The Last Dark

Just started. I'd intended to blast through these last four books, but the third one completely kicked my ass with its mind numbing horribleness (yes, I know that's not a word, no, I won't apologize for using it). But, I've gone through two other non-SRD books, and now, just like swallowing bad medicine, I'll squint up my eyes, clench my butthole, and try and take it like a man...

And now I'm done.

So finally, after all is said and done, what did I think? Well, I think this book was a hell of a lot better than the three that preceded it. So that's a plus. I think that Donaldson was able to bring it to a satisfying and worthy conclusion, which is good, because, quite frankly, after having to slog through those three books that led up to show more this completely killed me from ever reading anything else that Donaldson will ever write. If he said tomorrow that he was just kidding and still had a single Thomas Covenant book in him, and even if that book was only a hundred pages, I would not read it.

Why? Because, as okay as this book was, there was no need for all the crap Donaldson dragged us through to get us here. So, no, the means did not justify the end.

In this final book, which could have been subtitled Ascension, we finally got to see each of the lead characters finally come into their own (even if it was mostly in the last few pages of the book before the long, drawn out epilogue).

There's a lot that pissed me off with these last four books, but likely not much more than Donaldson continuously writing characters that wanted to say one thing, or needed to say one thing, or desperately had to say one thing, but instead said something else that was totally lame.

Seriously, if I read something like, "Thomas said, 'Linden, sweetie-pie, I really need some more aliantha berries and, oh yeah, those pots ain't gonna clean themselves.' He meant to say, 'Holy shit, look out! Giant Raver's gonna eat your head!'" Okay, yes, I'm exaggerating, but it's pretty damn close.

And, if you haven't read this book yet, and feel like playing a drinking game, do this: Every time Jeremiah says, "Mom!" or "Mom?" or "Mom." Just that. Just that one word sentence. Each time he says that, take a drink.

Better still, each time you read " are " take a drink. For example, "Linden Avery, you are the Chosen," or "We are Giants," or "They were Haruchai." Seriously, you'll be so hammered, you won't worry about the story anymore.

Kinda like Steig Larrsen's fascination with coffee in the Dragon Tattoo books.

Anyway, though I bitched and complained my way through this (thankfully) final series of novels, I truly didn't mind this last book. It wasn't earthshaking, and I sure as hell never got the same thrill as I did as a teenager reading the first trilogy, I did enjoy this last book. Hell, I'd even gone back and re-read the first and second trilogy before starting these ones and enjoyed them almost as much as I did on the first read. Maybe that's what made most of these last books so disappointing. But yes, this one was worth the price of admission.

But I am honestly, seriously, truly and absolutely glad I'm done reading them. show less

My Thoughts. I don't remember exactly when I discovered Lord Foul's Bane, the first book in this extensive series, but I do know it was shortly after graduating high school. In the ensuing years since, this series has become like a familiar friend. It has both taught and reassured me that when people make mistakes, bad choices, or commit unforgivable acts, redemption and forgiveness are still possible. It was never a comfortable series to read but the lessons taught were priceless.

Finally the series has reached its conclusion and what an ending! Just like the series as a whole, this concluding book is a dark, tense, twisting, turning, page flipping adventure that keeps you guessing right up until the last pages. Just like its show more predecessors, this book has wisdom to impart, moral dilemmas to explore, plus tragedy and triumph in equal measures. Long after finishing the last page, you will find yourself pondering the choices made, the actions taken and the resulting consequences. This is truly a drama that will grab you and never let you go.

What I liked. It is hard to put into words everything I love about this tale. This is more than a story, it is a full-fledged journey on many many levels. Nothing is taboo. Faith is compared to despair, loyalty to betrayal, self-doubt to self-revelation, possession to free choice, fear to courage, and love to loss. This book evoked in me every strong emotion possible. I laughed, I teared up, I cheered, I got angry, I got frustrated, I even caught my foot swinging back and forth as I held my breath waiting on the outcome of a tense scene. I did not just read this book, I lived it.

While I will not discuss the ending in any type of detail I will say it satisfied. I will also note that at no point during the book did I have a clue about how it would end. This is not, nor has it ever been, a story with easy answers and sometimes there are no answers at all. Instead there is often nothing but blind, unwavering faith and the knowledge that on occasion doing something, even if it is wrong, is better than doing nothing at all.

I'd also like to note that this is some of the tightest writing I have ever seen. No words are wasted. Five words are never used where three will suffice. It occurred to me as I read this book that the concise, to the point nature of the writing added immeasurably to the overall tensions inherent to the plots. Interesting enough though, on the few occasions where places of unsurpassed beauty are portrayed, these same short phrases were amazingly expressive. I was impressed to say the least.

Read Full Review @ Old Bat's Belfry show less

Finally, the LAST Covenant book! I have been reading this series since the early 80s when Lord Foul's Bane first hit the stores. This latest, and last installment lives up to the rest of the series, and exceeds some of them. Like all Donaldson books, have your dictionary handy. This is the fourth book in the Last Chronicles series and consistent with the other books, the situation by now is very dire. Like all of the previous trilogies, events have lead Covenant and Linden Avery to a nearly inescapable confrontation with the plots of Lord Foul. Without giving anything away for those who haven't read the books, the situation is as bad as ever, and perhaps worse.
What sets this book apart from all others to me, is that Covenant and Linden show more have finally accepted their fate, and are prepared to live with the consequences. Gone is all the angst, doubt, hesitation and endless debate of the previous books in the series. It has been replaced with a refreshing realization that doing something is better than doing nothing, that all actions have consequences, but acting is better than doing nothing. Faced with the end of the world, its time for them to do their best and stop worrying about what might have been. This is a tremendous relief and a great improvement on the previous 3 books. Instead of constantly being frozen by 'what if', this book is about the characters coming together and doing whatever they can. It is a great ending to the series and a refreshing change. I do have to wonder at the ending. It seemed too convenient, and I hesitate to say it - incomplete, as if there is really room for another chronicles. I hope not, this was a great conclusion to a long series of great books. show less

