Lord Foul's Bane

Stephen R. Donaldson

May 2012 · The First Chronicles: Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever Book 1 · Sold by Del Rey

About this ebook

“Covenant is [Stephen R.] Donaldson's genius!”—The Village Voice

He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in this strange alternate world on which he suddenly found himself.

Yet the Land tempted him. He had been sick; now he seemed better than ever before. Through no fault of his own, he had been outcast, unclean, a pariah. Now he was regarded as a reincarnation of the Land's greatest hero—Berek Halfhand—armed with the mystic power of White Gold. That power alone could protect the Lords of the Land from the ancient evil of the Despiser, Lord Foul. Except that Covenant had no idea how to use that power. . . .

Ratings and reviews

What a waste of time and money. Too much time spent detailing unimportant things and the whole "woe is me I'm a leper" thing became more annoying than engaging. By the end of this book I wished Covenant HAD jumped off the cliff.

I made the mistake of purchasing this book. Halfway through, I couldn't believe it had been published, so I checked what others had thought of it. The most accurate description I saw was "The epitome of purple prose". I had never heard this term before, but upon looking it up, I realized it was correct. If you want something to serve as an example of how not to write, or of what purple prose is, read this book. If not, your time will be spent better elsewhere. The actual story concept is intriguing, but the writing is horrid.

This is by far my favorite series ever written! For starters: this series is not meant to make you feel good about the main character, the way human kind treats each other, nor is it meant to give you a happy ending. This series is beautiful in the way it denies these things. Thomas covenant is a very refreshing take on fantasy where magic isn't all that powerful, the evil doesn't want to simply slay and call itself evil. It manipulated and turns the best intentions and most secret wishes against you.

About the author

Stephen R. Donaldson is the bestselling author of the series The Gap Cycle, Mordant's Need, and the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, including Lord Foul's Bane and The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant; and other works, such as Daughter of Regals and Other Tales and a mystery series under the pseudonym Reed Stephens. He is the recipient of the first prize of the British Science Fiction Society and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.