Against all Things Ending - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

HareBrain · 3rd January 2011, 03:03 PM

Anyone else reading/read the third book of the Last Chronicles? I'm about 300 pages in, and not sure what to think of it. Sometimes I want to fall to the floor and beat my fists against it, screaming "Why won't something happen??!" I can't read more than fifty pages at a time without starting to feel that the inner workings of my head are getting stuck together with tar (maybe the result of all the unfamiliar words whose meaning I can only guess from context because I don't keep a dictionary near the bath).

And yet, if someone were to offer me fifty quid to stop reading it forever, I wouldn't accept. Despite a pace that makes the upwards push of the Himalayas seem like a rocket taking off, I find it hugely compelling. Odd.

GOLLUM · 4th January 2011, 10:12 AM

Well one either tends to love or hate Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series. I happen to be a great admirer of Mr. Donaldson on this one. I agree the latter books in this major series are difficult to get ones head around but as you say strangely compelling. I suspect this is as much to do with Donaldson's skill as a writer and storyteller as anything else I think. Unfortunately NO I am not reading this at the moment, although I do have my copy and hope to read it this year.

It will be good once the final book is published and the story of Thomas Covenant comes to a kind of conclusion.

nixie · 4th January 2011, 04:56 PM

About 200 pages in. Yes it is rather slow and frustrating at times but very compelling

HareBrain · 4th January 2011, 05:06 PM

Well, something did happen during my reading last night, and it was worth waiting for.

I've been trying to think why this book is so compelling. I think part of it is that it expands on a world and history I've been familiar with for over twenty years, and which at times made a strong emotional impression on me; but also perhaps because Donaldson doesn't compromise. There are no concessions to what most people might think of as readability in this. I think that has the effect of making it feel true, even solid.

I didn't really get on with the first two books of the Last Chronicles, but I wonder now if that was because I didn't adjust to Donaldson's way of storytelling, which I think has become more detailed since the earlier trilogies.

GOLLUM · 5th January 2011, 01:10 AM

For me the earlier novels were focused more on pure storytelling and had less of an emphasis on the magical systems and in particular technical concepts than these later novels. In this respect they remind me a little of Janny Wurts and her current series Wars of Light and Shadow.

I agree that Donaldson writes in a uncompromisingly gritty almost bleak style that certainly lends a greater air of believability to both the storyline and the characters populating it.

I may now wait until the final volume The Last Dark is released in 2013 before reading the final couple of novels in the series. I'm a patient fellow it seems...

It's good to see a few others here who are also fans of Thomas Covenant....

Simple Simon · 5th January 2011, 06:17 PM

I've bought the book but not yet started it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOLLUM

I may now wait until the final volume The Last Dark is released in 2013 before reading the final couple of novels in the series. I'm a patient fellow it seems...

Damn! I thought it was a trilogy. Here was me thinking I was at the finish line.

nixie · 5th January 2011, 08:17 PM

I feel the opposite I never want a favourite series to end. Mind you I only discovered Donaldson's Covenant about 6 years ago.

GOLLUM · 6th January 2011, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nixie

I feel the opposite I never want a favourite series to end. Mind you I only discovered Donaldson's Covenant about 6 years ago.

Hey slowcoach!....

It's more than 20 years now since I first discovered the magic of Donaldson's Thomas Covenant. I suppose this admission is proof of my ageing carcass....

@SimpleSimon: Sorry to be the bearer of such tidings but at least you are on the home straight with only 1 more book to go...

hedgeknight · 22nd January 2011, 02:31 PM

First read Lord Foul's Bane in '84; been a fan since. However, I have no desire to read The Last Chronicles, being fully satisfied at the end of White Gold Wielder. I figure it can't get any better than that and I have plenty of other books and worlds and writers to explore.

Rahl Windsong · 22nd January 2011, 03:05 PM

I read this book about a month ago now and I have to say I think this is the worst book of the series. Mr. Donaldson's constant use of big words that are rarely used in the english language makes the read even more of a chore and I really did not care if I finished the book, though at the time I had nothing else to read and I did finish it. It really is to bad because this was one of my favorite fantasy stories and Against All Things Ending has basically ended this series for me, before I read any more of it, if he writes more, I will definetly get some other oppinions first.

