Rating: 
Summary: Much, Much Better Than Book One...
Review: "The Illearth War" is sooooo much better than the first book, I swear it may be a different author. Weak conspiracy theories aside, this second book in the "Chronicles" trilogy is a much better read. The pace is faster, the writing more concise and the characters much more developed (and interesting). In the first book, I had to read several passages twice just to get a clear picture of what was happening. Donaldson's desription of the landscapes are much more vivid and come to life off the pages; again, no so in book number one. Lastly, as a reader, I actually cared about several characters in this book and what fate might befall them. I highly recommend any fantasy reader to plow through "Lord Foul's Bane", to get to this book. Yes, there are many Tolkien "rip-offs" here, but who cares. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Heck, Keith has been ripping off Chuck Berry riffs for years. Anyway, after you finish this, you'll want to move on to book three ASAP. I just finished book three and it's the best one of the entire trilogy!
Rating: 
Summary: The war for the Land begins.
Review: "The Illearth War", book 2 in the Thomas Covenant series is nothing but a maserpiece. Covenant the Unbeliever is again summoned to the Land to help the people survive the first onslaught of Lord Foul's army. Covenant finds himself following a woman who he would have never guess existed. This book is full of nothing but suprises and heartfelt emotions.Covenant is still questioning the reality of the Land. He can't believe that his leprosy and his failings can simply disappear into nothing. The Land seems too good to be true. But, he seems to be the Land's only hope. Plagued by Ravers, ur-viles, and deformed followers of Foul, Covenant must go on a trek for the Seventh Ward of Kevin Landwaster. But will his efforts be enough? This book is full of emotions and enough action to keep a reader hooked. Donaldson is an amazing writer who deserves a lot of praise for these books. They are nothing short of amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the best in the series
Review: 4 1/2 stars. Having reread Lord of the Rings in anticipation of the films last year, I recently also paid a visit to another fantasy series that I enjoyed while in middle school: Thomas Covenant. Nearly 20 years later, I appreciate the books more. The themes are very adult and while I enjoyed the books as a child because Donaldson creates a great fantasy-world that will interest and draw in readers of all ages, I am better able to understand what Donaldson was trying to accomplish now that I'm older. The Illearth War is probably the best book in the series. The quick maturation of Donaldson's writing style makes this book a much better read than the first installment. In fact, after rereading the series, I think that Donaldson knew that his second book was put together better than the first to the extent that he made it so that reading the first book really isn't necessary. There is enough back-story revealed in the first few chapters so that any reader could grasp most of what happened in the first book, as it happened, without having to read it. In my review of the Lord Foul's bane, I was preoccupied with detailing the many similarities between the Thomas Covenant series and Lord of the Rings and, thankfully, there is much less of this in Illearth War. Obviously, the basic principles of the story are retained, but the only new thing added that seems LOTR-related is that this second novel in the TC series is a war novel (with a side story of two major characters being led by a strange guide in search of something), and thus the general structure of Illearth War is copied from The Two Towers. But Dondaldson is more his own voice here, and that is a welcome change. The psyche and personality of Thomas Covenant is fleshed out much more fully here than in LFB; ironically, since Covenant has a far less prominent role as a character here than in LFB. This is accomplished by two foils for Covenant: the Lord Morham (a good man by which we can see how Covenant may have turned out had he been born to the land), and the character of Hile Troy, a blind man who is from Covenant's world (a man who is in nearly every sense the opposite of Covenant). Aside from some highly unlikely military tactics on the part of Lord Foul's army (I have no idea why an immense invading army would ever chase the much smaller defending army across a continent to do battle on the smaller army's terms; the larger invaders could simply set about their business of destruction and occupation and force the defenders to come to them), there is nothing about this novel that bothered me the way some small things about the predecessor did. This is a richly detailed, yet taut and economical fantasy novel -- certainly one of the best that I've ever read. Even Lord Foul is made more menacing by eliminating him from the dialogue: the reader gets to see the effects of Foul's evil rather than experience it from his mouth [a mistake Donaldson made in the first novel, IMO, was to give Foul too much to say. How do you characterize pure evil? The more Foul said, the less evil he seemed, and the more he appeared to be like the standard chortling, pontificating villain that we've seen a million times in novels and film; the type where the hero makes his escape while the self-satisfied villain goes into exhaustive detail about the various ways in which he is going to torture and kill the hero]. The novel is dark stuff, and sometimes emotionally draining. But the life put into these characters makes their every decision and action one to linger over and abosrb before moving on. If you're not hooked on the Thomas Covenant series after reading Illearth War, nothing else in either of the two series will likely do it for you.
