Well, let me start by saying I LIKED the Last Chronicles. Perhaps I'm a lazy reader, but for the most part I thought there were very cool things in there:
1. The Haruchai and Giants kicked butt as usual. They really are Donaldsons greatest and fully fleshed creations in the Land. I guess we learned more about the Ramen yes, and individually they were coolish. But they kind of remained wet blankets to me. Oh and Stave totally rocks and might finally push Bannor from my Haruchai pinup Calendar. Well, the one that would be hanging on my wall 'twere I not a boring straight male
2. Time traveling was cool, led to some neat scenarios, and wasn't used too excessively. Mostly to solve one issue (the staff of law and things springing from it), IIRC.
3. So many villains made for some stressful and highly cinematic battles. I think TLD had very "movielike" qualities when various battles occurred. Loved the reveal (not that I didn't suspect something) under Skyweir in book 2. Note later I cite issues with too many villains - I think SRD had trouble juggling so many.
4. Linden Avery got less whiny and more interesting to me. Oh how I detested her in TSC. Here, yes, sure she's still a bit whiny. But I had no problem with the first of half of TLD being her as protagonist. And Jeremiah was a nice touch, and gave her excellent rational motivating force. The Thomas of My Heart stuff was a little Harlequin Romancy, but heck I always knew Linden was a softy under her neurotic parent hating exterior.
5. The Elohim have to eat shit twice in TLD. Given how much I wish to smash their fat self-satisfied fusion wielding asses, them eating crow was very personally fulfiling. I only wish TC had made Infelice go to a chalkboard and write I will Not Act Like A Superior Twit 5 million times.
6. Some clever twining of old story material in. Stuff like the Croyel, the adoption of the Ranyhn going through time, all that stuff was nice.
7. Maybe went on for a bit long but I enjoyed the Sarangrave as an intellient kind of Lawful Evil creature. Ironic that this creature is a crucial ally in the last two books. Who woulda thunk? I wouldna!
At same time I will concede that there were some things I wasn't completely satisfied with. I'll take iQuestor's list as a starter,quibbling with a few items, and adding a few items.
1. Why even bother with writing Roger into the LC??. He was a very one dimensional character who showed no growth at all during the story and his ending was a giant joke. He was whiney, pissy and even his dialog didnt fit with anything else in the story. He never felt real, Covenant never even felt anything for him even though he was his son, I could go on and on.
100% agreed. And it was part of taking on too many villains. I liked this, but it did get away from Donaldson (Esmer disappointing too). As you pointed out different things could have been developed if Roger was more developed. It's the contrast between Roger and Jeremiah and Linder-mother Thomas-father that would probably been the most effective. I dunno how I would have developed that, I'm not much of a writer, but I think that's where it should have gone.
2. SHMNBN was likewise a very thin thread with no satisfying explanation or ending. If she had ended up being Miassomer (sp=? but you know, Mrs. A Jeroth) it would have made some sense. The whole "Pink hand of God" sucker punch she gave Foul at the end didnt even make sense. He isnt even a corporeal being, and not even being stuck by the Krill will change that. Why all of the sudden can anything knock him flat?
She did seem added late, Yet Another Villain. And I found the action in AATE very slow once she showed up.
3. How is it that the Elohim didnt know how to put the worm back to sleep, and the, all of the sudden, they did?
This has been adequately handwaved I think. I throw in that in the ending, when the world is remade, perhaps that adds the "secret sauce" to return the worm to its slumber. Ya know, all starting from beginning and such?
I do think 2 pages of a recreation scene would have been nice, but maybe SRD didn't want to write The Last Battle again
4. How is this ending in any sense "more enduring" that WGW? After WGW he needed millenia to come back. Currently, Foul sis a separate entitiy inside TC. If TC DIes, loses his mind, or succumbs to possession, then He is back. It wont take millenia for that to happen.
Ultimately Thomas accepts his dualism and that they are 2 sides of the same coin and embraces this. Now they are joined again. How stable is that? I dunno, could be pretty stable. Linden, Jeremeiah and he are like demi-gods at the end, so probably not much disappointment in the future. Mostly celestial couch surfing.
5. It was stated repeatedly that the Haruchai NEVER confronted Foul. Sure they did" Korik, Sill and Doar did so in TIW, under the influence of the Illearth Stone. (Note to self: Don't get stoned and try to confront Evil...)
Adequately addressed.
6. TC and Linden both entered ceasures, but how come every time they do it again, its a gigantic deal and theyll all almost surely die? It was done to death.
Adequately addressed.
Yeah so my biggest criticisms would be SWMNBN (tedious heavy handed symbolism introduced late, a bit of a rushed ending, and the usual complains about Land Population Zero
and of course I miss non ghost Mhoram.
BTW I assume remaking the world has healed the laws of life and death and such? So the Dead will no longer visit Covenant except on Halloween?