How old were you when you first read Covenant,

[Billy G.]

I was about 27 when I first read LFB in '83 or '84. A buddy and I administered a gaming sig on an old HP2000 series mini. One of the games we did was a weak copy of d&d, where you got to name characters and go out and fight monsters for gold and renown.

One player had named his characters like White Gold Wielder, or Foamfollower, and such.

So I got to talking to him on the phone and he started describing the whole TC series.

And the rest is history. I've been hooked ever since.

[Turiya]

I was 11, and it was (like some other peoples' experiences here) a scarring experience, but addictive. . .as soon as LFB was done (I didn't even buy it; my mom's friend gave it to me) I couldn't wait to get my hands on the rest of Covenant, and from there the rest of Donaldson.

Well. . .*counts on fingers* seven years later (my God, it doesn't seem that long), I've reread the 1st Chrons maybe five times and the 2nd Chrons twice, and I'm as addicted (and possibly as scarred?) as I ever was.

No other author--ever--has made me enter into a story or a character's head with such realism and power and conviction. I don't read Donaldson's books. I live them .

Luckily, Donaldson's writing, like Gandalf's fireworks, improves with age, so I'm glad that there are several more addictive experiences to come.

I find it funny that so many people (myself included) are able to remember the details of their first readng of Covenant--it's like flashbulb memory; something we'll never forget. . .

[Menolly]

I was introduced to both LOTR and TCTC by my boyfriend I had during my freshman year at FSU. So, sometime during Fall '78 and Spring '79.

I did the same with Beorn. Had him read The Hobbit and LOTR, and then introduced him to TCTC, although he had both the first and second chrons and RotE available to read all in one go. That was when RotE first came out, so he would have been 10 (?) I think. We leave books lying around here, and I knew there was no way for there to be fantasy lying around without him reading it, so I gave them to him and we discussed certain things as he read them.

Even with our discussions, I think the whole concept of the rape of Lena and how it affects everything else flew over his head. Like other younger readers, for him it was all about the Giants, etc. Now that I finally have my own copies of the first and second chrons, I'll suggest he rereads them while I work on FR when I finally get my hands on it. I'm interested to see if being four years older will make a difference in how he perceives the story.

[King Elessar 8]

Was The One Tree published in 1981? I was in the middle of reading the First Chronicles when it was published, which means I would have been 12. The story had a huge impact on my pre-teen going on teen self, and I read all of the books in the series over and over again until I finally moved on to other things. Still revist the Land about once a decade though.

[ur-Thor]

I was 21 (1988) and had not read much of anything since leaving school in grade 9. At that point I was living the punk rock lifestyle, had been on the street for most of my teens and was only interested in sex drugs and ..well punk rock, or so I thought.
LFB was vehemently recommended to me by a stranger on a patio during a drunken conversation, amazingly enough I remembered enough to find myself a copy. Reading LFB and then the Chronicles awakened in me a strong desire to learn and to understand pretty much everything on a deeper level and it couldn't have happened at a better time. I would even go so far as to say that reading the Chronicles played a big part in influencing me to make more out of my life, to understand and accept who I was and the potential that I had, until then, refused to believe that I had.

SRD remains my favorite author by a long shot.

[GrinsiKleinPo]

who old was i am at my first visite of the Land?

Good question. Maybe too young to understand the books maybe to old. I was 16 or so and SRD was the secound author in fantasy i had. First J.R.R. Tolkien and then SRD. Now i am 44 and iam reading the books, all of them, maybe 12 times and i am waiting and prey for the next one.

And maybe iam too young to understand all the meanings and things inside the Land, maybe i am too old for this kind of stuff, maybe i am only an old perf german with an english language problem.

[sherlock_525]

My dad (thank SRD) saw how much I was able to get from a lot of other author's books even through I was only 11. So he asked me if I would be interested in reading the greatest fantasy of all time. The fact that I was going through 200-300 books a yaer, I said "I'll believe it when I read it" Well he was right. The point is this: If your giving the book to a younger reader use your best judgement. My dad wasn't sure at first and we talked about the themes afterwards. Maybe you can be too young but it's really a matter of personal observation.

[Cagliostro]

I believe I was 13, and then 14 by the time I finished the first two chronicles. It took me over a year to read them. I'm now 38. I felt that I understood them pretty well, even if all the more adult themes didn't make sense at the time.

[stormrider]

My dad introduced me to the Chronicles when I was 11 (I think... I might have been 12 -- it's been awhile). He had fostered my love for Tolkien, and when he handed me LFB, he warned me that it was "very different" but that it was the best fantasy he'd ever read. When it came to fantasy/sci-fi, I trusted his judgment implicitly. For "general literature," I listened to my mother, but for anything else (historical, fantasy, etc.) I went to my father.

