Rating: 
Summary: An Amazing Work of Dark Fantasy
Review: Did you like Lord of the Rings? If so, chances are that you will definately enjoy this series of books. An unlikely hero lands in a fantasy world in which everything is pure and good, except for one character: Lord Foul. Suddenly, the hero, Thomas Covenant, a leper who has been rejected by society in the "real world" controls the fate of "The Land." Torn between the will to survive and the beauty of The Land, Covenant takes a road of unbelief and neutrality. His character (and others) grow through the series and ultimately determine the fate of the world. A definate must read (at least TRY the books)! If you hate Covenant through the first couple of books, don't lose interest! I STRONGLY recommend this novel (and series) to anyone who just finished Lord of the Rings and is trying to find more great fantasy novels to read. I would, however, state that this book is definately not for young audiences and plays upon many issues (such as rape, hate, and despair) that should probably be reserved for a more mature audience! That said, go out and buy the books! I guarantee that you'll enjoy them!
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious and Dark
Review: I felt the characters in this book weren't well developed. The situation Donaldson creates is so dark and depressing, that I could not enjoy it, even if I could get over the belabored descriptions and details. However, I would highly recommend "The Mirror of her Dreams," another Donaldson book, so it's likely I just didn't like the theme of the Thomas Covenant chronicles.
Rating:
Summary: Could YOU kill satan with an atom bomb?
Review: From one of our contributors at http://kevinswatch.ihugny.comFlashing police lights become Drool's bubbling magma eyes... The Cavewright really is a Staff waving fool beneath a huge "Gray-slaying" thunderhead that can blink us from a cave in Kiril Threndor to Kevin's Watch in an instant. I can heal you groveler! "For I have begun my attack upon this age, and the future is mine." It's absolutely breathtaking the way Donaldson swirls TC's fall and fears in front of the police car, with it's flashing redlights, to Drool's gleaming red eyes and a terrifying encounter with this god-deamon Foul. Then a message is imparted leaving Covenant passed out on a platform in the middle of the sky! First: obsessed with TC then possesed by Lord Foul, heaven help me! I don't know if I can live through a third reading of the Series! And now we've set ourselves up for SRD to bide his time, like a laughing, merciless, madman, and wait for us poor pitiful servants of The Land to finish the dissection of the ENTIRE Series before he, ever , springs the 3rd Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever on us...Ay Carumba, just too much! You are lost, you're dead, you're crazy, you are a hopeless rotting leper with wicked vertigo coming to miles above a completely foriegn place. "Hail!" I'm Lena and you are Berek Halfhand The Lord Fatherer reincarnate and this is The Land! Small shock to the system, to say the least...If I felt I would fall against granite cliffs to the seven pits of hell, on the way down, I might want to look up a girl's dress too..
Rating:
Summary: A great fantasy book!
Review: The storyline of this book is great. The characters are interesting, the plot good, the descriptions and feeling you get when reading the book is great, and so on. I never stopped reading the this (I'm reading Book 3 now).
Thomas is not this typical good guy. He's mean and selfish, but still you like him. That's well done.
This book is not for children, though. I was quite suprised by the rape scene, but Donaldson doesn't make it too important (describing, etc..) Now, the problems with this book.
First of all, have you read (or seen) Lord Of The Rings, you will almost at once notice the similarities. Thomas' ring (Sauron's Ring), Prothall with his shining staff (Gandalv), Gravin Threndor (Mount Doom), Lord Foul's "friend/servant" (since I read the book in Norwegian, I don't know his english name) reminds me very much of Gollum. There are many other examples too.
The other problem is that Thomas never accepts this new world. It's ok in the beginning, but halfway out in the book he still tries to torture him self to try to get back to the real world, instead of enjoying this new world.
Rating:
Summary: Thomas Rocks!
