Many, many moons ago - back in 1977, to be precise-ish - in the continuous hunt for the next great Epic Fantasy, I was fortunate enough to be one of the first to encounter The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, and the amazing debut novel that was Lord Foul's Bane!
Like the great J.R.R. Tolkien himself, I was wary of those stories of Faerie that involved travel of one form or another between the realm of reality and the perilous land, but found that I had little to worry about in this manifestation of that genre. Stephen R. Donaldson handles this transition with skill and aplomb, and the result is breath-taking!
Right from the start, I fell in love with The Land and its inhabitants, whether good, evil, or just filling the scenery. From Thomas Covenant - the conflicted, leprosy-inflicted hero who bears a stark resemblance to Berek Half-hand, who himself bears a striking resemblance to Beren Erchamion - through the Bloodguard, the enigmatic defenders of The Land and its inhabitants, as well as the Viles, Urviles, Ravers, Cavewights, Humans, and the Giants - one of my all-time favourite fantasy races - not to mention Lord Foul himself, Donaldson fills his creation with convincing characters and peoples, and describes his world in such beautiful detail he makes you want to be there. I read the entire series - Lord Foul's Bane, The Illearth War and The Power That Preserves - and read them again, and, like The Lord of the Rings and The Sword of Shannara, kept them close at hand for many years.
And then I moved to London. And then I moved to Canada. And, sadly, most of my beloved book collection remained back home in South Shields, where much of them became victims of age, bad storage, and the depredations of friends and family.
So I was thrilled when Grim Oak Press ( https://grimoakpress.com/ ) said they were publishing a limited, newly illustrated edition of the original Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant trilogy, and signed up as soon as I could to get one of the limited copies. Grim Oak had already published both lettered and limited illustrated editions of The Sword of Shannara, which I was pained to learn I'd missed out on, so was pleased I hadn't missed out of Covenant.
So now I am waiting in anxious anticipation on the April publication date. I have heard nothing but good things about the Grim Oak Press editions, and cannot wait to delve back into The Land and revisit one of the best fantasy worlds ever created.
No comments:
Post a Comment