Why I love The One Tree

[Fist and Faith]

(Christ, do you have these books memorized Fist?!?).

I live to serve.



Funny thing is, when Infelice joined the Watch, I asked her what her name meant, because I had not the slightest memory of it!

AND, when we learned that SRD was changing the title of Book 9 from Shall Pass Utterly to Should Pass Utterly (before he went and changed it to whatever), I emailed him that it should be Shall. I was thinking of The Legend of Berek Halfhand, and had forgotten about the line being Should in Lord Kevin's Lament. How about that, I "corrected" SRD! It's not easy being me!

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

I guess it's a matter of opinion. I have no problem with this paradox, but I imagine there are some who will never think the two are reconcilable. Here's a couple places it's discussed, and I imagine there are more:
kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4499
kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=829

[Cail]

OK, so it was inconclusive then too. But that was a real problem I had with TOT. All this Worm stuff came up and I was like, "WTF?" (well, maybe not "WTF?", since I was like 12 when I first read it, but you get the picture).

Thanks Fist, I was too lazy to look the old threads up.

[Avatar]

A good book indeed, although not my favourite of the 2nd Chrons (which distinction goes to The Wounded Land).

I think that of everything in it, it is the treatment of the Haruchai that I enjoy the most...the confrontation with the Kemper's guards, with the Sandgorgon, with the merewives. And of course, the gaurdian of the one tree. The Haruchai come through TOT shining in all respects.

--A

[dlbpharmd]

See, Matrixman? There are more people that enjoy TOT than you thought.

[matrixman]

Well, The One Tree was a bestseller, so I'm sure a good number of readers out there did enjoy it. I'm just saying that here at KW, I see more negative appraisals than positive...thus my desire to counter with an unabashedly pro-TOT statement.

The continuity issue with the Worm...I'm guessing that the Worm will play a more prominent role in the 3rd Chrons. Problem was that SRD never got around to doing the 3rd right after the 2nd, so the Worm sticks out as an unresolved mystery. After waiting twenty years, I certainly hope he'll finally explain the Worm (and a few other things). If this is really to be the "last" Chronicles he's now writing, then SRD needs to explain a whole lotta stuff in the remaining 3 books.

(On the other hand, the Worm already did play a pretty big role in TOT as the "defender" of the Tree. In video game terms, the Worm would be kinda like the Final Boss. I fear SRD may say that the Worm already fulfilled its function for the purposes of the story, and so does not need to reappear. I hope that's not the case.)

[wayfriend]

What everyone else has said. Plus:

The One Tree may not be my favorite Chronicles, but it is certainly in the top 3.

However, I always face reading The One Tree with no small amount of trepidation. There are not a lot of fun things happening in this book; it might have been called "The Book Of Woe" for all of the pain and misery that the reader is subjected to if they want to continue their journey.

- Covenant's vulnerability to the venom, which almost cost him his arm
- Covenant's humiliation at the hands of the Elohim
- Losing Covenant to the Elohim's silence
- Exploring in lurid detail the darkest parts of Linden's past
- The maiming of Starfare's Gem
- Linden's sacrifice to save Covenent from Kasreyn
- The deaths of so many Haruchai
- The Haruchai's distrust of Linden
- The Haruchai's withdrawal from service
- And the ultimate defeat at the One Tree

So I would not call The One Tree a fun read. No, I have to gird myself up to read it each time. I have to be in a certain mental state, where I can empathize enough to feel the pain, but not so much that I find the reading to be distasteful.

I can see why the Quest leaving the Land might be a sticking point for some. Well, the archetypal Quest does require the heroes to leave and come back with something. But in the first Chronicles we were treated to seeing the people of the Land fight for the Land; it was part of the Land's beauty. In The One Tree, the people of the Land have become useless in saving themselves, and they are dropped out of the story; they are irrelevant to their own salvation. That's sort of a sad realization. In fact, between that and the Sunbane, it's hard to keep feeling a love for the Land.

As for the Worm and the Creator, I think I have the answer to that, it doesn't daunt me. The Arch of Time is alive; anything alive contains the seeds of it's own destruction; different myths can model the same underlying reality. ( link).

Skipping past everything that's already been said, I would add that Pitchwife emerges in The One Tree as a character to reckon with. At the beginning, he's a curiosity; at the end, he's a necessity. When later in White Gold Weilder he becomes divided against Covenant, this is something that we the reader feel with the most profound dread - and that's only possible because we believe in him so much. Pitchwife is certainly one of Donaldson's greatest creations, and The One Tree is where that character is born.

Mentally, I know that all the pain and sorrow in The One Tree is necessary - necessary for the plot, necessary for the characters, necessary for the reader. White Gold Weilder would not be transcendant if not for The One Tree.

But that doesn't make it fun to read.

[dlbpharmd]

Pitchwife is certainly one of Donaldson's greatest creations, and The One Tree is where that character is born.

Mentally, I know that all the pain and sorrow in The One Tree is necessary - necessary for the plot, necessary for the characters, necessary for the reader. White Gold Weilder would not be transcendant if not for The One Tree.

