science fiction

Lord Foul's Bane - Chronicles of Thomas Covenant 1 - Stephen R. Donaldson Book Review

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Review Summary
After an infection causes the amputation of two of his fingers, Thomas Covenant learns he has leprosy. Once a popular author, he is now an outcast in his community. His wife Joan divorces him, taking their son Tom with her.
   Lonely and bitter, he meets an old beggar who tells him to 'be true.' Confused by the odd encounter, he stumbles in front of a car and revives on a high mountain in a strange world. After an evil voice of one called Lord Foul gives him a message of doom for the lords of the land, he is led down to the village of mithil stonedown by someone named Lena.
   Lena heals him with hurtloam mud. His sudden recovery is more than he can bear, and he rapes Lena. Despite this, Lena's mother atiaran agrees to lead Covenant to Revelstone, home of the lords. Covenant calls himself the unbeliever because he cannot believe in the magic of the land. He fears it is merely a delirious escape from reality.
   A friendly giant, saltheart foamfollower takes Covenant to Revelstone, where he is greeted. The lords are shocked at Foul's message. A cavewight holds the precious Staff of Law which they need to fight him. They must rescue the Staff from the cavewight caverns under Mount Thunder. Covenant goes with them, guarded by the bloodguard Bannor.
At first their journey goes well, but they are attacked by the evil creatures of Lord Foul.

Jochannon Adar Mahler, Resident Scholar


Detailed literary breakdown of Lord Foul's Bane - Chronicles of Thomas Covenant 1
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Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%




FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - search for identity/new understanding
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 20's-30's - 40's-50's
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - can cast many different spells
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed - emotionally unstable - wild
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - physically sick

Main Adversary
Identity: - magical being
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - mastermind
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can cast all sorts of spells
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - bulging muscles - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Jungle - Desert - Water - Mountains - Forests
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a primitive/fantasy society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - rape/molest (yeech!)
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Morgawr - Voyage of the Jerle Shannara 3 by Terry Brooks
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Silver Twilight Falling by David T. Koonce




Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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