Definitely Donaldson. Though I'm biased since I dislike arthurian type fantasy in general, as I don't go for the glamorization of the ruling classes (e.g. the idea that the proper heir must ascend to the throne for all to be set right with the world.) Yes, I've read all the Jungian analysis that it'...

Pre-1975 sci-fi is the best. It ain't called the Golden Age of Science Fiction for nuttin. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_science_fiction Sturgeon's Law: "Ninety percent of everything is crud." There was no "golden age" really, it's just that over time all the crud has been...

I don't think HT was lying about his real-world job, but he was incompetent. He probably only fought war games in a modern context which didn't prepare him for a low-tech real war. The fact that he had no contingency plan if the scouts were delayed proves that (what if all of the Ramen scouts were k...

The novels are thematically related but there's no story arc or continuity. Last Legends of Earth has concepts from the previous novels, but plot and characters (with one exception) stands alone. LLoE does incorporate - voors, distorts (from Radix) - the Zotl (from In Other Worlds) - a character fro...

Bureaucracy being what it is, did Covenant even call the correct department? Yes for a Pentagon warrior there would also be more "need to know" security involved, but there is also just the possibility he called the wrong department. Like if HT said he worked for the FDA, Covenant might ha...

A. A. Attanasio: Radix tetrad. Particularly the first book (Radix) and last book (The Last Legends of Earth) Radix is out of print now, but as books 2, 3, & 4 have been reprinted recently, hopefully Radix will be back in print soon. I originally read library copy of Radix, then spent ~$30 for a ...

Most of the scenes in Dune are like that (not the book iitself, where the events must be taking place over several years) The dialog in particular, where it takes a few pages to describe what must be happening very quickly in realtime (Paul/Jamis fight, Paul's test with the Gom Jabar & pain indu...

Hmmm. . . not quite what I was thinking when I read Avatar's post. Are there any fantasy series in which magic really isn't magic, but instead a form of technology which the people of the world don't know exists? Technology they manipulate, but don't understand? For instance, a world like Tolkien's...

For really great "Epic" sci-fi/fantasy, the works of A. A. Attanasio are awesome. I have read Radix (out of print in U.S. though :( and it was one of the best sci-fi novels I have ever read, and I think a TC fan would especially enjoy it. The last of the Radix tetrad "The Last Legends...

I believe that TC notes in TPTP (or maybe retrospectively in the 2nd trilogy) that he could have destroyed Foul with the White Gold ring, BUT then he would have become the Land's new despiser. Foamfollowers laughter was a way to diminish Foul without merely replacing one mean super-bad guy with anot...

I believe that "bloody" is generally used more in England, since it's common in books by English authors. Probably not the vernacular in Bigotville USA. "Hellfire" is another expletitive that I've never heard in speech before. "Hell" of course is used quite often, but n...

When I first read the series in 1991, The One Tree was my least favorite of them all because I was expecting the Elohim to have the dignity and compassion of the old Lords, so I wanted to throw the book across the room, I was so mad at them :-) Also 1/3 of the book was about Kasreyn which seemed to ...

I don't believe that Linden can bear Covenant's child because they did not mate in our world. Covenant's leprosy was not healed when he returned to our world after LFB and TIW. Similiarly, he was always re-injured in the Land in ways to match his "real-world" state. Donaldson always left t...

On triggering the white gold, as I recall, Covenant's ring was already triggered from all the power in the earthroot cavern, and remained active when HT took the ring. So, HT did not have to activate the ring "cold". I believe that HT instinctively knew how to use the ring once it was acti...

Has anyone noticed that female characters tend to be named similiar to their parents, and the male characters are not. So we have :- Atiaran daughter of Tiaran Elena daughter of Lena Osondrea daughter of Sondrea Amatan daughter of Matin and so on.. OTOH, for the guys we have :- Prothall son of Dwill...