Why I love The One Tree

[matrixman]

Having been at KW for a few years now and having participated in the Chronicles dissections, I’ve gained a much better appreciation of Donaldson’s great work via the insights of Watchers. I’ve also become aware that two of the books, The One Tree and The Runes of the Earth, seem to divide opinions more than other volumes in the Chronicles (so far). But never mind Runes, I’m here to talk about The One Tree. As someone who loves every page of TOT, I’m naturally puzzled by the negative response it seems to get from many readers. As far as I’m aware, Fist and Faith and danlo are the only other two fellow Watchers I know who have asserted TOT as their favorite Covenant book. We seem to be a small minority indeed.

Anyway, nothing earth-shaking from me, I just wanted to try and sum up why I love The One Tree:

1) Exploring the greater world – I would’ve thought the very idea of traveling beyond the Land would be exciting for Chronicles readers, the excitement of charting unknown territory. So it’s sad when I hear people say they hate TOT because it doesn’t take place in the Land. As I understand it, the gist of their argument is that the Land is all that matters, everything outside is irrelevant. I’ll call that an isolationist view of the Chronicles. I guess mine is an expansionist view, then. For me, heading beyond the Land doesn’t detract from the mythos of the Chronicles, it enriches it. The Land can be viewed within the context of the wider Earth it belongs to. SRD likes to say that his stories are always aimed like a laser toward the end, but TOT expresses a complementary philosophy that I like: it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. And what a magnificent journey TOT provided. On a more personal note, maybe I respond to TOT the way I do because it brings a distant memory of stories my dad used to tell, Chinese legends of monsters and magic in the seas.

2) Exploring the greater world, in the company of Giants! – as The Wounded Land ended, I remember being totally excited about The One Tree. How could I not be? We’re going to sail the seas with Giants? How much more awesome can you get than traveling with Giants onboard Starfare’s Gem? The other week, while chatting about the Giants with Lucimay, she said that Saltheart Foamfollower was the definition of friendship. I would say the same for Pitchwife in the 2nd Chrons. Then there are the other fascinating Giants of the Search: the fearless warrior the First, the Earth-Sight afflicted Cable Seadreamer, and his guilt-ridden brother and Commander of Starfare’s Gem, Grimmand Honninscrave. He is the most emotionally complex Giant, in my view. A Hamlet of his people.

3) Illusion and impermanence – TOT represents the wild capriciousness of the open seas versus the stable rock and soil of the Land. (With the Land dying under the Sunbane, it was also a relief to just get away from the place for a while.) As was discussed in the chapter dissections, TOT’s voyage almost has the quality of a dream: strange lands seemingly wink into existence, then vanish back into the blankness of the sea. Capriciousness also describes the peoples encountered on the voyage. That, and deceptiveness. Illusion is a theme that runs through TOT. The very first crisis involves deception by a Raver hiding aboard the dromond, mistaken by Linden for the darkness within herself. Then there is Elemesnedene, an illusionary realm maintained by elusive beings with deceptive natures. Nothing is ever what it seems with the Elohim. Meanwhile, political deception pervades Bhrathairealm, with Kasreyn pulling the strings of the puppet ruler Rant Absolain. You might also say the way Kasreyn directly controls others involves an “optical” illusion: people on the outside appear normal, while on the inside his geas takes over their will. The ultimate illusion (or delusion) of the story is Covenant’s honest but mistaken belief that he must forge a new Staff from the One Tree at any cost. That ties into another bit of deceptiveness: the nature of Cable Seadreamer’s vision. The wound upon the Earth he sees is the Sunbane…or is it actually Covenant’s/Lord Foul’s venom ?

4) Bhrathairealm, Kasreyn of the Gyre and Nom – there is something familiar yet exotic about Bhrathairealm that really captivates me. It evokes some great Middle Eastern or Mediterranean capital, a place of both grandeur and pettiness. We admire the commerce and material wealth of the Bhrathair, as well as their engineering feats: the Sandwall that holds back the Great Desert , their immense Harbor, and the imposing structure of the Sandhold. If a similar thriving city state could have existed in the Land, maybe it would have been in the ancient days around the time of Berek’s nation. It was a Raver that ended up controlling Berek’s King,and in Bhrathairealm it was a croyel that ended up, well, sharing control with Kasreyn. Kasreyn himself is a marvelously creepy character. Okay, he’s a bad guy, but it’s refreshing to see someone whose system of magic does not derive from Kevin’s Lore or Demondim lore. As for Nom: one of SRD’s most incredible creature creations. danlo says the Sandgorgons are unlike any other creature he’s come across, and given his wide-ranging knowledge of the fantasy genre, that’s saying something about the originality of Donaldson’s imagination.

