Haruchai feats

[martryn]

Has anyone compiled a list of all the badass stuff the haruchai have done throughout the entire series? Trying to explain to some friends who have not read the series how freakin' awesome the haruchai are. I'm hoping this will entice them to read past the rape bit in the first book, which is where they all seem to stop and decide that Thomas Covenant is not the type of hero they can get behind.

Also, just finished Last Dark, ending my 17-18 year journey in the series. Maybe I'll stick around here longer this time as I signed up back in... '09ish(?) and then forgot about this place.

[Cord Hurn]

Congratulations for completing the journey, martryn! I started lurking about this place about the same time you signed up, but didn't register until halfway through with TLD, and didn't post until I'd finished it.

Alas, I have no list of all the great Haruchai for you. I suspect it would be a pretty long list.

I'm hoping this will entice them to read past the rape bit in the first book, which is where they all seem to stop and decide that Thomas Covenant is not the type of hero they can get behind.

Yes, I've gotten reaction like that from people, too, and it makes me reluctant to recommend the Covenant books to just anybody. I think SRD is a terrific writer in all 10 TC books, but it's easier for me to recommend Mordant's Need or one of the two short story collections. That rape scene so early in the story before we've really gotten hooked on the Land is too off-putting for way too many people (I've noticed a lot of people trash Lord Foul's Bane on Amazon. Aliantha's thread on LFB chapters 8 & 9 in the dissections has a lot of responses that clarify matters, I think).

[Avatar]

(I've noticed a lot of people trash Lord Foul's Bane on Amazon)

Really? We should go put in some positive reviews.

--A

[peter]

The Haruchai feats; Not sleeping or dying for 2000 years was the first one that sprung to my mind, but then I realised this was not actually a Haruchai achievement; it was foisted on them by Earthpower as a result of their Vow IIRC.

Anyways - nice to 'see' you guys on the Watch [and you Av, and you ]. Stick around - there's lots of fun to be had!

[wayfriend]

(I've noticed a lot of people trash Lord Foul's Bane on Amazon).

Absolutely. This is a book that is not universally well received. In several ways it's a tough read, and it suffers from accusations of plagiarism of Tolkien as well. Since a lot of people do like it, you can only conclude 'it's not for everyone'.

And some people do find pleasure in trashing things others enjoy. You can't take all of the reviews to heart.

Whether we enjoy LFB in spite of it's faults, or whether we think those others are just wrong, is a matter of good debate. My personal belief is that some of the best things in life are controversial ... if you want to go deep, you risk hitting a nerve.

[SleeplessOne]

Congratulations for completing the journey, martryn! I started lurking about this place about the same time you signed up, but didn't register until halfway through with TLD, and didn't post until I'd finished it.

Alas, I have no list of all the great Haruchai for you. I suspect it would be a pretty long list.

I'm hoping this will entice them to read past the rape bit in the first book, which is where they all seem to stop and decide that Thomas Covenant is not the type of hero they can get behind.

Yes, I've gotten reaction like that from people, too, and it makes me reluctant to recommend the Covenant books to just anybody. I think SRD is a terrific writer in all 10 TC books, but it's easier for me to recommend Mordant's Need or one of the two short story collections. That rape scene so early in the story before we've really gotten hooked on the Land is too off-putting for way too many people (I've noticed a lot of people trash Lord Foul's Bane on Amazon. Aliantha's thread on LFB chapters 8 & 9 in the dissections has a lot of responses that clarify matters, I think).

They're definitely hard to recommend, I love LFB with all my heart, it's such a special book, and yet it took me two attempts before I could get all the way through it (I was relatively young the first two times I read it).

And the rape will always prove a huge hurdle for 1st time readers to overcome - it just takes you by surprise the first time, it's such a shock - the seeds are clearly sewn by SRD, but I still remember feeling like the carpet had been taken out from under my feet the first time I read it, and that was decades ago!
A lot of readers feel betrayed and that they're somehow complicit; it took me a while to process Covenant's reasoning and justifications for his act (justifications which he would later renounce, in hindsight).

