[manethrall jimbo]

okay,just a few points,.. i read "the hobbit" at a young age and instantly fell in love with the sf/fantasy thing,naturally went on to read lotr and one day i told my uncle of my newfound hobby.he told me to read the covenant series but being so young and ignorant i plain forgot all about it until a few years later while visiting some friends abroad, i picked up a copy of "lord fouls bane" just lying amid a stack of old novels. My friend let me take the book home but I was already wrapped up in the story before I got back to the green, green grass. I think it's only fair to say that Donaldson was treading a path that was forged by Tolkien and certainly others before him-homage where due-but hand's down, the Thomas Covenant saga truly surpasses lotr by miles. the meticulous care with which Donaldson delves into the inner plight and turmoil of Covenant made Samwise and Frodo's little adventure read like,to me anyway, uh, let's see, Hansel and Gretel... I won't get into the subtle similarities between, or the vast differences in the two(Ranyhyn - Shadowfax, Rhadamaerl - Dwarves, Woodhelvennin - Elven folk,not to mention the ring, although if you think about it, the two powers are completely unalike), as this has already been eloquently touched upon elsewhere in this thread,(fairplay to you Saltheart and all).I will say this- Donaldsons depiction of the Lands vitality was breathtakingly beautiful, and the sense of dire peril and woeful rue of the Sunbane nearly had me suffering Lindens plight myself. I have yet to come across a fantasy epic that comes close to "Covenant" and all's I do is read! To all the unbelievers-there is time enough to refine the soul while the fingers can turn the pages...To all who just can't put the books down, look forward with great patience to October 9th- "Fatal Revenant" will soon be here!!!! YYESSSSSSSSS!!!! (HEH, HEH, I didn't have the "great patience"- I read the first couple o' chapters on Donaldsons official site --- are you up to scratch?????) p.s.-NOM