Kevin's Watch

This is a look at the Demondim as they appear in The Runes of the Earth.

There’s no sex in your violence
- Bush, Everything Zen

One of the things that I love about Donaldson’s Chronicles is that it is, after everything else, an adventure story. You have your protagonist on a quest, traveling through interesting places, sometimes alone, more frequently with a band of interesting and supportive characters. And, of course, the world is filled with perils, some natural, but more usually arranged by a clever evil enemy. The danger, of course, gives the story its high action, it’s suspense, it’s terror, and in the end it’s sense of accomplishment.

It’s not hard to point out some really great scenes of danger in the first and second Chronicles: the Battle of Soaring Woodhelven; the Mission to Seareach; Lord Mhoram’s Victory; the Grim; the attack of the eels; the mendacity of the arghuleh.

What makes these parts of the story so great is simply Donaldson’s skill as a story-teller. He can make a simple conflict engrossing, and he can make a huge battle an epiphany.

Often he will present us with an exciting novel element, such as an ur-vile wedge, or venom, or a Sandgorgon.

He can give us slowly tautening suspense, as when the Mission enters the Sarangrave, or when Drinny arrives at Revelstone, or when the hurricane threatens Starfare’s Gem.

Dangers are rarely merely simple. It’s a Giant AND a Raver AND a fragment of the Illearth Stone. It’s a Grim AND Sunbane-warped Cavewights AND a sea of Graveling.

But, as great as these elements are, they are secondary to Donaldson’s real achievements. For as wonderful as novelty and complexity and suspense are in an adventure story, Donaldson demonstrates his mastery by taking it to the next level.

Donaldson always presents us with stories of individuals, and when the danger is high – when the action kicks in, when the battle is being waged – Donaldson focuses on those individuals. The story doesn’t stand back and watch the action from afar; instead, it dives in and gives us close-up after close-up. We can follow Covenant as he picks up a staff and learns to smash Cavewights, with the Haruchai as they tackle a Sandgorgon, with Pitchwife as he contends with the hustin. We participate in all the blows that are handed out, in all the hurts that are received, one character at a time.

And all of Donaldson’s characters are unique. Each brings into a dilemma their own concerns and fears, each reacts to events according to who they are and what they stand for, and each emerges from the danger with different scars. We can see Foamfollower mastered by rage, and then deal with the aftermath of rage. We can see Sunder overcome his guilt by mastering the Sunbane to save his companions. Mhoram’s internal journey to find his true power is completed on the battlefield at the feet of Satansfist. Memla faces the Grim as a chance at redemption. Mistweave learns self-doubt and then overcomes it. Cail discovers his heart's desire in the snare of the Merewives.

That’s one of the reasons that the Chronicles are so magnificent: the danger means something to the characters it involves. Whether it is Covenant or Linden, High Lord, Giant, Haruchai, or Stonedowner, each moment of peril moves the character along on his or her own personal journey. And it is not always for the better; some are healed, some are harmed, some learn truths, and some are broken irrevocably. In this way, the tale’s dangerous moments are intimate and personal and involving.

How can you not love a story that is told as well as that?

How, then, can you not be disappointed with the Demondim in The Runes of the Earth?

The Demondim represent everything that I’ve come to expect from Donaldson’s Chronicles and find lacking in Runes.

The Demondim represent the greatest element of danger in Runes. They are malevolent, they are powerful, and they are dead set on Linden. They appear in the South Plains, attacking Linden’s company just as they’ve found the Staff of Law. Sight-defying, regenerative, and innately Lore-powerful, they are augmented by nothing less than the Illearth Stone. And they are poised in Time to threaten the Arch and the Earth. Not only must Linden evade the Demondim attack, she must remove them from the Land’s past, while risking the extinction of the ur-viles and the Waynhim, and the destruction of the Staff. Summoning and controlling a ceasure is her only option. Undoubtedly, this is the most dangerous moment in the last Chronicles thus far.

If you compare the attack of the Demondim with any of the dangers faced in the first and second Chronicles, you can see that the Donaldson mastery isn’t present. The Demondim could not be less intimate, less personal, or less involving.

