The Runes of the Earth, Stephen R. Donaldson
The Runes of the Earth, Stephen R. Donaldson
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The Runes of the Earth
The Last Chronicles of Thomas Convenant

Author: Stephen R. Donaldson

Narrator: Scott Brick

Unabridged: 27 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 01/01/2004


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.

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.Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. His stage appearances throughout the US include CyranoHamlet, and MacBeth. In the audio industry, Scott has won over 20 Earphones Awards, as well as the 2003 Audie Award in the Best Science Fiction category for Dune: The Butlerian Jihad. After recording nearly 250 books in five years, AudioFile Magazine named Scott “one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy” and proclaimed him one of their Golden Voices. Brick’s range is unparalleled as he reads thrillers to narrative nonfiction, from biographies to science fiction with aplomb.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Saga on September 10, 2016

Old review from 2011 below. Although still the weakest tome of the Last Chronicles, a re-read grandly improved it. (~2014) ------- Uh...where should I even start with this? As much as I love the First and Second Chronicles, this just felt like trying to chew ten meters of sodden carpet and a barrelful......more

Goodreads review by Alex on February 20, 2020

2020 Thoughts Donaldson’s output over the years has not exactly been prolific, I’ve always got the sense that he’s the kind of guy who will only write a series of books on his own terms. When he wants to and when he’s got a strong idea for one. Still, when this third chronicles of Thomas Covenant was......more

Goodreads review by Johnny on May 04, 2012

Can you accomplish good by doing evil? It’s a conundrum as old as the Adam and Eve narrative and that one clearly answers in the negative. Stephen R. Donaldson takes us back to “the Land” of the original six books of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever and offers us layers of nuance on......more

Goodreads review by Branwen Sedai *of the Brown Ajah* on March 09, 2014

"No one makes you what you are. You have to choose." "Good cannot be accomplished by evil means." It has been ten years since Linden Avery was last in the Land. Ten years since her beloved Thomas Covenant died defending the Land from Lord Foul. Linden has picked up the pieces of her heart and carried......more

Goodreads review by Danie on June 11, 2020

Gods, this was a struggle. A thirty-plus year love of the Land kept me reading to the end - but six hundred pages of nothing happening would try anybody's patience. It was lovely to see all the character types and what had become of them, but it just had no story. It was a purposeless dither of too......more


Quotes

Praise for The Runes of the Earth
 
“A reawakening of a classic fantasy saga.”—Library Journal

“Startlingly original antiheroic fantasy resonating with echoes of both Tolkien and Philip K. Dick.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“An epic with page-turning intrigue.”—Detroit Free Press
 
“Impressive...filled with splendid inventions.”—Booklist
 
“The most important and original work of epic fantasy after Tolkien...Rich in paradox, metaphor, and symbolism, Donaldson continues his explorations into the psyches of his characters, as well as themes of estrangement, despair, guilt and responsibility. Intricately plotted...Donaldson’s writing remains one of the most original and intellectually challenging works to have graced contemporary epic fantasy.”—SF Site