But that doesn't make it fun to read.

Completely agree about Pitchwife, and well said in general.

[iQuestor]

I seem to agree with Cail. TOT is a drain for me to read. I never like Bhratherain (sp?) or Kasyryn, or the Kemper, or any of that. I am in the camp that its the Land that is the draw and the book, to me, seemed like a plot extension to get the chronicles from two books to three.

Yes there are parts I loved, Pitchwife, the merewives, but Linden really really got on my last nerve about 40 times.

I loved the constant tension between Findail and Vain, though the better ones come in the next book, especially when Findail tries to imprision him in a tree near Andelain.

Loved Vain's escape from Elemesdenes (sp?) and the whole chapter there.

Lord Foul's Bane and TIW easily remain my favorites. The second chrons as a whole are tiresome, but have their moments.

[danlo]

[Relayer]

Interesting opinions. I love reading TOT... the pacing is great, lots of great scenes. On the other hand, WGW is a total slog for me to get through (but there are some great scenes too). I'd never even re-read it until this last summer.

[wayfriend]

( WGW does have too many words, I agree. TOT, not so much. Then again, TWL + TOT was conceived as three books and compressed to two, while WGW was always it's own book. I think WGW didn't get the benefit which the other two received. )

[Relayer]

No, that's not why. TWL/TOT could be twice as long and I'd still love them.

It's because to me the whole tone of WGW is dread, followed by despair, interspersed with dismay. In the other books, there's always some sense of hope... that they'll find the Staff, win the wars, kick Foul's butt, figure out the Clave, find the One Tree, etc. But in WGW, TC gives up hope... and Linden knows it too. There are some great scenes, and the writing is fantastic... but it totally sets us up for feeling the same dread TC and LA feel before the end. Even the victories (Hamako, the Clave/Banefire, Caer-Caveral/Hollian) aren't celebrated, they just increase the sense of doom.

YMMV

[matrixman]

However, I always face reading The One Tree with no small amount of trepidation. There are not a lot of fun things happening in this book; it might have been called "The Book Of Woe" for all of the pain and misery that the reader is subjected to if they want to continue their journey.


So I would not call The One Tree a fun read. No, I have to gird myself up to read it each time. I have to be in a certain mental state, where I can empathize enough to feel the pain, but not so much that I find the reading to be distasteful.

Interesting, those are the exact same feelings I have...about The Power That Preserves.

In The One Tree, the people of the Land have become useless in saving themselves, and they are dropped out of the story; they are irrelevant to their own salvation. That's sort of a sad realization. In fact, between that and the Sunbane, it's hard to keep feeling a love for the Land.

Yes, it's a sad place to be, and so it's a relief to get away from it for a while. That sadness is countered by the thrill of going out there, where, um, Thomas Covenant has never gone before. Honestly, when I first read The One Tree, I was too busy being awed by all the new mysteries of the Earth to worry about what's happening back in the Land. Yes, the people there are powerless save for Sunder and Hollian (and the Haruchai), but that's where we place our trust in Covenant and company, that they are doing their utmost to find the answer to the Sunbane, even if they're not in the Land. As I was saying, the new wonders of the Earth kept me enthralled. I'm sorry I failed to mention the Nicor in my initial post: they are another reason why I think TOT is awesome. The Nicor, and the story of them as told by the Giants, hints at some ancient, cosmic connection, beyond anything we've known before in the Land (aside from Lord Foul).

[Herem]

Wayfriend wrote:

However, I always face reading The One Tree with no small amount of trepidation. There are not a lot of fun things happening in this book; it might have been called "The Book Of Woe" for all of the pain and misery that the reader is subjected to if they want to continue their journey.


So I would not call The One Tree a fun read. No, I have to gird myself up to read it each time. I have to be in a certain mental state, where I can empathize enough to feel the pain, but not so much that I find the reading to be distasteful.

Interesting, those are the exact same feelings I have...about The Power That Preserves.

I see where you're coming from with that. The Power that Preserves does feel somewhat like a death march even before Covenant's summoning to the Land: biting on the razor blade, the trek through the woods, shredding his feet, the first abortive summoning from Mhoram...then when he turns up in Mithil Stonedown things are unremittingly grim. IMO the shock of the Land under Foul's winter is up there with the Sunbane, and the events that follow, betrayal of the Ramen covert, the slaying of the Unfettered One, Pietten taunting Covenant, the murder of Lena, culminate with Covenant shambling about on his shattered ankle, at which point the reader is genuinely unable to believe in any sort of hopeful outcome. This is quite rare in the other fantasy I have read - feels wrong to mention David Eddings in the same sentence as Donaldson, but at the start of the Belgariad you're not really in any doubt as to the outcome.

The misery of TPTP is counteracted somewhat by the life-affirming mood of the Revelstone chapters, where even during Satansfist's attempt to poison the rock of the Keep Mhoram holds fast.

