A Letter to Linden Avery (aka, I just finished FR)

[Starkin]

Thanks for your words shadowbinding shoe, I couldn't agree more. I get reeeal tired of all this Linden bashing when TC was far from perfect.

And yet, I don't hate him as much as THOOLAH hates LA. Maybe they should wait until the whole story is finished before they pass judgement? And while they're at it, trust SRD a little more. He knows what he's doing!

[Starkin]

From the GI:

>>>Wynand Dednam: Hi Mr Donaldson,

I would just like to say that I think Linden is a marvellous character, I love the ability she has to look into the injuries and hurts of others/the land and appreciate depths of suffering none of the other characters can. It makes her uniquely suited to aid in the salvation of the land as she did in TSCOTC.

Now, onto my question (I searched the GI and couldn't find a similar question so I hope I am not repeating one):

Linden's reasons for giving in to her selfdoubt at the end of FR by bringing TC back to life seem quite obvious to me:

Selfdoubt is one of her greatest weaknesses. She really misses TC and doesn't feel up to the task: she believes only he could save the land as he has done twice before.

But I can't help being very shocked by the irresponsibility of what she did. I feel like I'm missing something. Could you please "fill" in any gaps I might have missed?

Thank you for this wonderful story and I eagerly await the next instalment.<<<


Hmm. "Irresponsibility." Are you sure that's the right word for what Linden does? She *thinks* she's bringing back the Land's best hope for survival--as well as her own and Jeremiah's, of course. And she has precedent on her side. Covenant's previous victory was made possible by Hollian's resurrection (breaking the Law of Life, which--combined with the earlier damage to the Law of Death--enabled Covenant's spirit to remain intact, conscious, and potent after LF killed him). So how is her gamble at the end of "Fatal Revenant" irresponsible?

From THE MAN himself.

[wayfriend]

From THE MAN himself.

Think on THAT!

Good. More ammo for Linden's Army's arsenal.

[Fist and Faith]

You folks don't understand. Linden would be a fine character in a Covenant story. In the 2nd Chrons, for example. She was annoying at times, as I'm sure she was meant to be. But wanting to smack her was part of the fun of the trilogy. It was still a TC story, even if the spotlight was entirely on her for a few chapters there. Hating her then was part of the game. And she did grow, become very strong (able to fight off possession by a Raver! ), and her actions at the end of WGW are among the most awe-inspiring I've ever seen.

But now, though the title of the series would lead us to believe otherwise, it's her story. The entire first half of the Final Chrons is entirely her, and I'm willing to bet she'll be the focus of the second two books, with Covenant along for the ride. But even if the best I could hope for - that it be about Covenant again, with her along for the ride; a Covenant story - she'll have had the first two books to herself, and a good size roll in the second two. But it won't be that way, anyway. It will be her story. I want a Covenant story, and nothing is going to make me not want a Covenant story.

[Mr. Broken]

and so the truth rears its ugly head.

[Fist and Faith]

I've said it a few times before.

[Mr. Broken]

I just added it for dramatic effect, Im not a "TOOLER" or a "LA LA", in fact I really have no stake in this argument, its the conflict that interests me. Please dont mistake my intention, Im just causing trouble.

[wayfriend]

You folks don't understand. Linden would be a fine character in a Covenant story.

C'mon MM, upthread you were criticising her for her actions! Now it's, oh, I never thought anything bad about her, I just want Covenant.

[Fist and Faith]

First of all, I'm FF, not MM. And yes, I criticize her. The things I mention are annoying, and I want to smack her for them. But if she was a character in a Covenant book, that's all it would be. That's the way it was in the 2nd Chrons. I wanted to smack her. Really not a big deal. She was a part of the 2nd Chrons, and she did some great stuff too. I joined THOOLAH just because it's fun.

But now, she's got all those annoying things, and it's an LA story instead of a Covenant story. We haven't gotten a drop of Covenant in two books! I have a problem with that. And I'm mad at the reason for that. SRD loves her to death, and has put Covenant waaaay in the background for her. I don't like it.

[Endymion9]

If what you really want is a TC story rather than a LA story, then resurrecting him is the best thing she could have done. You should be clapping her on the back.

[Ur Dead]

I bet that these two book is the set scenes for what TC might do. Like Runes was the book that setup FR roller coaster ride, these two are the intro what the next two books will be like..

and maybe, just maybe some critics will say that Linden Avery isn't such a bad old gal.