For starters, I cannot help but notice that the Demondim never actually engage Linden or her human companions. Instead, the ur-viles and the Waynhim conveniently march off to confront them; we only see their battle from a distance. In fact, it’s even mentioned that it’s on the other side of a hill. Later, in the Land’s present, it is a regiment of nameless Haruchaiwho confront the Demondim. Then the Demondim mysteriously retreat. They are last seen harassing the strangers approaching Revelstone, which we view from the safety of a balcony in the Revelstone tower.

Unfortunately, this lack of engagement is a common theme in Runes. The dark storm that menaces Mithil Stowndown doesn’t touch Linden. The hoard of kresh doesn’t reach Linden. The Waynhim guarding the Staff of Law don’t defend against Linden. Esmer speaks to Linden, but his fists strike only Stave. After Kevin’s Watch falls, Linden is scarcely threatened with harm worse than catching a cold.

Even the physical construction of the Demondim defies telling a story about them. They are miscellaneous vague shapes, simply marching around. Nothing you can do affects them, as they regenerate. You can’t even see them clearly. This physical ambiguity may be a critical factor in the story Donaldson is telling, but it comes at the cost of having the Demondim remain remote and unengaging in the parts of the story they appear in so far.

There is no emotional significance to the presence of the Demondim to balance the lack of physical significance. The Demondim barely have any relevance to Linden; they have no relevance to any of her companions. The only links connecting Linden to the Demondim are thin and weak. They represent a threat to Time, which she feels responsible to prevent. And they were summoned by Esmer in order to manipulate her in some way. But Linden would have felt equally responsible to any threat to Time; Esmer's threats are incoherent. One would almost wonder if the Demondim were not given the Illearth Stone as compensation for the fact of their near meaninglessness, as one last attempt to make them Linden's personal concern.

There is one rather obvious opportunity where a personal element could have been included. That opportunity lies with the ur-viles and the Waynhim – the Demondim-spawn. Here are the remnants of two waning races, races that have struggled for all their lives to justify their existence, and now after almost eight thousand years they are confronting their makers. One would almost have to expect that this would be a meaningful occasion to everyone involved. However, there seems to be no meaning – The Demondim have no compunction against exterminating their own creations, and the ur-viles and the Waynhim reciprocate. Well, this is not their story anyway, I suppose.

There is no focus on individuals, there is no personal response, there are no character-changing moments when the Demondim are faced. The danger doesn’t mean anything.

It’s almost ludicrous how little the Demondim accomplish with so much power. They outnumber the ur-viles and Waynhim, they are their superiors in lore, they can’t be killed as far as anyone is concerned, and they know how the Demondim-spawn were put together. Then add the Illearth Stone. I cannot imagine how they could not blast Linden and company away in a heartbeat. But all they can manage is to take out a few tired Waynhim and ur-viles (off stage). Their excessive power, mysteriously held in check, may be an important factor in the story Donaldson is telling, however, it comes at the cost of having the Demondim appear as both stupifyingly unconquerable and maddeningly ineffectual. You don’t know whether the situation is hopeless or ludicrous – but either way, they don’t earn your involvement.

This all may not be immediately obvious, but you can sense it when you read it for the first time. There’s a lack of passion in the character’s actions. The danger feels remote and somewhat theorhetical. The Demondim seem to bluster and growl, but don’t do anything which is actually dangerous. You feel a little bit confused, because the undercurrent of meaning isn’t present.

Therefore, the Demondim are, to me, a disappointment. They are not bad, but just less than I have come to expect from Donaldson. They create an element of danger in the Runes adventure, but it completely fails to captivate. There is nothing that involves the reader when experiencing their danger; there is nothing intimate and personal in their peril. In a manner of speaking, there’s no sex in their violence.

It hasn't happened yet, give it time, their were far more important things to be told, they have backed off for a reason, how at this point in time can you tell that they haven't accomplished exactly what they wanted to in forcing the company into revelstone, and their retreat coincides with covenant's appearance.

I think you've put your finger on something that I think bothered me a little when I read it - that the Demondim were said to be so powerful and yet we get no real sense of the threat they pose. But there's one other thing you've made me see that I'd like to mention.

Unfortunately, this lack of engagement is a common theme in Runes. The dark storm that menaces Mithil Stowndown doesn’t touch Linden. The hoard of kresh doesn’t reach Linden. The Waynhim guarding the Staff of Law don’t defend against Linden. Esmer speaks to Linden, but his fists strike only Stave. After Kevin’s Watch falls, Linden is scarcely threatened with harm worse than catching a cold.