5) Linden Avery – her psychological journey in TOT is gripping to me. I’ve said before that I never had a problem accepting her in place of Thomas Covenant as the main POV. The collision between the demons of her past and the “real” demons of croyel and Ravers sets up the kind of moral conflict that SRD loves to explore.

6) The Haruchai – like he does with the Giants, SRD also shines a much greater spotlight on the Haruchai in the 2nd Chronicles. In TOT, the Haruchai are perhaps at their bravest – and most foolhardy - in their defiance of Elohim and Kasreyn. They are also the most judgmental in their condemning of Linden as an agent of Corruption. Finally, they are at their most selflessly heroic, in the person of Brinn in his battle with the Guardian of the One Tree.

[Herem]

I'm quite new to the Watch, having stumbled across it when re-reading the Chronicles, and have found the discussions - particularly Dissecting the Land - inspiring in revisiting a series of books I hadn't probably read for 10 years.

I'm currently reading the One Tree, and have to agree with you matrixman - can't understand why it tends to get slated as the weakest book on here. I think the fact that none of it is set in the Land might have something to do with it, but there are many points in its favour:

After meeting the Giants of the Search, and being put through the emotional meatgrinder of Coercri, how could we not want to spend more time exploring one of the most captivating of SRD's creations, and what better way to do so than at sea. The calm and jubilant mood of the first chapter of TOT certainly turns out to be a false dawn. I always thought that the Giants were rather unevenly represented in the 1st Chronicles, basically Saltheart Foamfollower and the Giant-ravers are our only real meetings with Giants, so more were certainly due. And they don't disappoint - as has been said before, Pitchwife is one of the great characters in literature, fantasy or otherwise.

Anyway, have just made it away from the Elohim, and the undercurrent of menace throughout those chapters certainly continues in Brathairealm. Also looking forward to the appearance of another outstanding character...



Nom.

[Damelon]

I think The One Tree is the best book of the Second Chronicles, and only after The Power That Preserves overall in my ranking of the Chronicles as a whole.

Kaseryn of the Gyre is the most interesting character in the Second Chronicles. He's a "free lance" evil character - he has motivations separate of Foul's.

[Seafoam Understone]

Having been at KW for a few years now and having participated in the Chronicles dissections, I’ve gained a much better appreciation of Donaldson’s great work via the insights of Watchers. I’ve also become aware that two of the books, The One Tree and The Runes of the Earth, seem to divide opinions more than other volumes in the Chronicles (so far). But never mind Runes, I’m here to talk about The One Tree. As someone who loves every page of TOT, I’m naturally puzzled by the negative response it seems to get from many readers. As far as I’m aware, Fist and Faith and danlo are the only other two fellow Watchers I know who have asserted TOT as their favorite Covenant book. We seem to be a small minority indeed.

*ahem* I've said before that TOT is one of my favorites of all the series... But I forgive you.

I too enjoy reading TOT for many of the same reasons that you've stated. Different adversaries, different challenges and GIANTS! I mean when I was first introduced to Foamfollower I fell in love with that race immediately. Yes, I like the Haurachi and the Bloodguard for their valor and the ability to drive TC nuts ("...Bannor used to make me want to scream!") But it is the Giants that I cherish.

The strength and valor of the First literally sang to me. I can't imagine a woman tougher than her and really admire her. Love that line: "...heard my ears aright? Did not the Ghaddi grant me this glave?" The irony of that tickles me to no end. Also for the fact that she is able to love her husband who is also the one who helped her father die... she saw above that... that he saved the lives of the ship and of the other giants. She loved him to be sure; "...I must hear the song in Pitchwife's heart." and whispering quietly after Pitchwife's song "My Love's Day"... "and I love you too my husband."

Pitchwife. Just as equally as complex emotionally as Honniscrave. He too has his demons (the aforementioned death of his captian and the first's father) but he rises above them to find mirth and positive good cheer in almost every situation.... or at least tries to. He was a great support to both Covenant and Linden. He too can be measured as an equal to Foamfollower.

Cable Seadreamer... tortured by an unseen agony that not even Donaldson could describe via Linden and she could "see it". Made me wonder (as an expert in non-verbal communications) why he couldn't (with the giantish gifts of tongues) use a form of sign language... yes, he did MIME to Linden near the end of the book but it's not quite the same thing if ya'll know what I mean. His sacrfice at the end... ahh my heart.