Basically, I tell people of my love for TCoTC, but I don't really recommend them - however, if I see a stranger reading any of the books - and this has happened a few times - I am only too happy to strike up a conversation with them; that's not my usual style, to start chatting to strangers - but I feel like these people are my brothers and sisters, and they are invariably happy to chat
- it last happened to me a couple of months ago on one of Melbourne's trams, I saw an older guy, who actually bore a striking resemblance to how I imagine Covenant himself to look, reading (I think) the Wounded Land. We talked about the Last Chronicles and a few other books, it was cool ...

Back to LFB for a second;
apart from the horror of the rape scene, there are other 'problems' with the book; some of the exposition is slightly clunky (slightly). There's some seemingly very leisurely pacing at times (these moments are, however, often actually cleverly used to deliver the aforementioned exposition, or to foreshadow future events).
In some ways it seems more laborious than it actually is - as most of us would agree, ya go back and read it again and it is a treasure trove.

People say, perhaps rightly, that SRD's writing significantly improved post-LFB, but that view overlooks some of the more inspired concepts and individual passages within that first book.

Man, I love the writing leading up to the Celebration of Spring sooo much, that whole chapter is remarkably relaxing .. then full of wonder and awe .. then ripe with alien horrors.

It's one of my favourite books and I could easily pick it up and read it again right now; but I'll spare you all further ruminations!



edit :
haruchai feats : umm, Bannor pretty much summoned the Fire-Lions using the power of TC's ring at the end of LFB.
Despite the haruchai choice of eschewing weapons/magic, he somehow inherently understood the need for a 'trigger' (it was the SoL wasn't it??) and saved TC's pathetic hide (I say that affectionately ), along with the rest of Prothall's company. Nice one Bannor!

[Cord Hurn]

Has anyone compiled a list of all the badass stuff the haruchai have done throughout the entire series?

Getting back to martryn's original question: in the last few evenings, I have scoured through all 35 pages of the forum The First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (where such a list would most likely be), clicking on all threads whose titles mentioned the Haruchai, and there is no list of all the Haruchai feats. No list whatsoever.

Which means if martryn decides to make and post such a list here, it will be something added that will enrich the Watch!

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Man, I love the writing leading up to the Celebration of Spring sooo much, that whole chapter is remarkably relaxing .. then full of wonder and awe .. then ripe with alien horrors

I'm right with you, there, Sleepless One, for the "Celebration of Spring" chapter, along with the chapters on the Council of Lords and the chapter where Foamfollower and Covenant discuss hope, is among my favorites in that book!

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Really? We should go put in some positive reviews.

Yes, I am afraid so, Avatar, though there are enough positive reviews to keep the paperback version of LFB rated at 3 & 1/2 stars (out of five), but it can't get any higher in ranking yet, being bogged down by the eight pages of one-star reviews. Many of the harshest critics reference the rape scene (some of the harsh reviews make me laugh when they start complaining about the obscure words, the very thing that give's SRD's prose its exotic flavor). Your idea to put in positive reviews is a wise one, of course, though at the moment I'm still doing work on my TLD chapter dissections. But I should sign up to comment on Amazon and give insights based on the aforementioned dissection thread on LFB chapters 7 & 8 started by aliantha (well, I typed "chapters 8 & 9", above, but meant chapters 7 & 8 ) to give insight into Covenant's state of mind when he did his most heinous act.

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The Haruchai feats; Not sleeping or dying for 2000 years was the first one that sprung to my mind, but then I realised this was not actually a Haruchai achievement; it was foisted on them by Earthpower as a result of their Vow IIRC.

You recalled correctly, all right.

Anyways - nice to 'see' you guys on the Watch [and you Av, and you ]. Stick around - there's lots of fun to be had!

While I can't post as frequently some times as I can others, I most certainly plan to stick around now that I've shown myself. I've enjoyed your posts very much, Peter---even if we don't see quite eye-to-eye on TLD, it's all good. And thank you for the very warm words! I liked the "and you " part of your post, too, to include everybody reading along. (Inclusiveness is such a great thing, isn't it? Yes, it is.)

_______________________________

And some people do find pleasure in trashing things others enjoy. You can't take all of the reviews to heart.

But wayfriend, I have to take it to heart; I'M IN IT!!!
You make good points, though, and I appreciate your words of comfort. The Chronicles are deep and worthwhile, and I'm glad I stuck to that first LFB read, very glad indeed.