Kevin's Watch

Spotty, off and on. Just read 7-13 of the Illearth War, doing once again what I did as a kid-- staying up all night to read.
Awesome.
Re-reading is, in fact, superior to the first read.
However, work tomorrow and a strong need to practice music for my october gig.
Blown away.

C'mon, LZ, get your priorities straight

Finished "the Illearth War" while waiting to renew my driver's licence. Interesting thing is that Thomas Covenant does not know the fate of the Giants at the end. I did not remember that. It will be interesting to see what he thinks when he returns to the Land and learns of the Giants.

Lord Zombiac wrote: It will be interesting to see what he thinks when he returns to the Land and learns of the Giants.

let me know what your impression was when he learns.
I don't remember there being any other than his feeling sorrow for Foamfollower.
I had no problem with his anguish about it in the Wounded Land but I always felt it was a little retconned (or maybe that it grew over the years as he thought about it.)

He doesn't learn about the Giants until "The Spoiled Plains" in TPTP.

Pariah.

I'm a little confused. When Covenant, Foamfollower, and Lena encounter Bannor and the Ramen, several times it is said quite plainly that the Giants were killed. Yet Covenant does not react.
From chapter 8, Winter:
"The Giants are dead," the voice in Covenant's ear said dispassionately, "only Giant Ravers remain."
***
What more does Covenant need to hear?

I think High Lord Tolkein hits the spot here; Covenant doesn't know any giants exept Saltheart Foam follower - his only grief is for the distress of his friends. The rest are just dream talk to him and have no true reality.

Well I finished it, now eagerly awaiting the other five books that are currently published to get here in the mail.
I am surprised how little of this particular book I remembered.
When Covenant gets out of Morinmoss I knew that Triock was a Raver.
Also in "Lord Mhoram's Victory" I kept saying to myself: "This is awesome, but it would be even more awesome if he ends up killing that Raver with the Krill."
I have to say that the ending, with laughter vanquishing Lord Foul is less than spectacular. It couldn't have been more hokey had a lightening bolt from the heavens struck Lord Foul.
Overall, I really enjoyed re-reading the first series. Hopefully the second series will be just as good. First time around, though, I remember being just a little put off by it. Maybe I've matured enough to be able to appreciate the differences now.

The second series is so fundamentally different to the first that it does come as a shock to the system. However, if you can put asside your dissapointment that this glorious, fecund, colorful world that you have come to love is no more, and just accept the story for what it is, then all of a sudden it hits you just how good it really is (quite possibly better than the 1st series). And when your old friends from the first series gradually start to reapear as TWL progresses, it can make for some of the most emotional reading you have ever experienced. The key thing is to forget your expectations and most of all - ENJOY!