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A review by mazer_nickham
Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson
3.0
I know fantasy is a derivative genre by nature, but I’m having a hard time seeing the merit of the first book in Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant trilogy. Magic ring? Check. Uncreatively named evil mountain (Mount Thunder!)? Yep. Trek up said evil mountain to possibly throw a ring? I think we get the point.
What separates Lord Foul’s Bane from other fantasy books is the protagonist and namesake of the series, Thomas Covenant. He is a coward, he is a jerk, he even raped a young woman early in the book. I knew this going in and found this to be the most intriguing aspect. I wanted to read a book that was divisive among other readers but I found that this is a pretty average fantasy novel under all of the protagonist douchebaggery.
Donaldson’s use of ornate language even for a fantasy writer did not help, either. His characters take the cake for ridiculous names. (A sample: Lord Drool, Berek Halfhand, Damelon Giantfriend). The prose doesn’t really have a flow to it and the overlong chapters make things worse. Despite all of this, Donaldson delivers an average fantasy novel. Evil is vanquished somewhat, we met some interesting ancillary characters, and we’re left hanging for the next book in the series. Not sure I’ll be along for that ride, though.
What separates Lord Foul’s Bane from other fantasy books is the protagonist and namesake of the series, Thomas Covenant. He is a coward, he is a jerk, he even raped a young woman early in the book. I knew this going in and found this to be the most intriguing aspect. I wanted to read a book that was divisive among other readers but I found that this is a pretty average fantasy novel under all of the protagonist douchebaggery.
Donaldson’s use of ornate language even for a fantasy writer did not help, either. His characters take the cake for ridiculous names. (A sample: Lord Drool, Berek Halfhand, Damelon Giantfriend). The prose doesn’t really have a flow to it and the overlong chapters make things worse. Despite all of this, Donaldson delivers an average fantasy novel. Evil is vanquished somewhat, we met some interesting ancillary characters, and we’re left hanging for the next book in the series. Not sure I’ll be along for that ride, though.