Honniscrave: dedicated, stalwart in the defense of his ship but fiercely loyal to his brother and yes, as Matrixman said, haunted by his own demons of guilt. But he pointed out that it may have struck his brother anyway... "no-one knows how the Earthsight is granted or why it chooses one giant over the next..." (true he said it in WGW) But his strength and wisdom and stubborness... pulling at the chains that bound him til he broke free... even (temporarily) killing the Kemper in the same movement.

The rest of the book... yes, I agree with MM well written and paced very nicely and introducing wonderful new places and new beings to add to the complexity of the whole series.
How many of you ever pondered what type of Testing would the Elohim given you?
How many of you just for the hell of it said "Nom" aloud while at work (pissed off at your boss) and then looked nervously over your shoulder a little while later... just in case you needed to make a hasty exit out of the building?
If ever a movie is made of this book who else but maybe Christopher Lee as the Kemper... Vincent Price would've been a marvelous choice were he alive... I dunno... maybe Ian McKellen? Sort of a anti-Gandalf?

All the series I love each one... just finished re-reading the second chrons and still want to start all over again. But if I do... I'll eagerly be looking forward to finishing TWL to begin TOT.

[Fist and Faith]

Every reason mentioned so far is great. But let's hear a little about the Elohim. Unsurpassed, perhaps, in power and mystery! And a good dose of wisdom. (Even if not of the type we expected before we met them.) Here's some good stuff.

"Where are we going?"

"Going?" replied Daphin lightly. "We are not 'going' at all. We merely walk." When Linden stared at her, she continued, "This is Elemesnedene itself. Here there is no other 'where' to which we might go."

Deliberately, Linden exaggerated her surface incomprehension. "There has to be. We're moving. My friends are somewhere else. How will we get back to them? How will we find that Elohimfest Chant mentioned?"

"Ah, Sun-Sage," Daphin chuckled. Her laugh sounded like a moonrise in this place which had neither moon nor sun. "In Elemesnedene all ways are one. We will meet with your companions when that meeting has ripened. And there will be no need to seek the place of the Elohimfest. It will be held at the center, and in Elemesnedene all places are the center. We walk from the center to the center, and where we now walk is also the center."

We are the Würd. Morninglight swirling with color like a portrait of the clachan in metaphor. A willow leaved in butterflies. Self-contemplation.

Power.

Dear God! She could hardly form words through the soundless adumbration of the chimes. The Elohim-! They're Earthpower. The heart of the Earth. Earthpower incarnate.

She could not think in sequence. Hopes and insights outraced each other. These people could do everything they wanted. They were everything they wanted. They could give any gift they chose, for any reason of whim or conviction.

"Sun-Sage," she said with a note like sorrow or regret in her voice, "this thing which you name Earthpower is our Würd." Like Daphin, she blurred the sound so that it could have been either Wyrd or Word. "You believe it to be a thing of suzerain might. In sooth, your belief is just. But have you come so far across the Earth without comprehending the helplessness of power? We are what we are - and what we are not, we can never become. He whom you name the Despiser is a being of another kind entirely. We are effectless against him. That is our Würd."

And how great a line is, "I desire to be understood."?!

And here's a great Covenant moment that comes among the Elohim:

"No." Among the Giants, Covenant stood like imminent fire, facing the Elohim with wild magic poised in every muscle. His passion dominated the knoll. In a low voice, as dangerous as a viper, he articulated, "You can discount me. That's been done before. But the Haruchai are my friends. You will not harm them."

"That choice is not yours to make!" Chant retorted. But now it was he who sounded petulant and diminished.

And then there's Pitchwife, as wise a being as can be found anywhere:

"Is that more of your pitch? How do you make it?"

At that, he laughed, and his mirth came more easily. "Yes, Chosen. In all good sooth, this is my pitch. The vat is formed of dolomite, that it may not be fused as would the stone of Starfare's Gem. But as to the making of pitch - ah, that it skills nothing for me to relate. You are neither Giant nor wiver. And the power of pitch arises as does any other, from the essence of the adept who wields it. All power is an articulation of its wielder. There is no other source than life - and the desire of that life to express itself. But there must also be a means of articulation. I can say little but that this pitch is my chosen means. Having said that, I have left you scarce wiser than before."

Linden shrugged away his disclaimer. "Then what you're saying," she murmured slowly, "is that the power of wild magic comes from Covenant himself? The ring is just his - his means of articulation?"