[Fist and Faith]

I'll believe it when I see it! My predictions...

-Covenant will be much, much more powerless than anybody hopes or expects. He'll be in Linden's shadow. She'll be making the decisions, often against his advice and warnings. Eventually, she'll not bother telling him what she's planning, because she doesn't want to do hear him tell her she's crazy.

-The story will be Linden's search for Jeremiah. The story will end when Jeremiah is safe again, and it will not continue beyond that point, as though there's anything left to do. Likely, of course, it will coincide with the resolution of the Land's story. The point, though, is that the Land is not the most important thing.

[MsMary]

But wanting to smack her was part of the fun of the trilogy.

I want a Covenant story, and nothing is going to make me not want a Covenant story.

These statements sum it up.

Way to go, Fistie.

[wayfriend]

First of all, I'm FF, not MM.

I apologize. Please suggest a suitable penance, if you'd like.

[dlbpharmd]

First of all, I'm FF, not MM.

I apologize. Please suggest a suitable penance, if you'd like.

WF should have to wear a T-shirt that says "THOOLAH forever!"

I'm with Fist on this - listen guys, THOOLAH is a helluva lot of fun for many of us, and we love nothing more than to get Linden's Army stirred up. But, nothing will change the fact that it's Linden's story now, and frankly that's not at all what I expected when I first heard that there was to be a "Last Chronicles of THOMAS COVENANT." It's disappointing as hell to think about. I've had an emotional investment in Covenant for almost 30 years now, and I can't get past the fact that the story is completely about Linden now.

[Relayer]

You make a very good point. But even as a member of the Army, for me it's not about Linden specifically. And I never really got that involved w/ Covenant either. Even on re-reads I can't say I've come to love him or anything. I just wanted him to defeat Foul.

That being said, two things:

I really want some chapters from Covenant's POV too (and others as well) ... and,

What makes the story special for me is *the Land itself* and everything about it. That's really the main character...

[wayfriend]

WF should have to wear a T-shirt that says "THOOLAH forever!"

I'm wearing it now.

But, nothing will change the fact that it's Linden's story now, and frankly that's not at all what I expected when I first heard that there was to be a "Last Chronicles of THOMAS COVENANT." It's disappointing as hell to think about.

So it's all about frustrated expectations. If you weren't expecting something specific, you wouldn't be so frustrated.

Me ... I enjoy suspense. After twenty-odd, I can wait two more years. I have faith that it's a build-up with a pay-off.

[Fist and Faith]

WF should have to wear a T-shirt that says "THOOLAH forever!"

I'm wearing it now.

Hey, I'm the one you called MM!!! I get to name the punishment!! And I'm thinking you have an awful lot of WGD's there!!

But, nothing will change the fact that it's Linden's story now, and frankly that's not at all what I expected when I first heard that there was to be a "Last Chronicles of THOMAS COVENANT." It's disappointing as hell to think about.

So it's all about frustrated expectations. If you weren't expecting something specific, you wouldn't be so frustrated.

Me ... I enjoy suspense. After twenty-odd, I can wait two more years. I have faith that it's a build-up with a pay-off.

"Something specific"???? Wanting a Covenant story in The Final Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is an unreasonable specific expectation???

[shadowbinding shoe]

I wasn't disappointed. To me 'The last chronicles of THOMAS COVENANT' sounded from the moment I'd heard it like a publisher's tag. The second chronicles also had Thomas Covenant's name stapled on them and they were as much if not more about Linden than about Covenant.

If Donaldson had to suffer a random title for one of his actual book (Lord Foul's Bane) than his control over the series' title must be even weaker.

Linden gave a very good read in FR and the pre-land chapters in RotE.

[Endymion9]

-snip-
I'm with Fist on this - listen guys, THOOLAH is a helluva lot of fun for many of us, and we love nothing more than to get Linden's Army stirred up. But, nothing will change the fact that it's Linden's story now, and frankly that's not at all what I expected when I first heard that there was to be a "Last Chronicles of THOMAS COVENANT." It's disappointing as hell to think about. I've had an emotional investment in Covenant for almost 30 years now, and I can't get past the fact that the story is completely about Linden now.

I expected it to be about TC and LA's son. I expected somehow their relationship in the Land to transfer to her being pregant when she returned to the "real" world. But I never expected TC to come back or be more than a guiding spirit. His story seemed so final at the end of WGW. I thought it was a perfect wrap up for him.