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Summary: A Triumphant Ending for an Extraordinary Series
Review: I first read the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant over ten years ago, and each successive revisit only increases my appreciation of this series. Be warned that it is not a saga to embark upon lightly: I am a voracious reader, but it can take months for me to get through the six books, partly because Donaldson's style begs to be savored, not hurriedly swallowed, and partly because the sheer amount of angst experienced in seeing the Land corrupted in the second trilogy occasionally necessitates putting it aside for a few days in favor of something lighter. Sound painful? It is - exquisitely so.*White Gold Wielder* is a stunning conclusion to the Chronicles, both in its power and in the unexpectedness of its method of resolution. It is especially refreshing in the wake of the drawn-out and sometimes seemingly pointless sea journey of *The One Tree* - Donaldson gathers up all the loose threads and weaves them seamlessly into a climax in which everything is seen to have its purpose after all. I would compare it favorably to the end of The Lord of the Rings, my favorite fantasy series, although detailing the parallels would spoil the plot. It is completely plausible in the context established and immensely satisfying. I would like to add that Donaldson made a brilliant choice in bringing Linden Avery into Covenant's one-man antiheroic crusade. She is the perfect foil, and not just because she reminds us of Covenant's initial incredulous reaction to the fantastic Land. Covenant is caught, Hamletlike, between his belief in his own powerlessness and the Land's need for a saviour; Linden is terrified of using her power because she dreads the monster she knows herself capable of becoming. That these two flawed and unlikeable characters ultimately become deeply sympathetic and convincing heroes speaks volumes for Donaldson's genius. Bottom line: If you enjoy dark, philosophical, challenging fantasy, complex characters, and a compelling Good-vs-Evil story in the tradition of Tolkien, allow this series to make your world a sadder, wiser, but more beautiful place.
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Summary: Give Donaldson Credit...
Review: I give Donaldson credit for attempting to do a very difficult thing: returning to the realm of his first successful Covenant trilogy. The idea that "You can never go home" is hard to overcome. Making matters even harder from a storyteller's point of view is the fact that three millenia have since passed, the Land is no longer attractive and the interesting characters from the first trilogy are no longer alive. While the second trilogy is still good, I did not enjoy it as much as the first. I found there to be a bit too much psycho babble among the lead characters. They were forever examining their worth and questioning to death every decision they had to make. Donaldson is a great writer and obviously has a fantastic vocabulary. I highly recommend the first Covenant trilogy and I do recommend this one as well, though at a slightly lower level. Interesting reading.
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Summary: The best fantasy series
Review: I have read many, Tolkein, Eddings, Feist, Jordan and for me this is the best. Complex plots combined with fascinating characters. Nothing compares. Read Tolkein as the original, Feist for excitement, Jordan for scope and Eddings if you are a younger reader. Also Tad Williams, Memory, sorrow and Thorn is v.good. But if you haven't read the chronicles, lucky you, read them now.
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Summary: White Gold Wielder is the final book of a true masterpiece.
Review: I have read the Covenant chronicles several times over the last 15 years, and I still believe that they are the greatest fantasy ever written! I wish Donaldson would write more adventures about the land.
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Summary: Awesome mix of Fact and Fantasy.
Review: I have read the Thomas Covenant series so many times over the years that I have had to replace several copies because of overreading (as if you could ever overread a book). The mix of fantasy with the pessimistic overtones of a person who believes in nothing captures your imagination and attention like no other book I have read in a long time.
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Summary: Hellfire I want more!
Review: I have read the two trilogies twice now and am about to start them again. Nothing else has compared since in invoking the raw emotions that these books have raised. I cried at the end of WGW and how Covenant's life ceased just as he found the possibility of true love in the form of Linden Avery. I'm not normally so slushy, but Covenant's character brought something out in me, ranging from pure hate (at the rape) to sympathy to admiration. Surely that says something about the author's skills. Can't wait for the rumoured third series. The best read I have ever come across, but sadly, there is nothing to follow these books, so I have to read them again! When I marry, it will be with a white gold ring for sure.
