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Introduction to the LandWelcome to the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the UnbelieverThe Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is an epic fantasy written in two trilogies by Stephen R. Donaldson. Like most fantasy, it is a story about the battle between Good and Evil. However, unlike most fantasy, the main character is anything but a typical hero. Enter Thomas Covenant Thomas Covenant is a man from our world. He lives somewhere in the United States, although we never really figure out where. But where Covenant lives isn't really that important. What is important is this character Thomas Covenant. He is a leper. For those of you who don't know what this is, a leper is someone with leprosy, which is a disease where a person's nerve cells die. When someone's nerve cells die, their limbs become numb and they become prone to infestation and more disease. The result of this is usually a very sick and disgusting looking soul and so lepers have a tendency to become outcasts in our society. So we have Thomas Covenant. He starts off life pretty good and leper-free. He's married to his wife, named Joan, he has a son named Roger, and he has written a best selling novel making him filthy rich. Then came the leprosy. He loses two fingers, gets sent to a leprosarium, becomes an outcast, and his wife divorces him and leaves with their son. Events like this really hamper a man's dignity. Thus Thomas Covenant becomes a very bitter person with a deep hatred for life. He hates the disease that has crippled him yet accepts it because if he doesn't then his leprosy would only get worse. Enter the Land One day, Thomas Covenant fell upon the Land. Quite literally actually. He lost consciousness while crossing the street in town and woke up in a different world. This place where he finds himself is called the Land, a place of good people facing a war against an ultimate evil named Lord Foul. Covenant thinks that he lost his mind. Believing that he's really dreaming and that the Land doesn't exist, he goes along with the story, believing that he'll wake up sooner or later. As long as he keeps moving, he'll survive. What Covenant doesn't realize is how far this story will take him and how deeply he is involved in it. Not only that, but in spite of his grown bitterness for life, he learns to love the Land, a place of magic, health and hope. Now he has to defeat this evil but he can't figure out if it is real or not. And so starts the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. |