Who is the Mage looking guy on the cover? SPOILERS

[emotional leper]

Burgs, my copies of those books are no where near that colour saturated. I might have gotten damaged ones, then. Oh well.

[Hunsweasel]

Maybe there's a deleted scene where Anele gets to play with the staff. Or maybe Linden's not as pretty as SRD describes her.

Otherwise, that's definitely Saruman.

[burgs]

Maybe there's a deleted scene where Anele gets to play with the staff. Or maybe Linden's not as pretty as SRD describes her.

I might be in a different universe, and that's entirely possible, but I don't recall SRD describing her as particularly beautiful. I don't see much discussion about physical appearance, other than perfunctory notes about hair

Spoiler

(Berek was balding)

and that kind of thing.

Otherwise, that's definitely Saruman.

That picture looks like the Saruman of the movies, who looked dirty and unbathed most of the time, but not the Saruman of the books. In the books, Saruman revealed himself to Gandalf as "Saruman of Many Colors".

Aside from that, it does resemble Saruman in the sense that this so-called mage looks positively baleful, and, unless beset upon Weathertop, or confronting the Balrog, Gandalf's general demeanor is considerably pleasant.

Off topic, but I was SO disappointed that the confrontation at Weathertop and the confrontation at the gates of Minas Tirith never made it into the film. The latter was included in the Extended edition, but it was disastrous. The Witch King threw Gandalf from his horse and broke his staff. That is absolutely, unquestionably impossible, according to Tolkien's very detailed and specific cosmology. In some of Tolkien's writings, he refers to Gandalf as Sauron's coeval (Tolkien's own word, not mine, which doesn't exactly imply that they were equal in strength, but suggests it strongly IMHO) so it stands to reason that Gandalf could have stood up to Sauron himself--and most certainly a Sauron with half of his malice and power trapped in a ring.

And most assuredly a fallen human from Numenor who, though he was the greatest of Sauron's servants, was still his servant, and not his coeval.

OK. Back to SRD.

[burgs]

Burgs, my copies of those books are no where near that colour saturated. I might have gotten damaged ones, then. Oh well.

I have copies of the first paperbacks in which the color of each book is considerably lighter than the others, and the books that were lighter were in a boxed set, which would lead one to assume that they were not exposed to the bleaching effects of sunlight. Also, the pages weren't yellowed, so I'm assuming that's the way they came. Odd.

All of the copies of the later format that I've seen in the bookstore looked like yellow gold. I remember when I first saw them: they sickened me. And I was embarrassed for the publisher. But if it sold more copies for SRD, then all is well and good. I'd like to see the man who has given me so many hours of reading pleasure well paid for his efforts.

Odd that Del Rey would post this on the Amazon product pages for the first trilogy:

These books have never received the recognition they deserve. It's one of the most powerful and complex fantasy trilogies since Lord of the Rings, but Donaldson is not just another Tolkien wanabee. Each character-driven book introduces unexpected plots, sub-plots, and a host of magical beings so believably rendered you'd believe you might bump into them on your way to the bookstore. --Alex Klapwald, Director of Production

Putting those covers on the book didn't do SRD any favors, as they couldn't scream "TOLKIEN WANNABE!" any louder unless they came packaged with a Howler (from Harry Potter).

[wayfriend]

I might be in a different universe, and that's entirely possible, but I don't recall SRD describing her as particularly beautiful.

At the risk of titillating Emotional Leper,

Hard work and clenched emotions had not hurt the gratuitous womanliness of her body, or dulled the essential luster of her shoulder-length wheaten hair, or harmed the structural beauty of her face. Her driven and self-contained life had not changed the way her eyes misted and ran almost without provocation. But lines had already marked her face, leaving her with a perpetual frown of concentration above the bridge of her straight, delicate nose, and gullies like the implications of pain on either side of her mouth-a mouth which had originally been formed for something more generous than the life which had befallen her.

[burgs]

Well. I think Emotional Leper will certainly appreciate my lapse in memory, as it has given cause for quite a sumptuous description of Linden to be pulled off the pages of the books and placed here for all to see and, um, see.

I stand corrected! Thank you.

Then again, I was quite dense about TC and Linden being in love. I must have completely missed the Glimmermere scene on my first read. Granted, I was 15 or so, and so much more interested in the "really cool magic" TC could do with his ring.

[Relayer]

Just for the pleasure of titillating EL even more,

Oh, her hair retained most of its wheaten luster, trammeled by grey only at the temples. The structural harmony underlying her features made her look handsome, striking, in spite of the years. She had what men called a good figure, with full breasts, slim hips, and no unnecessary weight -- a womanliness which had seemed gratuitous to her until she had met and loved Thomas Covenant. The right light gave the ready dampness in her eyes radiance.

