Well, I took a look at this forum to ask a question about dragons, which I will, but this was the first thing I saw and had to respond.
I have read everything Donaldson has put out. I still think the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is the only trilogy that can stand near Lord of the Rings. His incredible sense of the majestic and his patient style separate him from a great deal of modern, get to the point writers. He is powerful, but only if you have the patience to pay attention long enough to get the reward. I was always amazed at the Land that he created. Simply marvelous!
It has been a long time since I have read those books, but I will never forget how enthralled I was reading the Illearth War. A remarkable story that just seemed to go on forever about one brilliant, bright battle between good and evil. And, for all the pain that stupid Thomas Covenant gave us with his inability to get his collective shit together, he was quite a memorable character. Not unlike your average Joe trying to make it in the world sans the leprosy!
Flipside, I read the Real Story and was so excited that I was dying to read the sequel. By the end of the Gap Series, I was wondering whether Mr. Donaldson ever bothered to proofread anymore. What was once a lengthy tale to tell simply became nauseously verbose. And, trying to tell the story from a Faulkneresque multi-narrative just did not work after a certain point (see: second book).
So, I guess, overall, he is a mixed bag. One thing for sure, as far as sci-fi writers go, I have rarely encountered one capable of delivering better characters a la Angus Thermopoly. I am looking forward to his next endeavor, I just hope that he is too.
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*** FUD ***
