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A review by danerichter
Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson
2.0
“The most academic of all speculative fiction writers.”
I’ve heard Stephen Donaldson being called this but what does that even mean? Someone somewhere out there thought this book was dogshit but held too much respect for him – that’s what I’m reading between the lines here. Gone are the days where reviewers are respectful. Post new millennium and now everyone has a voice and opinions are blunt and to the point. Let’s just call a spade a spade here: Lord Foul’s Bane is an average book. Usually I would not rate a book that ended in my DNF pile but people need to be forewarned of crap. Reading a dictionary and inserting anything with 4+ syllables and using them in correct context does not mean your writing is great. Unless you are one of those crossword junkies or wordsmiths who constantly brush up on the English language, then you might be like me and have to get the dictionary out every second page to see what Donaldson was on about.
Afflicted with leprosy, Thomas Covenant is an outcast of society. If that’s no bad enough his family have left him and the town don’t want him there, paying his expenses so he never has to set foot out of the house again – something that Covenant will not stand for. Whilst demanding he be the one to pay his own bills he is hit by a car and wakes up in the Land. In this place, leprosy is unknown and Covenant has a resemblance to one of the Heroes of Old – Berek Halfhand, and as such is revered by many. Throw in the fact that his wedding band is white gold – which just so happens to be powerful, and you have a hero that is encouraged to do hero things like confront the Despiser – Lord Foul.
At a time when I supposed LOTR was popular, (when isn’t there a time) you can see a couple of obvious similarities like, oh maybe um… the ring!? And Foamfollower which is a poor man’s Treebeard. Incidentally, it was the long, laborious dialogue between Foamfollower and Covenant which ultimately put me to sleep.
The only reason I gave this a second star is because I believe Stephen Donaldson pioneered the antihero architype. Published in 1977 Lord Foul’s Bane came at a time where fantasy was full of Gary Stu awesome-at-everything heroes who slayed the dragon and saved the princess. I love a flawed hero and I think a lot of readers out there are inclined to agree, but there is a difference between flawed and heinous. Heinous. Wretched. Loathsome. That would be the lead character in a nutshell – and not because of his condition (leprosy) but because of his actions about a third of a way into the book. Actually, maybe it’s the actions of the other characters that were aware of what he did. (spoiler alert) he raped a 16 year old girl. Now I’m not turned off by sex and violence but if the victim’s mother helps the rapist on the next part of his quest without it being an elaborate plan to exact revenge, I start to question the sanity of the character’s decision-making.
For me, there was no redeeming feature – maybe that happened at the end of the book or later in the series but I’m not investing the time as I hardly found the supporting cast worth it either.
I’ve heard Stephen Donaldson being called this but what does that even mean? Someone somewhere out there thought this book was dogshit but held too much respect for him – that’s what I’m reading between the lines here. Gone are the days where reviewers are respectful. Post new millennium and now everyone has a voice and opinions are blunt and to the point. Let’s just call a spade a spade here: Lord Foul’s Bane is an average book. Usually I would not rate a book that ended in my DNF pile but people need to be forewarned of crap. Reading a dictionary and inserting anything with 4+ syllables and using them in correct context does not mean your writing is great. Unless you are one of those crossword junkies or wordsmiths who constantly brush up on the English language, then you might be like me and have to get the dictionary out every second page to see what Donaldson was on about.
Afflicted with leprosy, Thomas Covenant is an outcast of society. If that’s no bad enough his family have left him and the town don’t want him there, paying his expenses so he never has to set foot out of the house again – something that Covenant will not stand for. Whilst demanding he be the one to pay his own bills he is hit by a car and wakes up in the Land. In this place, leprosy is unknown and Covenant has a resemblance to one of the Heroes of Old – Berek Halfhand, and as such is revered by many. Throw in the fact that his wedding band is white gold – which just so happens to be powerful, and you have a hero that is encouraged to do hero things like confront the Despiser – Lord Foul.
At a time when I supposed LOTR was popular, (when isn’t there a time) you can see a couple of obvious similarities like, oh maybe um… the ring!? And Foamfollower which is a poor man’s Treebeard. Incidentally, it was the long, laborious dialogue between Foamfollower and Covenant which ultimately put me to sleep.
The only reason I gave this a second star is because I believe Stephen Donaldson pioneered the antihero architype. Published in 1977 Lord Foul’s Bane came at a time where fantasy was full of Gary Stu awesome-at-everything heroes who slayed the dragon and saved the princess. I love a flawed hero and I think a lot of readers out there are inclined to agree, but there is a difference between flawed and heinous. Heinous. Wretched. Loathsome. That would be the lead character in a nutshell – and not because of his condition (leprosy) but because of his actions about a third of a way into the book. Actually, maybe it’s the actions of the other characters that were aware of what he did. (spoiler alert) he raped a 16 year old girl. Now I’m not turned off by sex and violence but if the victim’s mother helps the rapist on the next part of his quest without it being an elaborate plan to exact revenge, I start to question the sanity of the character’s decision-making.
For me, there was no redeeming feature – maybe that happened at the end of the book or later in the series but I’m not investing the time as I hardly found the supporting cast worth it either.