Linden spends the whole book running away from danger, staying a step ahead of the threat. Each time she is faced with danger, someone else is there to run in and face it for her (in fact, it's almost always the ur-Viles - they stopped the Masters with their storm, they fought the kresh, they engaged the Demondim, heck, they even protected her in the caesure). The point is that Linden has spent the book avoiding real, personal danger, running always. I think this signifies a complete reversal of the situation in the future. If she was in among it right from the beginning, it weakens the impact of possible future conflicts. The fact that Donaldson's kept her apart from the threats, kept them from becoming personal, means he really wants it to hit home when he finally does let it touch her. He really wants to make the next one big, or at least that's the sense I get from it.

Nice post Wayfriend. Well thought out and touching on some interesting points. The question seems to be: Was this a literary device employed intentionally or not?

IMHO, LFB was not as engaging as TIW or the books that followed and Runes may suffer from the same "set-up" syndrome that seems to afflict most first books in extended series.

I'm in agreement with some of the other guys, give it time. Donaldson apparently still wanted to keep us in dark about the Demondin. I think we'll see more as the story unfolds.

There is something in this, but we have no understanding yet of the Demondin's motives and true nature. Their reasons for being there and the alliances and compulsions they operate under are not clear.

You could take it one step further and say no-ones' motives are especially clear or logical in this book, whether it be Linden, the ur-Viles, the Masters, Covenant, the Creator, Roger, Foul or Kastenessen.

We have no convincing idea why any of them are behaving the way they are. You could call this contrivance or you could call it a mystery to be unravelled.

Wayfriend, what a good post; enjoyed reading it, it was clear, well written and well thought out: nice one!

I must agree that they do lack a feeling of gravity. I think this comes more from the lack of description or them, either physically or in terms of their potency, than from the lack of caring for any of those they beseige. But there is a diminished scope in the conflict; there never really appears to be any granduer in what's at stake.

I think it an unfortunate necessity that Linden is the only protagonist and catalyst for change in the Land. She animates the Ramen, confronts the Haruchai and wards Aneal, as well as releasing the aspirations of Stonedowner, instructing Waynim and leading Ur-vile. In the next book all the elements are already in play so we should be able to get into the thick of it quicker and deeper.

Because of her role, she must be kept from immediate danger to accomplish the above, although it would have been interesting if she'd been killed in the first book or trapped inside a caesure or something more dramatic which would have upped the stakes. There needs to be something more from the Demondim, something more sinister like the 'feeling of fear' of the Nazgul: we need a heirachy of evil; how bad are these guys compared to....

Nice post wayfriend - very thorough reasoning. I agree there is a definite distancing in Runes - not just in the telling of it but also around Linden and the consequences of her actions. However I don't agree that the demondim encounter was in the same boat - in fact I found this burst of ancient black evil under green ill a move away from this distance. It is as though the dulling effect of Kevin's dirt has parted and some of the coming threat has burst through. As for the Demondim in particular, I found them frightening - part corporeal and part pure twitching dark lore. Much more unsettling than those blind old wedges of ur-viles! Their part is yet to come and i found it cohesive that SRB left it to th next book - this book was all about the confused calm before the storm - for linden and the land. Oh, and speaking of anti-climaxes - did anyone else find the grim in TWL like this - lotsa black burning flakes? Not a patch on the vortex of trepidation in TIW IMHO!

Why be so diisappointed? The real world is full of ambiguous happenings. This is what makes the Covenant books so good. That Donaldson is prepared to provoke argument and change is track is the sign of a damn good author. Someone who appears to have a grasp of the real world and is able to transpose it into his fantasy writings. Deal with it! Donaldson I bow to you. :roll:

Gibboniam wrote:Why be so diisappointed? The real world is full of ambiguous happenings. This is what makes the Covenant books so good. That Donaldson is prepared to provoke argument and change is track is the sign of a damn good author. Someone who appears to have a grasp of the real world and is able to transpose it into his fantasy writings. Deal with it! Donaldson I bow to you.

Oh, I can deal with it.

But the fact remains: In the earlier Chonicles, there was no high action that did not include character transformation. In Runes, we just have a bunch of meanies chasing people around. Cue the Benny Hill music. (Benny Hill music)

wayfriend - I agree that blind faith in SRD is hardly satisfying or something SRD would much like.

