Fatal Revenant: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 2

I read the first 6 books in high school in the 80's and loved them. I didn't know until recently there were 4 more so I orderd all 10 books and read them again. I loved them all and highly recommend them. I didn't remember needing a dictionary to look up the meaning of some of the words so I guess I used to be smarter.

The first 3 chapters of Lord Foul's Bane took me months to finally push through. And then I rushed to the bookstore and bought the rest of what was out at the time. That included The Wounded Land, at the time. I missed 2 days of work because I was, quite literally, not able to stop reading. I've read Tolkien countless times...and The First Chronicles, plus The Wounded Land, twice as much. I've never gotten so completely engrossed in a series of books in my entire life. I was held hostage by the slowness of the release dates of the remainder of the second series. The guy at the local bookstore probably got real tired of seeing me. And I was really ticked off by the Trek-worthy 10 minute wrap up and the implied incompleteness.Then the first book of the last series came out and I let it sit and gather dust. Then the second book came out and I resisted buying it until the 3rd book was nearing the release date. I intended to let that one gather dust also. I promised myself that I wouldn't put myself through the torture of waiting again. And the temptation of having 2 unread books got to be too great. I told myself "1 chapter per day". Yeah...right. Now I'm stuck waiting...again. And at Mr. Donaldson's mercy...again.I wasn't bothered by the time travel. Things always turn out the way they're supposed to...even if its not obvious at the time. I can see a few possible outcomes.... I, by design, see at least 2 desirable "hook ups". Only one that is remotely possible...and the other that will, quite predictably, not happen due to the almost certain death of my favorite character in this particular series, although I hope to be proven wrong.Actually, I feel sorry for Mr. Donaldson. It isn't possible for him to write anything better than the Thomas Covenant series. It isn't possible for *anybody* to write anything better. The only possible equal is the Lord of the Rings trilogy (not to be confused with the Lord of the Dance, which is surpassed by almost everything). It must be terrible for your masterwork to be the first thing that gets published.But I'm glad to have had the great fortune to have read it...I hope. I've suffered through the ridicule of a few good friends who took exception at the "misuse of the English language". "Sarcasm doesn't drip!" they say, but I thought that the "misuse" was utter genius. I've never had a fictional universe seem so alive. I could probably find my way around the Land (in its first trilogy form) easier than my home state. But depending on how it ends, I may wish that I stopped at the first trilogy. Not that it was ever an option....Lordy, I hope it doesn't take too long for the 4th book to come out. It's going to be hard enough to wait the 2+ months for the 3rd one....

Okay, you can read my review which was written by the time I had reached page 179 or so - which is fairly accurate - or just read this paragraph: this book is worth the effort to reach for the dictionary every five minutes, loathsome though that effort may be; reading the first part of the book twice might help make things make more sense. However, by the time you reach Part Two, you'll be hooked and realize all the confusion of the first 250+ pages had purpose and your confusion will begin to subside. As always, an excellent book written by a linguistic master...--------------------------------------------------------------------Please understand that I am a huge fan of Donaldson's work, and consider the original (6) books in the first two parts of this epic to be, without hesitation, some of the best writing ever created by a human being.The book which opens this part of the epic, The Runes of the Earth, was fantastic and I have reviewed that as well -That being said....I am not ignorant to 'big' or "$10" words, so to speak, and being a fan of Donaldson's, you'd think I'd be use to them by now, but quite frankly I'm a third of the way through this book and I feel totally confused, as if I am not reading the same book that Donaldson wrote; nothing makes much sense, and because I have to look up words written on nearly EVERY SINGLE PAGE of this book, it's getting really frustrating to read. Much like the lead character Linden Avery, I just want to know what the hell is going on!I am disoriented, unable to grasp any of the action or to get emotional for any of the characters, because it is by far the most pompous and arrogant hunk of unreadable and uninteresting wordpile I have ever encountered. Believe me, that hurts to say - I want so badly to love this book, and instead I am left empty and confused and I am only one third of the way through it all. Is there hope for the rest of it, or am I just wasting my time and hurting my brain?People, places and things with obscure histories; confusing narratives about people and places which make no sense and are too difficult to grasp; bit parts from other books in the series rearing their collective heads; things like this: *"...the viscaral effervescence of a sundry loam...." What the?! Just say sea spray, okay?! SEA SPRAY !!!!! YOU LIKE FREAKIN' SEA SPRAY! I realize the other way is more poetic and therefore a richer reading experience, but please... P L E A S E just get on with the story and quit throwing in confusing and unnecessary prose.When I have to continually look up words to attempt to decipher what the author is talking about, I lose interest way too quickly.I love his writing, it is intelligent and the reader is truly rewarded with more than just an interesting story; you will walk away from Donaldson's works with a healthier vocabulary. But I am finding it extremely difficult to even CARE about what is taking place in this book, because I have no idea what's taking place. I can't concentrate on the action or emotions, because I'm too damn busy looking up words or re-reading sentences trying to decipher the cryptic language only scholars and linguiphiles would appreciate.I am struggling to read this thing and holding out hope that it actually gets interesting enough to want to continue. I'm getting really tired of having to stop what I'm reading, grab my dictionary and thumb through to reference a word or two (or ten) that make no sense, then sit back and try to contemplate what Donaldson is saying, then get back to where I left off.. by the time I get back to where I left off, I'm so far down another road of thought I find I have no idea what just happened in the book and I have to read the page all over again.This seems more like homework from a crazed college professor hell-bent on torturing his students rather than an interesting piece of literature. I didn't even understand the title and had to look that up....!I am holding out hope for this book, but thus far, I could smash it into the wall and gain more satisfaction. I am now dreading the next two books.

