What made you a believer?

[Worm of Despite]

The rape of Lena, as bad as that sounds, made me a believer. I knew then this wasn't your run-of-the-mill fantasy.

[Myste]

I didn't get hooked by any one thing--I read all 6 straight through in high school, because I was the kind of person who finished reading what I started, even if I didn't get it or even like it--I hated TC forLena--I'd never read anything like it. And the 2nd chrons were even more gruesome. They were way too much for me.

But even though I'd had this viscerally negative response to them, they kept coming back to me at odd moments--I'd remember the rape scene, or aliantha, or the Giants, or Vain--and think, "I should read those again." I loved MN and the short stories, but was freaked by the chrons and GAP. But they still kept recurring in my head.

Then I reread them as an adult, and it was like standing on Kevinswatch must have been--this whole intricate story and land spread out in front of me, vaguely familiar, a little intimidating, and utterly vibrant.

[Ninquelote]

And no, I was never disgusted with the Lena scene.

I thought everyone was, at least were to. I think SRD wanted us to be disgusted so we could be able to see the contrast between his good and bad acts, and his development through the book. I mean, from the beginning I was disgusted by TC's deeds, in the end I loved him for his deeds. That's one of the major issues in the book, I think.

[I'm Murrin]

I wasn't really disguted by it either. I don't konw, I just didn't think of it that way - I always tended to see it in terms of Covenant's struggling to cope with whats happening, rather than his hurting an innocent person.

[UrLord]

For me, the reason I loved it the first time was simply the realism of the characters. LFB was the first book I read that really made me believe that the characters were realistic and had actual depth. To me, in every other book I read, the characters simply funtioned as...tools...of the plot. Simply the means to convey the story. The first time I read the story, I believed that Covenant was as real as any real person...even if I was convinced he was a complete ass. Of course, at that time I also thought that Troy was a wonderful guy and a true hero. The next time I read the Chronicles years later, I was more able to put myself into Covenant's shoes and understand his decisions...I think it was about that time that my opinions of Covenant and Troy were reversed. Of course, Covenant's depth as a character was not the only thing that hooked me. I also loved Mhoram for how bravely (and realistically), he acted in TPTP, and I can never forget Kevin, whose story was almost as great as the entire rest of the Chronicles.

[JD]

For me the appeal was that Covenant was a realistic person. He was a good guy, who occassionaly did bad things, and had bad things happen to him and others. Covenant was an anti-hero who wanted to be a hero but could not afford to believe the Land was real because of his leprosy. Plus SRD's great detailed storylines, and characters. How could a person not like Saltheart Foamfollower, or the fealty of the Bloodguard. The people of the Land were so genuine, thier songs and poems so beautiful, Donaldson's descriptive views of the landscape, the carnage of war. The books made you think about the way you treat people and the way you wished to be treated. Made me appreciate the things I have and the way I now look at things. Thank you SRD!

[Bahgoon the Unbearable]

For me it was the Wraiths of Andelain that captured my interest. I saw in my mind, marsh-lights dancing with mathematical precision in the dark. It was just eerily beautiful.

[[Syl]]

At first it was

A real man -- real in all the ways that we recognize as real -- finds himself suddenly abstracted from the world and deposited in a physical situation which could not possibly exist: sounds have aroma, smells have color and depth, sights have texture, touches have pitch and timbre. There he is informed by a disembodied voice that he has been brought to that place as a champion for his world. He must fight to the death in single combat against a champion from another world. If he is defeated, he will die, and his world -- the real world -- will be destroyed because it lacks the inner strength to survive.
The man refuses to believe that what he is told is true. He asserts that he is either dreaming or hallucinating, and declines to be put in the false position of fighting to the death where no "real" danger exists. He is implacable in his determination to disbelieve his apparent situation, and does not defend himself when he is attacked by the champion of the other world.
Question: is the man's behavior courageous or cowardly? This is the fundamental question of ethics.

And then it was just Donaldson's writing itself.

[Cheval]

It is hard to pin-point exactly one or two (...or three, or four,...)
things that made me hooked.

But what I do know is the writing style, the vocabulary used, and
the events that happen is what caught my attention.
The idea of the main character being an "anti-hero"
is also an interesting concept. (Covenant is NOT your run-of-the-mill
"good guy" that most novels rely upon.)
And the many different creatures that were introduced are very good!
(Not too much like LOTR, where there are only a handfull of critters)

After getting further into the story line, I also felt the emotions that
Mr. Donaldson put the characters through. (WOW!)
- The bitterness that the townspeople felt toward Covenant,
The rage from Triock, the "hatered" that the people of The Land had
towards Fangthane/Corruption/Lord Foul/The Despiser.

There are very few books that I had read that gave me such a
tug-of-war in feelings while I read the stories.
I guess these few reasons are why The Chronicles are my favorite.

(... oh yeah, then there is FOAMFOLLOWER!)