Yet I do see character development throughout runes - it is all about Linden's growing confidence and her doctor's sense of pragmatism. The appearance of the demondim marks the end of all that - there is just a blind rush to hide from the consequences of her actions, from the artificial neatness of her solutions. These consequences will no doubt come rushing in to her and us in Fatal Rev.

But you are right - there is a far less pressing sense of change or danger - just a brooding dirt clouded calm before the storm!

Just some ideas - I would have to reread Runes - I am busy rereading the 2nd chrons!

I don't want to be too negative about the book, I just loved being able to visit the Land again and am grateful for the chance. However I think it's fair comment that the action has been a bit emotionally flat when compared to the previous two chronicles. I put this down to two things, the absence of TC and a lack of gravity in the protagonist/antagonists.

I've already stated the latter in an earlier post but the former also stands to emphasize this. I don't think SRD writes Linden as well as he writes TC, I feel like I'm in TC's head and can feel what he feels, I don't feel the same with Linden who I look 'at' in the second/third person. As such I'm watching the drama unfolding for someone else rather than experiencing it myself; you can't feel someone else's pain they say.

The book finishes on a high for me, because my main man is back!

I have to concur with Wayfriend. His post was more engaging than most of The Runes.

What drew me to Donaldson all those years ago (i think it was 17 years ago that I read the first book), was that the language was so intricate, and interweaved and the story so godamn compelling that you felt like you were wasting time putting the book down.

I feel like SRD has introduced a whole bunch of new characters and just glossed over them. We have gone from such intense personal struggles for an individual to hearing 1 or 2 things about a handful of characters. I'm not suggesting by any means that I could do any better, or that he has lost anything with respect to other authors. The story is still bang on, its just not the Donaldson magic that blew me away with the first 2 chrons.

Wayfriend pointed out that the action has taken a backseat, and thats how it feels. It's almost like its mentioned for the sake of mentioning it rather than previously where you have felt every blow the haruchai struck and felt the fear that linden and covenant did when facing their foes. The Runes, was an easy read and for me that's not a good thing. I want to feel the emotions, the pain, the elation. There were stages where you got hints of that, like near the end when Stave is facing the humbled when he proclaims his loyalty to Linden. Thats the SRD magic, but that's a tiny slice in a rather large book.

Anyways, It's been an aeon since I've been summoned to this board - I returned after reading 1st and 2nd chrons a couple of years back, and decided to see if the board still existed after reading the latest addition to the TC family. Good to see the place is still buzzing

Absolutely excellent post, Wayfriend. A very compelling read, if I do say so myself.

I completely agree with your assessment of the Demondim. But I also know why they do not captivate you the way other dangers and perils in the past have captivated us.
To me, Runes is like a cold cup of coffee. It's there, and if you drink it you'll taste it, but it has no enticing aroma.

But I think that is deliberate. Deliberately written in such a way as to make us all miss something...or someone.

Thomas Covenant is not in the Land during Runes, except for a few incarnations through Anele. In my humble opinion, Covenant is the color of the Land. He is its aroma, its taste, its enticement. He is the Land's life, its love, its strength. Without Covenant, the Land lacks. The writing within Runes and it's lack of "captivation" directly reflects Covenant's absence. And not only Covenant. Everything that the people of the Land held dear has been taken from them. The Haruchai have seen to that. There are no Giants. The Lords have long since vanished. The Land is not what is once was.
What better way to show those kinds of things than by the (dare I say) bland prose? The lack of "color" in the writing says this more clearly than any description.

Now that he has re-entered the tale, so will the writing that we have all come to love. It will once again be like a fresh cup of steaming coffee.

Excellent post, Wayfriend. While I was quite stunned to be confronted by Demondim, I did feel something was lacking. You've managed to put your finger on most of it there - they were removed and vague, with very little sense of immediacy. I also think they were rushed; they could have used more "screen time" to make them more real, IMO.

I do, however, get the impression that there may be an element of brooding menace here, in a Hitchcock vein; that there may be a purpose to keeping Linden isolated from the various dangers.