After having been enthralled for the majority of my teens by the first six of Stephens books I completed the series with the new and additional protagonist, Linden Avery. There were times, I have to admit, when I would have given a lung to have been able to step in and slap some sense into her. That said, the books were written in the same vein as the original set of six and on recollection the same feelings, as I recall, were present in the first set and I'd have given a lot to have been able to do that to Thomas himself. He has written this series in the same vein. The giants still take my breath away and made me wish we could see their like here on earth and I was astounded at the changes in the Haruchai from the first series. The Elohim were still self indulgent fools and the people of the land are still steeped in honour. I'd give a lot to see some of that translated into real life but I digress. Stephen's writing is still eloquent and his use of rare words from the dictionary kept me as enthralled now as the first books did 30 years ago. I wished repeatedly that Linden hadn't been such a wet hen whilst reading, much as I had when Covenant was behaving abominably all those years ago. So I kept on hoping the angst thing would peter out, it didn't. Which was a shame.I read the whole set in a week, finishing one and buying the next. I advise anyone who loved the first set to complete the adventure. There are some holes in the plot but I loved the books 'despite' them. Did you see what I did there? 😀

Finally finished reading this novel and it reminds me of little butter being spread over too much bread. It seems to follow the style of the previous book (Runes Of The Earth) where there is a lot of overwriting.The previous Covenant trilogies seemed like that to me when I was a teenager back in the 80's, but dipping into them now for a quick read and they seem concise and better written compared with what I'm reading now with Revenant.Whats the most irritating is his turgid narrative where rare obscure words are used when there is absolutely no need for them.To the point of being pathetic. It ruins the flow of the story because I am constantly putting the book down to use the dictionary. The book actually gives the reader an inferiority complex like we're too thick or something! The idea and the theme are both interesting and good, and I am glad to be reading them, but this exercise in vanity (using these unnecessarily complex words) is both hilarious and infuriating.There are some nice moments, without giving away spoilers, but certainly not the best Covenant book. It seemed to me to be very amateurish, and you could almost tell the different days he wrote on. Some days he must of said "F**k 'em - Im going to write pages and pages of pretentious language today!" and then as quickly as it starts, it stops: maybe he was in a better mood the next day.I would advise you to read it, just dont expect "The Illearth War" because you wont get it. Less is more sometimes, and I feel this book is way way way too long. It was almost like he was watching TV as he was writing. His heart just didnt seem in it.Maybe Im wrong. Just my subjective opinion.

This took me months to read! For me there were several things that spoilt the book. Too many characters was a problem as I got confused who is who and it means their characterisation seems diluted! That's an issue as it means you don't particularly remember or care about them. I found the end disappointing and a non event really! Jeremiah wasnt particularly likeable and linden seemed to be a study in psychological issues. In the end I lost patience with it all. There was too much tell rather than show. Leave the reader to use their own imagination. It seemed every thought they had needed to be explicitly stated! It didn't need to be. the book felt laboured and I nearly gave up so many times but kept resolutely on. The first chronicles were brilliant but you often find fantasy writers continue on a successful series long past its sell date, I think Thomas covenant needs to stay gone now!

Well for me this is the book where it all goes wrong. What I mean is that I loved the first trilogy, I quite liked the second trilogy, The first book of the last Chronicles was not that bad(!) but this is a load of rubbish, where Donaldson really loses the plot literally and figuratively. He invents apparently random characters with random awesome powers, the language used by Lindon's son and Covenant jars more and more, and now we have really lost characters you can identify with, and the 'plot' is incomprehensible. The only thing that keeps me reading is a determination to see it out to the bitter end. What a shame!

I have read and loved all of the previous TC books. I didn't dislike this one either... the style of writing is rich as always and the story engaging... it's just that there were two things that were really annoying.Possible little spoilers coming...1) He introduces an incredibly powerful new race never before heard of??? Felt a bit like Superman suddenly appearing! How did they never get a mention before?!!2) The first half of the book depends on Linden being too stupid to ask a couple of pertinent questions to confirm/deny her doubts! P-leeeeeeez! She isn't!!Would have given this 3 stars but I just love the story too much.