o l d e r - l a t e s t - g u e s t b o o k - p r o f i l e - d i a r y l a n d
Forgot this... Praise for Donaldson.
Go back one for an entry that is NOT entirely about a series of fantasy novels that you probably haven't read. :-)
My sis and I were discussing the merits of Donaldson's "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever" today, and we decided they ought to be in the fantasy canon, if they aren't already. This conversation was occasioned by our horrified realization that "The One Tree" was in the 25-cent sale section of the library, instead of sitting proudly in the fantasy section where it belongs. This phasing out of Donaldson's six-book tale of a traumatized, angry, bitter bastard and the way he uses and abuses the well-meaning citizens of a land he believes to be entirely in his mind has been going on for years now, and is in fact the only reason that I possess "The Illearth War", "The Wounded Land" and "The One Tree." You can bet, if I ever see "Lord Foul's Bane", "The Power that Preserves" or "White Gold Wielder", I will snap those up in a heartbeat. Nevertheless, I'm disturbed that a whole new generation of fantasy readers will miss the opportunity to love, hate and wish horrible death on our favorite anti-hero as he causes the deaths of worthy, noble people, rapes innocent girls, disdains the friendship of people much cooler than himself and basically digs himself into an ever deeper pit of despair and guilt until he finally comes to terms with himself, not as a leper and not as a hero, but as a decent man who has to do what only he CAN do. Covenant is not an entirely unique character... we've had anti-heroes before. Corwin, for example. Actually, the seventies seemed to be quite a time for writing heroes who weren't heroes. But anyone who makes their main character a leper has serious guts. And Donaldson didn't make Covenant a cheap example of wish-fulfillment... going to the Land and being healed of his leprosy did not make Covenant a happy man. In fact, it freaked him out. It caused him, almost immediately, to commit a horrific crime for which he and others suffered for the rest of the books. He *wouldn't believe*, and that's such a SMART move on Donaldson's part, because what terribly ill individual COULD believe that this wonderful fantasy world where they were loved and healthy was true? It would break anyone's spirit if they believed and then had to go back to the real world... and Covenant wasn't willing to open himself to that. Of course, we get the opposite example in the blind guy (Hile Troy? It's been a few years since I read them, so I don't remember if that was his name or not), whose gratitude to the Land for restoring his sight caused him to throw himself wholeheartedly into its defense, so we know it's not impossible to take this better than Covenant did. But he's the interesting one, the infuriating one, the one who doesn't DESERVE what he gets, darn it... and yet, he's the one who comes through in the end.
GOOD BOOKS. And they should NOT go the way of Edghill's books, or the Earthsea trilogy, or any of the other gorgeous books that are no longer in circulation. Go to your local library and insist that the Chronicles of the Unbeliever stay where they belong!