Rating: 
Summary: a filler
Review: a neccessary bridge between the bane and the excellent conclusion of a power that preserves, but not up to the level of these two. slower and no where near the suspense or convoluted story line of the other two novels of this series.mr donaldson redeemed himelf in the end of this trilogy a did thomas covenant.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: After having forced myself to read the first book to the last page, I could not find the stomach to finish this one. As in the first volume, the main character is the only one which is carved with more than superficial detail, and the dramatic flow of the story is wrong. As a side note - I am not sure if Donaldson's intention was to describe the world from the view of a schizophrenic, but if it was, Joanne Greenberg did a better job with "I never promised you a rose garden".
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE GREATEST EVER
Review: Among the top five fantasy novels ever, in my opinion. The most gripping book of an outstanding series -- evokes comparisons to Tolkien's works (and that is high praise).
Rating:
Summary: Groundbreaking event
Review: Back in the 1970's it was Donaldson and Terry Brooks who proved that an audience for the genre of fantasy existed. It was Donaldson who proved that an author could publish, sell well, and still write something of definitive literary merit. While it is indisputable that Tolkien brought the genre of fantasy into existence it was still widely regarded as something for children (something fantasy fiction still struggles with today) and it is Donaldson who first wrote something that can only be aimed at adults. The Chronicles' influence over the last three decades has been and can be traced to Eddings' Belgariad, Feist's Riftwar Saga, and any of a host of crossover fantasy novels published in the genre. It's only defect and what prevents it from receiving our highest recommendations is the patina of ugliness that Covenant inevitably breeds. It's an irony about the word because it is the ugliness of Covenant that elevates the rather routine plot into something of literary merit but at the same time it will prevent The Chronicles from being the most cherished in people's minds.
WHO SHOULD READ:
For anyone who has complained that fantasy novels are too lighthearted or too childlike, Donaldson has answered your complaint with a staunch challenge. His Chronicles are a gladiatorial arena where in the pit metaphysics slugs it out not in the pristine abstractions of philosophers but in the blood, sweat, and madness of the arena. It is a terrific blend of pulse-quickening action immersed in carefully constructed philosophy. Any reader versed in philosophical discourse in either free will or ethics will be profoundly moved by Covenant's struggles. At the same time, readers with no taste in philosophy whatsoever who are firmly grounded in a sense of black/white and right/wrong will be equally moved by these books because the battles and action will mean something to them rather than events occurring like so many special effects in some rotten film starring Sylvester Stallone or Jean Claude Van Damme.
WHO SHOULD PASS:
The reader should beware of the content. It's very popular to accuse George RR Martin of having some kind of monopoly on books where bad things happen to really good (and popular) characters. That's not the case at all: next to Donaldson he is a child. Real crimes are committed and terrible sacrifices are made and it is something that the delicate should avoid. Additionally, many readers have been upset with the dense prose and idealized setting of The Chronicles. This is something that's rather important to what the book is about but that doesn't lessen the irritation that some people feel. If you have knee-jerk (and perhaps unwarranted) reactions to overt echoes of Tolkien or have a severe allergic reactions to similes (Donaldson cannot seem to write without liberal use of simile) then you might seek elsewhere. But really, these books were a groundbreaking event in fantasy publishing and shouldn't be missed.
READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT INCHOATUS.COM
Rating:
Summary: Hile Troy - wise move or copout?
Review: Covenant's reluctance gets a little old, especially since it takes energy to relate to it. But Donaldson seems to know this, and adds another character from "our" world, Hile Troy, who will lead the Land's armies into battle. He is much easier to like and to cheer for. Wise move or copout? You have to decide. Maybe both. It's hard to sustain a story around a character who'd rather not be in the story. Covenant is still there, but a secondary plot this time, fairly similar to the one in Lord Foul's Bane, with a romantic twist. Here's a curveball. I started reading Covenant's plight as an allegory for Christianity and the Kingdom of God. His rigid self-protection makes good sense in the "real" world -- Donaldson gives us a few chapters of real world to remind us of that. But in the Land (or the Kingdom,) where love and trust are freely given and received, it is foreign, harsh, and painful. It keeps Covenant from enjoying the gifts around him, and it renders him powerless, even when his power is desperately needed. I have heard it said that "hurt people hurt people", and Covenant is the poster boy of that proverb. well, a decent escape fantasy anyway. i'll read the next one on a bus ride sometime. if you'd like to discuss this review, recommend a book, or just chat, e-mail me at williekrischke@hotmail.com.
