The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson
Stephen R. Donaldson’s Land (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever) series is one of the earliest reactions against the carbon-copy Tolkien-like works that proliferated soon after the success of The Lord of the Rings and stands in start contrast to another book published the same year — Sword of Shannara — which simply rewrites Tolkien rather than responds to it… Anyone familiar with fantasy will recognize the genre’s typical elements: small bands gathering together to undertake urgent quests, a dark lord trying to dominate the world, horse-loving peoples, elves, etc. Donaldson doesn’t simply round up the usual suspects, however, and then let them play out in all the predictable fashions… Read the rest.
