Kevin's Watch

Just read that SRD has the first draft of The Last Dark, but that it may take him more time than usual to get a final draft completed. 1014 instead of 2013? I sure hope not. Better to have a great book late, though, than a flawed book on time.

Speaking of time...throughout The Last Chronicles Donaldson has been playing with time as a theme just as might and muscle were featured in the First Chronicles and nature (albeit twisted) was played in the Second. In these the Third chronicles there have been ceasures, of course, portals created by Roger and Jeremiah, manipulations by the Theomach and the Mahdoubt as well as Covenant's time fissures. All of these variations ploys by Lord of Foul to free himself.

How will time continued to be explored in The Last Dark?

Mr.Land wrote:Just read that SRD has the first draft of The Last Dark, but that it may take him more time than usual to get a final draft completed. 1014 instead of 2013? I sure hope not. Better to have a great book late, though, than a flawed book on time.

At this point, I'm not too worried. For one, like you said, I trust Donaldson will take the amount of time necessary to make an excellent product, no more and no less. Secondly, he has always placed certain 'pessimistic' attitudes upon completing the first draft (and even second drafts). He posted feelings of having to practically re-write Fatal Revanant and being being behind schedule with Against All Things Ending... really, we won't see if there will be a postphonment until his 'usual interval' (in this case, if we here about a second draft around June, we'll still probably see a 2013 release).

Of course, this is also the volume that was always going to be the toughest to write.

Speaking of time...throughout The Last Chronicles Donaldson has been playing with time as a theme just as might and muscle were featured in the First Chronicles and nature (albeit twisted) was played in the Second. In these the Third chronicles there have been ceasures, of course, portals created by Roger and Jeremiah, manipulations by the Theomach and the Mahdoubt as well as Covenant's time fissures. All of these variations ploys by Lord of Foul to free himself.

How will time continued to be explored in The Last Dark?

In the Last Dark, I imagine we'll see more of a 'slowing down of time' much like we had in Against All Things Ending... probably even an end of time, or lack of the presence of time... if that's the case, is it any wonder that this book seemed impossible to write (even excluding other reasons?)

But in the last book the good guys gained control of the two central time devices Foul used: Joan and her ring and Jermiah's body, knowledge and spirit. Esmer is out of the picture as well, one way or another. What does he have left?

The Elohim (with their time bending abilities) are probably all consumed by now and in any case didn't serve him so far as we could see. The two insequent with time abilities (Mahdoubt and the Theomach) are dead and Linden at last can't be blackmailed into serving Despite with the fate of her child,

That leaves Kastenessen (Elohim abilites supposing he still has them), Roger (inheriting Kastenessen's abilites) and maybe the Worm (who might inherit time abilities from Elohim it consumed as well as possible inherent capabilities of its own). Oh, and maybe leftover Ceasures since they transcend time, but if I understood the books correctly they are now trailing off into nonexistent futures where Joan wasn't defeated.

I don't think the Worm will disrupt Time until the very end when it consumed the Blood of the earth. By then there will be nothing left of the earth I guess and the heroes intend to stop it before it reaches that point.

That only leaves Kastenessen and Roger. What would they do with such abilities? Bring more monsters from the past? They already have the skurj. And radically changing the past will theoretically destroy the world and them with it.

I hope it comes out in 2013 instead of 1014, or else WE will need the power to jump around in time to read it.