Fatal Revenant

For those of you who have not read the previous seven books in this epic, I urge you to do so. To try and write a synopsis of all that has gone before would require yet another book. Much easier, more enjoyable and more uplifting to read from the beginning. You will not be disappointed. For those of you who have suffered through all of Covenant's throes, you have probably already ordered this book. I think Donaldson's writing has gotten even better: sharper, more precise, and more able than ever to exact emotion from his readers. This is one painful book. But, as you know, they are all painful. And joyful as well. The balance is absolute. The story of Thomas Covenant has been with me from the beginning, from the very first book back in 1977. I no longer crave fantasy as I did when younger, but these stories are such a part of my life, that I have no problem falling back into them. What Donaldson has done, perhaps better than any other fantasy writer, is to create characters whose utter frailties and incredible strengths are far more important that the colorful imaginative backgrounds in which they have to function. These stories are about everyone, and all of the battles life requires of us. They are not like those hugely expensive watch only once CGI films which are full of eye-candy and nothing else. They are very solid and enduring literature. I might also add that I find it reprehensible that Genre writers, many of whom are far, far better writers than those on the NY Times Bestseller LIst, are not given credence as great writers by those who are able to bestow the accolades. Genre is not considered serious or great literature, which surely leaves such writers as Shakespeare, Poe,Wells, Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, T.H. White, and any number of others out in the cold. I might also add that every single reviewer has given this book five stars. That, in itself, is enough.

It took me a week... life gets in the way... but I finally finished FR last night. While I was not disappointed with ROTE (4 stars), reading it I felt the same degree of strangeness as I did after beginning The Wounded Land so many years ago. SRD does this, of course - we want to expect more of the same, but he turns the tables on us by unmaking a lot of what has gone before. The result, after you deal with this uncomfortable self-imposed barrier that comes with the implications of new situations, is so much more. Any shock and reluctance turns to realization and awe. ROTE was an excellent novel, yet I had to come to terms with the fact that it was an introduction to what appears to be an impressive third act. It is with FR that we discover the depth and implications of what I can only hope will continue to be an incredible story. How can it be that after 8 volumes of dedication to the same mythology it can still feel fresh and new. The writing is better - a lot happens in this book - in that it is more efficiently focused and well paced, improving on already literary standards. The same themes are present as in the past volumes, but the implications are far deeper and more disturbing. I will not discuss any plot elements, there is no need to expand in this regard here (details can be obtained elsewhere). Suffice it to say true fans of the series will recognize and appreciate classic Donaldson elements. They will not be disappointed. I did want to dedicate a paragraph to a particular criticism I have read regarding this series and other works from SRD over the years, not necessarily only here, but also in other sites. To those who complain about SRD's love affair with his thesaurus to the detriment of readability: get over it - and learn. If the style does not appeal to you, stop reading. But don't criticize and justify by saying (in a round about way) that you are not willing to make the effort. Many started reading TC when they were very young (and limited in vocabulary), and somehow could still immerse themselves in a great story. Other criticisms are, in my opinion, far more open to subjectability and have to do with personal tastes in storytelling, but it offends me when any author is sometimes brazenly criticized for choosing a style which should raise our level of literacy, if only we are willing to make an effort To conclude: amazing new installment. The knot in your stomach on reading the cliffhanger at the end is something that I welcome, and kind of wish would not go away.

Fatal Revenant was so much more than I expected, in many ways. I've read the First and Second Chronicles countless times over the years. I've treasured them, as part of a small niche in the sea of fantasy that transcends the genre. To my mind, these books are about humanity, and the cost of choices. They speak about the price of love, and the eye of paradox. The fact that they take place in a magical realm is only secondary, a useful tool for Donaldson to paint a broad canvas. Most fantasy is content to explore the archetypes, Donaldson is giving us story in a pure and potent form. I remember as a young adult coming to the second chronicles with shock and distate. All that Donaldson had created, and all Covenant had defende, in the first chronicles was rent from the reader and twisted. It was a difficult challenge to adjust. But with time, I started to mine the gems of 2nd Chronicles. Eventually, they took their place in my mind as novels I will never forget (as novels I need). Something similar happened in the 3rd Chronicles. Again Donaldson has changed all the rules on us. Runes of the Earth was difficult to accept, Covenant was a memory - Linden Avery was the new protaganist. It almost didn't work. But Fatal Revenant is the payoff for trusting Donaldson through Avery's interminable monologues. It is spiraling, floating way above his other works. This is his best novel (better than anything in Mordant's Need, or the Gap series, or the The Man Who). This is a triumph, but I don't have the skills to tell you why. If you have any interest in Thomas Covenant or the Land read this book. If you don't know Thomas Covenent or the Land, run *don't stop*, to the page about Lord Foul's Bane---and enjoy.

Wow. What an incredible journey. What amazing charactors. I too am a longtime fan of Donaldson and I think this might be his best book ever. I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I jeered, I got angry, I got frustrated, I pounded my head on the desk and I loved every word that evoked all those emotions throughtout this masterpiece of a novel. It's brilliant simply brilliant. If you are a fan of fantasy and you haven't read Donaldson, then you are missing out on some of the best fantasy ever written. I repeat another reviewer's suggestion, for those who haven't read any of this series you should start with "Lord Foul's Bane."

EDIT: Initially, I was slightly critical of Donaldson's word choices. We all know that he picks and chooses words carefully, and nowhere do we see his wordsmithing at play more than in the Covenant series. In Fatal Revenant, it seemed to me that he had gone overboard with his use of so-called $10 words, even by his standards, and I voiced a concern that some readers might find that the book required too much work to get through. While I can't disagree with that concern - I know that his use of language turns people off - I have a different take on it now. When you do the extra work required, you're more often than not rewarded. Sometimes you'll find hidden humor, sometimes added depth. In my experience, it's rare to find a word that he absolutely shouldn't have used, or that he should have replaced with a simpler synonym, because the word he chose is precise. Not all synonyms mean the same thing. To use a very simple example, "black" is a synonym of "dark". So is "gloomy". All three words have very specific definitions. A sentence that I picked out as initially frustrating became beautiful when I went one step beyond looking the words up and thought about how they were used, where they were used, and then, of course, why. Some fine folks at Kevin's Watch were most helpful in this, and went a long way toward helping me see my error. That sentence appears on page 229 of the American hardcover (this version), and is as follows: "'You can hear me,' she pronounced, speaking now in lambent chrysoprase and jacinth rather than saffron blots." I won't say a word about this sentence, because doing so would be giving away a REAL gem in the book, but I'm pointing it out to make sure that YOU do the work I was initially too lazy to do. It will help you appreciate the scene. I promise. THE BOOK **NO Fatal Revenant (FR) spoilers in this review.** There were some (not me) who thought The Runes of the Earth (ROTE) was not all it could be, and by extension thought The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant were a disappointment. I want to address those Doubting Thomas's first. Donaldson raises the stakes so high in Fatal Revenant (FR) that it was difficult, at times, to wonder how he was going to pull it off. I'll be honest: I doubted that he could do it, and I'm a true, dedicated (not obsessive, thank you) fan. However, after turning the final page of FR and sadly setting the book aside, I'm more than a little embarrassed to admit that my ability to express my emotions and thoughts had been significantly diminished. Rational cogitation evaded me entirely, and I felt like the teenager I was when I first stumbled on Donaldson in the early 1980s (gulp). All that ran through my mind, in a continuous loop, and for about five minutes was, "Dude! This is awesome!" And it was. It is. I hold Donaldson to a higher standard than most writers, because he's earned it. Not only did he meet meet my already inflated expectations, he by far exceeded them. To say that I'm