I was enthralled from the very beginning, and I felt this tremendous sense of sadness when I finished WGW -- a sense of sadness and loss that I never felt when I finished any other series. It never occurred to me that there would be a third chronicles. Over the years, I got very caught up in real life (which was somewhat unexpected, since I spent my entire childhood hiding in books), and I stopped reading fantasy. Then one day in 2005, I was wandering through Barnes & Noble, not looking for anything in particular, and I saw Runes of the Earth on the shelf. I can't even begin to describe the feelings that came over me. For a second, I felt like I'd walked back into my childhood. I hadn't read Donaldson in years. I hadn't forgotten, exactly, but things had changed so much -- I wondered whether the Chronicles would hold the same meaning for me.

Well, they did, and they didn't. I had changed, and so had my perceptions -- but I was relieved to find that, despite (or perhaps because of) all the disillusioning things I'd experienced since I first read the Chronicles, I loved SRD's work more, not less. And, although I'll be the first to admit that I was disappointed in Runes, I was so grateful to have rediscovered Covenant. Those books helped me through a difficult time in my life; they have a special place in my heart -- and rightfully so.

[Skurj Scourge]

1977...I was 13 and given LFB and was hooked. My parents promised to buy me TIW and TPTP, but could only find TPTP at first. It sat on my shelf for a few days, after I promised myself not read it...but after those few days, when TIW did not show up, I could not help myself and started on it. So I learned of the Fall of the Bloodguard, Elena's death and the breaking of the law of Death from the Waht HAs come Before section. I still bear the emotional scars.

[StarRider]

I was around nineteen or twenty. I'm 41 now. My brother turned me on to LFB. I read it than stopped because i didn't like it. He said to keep reading until i got to "The Land"

Needless to say i'm glad i listened to my brother.

[SGuilfoyle1966]

I might have been 13, 14. I used to wander around the Bronx, buying comic books and going to different branch libraries. I came across The Illearth War, and that's where I started.
That was back in 83ish. Had read Sword of Shannara after Tolkien, was looking for something better.
Loved the cover art by Darrel K. Sweet (sp?) on the paperback, tried to get the rest for years.

[alessandi]

I was 12 when I first read Mordants Needs,SRD shaped my readin prefs from then. I first read the Chrons when a friend of mine gave me the first 3 books I must've been in my late twenties-I don't think I would have appreciated some of the Chrons if I'd been younger and certainly would not like any one as young as 12 to read LFB as I was shocked by the rape of Lena which you really don't expect, so I was really pleased when I'd finished the first set to find there was more was a real bonus. And then a 3rd set how fantastic is that. I'm now 38 and am have to wait 3 more yrs before the next instalment. I don't usually re-read books but I will make an exception in this case, maybe by the time I'v got to the end of FR from start to finish, AATE will be on the shelves

[Penfolds]

I received Lord Fouls' Bane for my 21st in 1982 -got hooked and have regularly read all the Chronicles over the years. My most treasured possession is a signed hard copy of Gilden-Fire! Of course I got hooked into the gap Series too! Such a shame that seems to be out of print - a great premise for a story.

Penfolds

[Amanda]

Good ol' "dlbpharmd" introduced me to Donaldson back in July. I'm now half-way through The Wounded Land and loving every page! Thanks, Don!!!

Oh, I guess I could answer the question. I'm 28.

[PhatKaoWang]

I think I was around 25 or 26, working at UPS Loading trucks and one of my co-workers suggested the first series to me. I read all of the books in about three weeks. About a year later I learned of the Second Chronicles and devoured them as quickly! Now that i am caught up it sucks cause I cannot wait for the next one, yet I have to wait for two years according to SRDs official website.

[Prebe]

Now that i am caught up it sucks cause I cannot wait for the next one

Yeah, SRD will do that to you.

I read LFB at the mature age of 23. I got it at an antiquariate book-shop with IW. And I spent most of 4 months getting my hands on TPTP. I thought (back then) that that would be the most excrutiating 4 months in my life. I was wrong

[The Humbled]

I found LFB on a cross-country trip when I was 14. I devoured the first chronicles, I had never encountered more a more complicated or frustrating protagonist, a more richly painted landscape, or a darker and more evil villain. SRD's Land, lore, and the emotional lives of the characters were all amazing to me then, as now.

It was a while before I discovered the Second Chronicles, maybe a few months. As I said elsewhere here I wasn't thrilled by what had become of my precious land! But I grew to love the books again.

I'm now 40 (whew)! I've read them over again several times in my adult life LFB->WGW, and I am always transported wildly back though that same emotional ride. I always gain a new respect for the writing, and discover some new subtlety. I love these books.

[Prebe]

Good post The Humbled.

Sums up pretty well why I love SRD's writings.

[Ur Dead]

I read the series back in 79 or 80 when I was around the ripe old age of 25/26. I was an avid sci-fi/fantasy reader back then. Most fantasy books used the Tolkien blueprint for their worlds and LFB was something totally original in it's scope.
The story was based on a reluctant hero and was refreshing from many other stories.

When the second Chronicles came out it was hard back all the way.