Kevin's Watch

i don't even bother to call them "loans" anymore...i just give them away and get myself new copies. can't tell you how many The Haunting of Hill House i've given away. gave away the first three sets of the first Chronicles in paperback to both my brothers and my dad, all three of whom bought the rest of the books themselves. gave away several The Shipping News and gave drew my first paperback copy of Gardens of the Moon and Snowcrash...the list is endless. i have also given away 5 copies of What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson to friends who have lost loved ones. my most recent...last week i gave my brand new copy of John Gardner and John Maier's Gilgamesh to my english teacher! what the heck!

Well I actually borrowed LFB from my brother who thought it was ok but lost interest by the 2nd chrons which was a shame as we took it in turns to buy each new installment

I then lent LFB to a friend several years ago and she enjoyed the books but stopped reading at TPTP I think. She just found it a bit hard going so went back to Terry Brooks.

My friend just finished LFB and has started TIW....she asked me how long Covenant was in the Land during LFB, and I really didn't know. Seems like he was unconscious in the real world for only a few hours. Does anyone have any ideas?

I believe it was well over a month... possibly several.

I can't get my friends to read TCTC! They are not as open minded as me, they are primarily heavy fantasy readers (LOTR,FORGOTTEN REALMS, ect...) they see the books as Sci-fi and refuse to even make an attempt. My family does not have the same interests in books as I do either. They read Stephen King and some pathetic video game novels. I am glad I found the Watch because there are people here I can have intelligent conversations with. (I too felt the second chronicles were a bit ....melancholy compared to the first) I have lost 6 copies of Earthsea to my friends and I need to buy another copy of the Elric saga part one.

Strange that your friends see TCTC as sci-fi. Maybe they read the premise of a man being transported to a different world and thought it was some interdimensional adventure story a la Stargate?

(Oh, and welcome to the Watch!)

A few years ago, I loaned LFB to a friend. She read it but has yet to express any further interest in the remaining books. I don't mind, as she is a far more avid and knowledgeable reader than I am. TCTC, it would seem, simply doesn't fit with her tastes (at the moment, anyway). She had issues with the Lena scene, which is completely understandable. I answered her as best I could, but trying to explain the complexities of Donaldson's story without making it sound like I approve of Covenant's crime can be a precarious balancing act. That is, it's hard to explain things clearly in person, instead of being able to think carefully beforehand and typing it out.

dlbpharmd wrote:My friend just finished LFB and has started TIW....she asked me how long Covenant was in the Land during LFB, and I really didn't know. Seems like he was unconscious in the real world for only a few hours. Does anyone have any ideas?

In runes, there is a passage where Linden says that an hour in RL is like a month, or something like that; I am on the road, and don't have my copy of runes, so I cant look it up. I think it is up front, where she is in Mithil Stonedown with anele, figuring out her situation.

I have talked about TC to several friends, but none have taken it up. Reading TC (Which is my favorite series) is not an easy task. It takes a lot emotionally to get through it, especially TWL and TOT.


Anyone looking for light reading is not going to like TC at all.

But I still find myself wanting to share it with someone. I cant wait until my son is Old enough to read it!! He is 10 now.

My friends believe that anything involving traveling to a different world is sci-fi. But I should of figured that out in the first place cause one of my true (I got two "true" friends) friends readsonly LOTR(anything by tolkien really) and the other one only reads Forgotten Realms so their not open minded
(Thanks for the warm welcome )

Drundarr,

ANother example of sci fi stories that are actually fantasy is the Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. It involves time travel and paradox, as well as a body-switching werewolf, an evil clown who has to wear stilts, and an english poet. Oh yes, Lord Byron also shows up. anybody read this one?

Er nope but I think I will now!!!! lol

dlbpharmd wrote:My only other experience with loaning these books is when my wife read (at my insistence) LFB. She hated it, and refused to read any further.

Interesting, I had the exact same experience with my wife. She didn't even read the whole book... she got to the rape scene and stopped, she couldn't get past it. That was a few years ago. She's now reading the first book of the Mordan't Need duology, in the hopes that she'll like it. If so, then when she finishes book 2, I'll have her read the mysteries too.

However, I loaned LFB to my radio show co-host's wife, and she LOVED it. She's asking to borrow the rest, and I (being the good friend that I am, heh) am going to let her borrow them all.

Two other examples of fantasy persons being transported to other worlds are Edison's The Worm Orouboros- the awesome trilogy that follows and Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber. If your friends think these are sci-fi, as well, they're missing out on a huge chunk the genre. I guess this would include Mordant's Need too, too bad...

Surely though if your friends like Tolkien the line on most of Donaldsons books 'comparable to Tolkien at his best' would prompt them to look a little further?

(Thanks for all the book recommendations I need to start reading more:) ) Their not really open minded. They don't accept the fact that the books are fantasy. It should prompt him and I've been trying to explain this to him but sadly it's a hopeless cause. I've got another friend interested though He may even join the watch when he's finished with the books!

We're a rare breed us lovers of the Chronicles.

--A

So true!