He nodded. "I believe that to be sooth. But the means controls intimately the nature of what may be expressed. By my pitch I may accomplish nothing for the knitting of broken limbs, just as no theurgy of the flesh may seal stone as I do."

"Be not so hasty in your appraisal of these Elohim. They are who they are - a high and curious people - and their might is matched and conflicted and saddened by their limitations."

Linden roused herself to ask, "Then why are they so cryptic? They haven't given you anything except hints and mystification. Why don't they come right out and tell you what you need to know?"

"Ah, that is plain to me," Pitchwife replied on Covenant's behalf. "Unearned knowledge is perilous. Only by the seeking and gaining of it may its uses be understood, its true worth measured. Had Gossamer Glowlimn my wife been mystically granted the skill and power of her blade without training or test or experience, by what means could she then choose where to strike her blows, how extremely to put forth her strength? Unearned knowledge rules its wielder, to the cost of both."

[Cail]

As I've said before, I don't like TOT. In every reread of the series up until my last one when TRotE came out, I skipped TOT. Even after my last reread, I still feel that it's out of place with the rest of the series and can easily be skipped, as all the salient points are covered in the WHGB in WGW.

That said, I did enjoy it much more this last time than I did when it came out (yes, I've only read it twice). Specifically, the whole sequence in Bhrathairealm is breathtaking, and I'd actually enjoy a series of books based there. I think that segment is some of the best writing in the first two Chrons.

I also really dig the depth that the various Haruchai are given, especially (surprise, surprise) Cail. Much more so than Brinn, he is the extension of Bannor's character, and to truly understand Cail's choice in WGW, you have to have read TOT.

Cail's choice in WGW is nearly as moving as Bannor's description of Korik's return to Revelstone, and his choice to tend to the Ranyhyn.

So I dunno, I won't skip the book again, but I still don't think that it fits well with the other 5 books.

[Lord Mhoram]

It is a fine book, but I didn't like it as much as the other novels of the Chronicles. As superficial as this sounds in comparison to other analyses, the fact that much of it is not set in the Land or "our' Earth was a negative for me.

[kevinswatch]

I don't remember not liking TOT when I read it. At least, it definitely wasn't as bad as Runes, heh. (Is it possible for anything to be as bad as Runes? Heh.)

But yeah, TOT had a lot of great moments. Plus, it had Pitchwife, so it couldn't be that bad. I think I remember Pitchwife carrying most of the second chronicles on his back when I read it. Pitchwife is the man.

Like Damelon, I remember TPTP was my favorite. After that, I can't remember which one I enjoyed the most next.

Jeeze, it's been, what, 7 years since I read the whole series? No wonder I can't remember anything anymore.-jay

[Edit]

I just remembered that one of my favorite quotes came from TOT:

Like a groan through his teeth, Pitchwife said, "Gossamer Glowlimn, I love you."

[Edit again]

Now that I think about it, TOT may have been my favorite of the second chronicles. Since I don't remember being too wowed by TWL or WGW. (Of course, again, 7 years. Heh.)

[Fist and Faith]

I suppose asking you to do a re-read of the 2nd Chrons would be a silly idea...

[dlbpharmd]

What a great thread....

I agree that there are parts of TOT that are outstanding, and the Kemper is a great villian. What ticks me off about TOT is Linden. I get so damned irritated at her! And then she tries to kill Ceer - I get pissed just thinking about it.

We do get to see the Haruchai at their best in TOT, and Brinn was da man guarding the stairway up Kemper's Pitch. SRD's writing is absolutely superb, as Brinn and Cail explain their decision to listen the merewives. I'll try to find that quote and post it.

[Peven]

i am actually surprised to read some of the negative comments about TOT here. while i think if is probably the toughest read of the first 6 Covenant books i think it is also perhaps the most intellectually engrossing as well. there is a lot of information to take in and process as well as more complex moral issues thrown in the mix. i remember feeling like i had to slog through it the first time i read the series back when i was in high school, but it also opened up the world where the Land exists so much that it felt worth it. like many, i think the most frustrating part of the book was Linden Avery, who i wanted to throttle many times. in the end, i think TOT provide the depth and richness to the second chronicles much the same way as TIW provides for the first.

[Cail]

I think, other than Linden, the biggest two issues for me were the break in continuity and the fact that the whole trip was basically made so that Vain could touch the Tree.

No where else in the books is there any mention of the Worm, and the Worm itself doesn't fit in with a lot of what we've already been told.

Now I know I was too young to appreciate the story when I first read it, but even now, much of TOT just seems like excess that could have been handled with something like Tull's Tale.

