Rating: 
Summary: A failure three times over
Review: I have enjoyed his other works, but this is one of the most miserable books I have ever attempted to read. It just plods along without ever being interesting. I tried reading it three times over five years and I never got more than half-way through it before shoving it under my bed. Needless to say, it was the last in this series I attempted to read.
Rating:
Summary: A failure three times over
Review: I have enjoyed his other works, but this is one of the most miserable books I have ever attempted to read. It just plods along without ever being interesting. I tried reading it three times over five years and I never got more than half-way through it before shoving it under my bed. Needless to say, it was the last in this series I attempted to read.
Rating:
Summary: Bad Trip
Review: I picked up this book, after having read the 1st trilogy about 8 years ago, and thought it might be fun to revisit this world. However, I put it down with only 50 pages to go, because I plain didn't care what happened. I remember the 1st trilogy fondly, but was sorely disappointed by this. Here's why: 1. Thomas Covenent spends most of the book either unconscious, too weak to barely function, or wracked with guilt to be an effective hero. He becomes whiney, TOO human and a drain to read. 2. I felt that Donaldson was very uncreative in names, etc: "the Land," "Lord Foul" (he's bad) the "Sunbane" and its creatures- Clamor, Din, etc. 3. Many, many anticlimactic moments, re: the "grim that will rend our very souls" which turned out to be nothing more than black snowflakes that burst into small flames and that the characters easily dodged. Do yourself a favor: skip this and reread Tolkien.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent series!
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: Excellent series!
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: Dissapointing
Review: I want to start by saying i enjoyed these books tremendously, i felt it was well written well described and detailed. But as luck would have it i found the last book to be most upsetting. I mean you go through the whole series of books learning to respect the main character Thomas Covenant and see the main battles he confronts ,personnel conflicks within himself, and it is all summarised by anew character. Not. I feel as through ive been ripped off. I think the author is a great story teller, but why did he go this way, you are led to believe through the battles he fought ,the self denials, that he would finnally get it he was the one, not some newcomer a doctor. I see where the author was going but a doctor, anew character. No. I really believe he should have lived through the final battle with the doctor in tow, to maybe show him the way to self acceptance i dont know but i read all the books and was gravely dissapointed, he should have won over evil not a doctor.
Rating:
Summary: The Return of a Strange Hero to a Strange Land
Review: I've read this book, and this series, twice, with a span of twenty-some years in between. When I first read it, I liked the characters, images, and story, but the language seemed deliberately over-complicated and intellectual. Now, after re-reading it, I think that I just wasn't ready for it the first time. After thousands of years, as far as The Land is concerned, but a short time, as far as Thomas Covenant is concerned, our hero again finds himself suddenly thrown back into The Land. However, it's almost unrecognizable, as everything is weirdly corrupted. Again, without fully accepting its reality, Covenant does what he can to battle evil and restore The Land to its past beauty and magic. He still does not have fill control of the white gold magic, but he now must be the driving force to save The Land, instead of a tool, as the people of The Land are either locked into a mode of surviving one day at a time, or they have given up. Thomas Covenant is still ornery, irritable, and depressed, but he continues to recover some of who he was before the leprosy. This is the first book of the new trilogy and the fourth book in the series. The first three can stand alone, and the second trilogy probably could, as well, but it is best to think of this series as a sextet. Donaldson continues to have characters that are deep and well-developed; complicated, intelligent, and extremely sophisticated writing (the exact opposite of Hemingway's stunning simplicity and not far off from Faulkner's esoteric and obtuse complexity); and a riveting story. This is NOT a quick, easy read. This IS deep, major fantasy on an epic scale.
Rating:
Summary: It has found a place on my shelf
Review: Stephen Donaldson was brought impressive power to the page in his first chrinicles of Thomas Covenant. He surpasses himself with the second chronicles, maturing the story and characters allowing the reader to feel as infected as the land he describes. In the second Chronicles Thomas Covenant returns to the land in a dramatic blaze of fire summoned by his old enemy Lord Foul. He finds the land has changed int he time he has been away. The beutiful and healing land Donaldson created in the first set of books has been replaced with a warped and diseased place ruled by the Sun Bane nad controlled by the Clave. Both these are the work of Lord Foul who has corrupted everything that made the land a place to love and cherish. If you have ever wanted to know what it would be like if the bad guy won here is your chance to find out. This is the first of three books in the second chrinicles all of which are superbly written and gripping pieces of literature. Recommendations, The Price of Immortality was a very enjoyable read that kept me guessing through out.
Rating:
Summary: A Bold And Exciting New Series
Review: Stephen R. Donaldson takes a bold step in 'The Wounded Land' by allowing the existence of 'the Land' to trickle out into the real world. He then transports not only Thomas Covenant there, but also a new character 'Linden Avery' who offers a different perspective to the adventures they subsequently encounter. Thomas Covenant in this series seems more at ease in the Land, and less resistive to the event transpiring around him. Linden is confused by it, and endures her own personal turmoil throughout the series. This time the Land has declined to a low ebb, filled with suffering and death. The people have long forgotten their technology of living with the land, and have been demoralized to an unthinkable level by comparison with the first series. Perhaps this is the authors subtle expression and symbolic account of the decay in our own present society reflected in this fantasy world? It certainly carries with it a great deal of truth when you examine the comparison. Nevertheless, Donaldson continues his expertise with his incredibly creative characters and magical beings. He interweaves a great mix of plots and subplots and ties this series in at various points to the previous one, making it a very interesting and exciting story. This is the second chronicles of Thomas Covenant ( I recommend reading the first series before starting on this one), and it sets the stage for great adventure in the following two books. You will really become a Donaldson fan with this series, and find yourself engrossed within its pages. A great book and a very good story.
Rating:
Summary: Well chosen
Review: Ten years have passed since Power that Preserves. Thomas Covenant has had peace, then Linden Avery turns his world upside down. Lord Foul is back, using Covenant's most vulnerable spot to hurt him, giving him back something broken after he's lost it all. To save the woman who betrayed him, Covenant returns to the Land, dragging Linden along. His leprosy has no hope of cure in the new Land; one wracked by Sunbane, but Linden's perceptions are their guide. In gathering the shreds of his past, Covenant makes sense of what has happened, and is determined to fight it. The law has been shattered, so he will restore it, somehow.
At first, it's shocking to see the desolation of the Land, its beauty gone. As time passes, the strength of this new world overwhelms it. If the first series was good, this one is superb.
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