An insight in the life and works of Stephen R. Donaldson, author of the fantasy series “The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant”.
His novels and series are in general not an easy read, containing dark themes and ethical questions, but they have definitely made a impact in the genre. Donaldson writes very intensely and, although set in an fantasy world, his stories have great depth and loads of morality, making him one of the major fantasy authors of our time.
Known for his Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (the unbeliever), Donaldson’s world and characters are even seen by many as rivaling those of Tolkien.
Biography
Stephen R. Donaldson was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1947 but lived in India (his father was a missionary) until 1963. He received his M.A. in English in 1971 but, when doing his Ph.D. afterwards, he decided to quit and start writing. He made his debute with the first novel in the now famous “Chronicles of Thomas Covenant” series in 1977.
Donaldson has kept on writing since, although he has not written that many novels. He now lives in New Mexico and is working on finishing “The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant”. Interesting to note is that Donaldson also has a Doctor of Literature degree and a black belt in Shotokan karate.
Style & Themes
The novels of Donaldson have a strong focus on the personality of the characters, especially the dark side of human nature. His stories involve many ethical choices and mistakes made by characters. Often psychological questions are addressed but not necessarily answered. A good example from the Covenant Chronicles is Thomas’ act of raping a girl in what he believes to be an imaginary world. Apart from being unsure wether or not the world is real, the question can be asked what this act says about Thomas and what the ethicial consequences are. Also, most of time the protagonist Thomas is unbalanced and moody to say the least. This results in him being quite an unlikeable person who is often difficult to relate to.
All together, this makes the books of Donaldson often difficult to read but at the same time also sets them apart and makes them all the more interesting. They are definitely not the standard high fantasy good versus evil stories we have grown used to.
Most important works
Stephen R. Donaldson made fame with his Thomas Covenant saga, describing the struggles of a leper who becomes an reluctant hero on alternate, fantasy world called The Land. Written in the seventies, the first two trilogies (The First and the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever) of this series have become landmarks in the fantasy genre.
Currently, Donaldson is in the process of writing the Last Chronicles, which will finalize the story of Thomas Covenant.
As you will see below, Donaldson has also written several other novels over the years, most of them part of three other series he has created. These series also have fantasy or science-fiction settings.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever
The First Chronicles
1. Lord Foul’s Bane (1977)
2. The Illearth War (1978)
3. The Power That Preserves (1979)
The Second Chronicles
1. The Wounded Land (1980)
2. The One Tree (1982)
3. White Gold Wielder (1983)
The Last Chronicles
1. The Runes of the Earth (2004)
2. Fatal Revenant (2007)
3. Against All Things Ending (2010)
4. The Last Dark (to be released: 2013)
The Gap Series
1. The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story (1991)
2. The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge (1991)
3. The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises (1993)
4. The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order (1994)
5. The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die (1996)
Mordant’s Need
1. The Mirror of Her Dreams (1986)
2. A Man Rides Through (1987)
The Man Who… series
* The Man Who Killed His Brother (1980)
* The Man Who Risked His Partner (1984)
* The Man Who Tried to Get Away (1990)
* The Man Who Fought Alone (2001)
Official website of Stephen R. Donaldson
Tags: Fantasy Authors, Fantasy Writers, Stephen R. Donaldson, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
September 22nd, 2011 at 04:43
have just started Against All Things Ending after a break . Agree a few pages at a time but will get there in the end , will be ready for 2013
August 7th, 2011 at 18:36
2013 is a bloody long wait but it gives me a chance to re-read Against All Things Ending. I have to say that I am a die-hard Donaldson fan. I have been following Covenant since I was sixteen years old and each time I re-read a novel I just get so much more from it. This year I decided to carry out a linguistic analysis of how he writes. The articles are on my site if anyone is interested.
Joe
February 6th, 2011 at 10:54
I have ave travelled the years and the books with Stephen R Donaldson. Sometimes the going was easy and the pages flowed, other times a few pages at a time was all I could mange.But always The journey has been sustaining a constant amazement.
I wait with bated breath for the final of the Last Journey of Thomas Covenant – it is along time to 2013.
January 11th, 2011 at 09:43
I started into Lord Foul’s Bane but didn’t last, between the character of Thomas Covenant and my own frustrations with the world which, if one comes to it late in his fantasy reading, is fairly common.