I think the presence of the Giants is what prevents TOT from being a descent into soul-destroying gloom. Even at the direst of points they are able to give you hope for the Search and the Land in general, exemplified by Pitchwife:

'Gossamer Glowlimn, I love you'

and chuckling away as the First, in Bhrathairain, asks ironically:

'Heard my ears aright? Did the gaddhi not grant me this glaive?'

I could go on...the life-affirming character of Giants in TPTP only becomes evident in my opinion after 'Colossus' where Foamfollower and Bannor discuss with Covenant:

'Blame is an enticing mask, but it is nevertheless a mask for the Despiser'

- great line!

Of course after Hotash Slay Foamfollower is restored to his former self, but for so much of TPTP he is tortured by his own demons. It comes as a shock when Covenant appears in Mithil Stonedown to realise that he doesn't know what happened to the Giants - the end of TIW is so abrupt, and this lack of knowledge poisons the first half of the book, as if TC can guess what happened but can't bring himself to articulate it...I had genuinely not considered that he didn't know when first reading TPTP.


Sorry I've rambled on a bit, turned into a discussion of at least 3 of the books but have been reading straight through and therefore tend to go off at a tangent!

[Cail]

I'm firmly in the camp that believes TPTP is the best book of the series precisely because it is so grim. For me, that's why the ending is so satisfying.

[Relayer]

The Power that Preserves does feel somewhat like a death march even before Covenant's summoning to the Land: biting on the razor blade, the trek through the woods, shredding his feet, the first abortive summoning from Mhoram...then when he turns up in Mithil Stonedown things are unremittingly grim. IMO the shock of the Land under Foul's winter is up there with the Sunbane, and the events that follow, betrayal of the Ramen covert, the slaying of the Unfettered One, Pietten taunting Covenant, the murder of Lena, culminate with Covenant shambling about on his shattered ankle, at which point the reader is genuinely unable to believe in any sort of hopeful outcome.

The misery of TPTP is counteracted somewhat by the life-affirming mood of the Revelstone chapters, where even during Satansfist's attempt to poison the rock of the Keep Mhoram holds fast.

I was going to say the exact same thing, in comparison to WGW... and that the breaks provided by Mhoram's chapters made TPTP much more enjoyable (give us more Mhoram!!!). I hated when those chapters ended and we had to go back to TC.

But even in the face of such little hope, it was the first time Covenant had found something to believe in, something to fight for, and was going to kick some serious Foul butt. No such hope exists in WGW.

I was too busy being awed by all the new mysteries of the Earth to worry about what's happening back in the Land. ... ... ... the new wonders of the Earth kept me enthralled.

Yep!!

[Avatar]

Good posts folks. TPTP is grim indeed, but as I've often said, for me nothing matches the impact of returning to the Land, and finding it broken in TWL.

--A

[The Dark Overlord]

I think Matrixman hit the nail on the head. I agree with all his perceptions of The One Tree- especially Brathairealm - that's just how I perceived it. While I love the First Chronicles( TPTP being the best book of all time!), TOT is my favorite of the Second Chronicles and mabey as much as TIW!

[Dawngreeter]

....for me nothing matches the impact of returning to the Land, and finding it broken in TWL.

--A

Indeed. Great book. I am now on my second time around the series mid-way though LFB & am really getting into it more than I thought I would. Originally I thought LFB was one of my least liked books, but man it is great. Maybe I'll think that way when I get to TOT, but I don't think so. It just seemed like too many giants & too much Linden all stuck on a ship. The environment just seemed too contricted for me. The story with the character on the island just didn't work for at all.

[variol son]

The Power that Preserves does feel somewhat like a death march even before Covenant's summoning to the Land: biting on the razor blade, the trek through the woods, shredding his feet, the first abortive summoning from Mhoram...then when he turns up in Mithil Stonedown things are unremittingly grim. IMO the shock of the Land under Foul's winter is up there with the Sunbane, and the events that follow, betrayal of the Ramen covert, the slaying of the Unfettered One, Pietten taunting Covenant, the murder of Lena, culminate with Covenant shambling about on his shattered ankle, at which point the reader is genuinely unable to believe in any sort of hopeful outcome.

The misery of TPTP is counteracted somewhat by the life-affirming mood of the Revelstone chapters, where even during Satansfist's attempt to poison the rock of the Keep Mhoram holds fast.

I was going to say the exact same thing, in comparison to WGW... and that the breaks provided by Mhoram's chapters made TPTP much more enjoyable (give us more Mhoram!!!). I hated when those chapters ended and we had to go back to TC.

But even in the face of such little hope, it was the first time Covenant had found something to believe in, something to fight for, and was going to kick some serious Foul butt. No such hope exists in WGW.

Have to disagree with you there Relayer. In my opinion, there's only no hope if you don't trust Covenant, as Linden struggles to do, and if you believe Kevin and not Mhoram. If you think that Covenant knows what he's doing then there is always hope.

You also have the secret of Vain and Findail. As was said to Findail at the start of White Gold Wielder, the Elohim refuse to reveal Vain's true purpose because then there might be some other hope for Covenant and Linden. Even Hollian's death holds the hope of Sunder meeting her again in Andelain.