Foxbat · 14th February 2011, 07:05 AM

I've just downloaded this for my kindle and will start reading shortly. It's been getting mixed reviews all over the place so I'm approaching with some caution. Will let you folks know what I think in a couple of months what I think (it will probably take me that long to get through it).

On a brighter note - it seems that the selection of Fantasy and SF has improved greatly where the kindle is concerned. Good news for all us e-book users

Foxbat · 6th March 2011, 01:35 PM

Well, I’ve finally finished this book (a bit quicker than I expected) and I have to say that I enjoyed it. Ok, it’s not up there with the first Covenant trilogy but it’s still a damn fine read.

I certainly found the first five chapters a bit of an ordeal. I also reached for a dictionary quite a few times.

On Linden Avery – I don’t understand the animosity shown to this character by readers reviewing this book elsewhere on the web. As far as I’m concerned, Donaldson has always pounded and ground his characters into the dirt. He deconstructs them in the most callous fashion and then re-assembles them into something different. He’s doing this with Linden. He’s not doing anything other than what he normally does with his writing and, if anything, then that in itself would be a more valid criticism in my opinion.

Donaldson brings the book to an end with quite a cliffhanger that has me already searching for the publication date of the final instalment.

On the whole not everybody’s cup of tea but, for me, it’s not too bad at all.

PrinceAshitaka · 10th March 2011, 09:03 AM

I've got to say I really enjoyed Against All Things Ending.
But I really had to read it twice to fit it all in.. The Last Chronicles as a whole have a different feel to them than the first and second, and take you to some pretty dark places.
I also don't really understand how so many people have a problem with Donaldson's use of less common words.. I've been reading these books since I was 8 and not even then did I consider going to a dictionary to look up a word I couldn't figure out.
But ultimately AATE is your typical TC book - where a lot of people die and everything looks like it's going to hell. And you care.
The Last Dark is going to be phenomenal..

Allanon · 10th May 2011, 09:46 AM

There are a lot of mixed view in these comments and I agree in part with them all.

I loved the First Chronicles, they rank right up there with the best things I have ever read, only being surpassed I think by The Dark Tower, Legend and Deathworld(the last of these I think is just so fun). The second Chronicles didnt work as well for me, I don't know why but I don't like Linden. She whinges to much without getting on with it. Covenant complained all the time but he still got on and kept going. The Final Chronicles is different, it written completely differently to the others but he's a different writer writing about different things although in the same place and characters, if you get what I mean. But I like it, it has brought some more of the "Need to Read" back into my life and I didn't know there'd be a 4th. I'm happy about that, I'm glad it's finishing because I want to know what happens and ultimately all series have to have an end. But I'm sad it's finishing because I'll miss a new tale coming out.

I would however love Donaldson to go and write about The Bloodguard some more in his old storytelling and more descriptive ways as I love them, also he could do a whole series on the giants or the Ranyhyn.

I am midway through this book now and I like it, I think Linden complains too much but that is just something I have to put up with. But I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it all the way to the end!

Aaaaaaaaannnnnndd Breathe......

wookie8472 · 6th October 2011, 04:44 PM

i've only just bought this collection, and am around ten pages into lord fouls bane. i'm thirty five, and only found out about this series when my mum gave me a copy of white gold wielder. i have been hesitant to read anything which deals with a real world and a fantasy world in a crossover style as i am writing a trilogy in this genre.
after hearing more about donaldsons covenant books, and reading his gap series, i found that my trilogy was vastly different to his. so now i have begun to read the first book in a series that i hope to be worth reading.
i have most of his other books, too, but this series has intrigued me ever since my mum first gave me a copy of white gold wielder, about two years ago...
and now it seems, there is to be a book after against all things ending, i'll have to wait longer to finish this series...