[Fist and Faith]

We do get to see the Haruchai at their best in TOT, and Brinn was da man guarding the stairway up Kemper's Pitch. SRD's writing is absolutely superb, as Brinn and Cail explain their decision to listen the merewives. I'll try to find that quote and post it.

Here ya go! I included it in my Dissection of GILDEN-FIRE.

"In the song of the merewives we heard the fire of our yearning for that which we have left behind. Assuredly we were deluded - but the delusion was sweet. Mountains sprang about us. The air became the keen breath which the peaks exhale from their snows. And upon the slopes moved the women who call to us in their longing for fire and seed and offspring." For a moment, he broke into the tonal tongue of the Haruchai; and that language seemed to transform his visage, giving him an aspect of poetry. "Therefore did we leap to answer, disregarding all service and safety. The limbs of our women are brown from sun and birth. But there is also a whiteness as acute as the ice which bleeds from the rock of mountains, and it burns as the purest snow burns in the most high tor, the most wind-flogged col. For that whiteness, we gave ourselves to the Dancers of the Sea."

[Cail]

That is a great passage.

[dlbpharmd]

We do get to see the Haruchai at their best in TOT, and Brinn was da man guarding the stairway up Kemper's Pitch. SRD's writing is absolutely superb, as Brinn and Cail explain their decision to listen the merewives. I'll try to find that quote and post it.

Here ya go! I included it in my Dissection of GILDEN-FIRE.

"In the song of the merewives we heard the fire of our yearning for that which we have left behind. Assuredly we were deluded - but the delusion was sweet. Mountains sprang about us. The air became the keen breath which the peaks exhale from their snows. And upon the slopes moved the women who call to us in their longing for fire and seed and offspring." For a moment, he broke into the tonal tongue of the Haruchai; and that language seemed to transform his visage, giving him an aspect of poetry. "Therefore did we leap to answer, disregarding all service and safety. The limbs of our women are brown from sun and birth. But there is also a whiteness as acute as the ice which bleeds from the rock of mountains, and it burns as the purest snow burns in the most high tor, the most wind-flogged col. For that whiteness, we gave ourselves to the Dancers of the Sea."

Yes, that's the one! I love that chapter!

[Relayer]

I love TOT. Brathairealm, the sea journeys, Findail and Vain, the paradoxes of the relationship between TC and Linden... great stuff. My favorite book is TIW, but TOT may be 2nd (maybe I just like blue covers ).

No where else in the books is there any mention of the Worm, and the Worm itself doesn't fit in with a lot of what we've already been told.

Spoiler

No, but he's introducing a new concept that does fit in with much of what happens (or is foreshadowed) in Runes...

[tonyz]

There's a lot of good stuff in there - we learn a <i>lot</i> about the Giants and the <i>Haruchai</i>, but the book does seem to wander rather a lot.

I am not sure that Donaldson's original structure -- four two-part books -- for the Second Chronicles might not have worked better. That would have looked like:

intro to Sunbane + Revelstone + Covenant's soothtell

trip to Coercri + trip to Elohim + Covenant's starvision + silencing

Bhraitharrealm + the One Tree + Linden's wielding power

to the Land and Revelstone + encounter with Lord Foul

There's a bit too much wandering in TOT, I think, and though there are many many good parts, it seems somehow adrift.

tIW and tPtP are my two favorite of the novels, for what it's worth.

[Cail]

No where else in the books is there any mention of the Worm, and the Worm itself doesn't fit in with a lot of what we've already been told.

Spoiler

No, but he's introducing a new concept that does fit in with much of what happens (or is foreshadowed) in Runes...

Well, that remains to be seen. Certainly a lot that happened with the Elohim is in play in Runes.

[Fist and Faith]

However, the Worm is mentioned in WGW. The section that includes:

Findail paused at the wall, answered over his shoulder. "The Worm was not made restive by his approach, for he did not win his way with combat. In that age, the One Tree had no Guardian. It was he himself who gave the Tree its ward, setting the Guardian in place so that the vital wood of the world's life would not again be touched or broken."

Not much, to be sure. But "No where else in the books is there any mention of the Worm..." is incorrect.

[Cail]

OK, it's mentioned (Christ, do you have these books memorized Fist?!?). But the Worm mythology isn't ever mentioned prior to TOT, and one could argue that its inclusion in WGW was merely to keep the (broken) continuity.

I know it's been discussed before, but is there a way to reconcile both the Creator and the Worm?