Rating:
Summary: The story keeps getting better!
Review: Disturbed by the intrusion of the Land into his sterile and predictable world, Thomas Covenant wrestles with the question of its validity and reality. It was just a dream, a delusional episode meant to destroy his defense against the disease so tentatively arrested within him. Yet, a disturbing encounter in a nightclub and the out-of-the-blue call from his ex-wife drive Covenant back to the Land, or was he again summoned, as the Land would have him believe? "The Illearth War", the second in the "First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant Unbeliever", was a masterpiece of fantasy writing. Stephen R. Donaldson's voice and craft are impeccable, the depth to the characters, to the twisted chain of events Covenant so wreaks havoc upon are so water tight and touching. To not fall in love with the land, and grow to loath Foul and his Ravers is unimaginable. The three dimensionality of the characters and of their plight is amazing, a truly polished gem amid the rubble. The characters are immensely deep and engrossing. Elena, Mhoram, Bannor, Hile Troy, all of them are so well developed you can envision them as living souls by their mere mention. However, as before, Thomas Covenant refuses to believe. It is his inaction, his impotency for action that drives much of this tale. On one hand, I found such gut wrenching sympathy for him, and on the other such a loathing for his inaction in the light of the beautiful Land and people he so harmed. I longed to switch places and do what he could not... Adding to the dilemma is Warmark Hile Troy. Troy claims to hail from "reality," a claim the Unbeliever cannot accept, for if it proves true, it proves the Lands existence; and he cannot accept that because it cries out in conviction of his crimes against so many. Despite my frustration with Covenant's action, and further his inaction, this was a marvelous story and I beseech you to read it!
Rating: 
Summary: More incredible story written amazingly pedantically
Review: I agree with what a lot of the other reviewers say - Thomas Covenant is a great anti-hero. This whole series is filled with fantastic philosophical insight leading one to think about matters of life and death, futility and hopefulness, and whether it is all worth it. In that respect, this series is close to being great, classic literature. It just doesn't make it, though, on two counts. One, the characters aren't quite compelling enough to really get one to react to them intellectually, morally, emotionally, etc., even though it is quite exciting that a writer would make the lead character (Covenant) a leper. Secondly, and this is my biggest problem with the series, is that it is simply very poorly written. I read it in high school, I read it in college, I read it in seminary when I was 30. I really wanted to give the series a chance, since my friends liked it so much, and I felt it deserved an attempt at different growth stages in my life. But I never enjoyed reading it, and I won't try anymore. It's not disappointing in the way of a popular mass-market book, because one doesn't expect anything from one of those except unintelligent and hollow entertainment and escapism. Donaldson created a world of amazing creativity and depth, laden with cool places and people and cultures, all quite well thought out - more so than the vast majority of fantasy-lands. The disappointment comes because a book about a leper facing his life, futility, hopelessness, narcissism, and general lack of compassion or interest in himself or anyone else could have been a deep, meaningful exploration forcing one to pause and take stock of one's own life and society (the goal of all true literature). Covenant the character could have been a brilliant (and not cliché) anti-hero. Donaldson has given us something that could have been that, but he fails to give it to us, and one is left feeling like the sickly parent who has spent the week's food money on snake-oil and finally realized what it really is - a bottle with an empty promise. Unfortunately, the story is simply not written in a compelling way. I didn't care about the characters, the dialogue felt unreal, the prose drones on and on, and I never felt bad setting the book down. In fact I really forced my way to the end of the third book, simply as an act of self-will to see if I could do it. Please note that I am *not* some doofus who thinks a book without constant action is boring - I love Joyce, German writing, Wagner operas and Philip Glass music, so it's not that I can't appreciate long, slow movement. I do like it to be compelling, though. In terms of importance in the fantasy genre, this is a must-have series because it is a foundational, common-knowledge series that all fantasy buffs should be familiar with. So I give it one star, but I tell you to read it anyway.
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