just finished fatal revenant

[Akasri]

I'm guessing he wasn't as badly damaged by the Ritual as he was at the end of TPTP. So even with the staff in existence, he was able to recover from the Ritual, it just took a long time.

[The Humbled]

I recently got my brother to start in on the chronicles and he was PISSED when he got to the wounded land. Easily as angry as many people here are angry about the last chronicles. His exact words were "Where'd everyone go? All the villages are gone, the giants are gone, the haruchai are gone... and wtf, snake bites and bugs and the sunbane?"

This is the point I was hoping someone would make. I remember my own first reading of the Second Chronicles, and my initial impression was not a positive one- simply because the land was not the same. SRD had re-created the land under the sunbane, the clave now occupied Revelstone, blood was required to feed the banefire, and on and on. However, I grew to love the story as much as the original trilogy as I read. If I had all four of these books in front of me to read in succession, I have no doubt the same would prove true. The unease I feel is clearly the result of being so attached to these characters and this world in the first place.

Having written that, I've loved the story thus far- and am sure that the best is yet to come. I'm neither a LA lover or hater at the moment. It's quite obvious to me that she is another facet of the anti-hero that TC began as, and perhaps her arc is taking her from redeemer to desecrater in the desperate quest to rescue her son. She's changing and becoming less compassionate, and has been a darker and more power hungry LA since the battle in Melenkurion Skyweir.

My feeling is that she may be made to suffer, as it might be revealed that Jeremiah has belonged to LF since his hand went into the fire on Haven Farm. But that is speculation of course, and probably belongs to another thread anyway.

Having just finished this book, I can only wonder what happens to the arch of time when the keystone is removed, when the timewarden is pulled away. While reading ROTE and FR, I was convinced that the power protecting the arch from Linden's actions was TC himself...

Now how to wait for AATE?

[Alsem]

FR was certainly and truly a wonderful read for me. As some pointed out, there has been a lot of discovery here, some wonderful (The Insequents and Viles arc) some deplorable at least in a way (The Old Lords have lost much of their charisma).
But all in all, I just can't wait for the next installment.
And even if I'm not especially antipathetic with Linden Avery, I can't say I'm not happy to see Thomas Covenant back. His desparation has always been much more compelling than Linden's.
Her "He has my son" gradually became upseting...
A special mention to Stave, who for me has the stature of haruchai of old. At some point he made me think of Bannor, but I think he can become even more!
Liand is also promising!
I say again, just can't wait...

[amanibhavam]

I agree with you much, The Humbled. I also realise now that my gripes with ROTE and FR (although much less than for a lot of people I read) grew from my impatience to have Covenant back. He was the protagonist I could relate to, grew to respect and like despite (or likely because of) his shortcomings and vices. I just missed his reflections, his resonance to the events in the Land. I do not mind the changes to the Land, the circumstances (although I miss the hear-gripping moments and events that enabled me to carry on reading the first 6 books despite the suffering of so many characters and the Land itself).
Now he is back, and I can only hope that his presence will give the story the fullness I think it needs.

[Mr. Broken]

Fast story , almost too fast! As if any of us needs encouragement to re-read.

[omega_695]

i just finshed it yesterday wow it was amazing the only point that ive always liked LA ok she was a bit anoying at the begiining but a warmed to her but i think now shes just a coward she could finish this journey on her own if shed just beleivein her self and not trust everthing to TC

[Damack]

I did love FR though as a book, so many cool new plot twists. My favorite character is definitely now Stave. I really liked him at the end of Runes, but for me he is what it means to truly be haruchai, not just this cheap imitation that the masters have become. He's like the uber-haruchai, the true ak-haru, not the elohim/haruchai/insequent thing that Brinn is.

yeah, I like Stave too. But I'm thinking he's gonna bite the big one. After all, he has no home to return to once this is all said and done. So the only thing left is to sacrifice him to maybe give him a Mhoram like reverence for these Chronicles.

[wayfriend]

I see Stave as being the Haruchai who finally figures out what the Haruchai should serve, what their sufficedness is all for, and then takes that knowledge back to the other Haruchai. For the Haruchai need redeeming - they've been searching for an answer for thousands of years and can't quite find it.