There are also two other comments I'd like to note:

Brinn - I quite agree. I nearly didn't read beyond LFB, on the basis that it was interesting but not particularly engrossing. It really only becomes great with the addition of the other two books, IMHO.

yoursovain - "I agree that blind faith in SRD is hardly satisfying or something SRD would much like" ...Wise words. I don't think SRD would like to think that we (for want of a better way of putting it) tolerate his latest book on faith.

In any case, we shall see what Fatal Revenant brings...eventually.

I think a lot of this is simply because of the differences in Covenant and Linden and the way they interact with the world and with other people.

Covenant is a very sensitive artist, and as such, sees the world in a much different way than Linden, a rather detached physician, does.

I think that everything will explode into action in FR.

Perhaps the last couple of pages of Runes wasn't enough?..I agree on the distance perception ,,but all that went out the window with who Linden saw approaching on horse back...
...Also,,I felt the " personal" connection in the opening sequences,,and the ensueing mystery solving situations Linden thinks thru. As she solves the mystery of Anele,,the Masters,the Caesures she is being changed in her understanding of what has happened to the Land, and its inhabitants. you seem to have forgotten its been how long since the 2nd Chron's ?,so there is the element of bringing everyone( including new fans)on slowly.
...The main element to Runes is that Linden is NOT trusted by ANYBODY. SHE is perceived by most as the bringer of DOOM..With that,,how can one expect or anticipate any teaming or close interpersonal relations. Slowly, one at a time,,she has converted the few to her cause. That seemed to be one of the main plots of RUNES. And how did she do it? ..by sharing quite personal,,non violent,,examples of Thought and practice.She is a Doctor....ie,,the wonderful example of putting two and two together to figure out Anele's plite and even how what he stood on determined how he was possessed...or the Sharing of the Fountain along with Stave..even tho the Haruchai saw different visions..he was changed positively thru non violent ways,,...Point being...Characters go thru change in Runes. What forces the change isn't " sex in violence" tho...maybe its,,sex in nonviolence....Since the analogy has been introduced,,and apparently allowed...The difference i am talking about is the same difference between the sex a couple has bewteen themselves when 20 year olds newly married and the sex the same couple has between themselves when they are in their late 40's. For now, I'll assume the keepers won't allow me to explore the point much further due to possibly offending someones sensibilties.
...Its kinda like a reverse perception...at my age,,i just don't get alot of the Rap music...well,,okay, thats the way it goes,,In Runes,,i can very well see a maturity reflected, that others just may not see or understand. There is up close and personal change evident..its just not ,," sexy in its violence" in its attributes as was evident in the younger SRD writings. To put it as simple as I can..perhaps its the difference between ,,,physical intercourse, and mental intercourse....
...Far from disappointed,,I found the difference a fascinating development and highly reflective of the authors growth in personal and skill levels.........MEL

Great post Lurch! You have put my intuitive sense of the great worth of runes in well reasoned and sensitive terms.

I had said to another SRD fan that the most bold thing SRD has attempted in Runes (and IMHO succeeded) is to place in centre stage a mature intelligent practical woman protagonist in the fantasy genre - most radical considering the traditionally chauvinistic and boys-own-adventure tendencies of the genre.

Why people mock the motivation of searching for a lost child/lover as soap opera and not the endless adolescent search for assorted magical swords, rings and orbs is beyond me.

More to the point, I think a central part of SRD's chronicles is pointing to the foolishness/danger of such searches for/investment in tools of power when only courage and personal sacrifice ever wins the day in the chrons.

Funnily enough, when I was a teenager reading the second chrons, Linden did truly sh*t me. Now, as an old bastard, I found her very involving (inevitable human frailty frustrations aside) and her cool but cautious/worried responses to complex situations made perfect sense to me.

Still, there's no denying the excitement of old crazed and inspired TC returning to stir things up. And I can't deny I won't be also excited if something as sexy as a krill turns up, however much it is probably some kind of sword fetish!

I believe(and hope)that Runes main purpose is as a setup book for the rest of the series.SRD has three more books to go for a reason.I am sure he could tell his story in three,IF he wanted to.Thatsaid I did miss something in the imagination department,and I hope SRD unleashes the beast of his creativity in future volumes of the series.There are so many mysteries springing out of Runes,that he has to have great things in store.

It certainly seems that Linden is rather harried from place to place rather than really put to danger - this smells of Foul, don't you think so?