# Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - should I keep reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229 "2005-12-05T19:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/1 "2005-12-05T19:55:24Z")
I started [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333362) a while ago to ask about Thomas Covenant. **Endemic** got me to start the first book, and **Critical1** got me to finish it. So far, the series hasn’t been worth it. I kept waiting for something to happen. When it finally did, Covenant leaves and wakes up and maybe it was all a dream. I just didn’t get the point, if indeed there was one. Given that this was my summed-up reaction to the first book, do I have anything to gain by going on, or is it more of the same? If I didn’t like the writing in the first one, any chance I’ll like the second one? ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/2 "2005-12-05T20:02:19Z")
IMO, the characters other than Covenant get better in the second and third books. But if you really didn’t like the first book, I don’t think things are going to suddenly click for you. ---
**Author:** ![Spudo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Spudo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spudo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/3 "2005-12-05T20:54:14Z")
Donaldson’s style takes some getting used to, but if you can it’s worth it. The story picks up in the second book quite a bit. The first one is more about teaching the reader (and Covenant) about The Land, whereas the second and third ones are more about the events taking place. If you can get through the first trilogy, and enjoy it, than reading the Second Chronicles, and getting the newest book, Runes of the Earth, will be a no brainer. In a lot of ways Covenant isn’t really the most important character until at least the third book. He’s definitely one of the least interesting until then. He does get better, but it takes a while. The series is really good, and worth reading. ---
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/4 "2005-12-05T21:17:52Z")
Funny - I just finished that first book too. I have no intention of continuing reading the series. I actually liked the fact that Covenant was a jerk, it made for a nice contrast from the usual run of the mill fantasy story. Still, I thought the book should have been half as long. I wasn’t bad, it just dragged. I suppose I would read the sequel if I were stuck on a plane and had nothing else to read, but I wouldn’t seek it out. On the same trip to the bookstore when I purchased my copy of _Lord Foul’s Bane_, I also bought a copy of “[_The Far Side of the World_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393308626/qid=1133816887/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-3237742-7691341?n=507846&s=books&v=glance)”, the book that the Russel Crowe movie “[_Master and Commander_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311113/)” was based on. This book KICKS ASS. Aubrey is also an jerk, but a much more interesting one than Covenant. The story is more interesting, the pacing is vastly better, and the quality of the writing is in an entirely different class. That’s the real reason I won’t bother with any of the other Covenant books - why waste the time when there are such better things to read? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/5 "2005-12-06T01:09:33Z")
Reading _The Chronicles of Tomas Covenant the Unbeliever_ is an exercise in use of the dictionary (where DOES he get those words!!!?), and perseverence to find out what happens. Frankly, there isn’t much worth reading about that happens along the way; the real hook is to see what happens to a leper who becomes a rapist and is chosen to defeat the Prince of Evil. I read both trilogies, but I’ve never read them again. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/6 "2005-12-06T02:23:11Z")
Skip Donaldson. Go directly to Delany’s Dhalgren. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/7 "2005-12-06T03:14:21Z")
This is a job for [Fantasy Bedtime Hour!](http://www.fantasybedtimehour.com) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/8 "2005-12-06T04:04:36Z")
I read all six books in the series years ago , and once again a few months back. They are way too protracted and you’ll want to kill Thomas your self to stop the leporsy references. It’s like being lock in a room for a week with a talkative manic depressive person. Something along the same lines is Loremasters of Elundium series by Mike Jefferies, which I thought quit good. The books are about the Granite Kings and th evil powers of dark and the many creatures and magic that is at the time when the world in changing to a new age. The first book is “The Road To Underfall”. It has a blurb about in the traditions of Tolken and Donaldson on the cover. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/9 "2005-12-06T12:44:19Z")
I have to say no. I didn’t hate the series, but I didn’t love it. I was facinated by the flawed hero idea, but I dunno, it just never caught me. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/10 "2005-12-06T15:41:53Z")
Keep reading and give the next books a try. Book 1 has a completely different feel and narrative style than the following books, it reads like an expiremental first novel. The rest are more tightly plotted and polished. I love the series and have read it several times, but often just skip the drudgery of the first book. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/11 "2005-12-06T17:18:43Z")
I didn’t, but that was mainly because I lost patience with the book after the completely unnecessary rape scene. I don’t know why I finished it after that except I must have been _really_ bored that day. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/12 "2005-12-06T17:21:46Z")
> [@Tenar](#): > > This is a job for [Fantasy Bedtime Hour!](http://www.fantasybedtimehour.com) Tenar, that was… amazing… -Frl- ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/13 "2005-12-06T21:07:50Z")
I love the series, but I have to admit, if you didn’t like the first book, you probably won’t like any of the others. I read all three back to back, and questions definitely get answered in the other books, but something tells me if you’re questioning whether to read on, you probably won’t be rewarded much if you do (where, in my case, I couldn’t stop reading and devoured all three books as quickly as I could). ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/14 "2005-12-06T22:15:30Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Skip Donaldson. Go directly to Delany’s Dhalgren. Cruel, man. Very cruel. (I actually forced myself to finish that book back in college… _shudder_) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/15 "2005-12-07T00:25:43Z")
If memory serves correctly (and it may very well not—it’s been a couple decades since I read the books), the #1 reason to read the Chronicles is that Donaldson’s Land is one of the most appealing and fully-realized fantasy worlds ever created. If you didn’t particularly enjoy the time you spent there in Book 1, you may not appreciate going back for another visit. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chronicles-of-thomas-covenant-should-i-keep-reading/334229/16 "2005-12-07T07:28:35Z")
Probably not. I forced myself to get through the first book. My reluctance had little to do with the character, it was the writing style that got to me. I’d had those books recommended to me by many people and I was really disappointed that I didn’t like the first one at all. I actually started out respecting what Donaldson was doing by making an unlikable hero, though I thought the rape scene and his apparent amnesia about it to be just bizarre and unnecessary. The story just never got any better, Covenant’s character gets more annoying at time goes on, nothing much happens, and Donaldson’s overblown flowery style would scream, “hack!” if it weren’t also so very literary. I tried the next one and put it down after about three or four chapters. I very rarely put books aside. I just had no interest in reading further.