[burgs]

Guess I wasn't paying much attention to poor Linden. Does that say, then, that TC was a fine looking man himself? Or is this yet another unrealistic example of an average man paired with a beautiful woman - the kind of pairing that exists only in fantasies of an entirely different kind than the ones we're discussing, or in movie or TV land?

[emotional leper]

Dammit. I have to go shower now.

...

The bleach is burning my scalp.

...

More than I enjoy.

[Ur Dead]

I think (looking at his avatar) that if he would bleach his hair(Aqua to a wheat color), a full facial (like reconstruction surgery) and a complete change over. (Sweden is good for sex changes) that EL can look like Linden.

[ur-James]

Oddly, I had always envisioned Linden as a rather slim, almost too-skinny/model type figure with a rather flat chest and, well, severe features. SRD loved to use the word "severe" to describe Linden in the second Chrons, and I guess I applied that to her whole look, not just personality.

Odd, now that I've read FR and gone back to re-read the second Chrons that Linden is supposed to be somewhat "atypical" heroine-style figure.

[balon!]

HAHA.

I finished and had to come in here to figure it out. Even AFTER reading the book, I was still clueless.

[stormrider]

Didn't I read in another thread that SRD indicated, when asked, that Linden was the most attractive of all his female lead characters?

Which, I think, would have to mean that Linden is exceptionally attractive, since Terisa (in particular) is constantly described as being especially beautiful.

[burgs]

How odd - I always had the impression that while Linden is attractive, that Terisa and Morn were the real lookers. I mean, nobody's attempted to rape Linden that we know about, and that seems to be a sure sign of attractiveness in Donaldson's books.

[Relayer]

I don't usually picture Linden being as hot as Morn or Terisa, but I think that's mostly because it's not a focus of this series. He tells us, but then we don't keep reading about the other characters' opinions, as we do w/ Eremis, Angus, Nick, etc.

Perhaps if there were a few scenes like these, we'd get it:

Liand: Never in the durance of my life had I beheld one who is so strikingly hot. The women of Mithil Stonedown, while intriguing after their fashion, are rather dowdy, short, and stocky. And now that my eyes have been freed from the pall of Kevin's Dirt, she appears to me as lambent as a cynosure on a dew-bedecked marge. Though I did not name my true reasons, I forsook my home in the hopes of winning this woman to my heart.

Stave: Stonedownor, ever you are yearning for that which is beyond your ken. The Chosen desires... nay, requires the passion of my Haruchai blood. Why do you think we have taken upon ourselves the Mastery of the Land? Why do you conceive that I allowed her to escape your village, and then sent Jass and Bornin into the South Plains, when it was clear to all in which direction the Chosen had fled?

Liand: Master, you speak sooth to conceal wisdom. How may you aver such a thing?

Stave: Our old tellers have awaited the coming of the Chosen for millenia. We have become the Masters in order that none else shall recognize the glory of the Chosen's true hotness. Linden Avery is the culmination of all beauty, the white fire, for which every Haruchai has yearned in the silence of the extremity of our hearts. She is the ak-Hottie.

Liand: Heaven and Earth! I have forsaken my life for an empty whim. Assuredly does the Despiser work in such ways. By the way, please don't tell Pahni.

Stave: It boots nothing to avoid her snares.

------------
or from an earlier time, we rejoin our crew on Starfare's Gem...

Brinn: Ur-Lord, we are a passionate people.

Covenant: Yes. The Haruchai have always been passionate.

Brinn: Ur-Lord, you do not understand.

TC: Well, I never have.

Brinn: Ur-Lord, the song of the merewives has compelled us to acknowledge that we are lusty men. Cail and I have withdrawn from your service in order that we may wrest the Chosen from you. Since we have made this decision, do you doubt that we will prevail?

TC: Sorry, she's kinda uptight, but way cuter than Joan. So this was the true reason for the elohim stasis! Hellfire! Now where's my ring?

[emotional leper]

Linden's mine. I'd fight an army of Haruchai to get to her. They might even admire my... uh. Determination.

Also: As much as I wish I were female, I want to be a REAL girl. Not a female looking thing with a Y chromosome.

[wayfriend]

Relayer:

[MsMary]

I am still wondering how people are so sure the cover pic is Wildwood.

So far, nothing in this thread has convinced me. All we have is a couple of people's assertions that "it is" or "it must be."

[burgs]

Who else could it be?

[wayfriend]

I am still wondering how people are so sure the cover pic is Wildwood.

It's not for my not asking ....