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From: jerryh@SDCSVAX.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Message-ID: <2347@topaz.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 22-Jun-85 00:01:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: topaz.2347
Posted: Sat Jun 22 00:01:07 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Jun-85 23:52:09 EDT
Sender: daemon@topaz.ARPA
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
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From: crash!jerryh@SDCSVAX.ARPA

I've been following the discussion of Stephen Donaldson's _Covenant_ series
over the past few days (digests) and couldn't stay silent any longer.

Donaldson is a gifted writer and a superb storyteller, but I can't bring
myself to finish reading the _Second_Chronicles_.  I found the plot line very
banal and trivial (forgivable sin), and extremely padded (unforgivable sin).
I stopped half-way into the second book (fifth in the overall series) when I
realized that I had plowed through 150 pages of dialog that had gone nowhere
and done nothing.  One of the best examples of padding I've ever seen.

I might have been able to continue wading through it if I hadn't though to
myself "Gee, this story never lets up!  There's something depressing on every
page!"  Intrigued, I went back to page one and started looking for dialogs or
descriptions that *weren't* Gloom And Doom.  Guess what?  The first _163_
pages of _The_One_Tree_ are continuous, non-stop depression.  Every one of
those pages has at least one mention of something depressing, morbid, flagg-
elatory or unpleasant.  Finally, on page 164, four paragraphs that don't deal
with something depressing.

I don't know about anyone else, but I was getting tired of paying for the
privilege (in time and money) of watching Donaldson air his psychological
laundry in public.  In my opinion, whatever merit the _Covenant_ stories have
has been ruined by heavy-handed applications of depression and despair.

I know, I know -- "But that's the whole point of things! Covenant's despair!"
I understand that. But six novels and 3000 plus pages devoted to nothing but
despair?  Give me a break.  Donaldson had a great concept in Thomas Covenant,
and does a good job creating his world and breathing life into its charact-
ers, but he pushed me well past my saturation level with unrelenting doses of
depression.  I felt like I was being beat over the head with it; like I was
too stupid to understand what was going on, and had to be constantly reminded
so I wouldn't forget what the story was about.

I liked the first three books (even though it might appear otherwise), but I
think the last three were a mistake.  What I read of them seemed to be a re-
hash of the first trilogy -- an excuse for Donaldson to drop off more of his
mental baggage and make money while doing so.

"One Man's Opinion"                Jerry Hewett {crash!jerryh@ucsd}