Ark of the Covenant

A place to discuss the entirety of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

Moderators: kevinswatch, aliantha

Post Reply
Lazy Luke
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 1369
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 9:19 am
Location: Plasticdisguiseville

Ark of the Covenant

Post by Lazy Luke »

Seems a shame this biblical epic has not been put under discussion, as the Ark was believed to have contained Aaron's rod - (the staff of power) - and a pot of mana - (amanibhavam)!

Not to mention the two tablets of stone - the Ten Commandments...

Always interesting when you think that Stephen Donaldson extended the Last Chronicles, making the complete Thomas Covenant series ten books rather than three trilogy's of nine. Or was it always his intention to parallel the Last Chronicles with the bible story in order to complete the history of 'The (promised) Land'?
User avatar
Holsety
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 3422
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 8:56 pm
Location: Principality of Sealand

Post by Holsety »

I passed by a lady a few days ago wearing a shirt with a heart very beautifully imposed over a skull. A fun way of thinking about that "young/liberals think with their heart and old/conservatives think with their mind."

Well I guess it's all pretty easy with a little guidance. I can see a world being handed from the creator to covenant, and covenant being the one to whom the commandments apply. A Christ parallel is already pretty well spelled out in The Power That Preserves.

I don't think I will spell out each one, because it might already be too tiresome to you to review my thoughts to begin with, but since you did make this post, I guess you care about other thoughts? (I really do wonder about things like that).

Perhaps in the second book, Hile Troy is the god that some dwellers of the land have chosen over Covenant - summoned by Atiaran in place of Covenant unintentionally, his plans for war are heeded. Even Covenant, who inveighs against passion, tries to bestow his ring upon Hile Troy only to be stopped by the Forestal. I can see how, for instance, the "name of the lord in vain" could be reflected in Mhoram choosing to send Covenant back when Covenant posed a single "our-earth" life over the hope of the land, and Mhoram's hope in Covenant not failing at the end of the Revelstone arc. I can also see these rules being reflected against Foul when he asks for death from Covenant - I don't think the books really reflect a belief that Foul can be eliminated? I could see how Covenant dying at the end of "White Gold Wielder" could reflect "Thou Shalt Not Murder." I could see Joan being taken to the Land as "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery."

So I think your idea has a lot of merit, though I'm not going to spell it all out. I was thinking about the four children in the story of passover, trying to match one up to a character, and like an evil smirk the thought came over me - is Covenant the child that doesn't know how to ask, because he raped?

I have a theory of my own - the arch of time. What exactly is it? What if it is the internet, or our existence, or this forum?

Can we get Kevin's Watch renamed to the Arc of Time?

Kevin's Watch was destroyed by a caesure (sp?) in the Last Chronicles. The law of time being broken broke the land's watch. What a mess.

I had this idea kicking around in my head, so "good" that maybe it is worth sharing.

In Fatal Revenant and Against All Things Ending, Covenant says "What Have You Done?", worrying Linden, only to clarify that he was impressed, not horrified, by her decision to bring him back, despite the odd way he phrased the question.

And yet, what if there was a little more to that?

One of my earliest memories of KW was a watch member saying he doesn't like medical malpractice attorneys who sue doctors who save the lives of their patients. I think it was Cail.

Maybe Covenant remembered that from Cail while he was in the internet and quickly decided not to get into an argument with Linden about the Law of Death. Maybe Cail is even Stephen R Donaldson. I dunno. Somebody has to be, right?

Realistically, it might be fun to think that SRD accessed The Watch and read that tidbit, and eventually incorporated it (AFAIK Cail is pretty well respected on the Watch, even a schmuck like me thought well of him).
User avatar
dlbpharmd
Lord
Posts: 14460
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2003 9:27 am
Been thanked: 2 times

Post by dlbpharmd »

SRD originally intended Second Chronicles to consist of four books, but was compelled by Lester Del Rey to do another trilogy. By the time the Last Chronicles was in the works, there was no longer a Lester and so SRD got his way and we got a tetralogy.
Image
Lazy Luke
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 1369
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 9:19 am
Location: Plasticdisguiseville

Post by Lazy Luke »

:goodpost:
starkllr
Ramen
Posts: 92
Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2003 3:21 pm
Location: Arlington, VA
Contact:

Post by starkllr »

dlbpharmd wrote:SRD originally intended Second Chronicles to consist of four books, but was compelled by Lester Del Rey to do another trilogy. By the time the Last Chronicles was in the works, there was no longer a Lester and so SRD got his way and we got a tetralogy.
He laid out how it would have looked in the Gradual Interview. It would have been the same exact story, but:

Book one would have ended after the Soothtell
Book two would have ended after the escape from the Elohim
Book three would have ended exactly where The One Tree ended
Book four would have been unchanged
Post Reply

Return to “The Entire Chronicles”