| Re: Lord Foul's Bane vs Lord of the Rings
Long long time since I read the Donaldson books but I remember them as being a cracking read.
Probably, if you really look for them, you could find lots and lots of superficial similarities in the Tolkein and Donaldson books beyond just the rings. I seem to remember that Donaldson has a race (can't remember the name) who lived in trees and sang a lot (cf Middle Earth's elves) and a squatter, more dour faced race who made everything out of stone and sang a lot (cf JRR's dwarves). There are hordes of battle-fodder nasty fighting beasts (who didn't sing much) as well (orcs?) and really powerful and intelligent horses (Shadofax?). The list is probably endless....
I don't think it is a case of Donaldson nicking ideas though. The whole approach was different. JRR's was a grand, epic fairy tale (and I loved every page) whereas Donaldson's character's leprosy and his struggle to cope with that was the main thrust; with the fantasy world being possibly just that.. a real fantasy construct of his own troubled mind. Covenant was a complex reluctant (anti) hero who deliberatley wouldn't take part in his own fantasy at times.
Lord Foul's Bane vs Lord of the Rings?? It's like bedtime and chocolate, difficult to compare...but both hugely enjoyable. |