3rd January 2011, 03:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
HareBrain Lagomorphing Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: West Sussex Posts: 4,399 Blog Entries: 8	Against all Things Ending Anyone else reading/read the third book of the Last Chronicles? I'm about 300 pages in, and not sure what to think of it. Sometimes I want to fall to the floor and beat my fists against it, screaming "Why won't something happen??!" I can't read more than fifty pages at a time without starting to feel that the inner workings of my head are getting stuck together with tar (maybe the result of all the unfamiliar words whose meaning I can only guess from context because I don't keep a dictionary near the bath). And yet, if someone were to offer me fifty quid to stop reading it forever, I wouldn't accept. Despite a pace that makes the upwards push of the Himalayas seem like a rocket taking off, I find it hugely compelling. Odd.

4th January 2011, 10:12 AM	#2 (permalink)
GOLLUM Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Australia, Victoria Posts: 9,181	Re: Against all Things Ending Well one either tends to love or hate Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series. I happen to be a great admirer of Mr. Donaldson on this one. I agree the latter books in this major series are difficult to get ones head around but as you say strangely compelling. I suspect this is as much to do with Donaldson's skill as a writer and storyteller as anything else I think. Unfortunately NO I am not reading this at the moment, although I do have my copy and hope to read it this year. It will be good once the final book is published and the story of Thomas Covenant comes to a kind of conclusion.

4th January 2011, 04:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
nixie pixie druid Join Date: May 2005 Location: South Yorkshire Posts: 3,968 Blog Entries: 3	Re: Against all Things Ending About 200 pages in. Yes it is rather slow and frustrating at times but very compelling

4th January 2011, 05:06 PM	#4 (permalink)
HareBrain Lagomorphing Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: West Sussex Posts: 4,399 Blog Entries: 8	Re: Against all Things Ending Well, something did happen during my reading last night, and it was worth waiting for. I've been trying to think why this book is so compelling. I think part of it is that it expands on a world and history I've been familiar with for over twenty years, and which at times made a strong emotional impression on me; but also perhaps because Donaldson doesn't compromise. There are no concessions to what most people might think of as readability in this. I think that has the effect of making it feel true, even solid. I didn't really get on with the first two books of the Last Chronicles, but I wonder now if that was because I didn't adjust to Donaldson's way of storytelling, which I think has become more detailed since the earlier trilogies.

5th January 2011, 01:10 AM	#5 (permalink)
GOLLUM Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Australia, Victoria Posts: 9,181	Re: Against all Things Ending For me the earlier novels were focused more on pure storytelling and had less of an emphasis on the magical systems and in particular technical concepts than these later novels. In this respect they remind me a little of Janny Wurts and her current series Wars of Light and Shadow. I agree that Donaldson writes in a uncompromisingly gritty almost bleak style that certainly lends a greater air of believability to both the storyline and the characters populating it. I may now wait until the final volume The Last Dark is released in 2013 before reading the final couple of novels in the series. I'm a patient fellow it seems... It's good to see a few others here who are also fans of Thomas Covenant....

5th January 2011, 08:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
nixie pixie druid Join Date: May 2005 Location: South Yorkshire Posts: 3,968 Blog Entries: 3	Re: Against all Things Ending I feel the opposite I never want a favourite series to end. Mind you I only discovered Donaldson's Covenant about 6 years ago.

22nd January 2011, 02:31 PM	#9 (permalink)
hedgeknight Dunk the Lunk Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 280	Re: Against all Things Ending First read Lord Foul's Bane in '84; been a fan since. However, I have no desire to read The Last Chronicles, being fully satisfied at the end of White Gold Wielder. I figure it can't get any better than that and I have plenty of other books and worlds and writers to explore.

22nd January 2011, 03:05 PM	#10 (permalink)
Rahl Windsong Last of the Windsong Clan Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 643	Re: Against all Things Ending I read this book about a month ago now and I have to say I think this is the worst book of the series. Mr. Donaldson's constant use of big words that are rarely used in the english language makes the read even more of a chore and I really did not care if I finished the book, though at the time I had nothing else to read and I did finish it. It really is to bad because this was one of my favorite fantasy stories and Against All Things Ending has basically ended this series for me, before I read any more of it, if he writes more, I will definetly get some other oppinions first.

