Review
The first six books in the Thomas Covenant series were published
between 1977 and 1983. The 'First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'
comprised
Lord Foul's Bane, The Illearth War and
Gilden Fire;
these were shortly followed by
The Wounded Land, The One Tree and
White Gold Wielder, which together formed the second trilogy
titled the 'Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'. Twenty years later,
Donaldson is back with a new four part series:
The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant', that begins with
'The Runes of Earth'.
A brief update of the story so far: All the action in the First Chronicles, and most of the Second
Chronicles, takes place in a region known only as 'the Land', where the
people live in harmony with...
Beyond the Book
When asked why he waited two decades before starting
The Last Chronicles
Donaldson says that he's had the story in mind for at least 25 years
but that he wanted to prove to his readers and himself that he could write other
types of stories, and write them well; plus he admits to being afraid -
'At
my first glimpse of "The Last Chronicles," I knew that it would be astonishingly
difficult to write; that as a narrative exercise it would make the previous
"Covenant" stories look like a stroll in the park. If this last story is done
right, if it fulfills my intentions, it will complete and unify the entire saga.
But in order to accomplish that goal I'll have to go far beyond my known
abilities, both as a story-teller and as a writer. The prospect...