This ending satisfies, but I'm frustrated with how ungraceful the Last Chronicles were. Ornate dialogue of the Land's peoples excepted, everything else felt hastily put together. The Armageddon scenario felt contrived, aimlessness was rampant and the decision to finally face Foul directly seemed to arrive only because time was up. Silly imagery was a frequent issue (riding a cavewight, being held in order to outline a perfect circle ...), unexplained phenomena (how does the lumbering worm catch Elohim? how did possessors obtain rights to certain terrain for claiming possession?), and I could not care less about the frequent, detailed addressing of healing, hunger and thirst that did nothing to advance the plot. It was an unnecessarily show more extended journey and Lester Del Rey's dogged insistence is borne out by the evidence: this should have been a trilogy, too.

Four stars anyway. The Last Chronicles were worth my time in that I couldn't have withstood my curiosity otherwise, and I was so engaged by the first six books that it was a pleasure to return to the world of the Land under Donaldson's pen. The author remains true to his creation, however rugged the journey became at times, and I have to salute his courage. I don't view these final four volumes with scorn; only with a sort of melancholy over how they might have been if written and published in the 1980s on the immediate heels of their predecessors and under Lester's eye. show less

I first encountered Stephen R. Donaldson's characters from "The Land" when I was in grade school - about 9th grade if memory serves. Both like my other favorite fantasy "classics" like Tolkien's LOTR and other, "safer" fantasies, "Lord Foul's Bane" was both familiar and yet very different and surprising. Thomas Covenant, the modern-day protagonist, contracts what is now a very rare disease called Hansen's but better known as leprosy. The turmoil that follows basically destroys his life and relationship, and places him in a very dark place where he's had to become very regimented in everything he does, in fear of the disease spreading (while facing the fear of the disease by his spouse and community). When he's first exposed to the show more alternate reality of "The Land" - neither he nor the reader is sure whether the adventure is in his mind or in some way real. The trilogy has always had a lasting impression on me that no other has had, until Donaldson revisited the characters in a second trilogy.

I remember how my friends howled at the sell-out, and then how surprised we all were at how good the second trilogy was, something that never happens. There are so many new characters and concepts, as well as those already established plus a plethora of plot twists and angst - all stuff that made me fall in love once again with the character and "The Land." The same and different and really, a better, more mature series than the first.

Finally, this last 4 book story arc, once again visiting the land with new characters, major changes and a climax to the entire triptych (3 different series, related but spread over time) that feeling from reading the first 3 books returned and hit me hard. The books in this final cycle were both compelling yet repulsive, often twisting my guts with emotion while grasping for understanding in the new characters and motivations. In all, fairly tough to read and leading up to the last book, slightly disappointing (I almost gave up before completing book 3) - these books take more concentration that I usually like to commit. That being said, this final book really "fired on all cylinders" concluding to an awesome finish where all the questions come to a great finish and threads come to be raveled into a whole. If you're a fan of this series, you'll be very happy and satisfied with the conclusion. If you're new I think you'll be lost - this book and the three preceding are obviously written for the hardcore fans. Kudos to Donaldson for taking care of us - so few authors do these days. show less

And so the saga concludes. It's been a long time coming, this is the 10th book in the series, and clocks in at yet another 600 pages. The first was written back in the 80s, so we're 3 decades down the line too. Characters have been born, died, resurrected, and fallen in and out of love, they've wrestled with doubt and mis-trust, fear and loathing, hate and wonder. The Land has changed beyond all recognition over the millennia of Covenant's visitations. Time itself is finally in peril as we're down to the last few days before the Worm at the World's End reaches the Earthblood and shatters the Arch of Time. It has been beyond all doubt an epic ride filled with obtuse vocabulary, intense passion and commitment, dramatic action and helpless show more passivity. A series of contrasts and great extremes. This the final final conclusion is worthy of all that drama.

As ever the focus is on the characters emotions. How do you trust. How to do you cope with pain. There are many forms of betrayal, but some of them can be forgiven and embraced. Linden and Covenant have to accept there are also many forms of service and that they can neither ask nor forbid others to make their own choices.

Jeremiah finally has a voice of his own, not often or for long, but regaling similar themes to the others. Given how Hyrim's ride of Gilden Fire was removed from the earliest books, I do wonder whether the same editorial decisions should have been made. But then again, different questions are answered by his presence.

It isn't a book or series that I'll re-read often. It is a massive undertaking, and these last volumes don't have the impact of the earliest works. But they remain a tour-de-force among epic fantasy, something that many authors could strive to emulate rather than concentrating on prolonged action sequences. There is plenty of action here too of course, far more than in some of the series. But it's timely given the forces at play and the consequences all of the parties both "good" and "bad" face.

I approve of the ending.and feel the series has been well completed. show less

I just finished reading the entire Chronicles (all ten books!) back-to-back (-to-back-to-back-to-back...) and whew! it's finally over. The Last Dark caps the whole series off about as well as you could hope. It's probably the weakest individual book of the bunch, but much of that is a result of the final 2-1/2 or so books being a more-or-less continuous narrative, whereas previous books in the series more readily stand on their own as novels. As a whole, the four-book Last Chronicles is a slower, more ponderous read than either of the preceding trilogies, but it's a more intimate story—and simultaneously a more epic one.