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelief-able
Review: I just don't believe how bad this last, sixth book, of the Covenant series is. I truly love the rest of the series, and just finished a third reading of the complete set. This time I took my time. I did not rush. I waited after finishing the One Tree before starting the last book. All because I remembered not enjoying the White Gold Wielder (WGW) the previous time, and could not remember why. I figured I had just worn myself out, reading too late into the night as I sometimes do with a great writer. Maybe I had not given Donaldson the patience he insists on so often with his complex writing, patience that is well rewarded in the One Tree. But the first half of WGW is excruciatingly bad. Donaldson simply gives up on trying to have the book make sense. And without the invention and wonder of the previous books, I wasn't able to excuse him this time. For example: why with 40 giants on the Search do only four go with Covenant and Linden back into the Land? Why does everyone work like hell to move about under the Sunbane, instead of during the night when movement would be much simpler? Why doesn't Donaldson come up with a single decent new idea until 40 pages left to go in this book? Is this just another author resting on his laurels, or was Donaldson really bereft of new ideas? About halfway through, the story becomes somewhat readable, but only the last fifty pages or so are enjoyable. And what pain to get there for the reader! Perhaps Donaldson believes the reader, like Covenant, has to go through torment to earn that final reward. It is a good send-off, but the rest of this book really is poor. I had remembered Lord Foul's Bane and the Wounded Land as being the least of each series. Lord Foul's Bane earns that recognition, as a terrible Tolkien rip-off and seriously flawed in character development. And the Illearth War and the Power That Preserves are truly great books that demonstrate clearly Donaldson's lackings with his first try. The Wounded Land is actually pretty decent, but shows similarities to the worst of WGW in the later half of the book. Donaldson has Covenant doing stupid stuff simply to extend the storyline. But the Wounded Land ends on a high note. And the One Tree I believe is the best of the series in many ways; certainly few books anywhere have as complex and compelling a love story as that portrayed here. And there are a couple truly great plot twists along the way. So I had erased the displeasure of WGW from my memory... now I see that I had a simple case of unbelief.
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Summary: Revisiting the Covenant
Review: I was in my early thirties when I first became acquainted with the Covenant series, and now that I find myself approaching fifty, I decided to re-read the entire lot of them to see if my perceptions, likes, feelings, etc had changed towards the author and his characters. It is a much more difficult read for me now, as the incessant whining, second-guessing, and woe-is-me'isms, are just far too tedious to wade through.I half expected covenant to end it all after the unimaginable horror of burning the toast one morning.
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Summary: A Quietly Grand Finish to a Great Series
Review: I've read this book, and this series, three times, with a span of twenty-some years between the first and second reading. 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 has found again 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. He and his physician/friend, Linden Avery from the "real world" go on a quest for the One Tree, from which a new Staff of Law can be forged. The Staff of law will restore health and order to The Land. Covenant and Avery have a love/hate relationship and, at times, Covenant has a hard time accepting that Avery might be a key factor is saving The Land (Covenant has always been the savior/hero, whether hewanted to be or not). This is the third book of the new trilogy and the sixth 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. After reading the first trilogy, I wanted more. While the second trilogy does not disappoint, it does take the tale, and its hero, far enough so that I no longer want more. Some reviewers have said that this last book was already too much, but I disagree. As the hero is weary by the end of the sixth book, so is the author and the reader. This does not mean that Donaldson should have stopped sooner. I wrote a long novel, available as an e-book, and I know that, by the end, I was not running out of ideas; instead, the story was just naturally reaching a conclusion. Thomas Covenant has gone through an ordeal and, even as he has repeatedly saved The Land and restored its beauty and magic, so he has been restored in health and in sanity. The characters in this series are deep and well-developed; the writing is complicated, intelligent, and extremely sophisticated (the exact opposite of Hemingway's stunning simplicity and not far off from Faulkner's esoteric and obtuse complexity); and the story is riveting, complex, andcoherent. This is NOT a quick, easy read. This IS deep, major fantasy on an epic scale.
Rating:
Summary: More stars are needed
Review: Returning to the Land after failing, it would seem, in their quest for the one tree, Thomas Covenant, Linden Avery, the Haruchai, the Search, Vain, and their new addition - Findail, are at a loss. The Sunbane still rains down hades on the land, as if its rays were all the Horsemen of the Appocolypse encapsulated in light. In the eye of the paradox, truth is found, demanding sacrifices that will rend their hearts as it heals them. You'll need a whole box of tissues for the last chapters alone. But the tears will wash your soul.
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