I'm a little nonplussed by the references to "statutory rape" in some posts. We are not told what the norms of the people of the Land are in relation to consensual sex between girls of Lena's age and men of Covenant's age. What we are told is that "Something that her people thought of...

But the rape of Lena, and the subsequent birth of Elena, is indeed critical. Not because it may necessitate sweeping plot changes. (However, it only mandates that Elena is not Covenant's daughter.) But because it articulates the place that Covenant starts from in the story - dangerous and unbelievi...

Let's be honest - the rape of Lena could be cut out altogether. Maybe he beats her up. Maybe he emotionally abuses/berates her. Maybe he just repudiates her affection and love. We don't need it to be rape for Covenant to: a) come off as an asshole b) have guilt/something to atone for/something eati...

The central issue in the Chronicles is the ability of humans to make choices that make a difference, even in the most seemingly hopeless situations - as Covenant eventually does in the First Chronicles, as do Covenant and Linden in the Second Chronicles, as do Covenant, Linden and Jeremiah in the La...

Interesting take... I'd love to learn what Foul's other attempts/plots to break the Arch (besides white gold or provoking the Creator) were. Did his time with the demimages ever lead to such attempts? Did he ever mess with the Elohim? Did he ever think to try to wake the Worm? The answers to your q...

I think he didn't rebuild his Creche because, first, it fell into the sea, and second, because his subsequent plans didn't require a seat of power to command armies from. And perhaps also because those plans did require a suitable vantage point from which to generate the Sunbane. It is plausible to...

There is another issue raised by this thread. In the Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayyam we find this verse: Ah, Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire! Would not we shatter it to bits-and then Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire! In a way this is what Coven...

I see Jeremiah pulling off some ridiculous but beautiful miracle, like returning to life in the "real" world. Why would he want to do that after he has achieved a long and sublime life with his loving mother and stepfather, and a blossoming of his abilities including the overcoming of his...

Something else to remember is that after his resurrection by Linden at the end of FR, Covenant's leprosy is active again and is undermining his eyesight during AATE and most of TLD. His life expectancy would not be very long under those circumstances (and remember, too, that the action in the last t...

wayfriend wrote:AFAICT the Lords had no moral imperative to not heal people who refused their aid.

This was dramatically illustrated by their attempt to cure dhukka at the beginning of TIW.

Two other points: 1. At the end of LFB the issue was whether to compel Covenant to act. At the start of TIW the issue was whether to heal Covenant's injuries. 2. Mhoram's actions in applying hurtloam at the start of TIW would have been in accordance with the collective decision of the Lords (and Way...

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales by H P Lovecraft, Vintage Classics edition.

Having thought some more about this topic, we find that in the 40 years that elapse between LFB and TIW, eight new Lords have been admitted to the Council - Elena, Verement, Shetra, Hyrim, Callindrill, Trevor, Loerya, Amatin. We are not told whether others have been admitted and have either retired ...

Perhaps there was an optimum number that could participate in the mindmeld of the Lords, and so the Lords aspired to have this many Lords at a time if possible. We can assume that this number would have been substantially more than the five incumbent Lords we find in LFB and again at the start of TP...

I think there is a significant progression between the First and Second Chronicles in the position of female characters. In the First Chronicles there is a single, male, main protagonist. Also, while there are many strong and interesting female characters, the main heroes of the Land that act throug...

Another estimate of the effect of the Lore on longevity and ageing comes from considering Elena. She is 40 at the time of TIW, but the description we are given of her is that of a woman in her late 20s. Let's assume that: (a) she grew like a normal girl until she was 18; (b) because of the circumsta...

If the Lords' lore slowed the ageing process and added to their longevity, this would almost certainly have included sustaining their fertility for longer than would be usual. It would also help to answer our questions if we knew more about the ordinary longevity and health of the people of the Land...

Nice pics from Hobart, StevieG.

Agree with that, wayfriend.

This is an interesting question. Perhaps the answer can be found by reading Ch.1 of AATE where we learn that, for ages prior to his arrival in the Land, Lord Foul had been exploring the Earth and experimenting with different powers in order to try to find some tool that would serve his ultimate pur...