14th February 2011, 07:05 AM	#11 (permalink)
Foxbat Haggis Connoisseur Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 3,935	Re: Against all Things Ending I've just downloaded this for my kindle and will start reading shortly. It's been getting mixed reviews all over the place so I'm approaching with some caution. Will let you folks know what I think in a couple of months what I think (it will probably take me that long to get through it). On a brighter note - it seems that the selection of Fantasy and SF has improved greatly where the kindle is concerned. Good news for all us e-book users

6th March 2011, 01:35 PM	#12 (permalink)
Foxbat Haggis Connoisseur Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 3,935	Re: Against all Things Ending Well, I’ve finally finished this book (a bit quicker than I expected) and I have to say that I enjoyed it. Ok, it’s not up there with the first Covenant trilogy but it’s still a damn fine read. I certainly found the first five chapters a bit of an ordeal. I also reached for a dictionary quite a few times. On Linden Avery – I don’t understand the animosity shown to this character by readers reviewing this book elsewhere on the web. As far as I’m concerned, Donaldson has always pounded and ground his characters into the dirt. He deconstructs them in the most callous fashion and then re-assembles them into something different. He’s doing this with Linden. He’s not doing anything other than what he normally does with his writing and, if anything, then that in itself would be a more valid criticism in my opinion. Donaldson brings the book to an end with quite a cliffhanger that has me already searching for the publication date of the final instalment. On the whole not everybody’s cup of tea but, for me, it’s not too bad at all.

10th March 2011, 09:03 AM	#13 (permalink)
PrinceAshitaka Unlikely Ally Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Australia, Victoria Posts: 19	Re: Against all Things Ending I've got to say I really enjoyed Against All Things Ending. But I really had to read it twice to fit it all in.. The Last Chronicles as a whole have a different feel to them than the first and second, and take you to some pretty dark places. I also don't really understand how so many people have a problem with Donaldson's use of less common words.. I've been reading these books since I was 8 and not even then did I consider going to a dictionary to look up a word I couldn't figure out. But ultimately AATE is your typical TC book - where a lot of people die and everything looks like it's going to hell. And you care. The Last Dark is going to be phenomenal..

10th May 2011, 09:46 AM	#14 (permalink)
Allanon High Druid Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northumberland Posts: 389 Blog Entries: 4	Re: Against all Things Ending There are a lot of mixed view in these comments and I agree in part with them all. I loved the First Chronicles, they rank right up there with the best things I have ever read, only being surpassed I think by The Dark Tower, Legend and Deathworld(the last of these I think is just so fun). The second Chronicles didnt work as well for me, I don't know why but I don't like Linden. She whinges to much without getting on with it. Covenant complained all the time but he still got on and kept going. The Final Chronicles is different, it written completely differently to the others but he's a different writer writing about different things although in the same place and characters, if you get what I mean. But I like it, it has brought some more of the "Need to Read" back into my life and I didn't know there'd be a 4th. I'm happy about that, I'm glad it's finishing because I want to know what happens and ultimately all series have to have an end. But I'm sad it's finishing because I'll miss a new tale coming out. I would however love Donaldson to go and write about The Bloodguard some more in his old storytelling and more descriptive ways as I love them, also he could do a whole series on the giants or the Ranyhyn. I am midway through this book now and I like it, I think Linden complains too much but that is just something I have to put up with. But I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy it all the way to the end! Aaaaaaaaannnnnndd Breathe......

6th October 2011, 04:44 PM	#15 (permalink)
wookie8472 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Cambridgeshire Posts: 21	Re: Against all Things Ending i've only just bought this collection, and am around ten pages into lord fouls bane. i'm thirty five, and only found out about this series when my mum gave me a copy of white gold wielder. i have been hesitant to read anything which deals with a real world and a fantasy world in a crossover style as i am writing a trilogy in this genre. after hearing more about donaldsons covenant books, and reading his gap series, i found that my trilogy was vastly different to his. so now i have begun to read the first book in a series that i hope to be worth reading. i have most of his other books, too, but this series has intrigued me ever since my mum first gave me a copy of white gold wielder, about two years ago... and now it seems, there is to be a book after against all things ending, i'll have to wait longer to finish this series...

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