Kevin's Watch

If Stephen Donaldson were suddenly possessed by a real life Lord Foul and chose to write additional stories in the Thomas Covenant universe, what could be written about without seeming unnecessary?

Is a novel length story of Covenant's trip to the hardware store to buy tools and pvc pipe to repair his kitchen sink the day before he was first summoned to the Land interesting? (My daughter would say no since she can barely read Golden Boy without getting sleepy.)

Could you squeeze in a tale that took place between TPTP and TWL in which Covenant is transported to Revelstone for a single day (which lasts for only a few seconds in the real world) something that would ruin continuity?

I am approaching this topic with humor because it is inevitable that someone would quote Donaldson saying he's had enough and that's final which is no fun at all.

The real theoretical challenge would be crafting a story that did not corrupt the established canon but would explore new and interesting territory somewhere in the existing timeline. Fans of course would love tales of the Old Lords but simply fleshing out sprinkled bits of the history of the Land really wouldn't entertain anyone, especially the author.

Maybe a story that explains what the hell Griffins are doing in this universe.

I would like to hear about the life of Kevin, his impressions of the first Haruchai that came to the Land, how he was betrayed by Lord Foul, the War that created Kurash Plenethor, what drove him to Desecration. His early years were probably in service to his father, battling Viles and ur-Viles. He was probably the greatest person who ever fought for the Land.

I'd love to hear how the Ramen and the Ranyhyn came together. I have a fan-fic story in my mind, but alas, I don't have the necessary skills to write it.

+JMJ+

I want to see an 80's action-comedy -- in the vein of The Dukes of Hazzard or The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo -- featuring Sheriff Lytton, called Lytton It All Hang Out.

It would be great if Covenant showed up as an unidentified cameo in the next Man Who book, had a brief exchange with Brew, and departed, with Ginny saying, "Well, HE was grumpy, wasn't he?".

(And by "great", I mean an insult to both series. But it's a fun idea)

HBJ

I'd like to know how Loric acquired the skills in order to fuse a sunstone into the hilt of a blade. It's feasible Covenant could have been summoned for a day, to assist in some mythic act of arcane magic and elemental logic.

I'd like to know how Loric acquired the skills in order to fuse a sunstone into the hilt of a blade.

That would be a great story!

I would find it much more plausible to have one of "Covenant's" novels published. Do you think "Or I will Sell my Soul for Guilt" could climb the best seller's list?

Yeah, gotta go with more backstory for the Land. Love Rune's idea. And WF's. I would read all of that.

More Haruchai. Maybe even more Insequents.

--A

One question arises when confronted with naming a supplemental story.

Is it The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant if it is a story in which TC plays no part and does not witness?

My membership in THOOLAH has a lot to do with the fact that Linden Avery is arguably the main protagonist in the Last Chronicles thus bending the definition of "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant". Would it break said definition altogether a story is written about High Lord Kevin's early days as head of the Council of Revelstone?

Would said story be invalidated by the fact that the events of the narrative were not being related to either Thomas Covenant, Linden Avery, Hile Troy or anyone from the "real world"?

Perhaps it could be fashioned as a collection of short stories covering a variety of historical events being related to some real world character other than TC and is narratively independent. Imagine the stories and lessons Hile Troy absorbed during his time at the Loresraat as a setting for a detailed history of the Land.

Well, the Chronicles isn't just about the daily events of Thomas Covenant. It's about his journey from being a less complete person to being a more complete person. That journey has lots of angles, some of which Covenant wasn't literally present for. For example, the whole Hile Troy thing didn't involve Covenant directly, but in a larger sense it explains Covenant's dilemmas.

So, yes, in a broad sense, there's a lot about the early history of the Land that is about Covenant. For example, the whole story is filled with worries about "another Kevin", so it is certainly logical to provide information on this Kevin person, knowing exactly where it was he went wrong.

It's not so difficult to believe that Thomas Covenant need not nessesarily have been a "real" leper. If he just happened to be a successful writer who was taken much too literally by his "loony-bin" neighbours, then unfortunately, his ultimate paradox was akin to painting himself into a corner.
(The Bell Telephone Company receptionist and the one-armed trucker, to name but two, had no idea who he was and had treated him accordingly!)

Left to his own devices I'm sure Thomas Covenant could quite easily write volumes on the rich history of the Land (-having lived there within the arch of time).

Rune wrote:
Left to his own devices I'm sure Thomas Covenant could quite easily write volumes on the rich history of the Land (-having lived there within the arch of time).

See that would be an interesting take and actually falls squarely in the "supplemental" definition. A book written by Thomas Covenant detailing the history of the Land as it was related to him through his experiences there. The novel's voice would be Covenant but the content would be sourced through the people of the Land he had encountered. Perhaps Covenant's writing of the book itself was a therapeutic exercise during the years between The Power That Preserves and The Wounded Land and was never intended for anyone to read but after Covenant's death the manuscript found its way into the hands of Covenant's publisher.

I'd totally read that book however only one real life person could actually write it and he's not about to waste his time.

For wordplay's sake, I've envisioned such a work as "The Lost Chronicles of Thomas Covenant," or alternatively, "The Chronicles of the Earth." A hyper-Silmarillion for the Land, then.

How to incorporate Covenant himself? Have sections where the Timewarden is "looking at" different parts of the past, including his commentary and foresight and so on.

General themes: the continuity of the Land's history. E.g. we could have a marrowmeld ring akin to the white gold (since the white of that gold is the "color of bone" and the Ranyhyn have an odd relationship with Time). We could detail the Appointment of the Guardian of the One Tree; early ventures by Giants; the war with the Viles and later the Demondim; the sealing of the skurj and the rise of the Insequent. All with a view to where this all would lead...

The Time Warden Chronicles. I like it.

aTOMiC wrote: Maybe a story that explains what the hell Griffins are doing in this universe.

As Griffins are part lion my guess is that Drool Rockworm was attempting to master the fire-lions using the Staff of Law and blood (lots of it!)

I vaguely recall a descriptive passage of Saltheart Foamfollower running downhill and leaping from rock to rock at such speed it appeared almost untoward, if it weren't for the fact that the Giants had a natural affinity with stone. Maybe in the final analysis we'll see the Giants are the Fire-Lions, in some surreal form of savage and unbridled caamora - scoria!

aTOMiC wrote:If Stephen Donaldson were suddenly possessed by a real life Lord Foul and chose to write additional stories in the Thomas Covenant universe, what could be written about without seeming unnecessary?

I like the idea of an Old Lord we haven't heard of before. Lord Bane, perhaps. Who might need a worthy talisman to match the Staff of Law. A Rod of Order? I'd guess he would require the help of The Insequents. I'm sure that, with Staff and Rod of Law and Order, High Lord Bane would easily broom Lord Foul from the Land - for ever.

I would liked to have seen Stephen Donaldson have the people of the Land risen to a different challenge; a great challenge other than the long and rather tiresome battle against Despair. If Lord Foul were a real world person I might say he were nothing more than an emotional abuser. It must be awful being the victim of a real world Despiser, (Stories from the Heart: Case Studies of Emotional Abuse - M.T.Loring). To use one example: Mental Abuse probably has a whole different set of problems. How might a mental abuser translate to the processes of the Land and into what shape and form might that enemy manifest itself?

... only one real life person could actually write it and he's not about to waste his time.