Review: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever: Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson, is a sheer masterpiece! I normally don't read fantasy but from reading the reviews here at Amazon, I thought I'd give this a try. I was NOT disappointed in the least. The story is of a man named Thomas Covenant who is a leper, a pariah in his community shunned by all. Without giving away too much of the plot, our very reluctant hero is transported to another dimension where he is faced with a very real battle of good versus evil. What makes Thomas special is that he is thought to be the incarnation of the mythological hero, Berek Half Hand (cool name huh?) Also, Thomas posseses a ring of white gold that is the key to untold power in battling the dreaded Lord Foul the Despiser and his minions. All the characters are fully brought to life in this tale and are fully believable and can have whole books written about them. The only complaint that I have, though very minor is that the map at the front of the book could have been a little clearer. Some of the text and diagrams were hard to read but not too bad. I'm looking forward to the Illearth war and can't wait to read it! If you'll like this, check out Gene Wolf's books of the Sun series, there you'll see some similarities that'll make you think.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the Best
Review: Many attempts have been made to compare this series with Lord of the Rings, but I don't believe it is a valid one. These books by Donaldson stand on their own, and Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever, is by far, one of the most unique character to grace the pages of fantasy in a very long time. I read the series when it first came out, and it's a series one can come back to over and over again. The first book introduces you to Thomas Covenant, and you are immediately struck by how pathetic and ill-prepared he believes he is to tackle the task ahead of him. And the fact that he is a leper before he enters his new world just adds to the drama. When the crime he commits in the alternate land takes place, you don't know whether to love him or hate him, but one needs to hang in there to understand him more fully, as the sequels unravel the mystery of Covenant. Highly recommended!!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing story on an immense scale!
Review: I read the first series and was blown away. The story is built on an immense scale. There are so many characters, so much background, so many journeys that you feel like you are there and care for the Land. This series isn't for everyone. If you aren't looking for a book to stimulate you intellectually with big words then go read The Dark Elf Trilogy. I have to comment on one reviewer who said she didn't like the story because of its simplistic names (i.e. Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, and Lord Fould the Despiser). It is obvious she didn't read the whole story (even beyond her admission of not getting past the first 50 pages). Had she read further she would have realized that those names are integral to the entire series. Those names are symbolic. Unbeliever represents the conflict within Thomas Covenant. Any other name would make his struggles/conflict meaningless.
Rating:
Summary: The most hated anti-hero of the century
Review: Of all the series I've read, this has to be the most annoying. I won't bother to explain how much you hate or love Thomas Covenant, you'll do both at various times throughout the series. He's truly the anti-hero (or Anti-Christ for that matter) but he is human in every sense of the word. He is a bit of you and me at one time or another in our lives and portrays the typical defeatist in the book. It's a leap from the normal typical fantasy about good and evil and that is the draw and appeal of the book. Forget about the undertones and other "deep" convictions that you may hear. Read it because it's pure escapism at it?s best. Donaldson is superb at weaving a tale of woe and worry. Along with being dark and depressing, it?s also uplifting and enjoyable. The characters and places are colorful and stand on their own with rich histories, stories and lives. I?ve read it three times since the early 80?s when I stumbled upon it. I recommend it as a study of human nature and internal struggle
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Buy the Hype
Review: This book has the dubious honor (infamy?) of having required two copies and numerous attempts at reading it to complete. I threw it across the room three times, beginning with the rape at page 35, because I just couldn't stand it and finally broke the spine, losing many pages in the process. If I hadn't been forced to read it and write an essay on it for my final college English class, I would never have bothered. I fully understand all the "Vietnam veteran" undertones with which Donaldson infects Covenant, and the morality play that Donaldson attempts to inflict upon the reader, and neither they nor any of the "subtle nuances" of this book and any of the following five change my opinion. I absolutely hated the main character (Thomas Covenant...and yes I know I'm supposed to hate him) to the point where I didn't want to read another word about him. Thomas Covenant is more wooden than Al Gore, and for me it was impossible to believe that anyone would actually continue to react as Thomas Covenant to the variety of situations presented to him. In short, this series was probably the worst I've ever read. Donaldson presents the most cynical, ponderous, and unbelievable "fantasy" series I have ever encountered. Do not buy this book or any of the other five Thomas Covenant novels; if you must read them, check them out at the library and see for yourself firsthand.
Rating:
Summary: Seminal
Review: In this genre, this is a seminal work. Is it derivitive work of Tolkein? Yes. Does it stand on it's own, though? Yes again. I read these books as a teenager, and thought that my continuing fondness for them was a function of that period in my life. That was until Peter Jackson's fantastic Lord of the Rings movie came out last year. I was inspired to re-read Tolkein, and then this series, which I just finished. I found that there were a lot of subtleties to both works which I missed 20 years ago, but now added greatly to my enjoyment of Donaldson's writing.
Thomas Covenant is a great trilogy (I am excluding the far inferior second series from this review).
The work stands as a completely realized vision of a complex reality and the hero's inability to accept it.
I loved this work and would recommend it to anyone who wants a good, and serious read.
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