Bob.Colwell@CMU-CS-A@sri-unix.UUCP (08/12/83)
Well, SFLovers, you finally made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I liked the Covenant series. I bought all 6 books, and after each one, couldn't wait for the next one to appear. You want flaws? I'll give you flaws. I don't ever want to read about another main character who is as impotent as Covenant, or (more to the point) is described in such excruciating detail. Books 5 and 6 were particularly irritating in this respect. But one thing that struck me early on about Covenant is that he is not only imperfect, he is not wholly a good person. Contrast that with Frodo or Bilbo, each of which would occasionally screw up but not because they weren't trying to be good. I felt that this added an interesting dimension to the crisis scenes. But this quality gradually died, and throughout books 4-6 Covenant becomes almost disgustingly saintly. The main reason that I liked Donaldson's books was his ability to really add fire to the critical points of the plot. When a Raver was nearby you could almost feel your own skin prickling. And the descriptions of the fireworks when Covenant fought Foul were just beautiful. My only complaint there is that Donaldson seemed to want to outdo himself on each successive crisis, until at the end he had exhausted the supply of violent words in the English language. Bob Colwell Colwell@cmua