Kevin's Watch

This thought-provoking sequel to 2004's The Runes of Earth opens with a bang. Watching from the battlements of Revelstone, a keep besieged by the power-hungry Demondim, battle-weary healer Linden Avery can see both Thomas Covenant and her son, Jeremiah, riding ahead of a wave of pursuers-even though Covenant, her former lover, is dead and mind-damaged Jeremiah has been captured by Lord Foul the Despiser. Odder still, both men treat her almost disparagingly when they reach the keep, forbidding her to touch them and showing no signs of affection. Soon it becomes clear that nothing is what it seems. Avery's fight to save the Land from Lord Foul will take her to the Land's past through the worst kind of betrayal and across its length, but the worst enemy she faces is her self-doubt.

Difficult but worthwhile, this complicated and emotional continuation of the Thomas Covenant saga is exactly what Donaldson's fans have been hoping for.

Following the events of The Runes of the Earth, Donaldson's latest contribution to his saga explores the boundaries of love and trust as well as the importance of loyalty and friendship. Essential for series fans and a necessary addition to most fantasy collections.

The first thing to say about Fatal Revenant is that if you’ve read Runes, were disappointed and are now seriously wavering, then don’t – this is Donaldson back to his scintillating best. Think of Runes as simply an extended prologue to the rest of the series. I’m not going to give any details away – the publisher’s blurb for the book already gives too much away in my opinion – but I’d like to give you some idea of what you can expect.

In this second volume of the Last Chronicles, you have two general elements. Firstly there are very clear reasons why Donaldson need never write a ‘Silmarillion’ or History of the Land. It simply wouldn’t be possible given the complex nature of Fatal Revenant and, in any case, having read Fatal Revenant, you just don’t need one.

Secondly, and most importantly, the book reads almost exactly like the originals (the Land is back in all its glory, the dreadful angst is present and correct etc etc) except better – let’s face it, Donaldson has been writing for a long time now and has learnt a lot about the craft – this is far superior writing than that found in any of the First or Second Chronicles. In addition, his ability to build up to a shattering crescendo and then the climax’s themselves, for which Donaldson is rightly famous, are back and they are utterly unputdownable. There are two of these, in the chapters ‘Transformations’ and ‘Trust Yourself’ and they are, in my opinion, the best chapters Donaldson has ever written.

So go on, if you read the originals and enjoyed them, you owe it to yourself – struggle through Runes then set yourself free with Fatal Revenant. It’s a journey well worth taking.

"Stephen R. Donaldson is a great worldbuilder as he makes his characters even the monsters seem real, but it is the poignancy of relationships that make him one of the best fantasists today."

Donaldson's Land is still a beautiful and marvelously complex place full of strange peoples. It really does compare, as indeed it's supposed to, with Tolkien's Middle Earth. There are many vivid moments to savour.

Fatal Revenant is vulnerable to another peril of the sequel: It's the second of a proposed set of four, so readers are compelled to go along for the ride knowing they'll wind up stranded mid-journey. Happily, it's a trip worth taking, rich in detail and brilliant world construction. This is the eighth in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series, in which Donaldson has turned the stale conventions of heroic fantasy upside down by relentlessly pouring insult, injury and calamity upon reluctant protagonists who generally act as if they'd rather be anywhere but the weird world whose destiny is affected by their slightest actions. (Wedding rings wield earth-shattering power.) Fatal Revenant, featuring the enigmatic return of formerly killed-off hero Covenant, who is reunited with love interest Dr. Linden Avery, is a dazzling, if often depressing, installment.

burgs wrote:And yet my wall of text on Amazon was left unmentioned!

(I'm SO kidding.)

This is a warning given to Linden Avery, newly returned to The Land. Once known as The Chosen, Linden strives to save The Land from peril at the hands of Lord Foul. More importantly, she seeks to rescue her son from his clutches. FATAL REVENANT picks up at the precise moment where its predecessor, THE RUNES OF THE EARTH, left off.

Revelstone is under siege. Linden and her friends feel the weight of hopelessness fold over them until that one spark emerges from the gloom, offering aid and hope. Thomas Covenant, long-dead hero and ur-Lord, returns. Not alone does he come to Revelstone. In his company is Jeremiah, Linden's adopted son, who is no longer the shell of a boy he was in our Earth time. Jeremiah now is attentive, speaks and is devoted to Covenant.

For all of her joy, however, Linden cannot help but sense that something is amiss. Covenant, her old lover, seems remarkably the same and yet so different. He tells Linden that she can touch neither he nor Jeremiah, and she also is not permitted to use the Staff of Law without undoing all he has struggled to achieve. Covenant explains that he has folded time, making it possible for them to exist in two places at once. Her touch or her use of power will undo his magic. And he also demands his white gold ring.

Elusive in his answers to a growing list of her concerns, Covenant --- the longtime savior of The Land --- declares that he can end the onslaught of the forces of Kastenessen and his apparent master, Lord Foul. Linden does not share his surety, yet she also has no choice but to follow Covenant on his quest, for she is torn by her uneasiness about him and her heart's desire for him to be alive once more. Only as they undertake their mission can she hope to uncover the truth about Covenant's supposed rise from death, what his true purpose is concerning Jeremiah and how she can free her son and return home.

Forever in the back of her mind is the fateful warning to be cautious, but sometimes the heart overpowers thought. For Linden, and The Land, it can have horrific consequences.

FATAL REVENANT is a resounding success on multiple levels. It is a continuation of an already intriguing story, one that does not suffer from "middle book syndrome," in which nothing is either answered or achieved. In fact, many answers to the questions from THE RUNES OF THE EARTH are provided. Yet for every gap that is filled and for every solution uncovered, a new hurdle rises up.

Linden Avery continues to be a strong focus, and this volume shows her incredible struggle to locate and uphold her own personal strength. Faced with the heartbreaking inability to touch Covenant, for whom she still longs, or her son Jeremiah, she is equal parts devastated and concerned. That concern builds her resolve as she refuses to yield to the possibility that all is what it seems. Likewise, her trusted companion, Stave, is an excellent character to follow and is quite simply the one soul that experiences the most growth over the course of the series thus far.

As one would expect from Stephen R. Donaldson, his descriptive passages are mesmerizing and as vivid as the most spectacular of dreams. You can easily see The Land in all its glory --- every mountain peak, every lake, every plain is richly detailed and laid before you without ever becoming burdensome in the telling. Although he presents this tale in more flowered and patient language than most modern epics, it seems merely to add to the depth of his vast world rather than remove you from it.

Donaldson ends FATAL REVENANT with another groan-inducing cliffhanger, one that will not resume for another couple of years. Now, halfway through The Last Chronicles, he has elevated the stature of epic fantasy to new heights and reclaimed a throne that he never truly gave up so much as took a rest from.