Synopses & Reviews
The triumphant return of the
New York Times-bestselling, critically acclaimed fantasy series that has become a modern classic.
Since their publication more than two decades ago, the initial six books in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series have sold more than 6 million copies and have been published in ten countries around the world. Now, starting with The Runes of the Earth, Stephen R. Donaldson returns with a quartet of new Covenant novels that are certain to satisfy his millions of fans, and attract countless new followers.
In the original series, a man living in our world and in our time is mysteriously struck down with a disease long since believed to have been eradicated. He becomes a pariah in his small town and is abandoned by his wife who departs with their infant son. Alone and despairing, Thomas Covenant falls and, while unconscious, is transported to a fantastic world in which a battle for the soul of the land is being waged. Christened "The Unbeliever" for he is convinced the world is only an illusion, a dream he finds himself slowly forced to accept the role that seems to be his destiny: savior of the Land.
At the end of the sixth book, Covenant is killed, both in the real world and in the Land, as his companion, Linden Avery, looks on in horror. His death is both the ultimate sacrifice and his redemption.
At the opening of The Runes of Earth, ten years have passed. Linden Avery comes home one day to find her child building images of the Land with blocks, and senses a terrible foreboding. She had thought that she would never again be summoned to the Land nor ever again see her beloved Thomas Covenant. But in the Land, evil is unmaking the very laws of nature...
Review
"Filled with splendid inventions (occasionally described to the point of prolixity), this book promises extremely well for the future of the end of the Covenant chronicles. Expect readers to swarm." Booklist
Review
"Familiar and beloved characters from the Land mix with new heroes and villains in a reawakening of a classic fantasy saga." Library Journal
Synopsis
Stephen R. Donaldson makes a triumphant return to his
New York Times-bestselling and critically acclaimed Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series with a quartet of new Covenant novels that take place ten years after Thomas Covenant's ultimate sacrifice as savior of the Land.
The jacket for Runes of the Earth features a stunning wraparound painting by award-winning artist Michael Whelan.
Synopsis
More than twenty years ago, Stephen R. Donaldson set a literary landmark with the first fantasy bestseller. His New York Times bestselling series, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, transformed modern fantasy. Now, at long last, Donaldson introduces the first novel of the much-awaited, four-volume finale to the series that's sold more than ten million copies.
Thomas Covenant lost everything. Abandoned by his wife and child, sick and alone, he was transported while unconscious to a magical, dreamlike world called the Land. Convinced it was all a delusion, Covenant was christened The Unbeliever by the Land's inhabitants-but gave his life to save this newfound world he came to regard as precious.
Ten years after Covenant's death, Linden Avery still mourns for her beloved companion. But a violent confrontation with Covenant's son- who is doing the evil Lord Foul's bidding-forces her back to the Land, where a dark malevolence is about to unmake the laws of nature-and of life and death itself.
Synopsis
Compelled step by step to actions whose consequences they could neither see nor prevent, Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery have fought for what they love in the magical reality known only as "the Land." Now they face their final crisis. Reunited after their separate struggles, they discover in each other their true power--and yet they cannot imagine how to stop the Worm of the Worlds End from unmaking Time. Nevertheless they must resist the ruin of all things, giving their last strength in the service of the world's continuance.
Synopsis
It will take a long time for fans or critics to digest and appreciate Donaldson's almost 40-year achievement. But in time T he Chronicles of Thomas Covenant” will be seen as one of the self-defining works of the third millennium, our equivalent in scope and ambition of earlier epics and fantasies, from Virgil's Aeneid” to Tennyson's Arthurian Idylls” and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings,” the last now a lifetime (Donaldson's own) in the past.” -The Wall Street Journal
Compelled step by step to actions whose consequences they could neither see nor prevent, Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery have fought for what they love in the magical reality known only as "the Land." Now they face their final crisis. Reunited after their separate struggles, they discover in each other their true power--and yet they cannot imagine how to stop the Worm of the Worlds End from unmaking Time. Nevertheless they must resist the ruin of all things, giving their last strength in the service of the world's continuance.
About the Author
Stephen R. Donaldson is the author of six previous Covenant books: Lord Foul's Bane, The Illearth War, The Power That Preserves, The Wounded Land, The One Tree, and White Gold Wielder, as well as many other novels.