Kevin's Watch

Not literally Covenant touching you. But I mean--the first time you read TCTC, or second time or how ever many, you must've felt some overwhelming sense of discovery or joy or excitement at this new world. Has any other fantasy series or fantasy book done it for you?

I felt it with Lord of the Rings (which I read before TCTC), and after TCTC I felt it with George R.R. Martin's novels, but I finished his Storm of Swords in 2003, and Feast for Crows just didn't do it for me. So basically it's been since 2003 since I've felt that excitement...

Anyway. Am I just jaded, or is it possible, after my first "fantasy high" (or two or three) there'll never be another? Surely there's hope, or are we all just sitting in the radioactive glow of Donaldson's first impact on us, waiting for another (cause sorry, but the 3rd Chrons is just an echo of the first two!)?

For me it was and will always be Pern.
But no surprise there, I'm sure.

I know, to others Pern is way lightweight.
But I not only love the dragons and firelizards of Pern, but Anne's masterful touch with the Harpers of the Harper Hall just resonates with me. Something totally missing in the Pern novels her son Todd has so far published.

Nothing other than TC...

danlo wrote:Nothing other than TC...

You're a one-leper man, eh....

Orlion wrote:Titus Groan

Gertrude in the library woke me up and Fuchsia put me to sleep. Any girl that can flip back her wet hair like a pirate's flag and a mother that can save a little bird from a fire with her cleavage deserve my time.

The The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks is my favourite fantasy tale.

Harry Potter.

High Lord Tolkien wrote:Harry Potter.

Srsly?

I threw my copy of LFB into the ditch just before I was picked up by the police as homeless in 1979 and then given over to the good graces of the Rescue Mission in Trenton. I immediately joined the Navy as the quickest way, sans hitchhiking, to make it back to New Mexico. Yes I had already had my period of calling SRD live on the phone at 3AM New Mexico time and wanting to cut off two of my fingers to play TC in the movie. Oddly enough I was too busy surviving and enjoying the beauty of this state to remember that SRD lived here. Then I got on the comp and Sky forced me to reread the Chrons at a very intense moment of my life and that re-energized me to the point of saving my life, and (then) getting up the courage to invite SRD to the first Elohimfest- it all still blows me away to this day..........

Aside from Enemy of the State (and, maybe, Sartre's The Wall) I know that TCTC is THE best anti-hero, anti-social rant ever preformed.

Flipper Got The Measles was pretty emotional, too.

There have been random brief moments in many other works...but no other with so many, and that survived re-readings.
The Gap series had more than it's fair share, too.
For some reason, T.S. Eliot's early-mid poetry hits me pretty hard, over and over.

LOTR

danlo wrote:Aside from Enemy of the State (and, maybe, Sartre's The Wall) I know that TCTC is THE best anti-hero, anti-social rant ever preformed.

I think, even among "accepted" literature, there is no characterization more rich or deep than the inner workings of Thomas Covenant's emotional journey. The detail and the intense focus on that character is like nothing else I've ever read, to be honest, and Donaldson maintains it across six books. I know I've never cared more for another character (except maybe one or two of my own, for personal reasons).

Lord Foul wrote:

High Lord Tolkien wrote:Harry Potter.

Srsly?

Definitely.
I couldn't wait for the last few books to come out.
She created a world that rich and interesting.
I think about the series often.
That doesn't happen too much to me.

I read LotR for the 1st time in the 5th grade and have reread it at least once a year ever since.
But I think reading it at such a young age and only grasping the bare basics of the story I wasn't enthralled like you're describing.
But it became such a good friend that all other fantasy books pale in comparison.
Even....the Man.
Which is Donaldson's own damn fault.
He says repeatedly that he only writes what he needs.
So whereas Middle Earth is rich in history and back stories the Land is....lacking in greatness.

Of course if it turns out like I hope that the Land is a dream then SRD rises up to the greatest of the greats, imho.

There are books that have come close, but nothing has stayed with me throughout my life like TC.

I recently re-read Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning The Killer Angels, and it was even more gut-wrenching the 2nd time around. I was sobbing at parts. That's the closest to the TC experience that I've ever had.

Pern was great for what it was, and I'll always remember those books with fondness, but they never had the emotional impact that TC had.

The Stand by Stephen King becasue I read it when I was in 7th Grade.

Gates of Fire by Steve Pressfield. Best work ever about bravery in the face of insurmountable odds.

Song of Ice and Fire by GRR Martin. My first exposure to gritty realistic fantasy. It has singlehandedly changed my expectations for what good fantasy should be.

The Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker. Lyrical prose, gritty realism, a deep philosophy, and some of the most interesting characters in all of literature.

These all gave me the same feeling of giddiness and emotional involvement that TC did.

Brinn wrote:Song of Ice and Fire by GRR Martin. My first exposure to gritty realistic fantasy. It has singlehandedly changed my expectations for what good fantasy should be.

Try Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson, Brinn. Kind of gritty but also conventional (but innovative conventions!) fantasy, with a very, very interesting world. Any GRR Matrin fan would be pleasantly surprised.

Lord Foul wrote:

Brinn wrote:Song of Ice and Fire by GRR Martin. My first exposure to gritty realistic fantasy. It has singlehandedly changed my expectations for what good fantasy should be.

Try Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson, Brinn. Kind of gritty but also conventional (but innovative conventions!) fantasy, with a very, very in teresting world. Any GRR Matrin fan would be pleasantly surprised.

Hmmm...is that the same guy who's finishing Jordan's series?

Vraith wrote:

Lord Foul wrote:

Brinn wrote:Song of Ice and Fire by GRR Martin. My first exposure to gritty realistic fantasy. It has singlehandedly changed my expectations for what good fantasy should be.

Try Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson, Brinn. Kind of gritty but also conventional (but innovative conventions!) fantasy, with a very, very in teresting world. Any GRR Matrin fan would be pleasantly surprised.

Hmmm...is that the same guy who's finishing Jordan's series?

Yeah. But Elantris and his Mistborn trilogy are 10x better than Wheel of Time--and have more pace. Well, just having pace is more pace than Wheel of Time.

danlo wrote:I threw my copy of LFB into the ditch just before I was picked up by the police as homeless in 1979 and then given over to the good graces of the Rescue Mission in Trenton. I immediately joined the Navy as the quickest way, sans hitchhiking, to make it back to New Mexico. Yes I had already had my period of calling SRD live on the phone at 3AM New Mexico time and wanting to cut off two of my fingers to play TC in the movie. Oddly enough I was too busy surviving and enjoying the beauty of this state to remember that SRD lived here. Then I got on the comp and Sky forced me to reread the Chrons at a very intense moment of my life and that re-energized me to the point of saving my life, and (then) getting up the courage to invite SRD to the first Elohimfest- it all still blows me away to this day..........

Aside from Enemy of the State (and, maybe, Sartre's The Wall) I know that TCTC is THE best anti-hero, anti-social rant ever preformed.

wow! I need to read your memoirs.