rages against Lord Foul's depravations at one point, speculating, “What’s next? Raping children?” Dude, that’s what YOU did! One of the only reasons I kept reading the book was because I had to see if there would be anything approaching acknowledgement of his vile act. And this did eventually come, when suddenly he deigns to remember what he had done, and then kind of sort of sends the girl a boon as penance, but not requiring any sacrifice on his own part.
Wretched on so many levels.
I get the whole thing where Thomas Covenant, the leper from the real world, abandoned by his wife to protect herself and their child, has had to (or felt he had to, or chose to) develop this intense mindset to protect himself from further deterioration, physical and mental. Wracked by self-pity, loathing, fear, fury at the world and everyone in it, he lashes out and refuses to accept the evidence of his senses when he is thrust into a secondary world and transformed instantly into a pawn of the titular Lord Foul. He fears being destroyed by hope of a better life if he accepts that fantasy that he finds himself in. This sets him apart for all traditional fantasy characters, but it doesn’t make his perspective or any of his interactions worth reading. His constant self-pity and internal struggle is not interesting, it simply makes for bad, frustrating scenes. He shuts down all dialogue. He ruins the reader’s experience of every other character. He fails to develop in any way. He does nothing to advance any aim, and only does what he does by compulsion or to try to get out of his predicament. His presence should rightfully be barely tolerated by other characters, who inexplicably accord him honors and offer friendship. In short, regardless of his reasons, he is an ass and a bore. It that’s who you like to read about, have at it. If you want to see how to make a detestable, self-loathing character interesting, look no further than Joe Abercrombie’s crippled torturer in [b:The Blade Itself|944073|The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)|Joe Abercrombie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1284167912l/944073._SX50_SY75_.jpg|929009].
It’s not even just the character. All other aspects of the novel are terrible too. The prose is heavy-handed, burdensome, in many ways reflective of Covenant’s character which may be a literary achievement in itself, but the overall effect is dreary. It’s a drag to read. The author applies a supremely expansive vocabulary, occasionally evoking a clever or poetic description of something or other, but it all feels masturbatory. So many moments and descriptions cry out for plain language. The worldbuilding is dull. Were Covenant not even part of the book, I would have no investment with the history, geography or people of the Land. I don’t give a damn what Lord Foul plans to do or whether or not his machinations will be countered. Go ahead and kill off all of the characters, they matter not. Just let this book be over. Spend the whole dictionary describing the environments, all I took in was hills, plain, forest, mountain, get to the end already. Magic: dull. Uber-horses: dull. Immortal monks: dull. Monsters: dull. Woman who tends to all of Covenant’s things while on the grand Quest so he can spend his time feeling miserable instead of packing up his own bedroll and who is the only figure in the book to not be named and then is killed: ???
And yes, Thomas Covenant’s rape of a teenager in a moment of utterly misdirected rage and grief: unnecessary, as far as I can see. Some favorable reviewers state that it is referenced throughout the later books. I don’t care, it was still awful and pointless. Covenant expressed no regret, only fear of being caught at first, then trying to make nice with the girl’s mother who is forced to journey with her daughter's rapist by her devotion to the Land. Along the way, he appears to forget all about it. He even rages against Lord Foul's depravations at one point, speculating, “What’s next? Raping children?” Dude, that’s what YOU did! One of the only reasons I kept reading the book was because I had to see if there would be anything approaching acknowledgement of his vile act. And this did eventually come, when suddenly he deigns to remember what he had done, and then kind of sort of sends the girl a boon as penance, but not requiring any sacrifice on his own part.
Wretched on so many levels.