Kevin's Watch

Not quite sure where to put this, but I'm putting it here.

So, what was the moment when you found out that the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant was a reality? Where, and what was your reaction?

I don't quite remember when it was, but it seemed like I was hunting around for Xmas gifts. Although it may have been later, and I was looking for other gift ideas. My...well, now fiance and I were in a Borders and there was a table with new books. An Anne Coultier book was sitting very prominently on the table, and as we walked away, I was blathering about how much I hated her and the title, but wasn't specific enough. She had noticed Runes there, and somehow thought I was bitching about that.

She has never read Donaldson, by the way.

Anyway, she seemed confused because she thought I liked "that leper guy." My jaw hit the floor, figuring that she must have been mistaken, or that maybe indeed Donaldson did have a new book out. I immediately turned around as we were well out of the store by then, and rushed back in. My head went all swimmy from thoughts of "wow...cool...a new series." She pointed it out to me, because I couldn't find it. I picked it up, and thought, "Hmm....title really doesn't say much." I quickly glanced over the cover, looking for some word about whether it was a new series or not, and saw nothing. I thought, "Another short story collection? They are always good, but a bit disappointing because they aren't as long and involved."

Then I reread the top line of the cover.

I had thought it was just advertising that it was from the author of the Thomas Covenant books, but upon maybe the 5th or later look, I finally realized it was "Book One of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant." I nearly fell over.

I was in the middle of another book I couldn't put down right away, and it was a gift-giving time of some sort, so I didn't pick it up then. I held off until I finished the other book, then dove right in. But that night driving home, my mind was swimming with possibilities. It seemed that I had heard Donaldson many years ago rumored to say that he had thought of continuing TCTC, but I had always thought it to be a rumor. After all, Covenant is dead, and I couldn't imagine Linden carrying the story by herself. But I definitely remember that I couldn't stop saying "wow."

The next day, I emailed two of my best friends from grade school saying that it was amazing how now that we are in our mid-thirties and how we are still talking about the things we talked about then still in the present tense...Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Covenant.

There's a new Anne Coulter book? Awesome!

I yahoo'd my way here, and found out about Last Chronicles that way. Had a similar reaction.

I was upset and dismissive- there was stuff I'd read in a ten year-old interview with Donaldson that did not have me looking forward to a third chronicles, and I wasn't a huge fan of the second chronicles. So I decided to ignore it. (Besides, considering the eventual fate of my favorite character in the second chronicles, why should I care?)

Recently I joined the Sci-Fi Book Club, found I could get a copy of Fatal Revenant for free, figured what the hell. It was a decent read, and I'll most likely read the rest of the series, but I still have some reservations. The last line really worries me.

I found out from here, somehow. I think it was via Danlo seeing SRD at a convention or something. I know the fever was building on the Watch for a loooong time before Runes actually arrived.

I was doing an internet search mid 2004 and stumbled upon SRD's official website and a) couldn't believe he had a web site, b) picked myself up off the floor when I read that "Runes" was being published at the end of the year. I am actually not specifically a "Chronicles" fan...I was just excited that SRD was publishing a new book (although I do confess it's great to have more Chronicles).

see the summonsing --saltheart--

I found out about eight seconds after I found Kevin's Watch.

All the usual jaw-dropping, drooling, and butterfly things happened.

Actually, the timing is rather cool, too. With LOTR:ROTK out and done, SRD handed me a whole new on-line fetish to replace my old one -- just in time, too. Exit Mendil, enter Wayfriend.

Cjr wrote:I think it was via Danlo seeing SRD at a convention or something.

yep that's where I was, at Bubonicon. And I had to scrape my jaw off the floor so I could madly write down the details...

Danlo, did SRD make some general announcement that he was writing again, or did you hear some other way?

General announcement--see The News That Sets SRD Fandom on Fire thread for details...

Thanks, I had forgotten how that all came about.

Wonderful post, Cagliostro! You are so right: as a thirtysomething myself, I remain as faithful a fan of Covenant and Star Wars as I was as a teensomething (minus LOTR).

danlo wrote:General announcement--see The News That Sets SRD Fandom on Fire thread for details...

Yessir, that's how I had discovered news of the Last Chronicles as well!

danlo's scoop on the whole thing left me dazzled, excited, dizzy, and speechless. I remember I had read that thread at night, and I was so pumped that I couldn't sleep til the wee hours of the morning.

I heard about Runes from my brother-in-law.

I actually never read TCoTC at all until after Runes came out. My father had bought TCoTC as they came out in paperback when he was in the Air Force back in the late 70's, and later when I was very young Mom bought him White Gold Weilder in Hardback( the original cover from 1983 I assume ?/ with the "hunchback" Covenant, Linden, Honninscrave imbedded in the floor and Gibbon-Raver with his Rukh.)

..ok..that being said...My Dad had read TC at least 25 times over since I was little and was understandably excited about the new book.
So, I asked him why they were so good, and he gave me a bridged explanation of TC....so I borrowed the First Chronicles and was hooked.

He wouldn't shell out the $28 for Runes in hardback, so back in April my wife bought me Runes for our Anniversary because I was such a huge fan and after I lent it to Dad and my brother-in-law, Dad seemed to like it, so I got it for him this recently passed Father's Day. And now, I've got my wife hooked on TC...heh heh heh...my family loves TC..lol

sorry, that was more info than was originally asked for...lol

Luke, that is so cool that your family likes the Chronicles! I wonder how common that is for us Watchers? My sister is the only other member in my family who has read the books, but my impression is she never fell in love with them the way I did.

It seems to me that many Covenant readers end up here at the Watch because they have few people in "real life" to discuss the books with.

My wife read LFB once, she finished the book but hated it and would not read any more.

I was at the store when i say a new cover for LFB. it said "from the author of Runes of the earth". i just thought that SRD had started a new series or something so i went to his web site...then the screaming and dancing began...

I was on a business trip back to Oregon in October, (we had moved to Illnois from there in April of 04) feeling incredibly lonely and down --- then I went into my favorite bookstore and there it was, CENTER STAGE! I immediately went into a state of Covenant Nirvana and spent the next 4 days reading it in every spare minute and on the long plane ride back to Illinois. And then it led me to this wonderful site and all of my new friends.

As Mickey Rourke (portraying the Chas. Burkowski prototype) says in Barfly: To all my friends!

Matrixman wrote:Luke, that is so cool that your family likes the Chronicles! I wonder how common that is for us Watchers?

Only my dad has read TC, since he's the one who originally recommended it to me. He's not a big reader in general though.

I'm working on getting my girlfriend to read it...