Lord Foul's Bane: Book Review

I just finished reading Lord Foul's Bane, which is the first book in the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson. I decided to pick up this series because I particularly enjoyed Donaldson's Gap Cycle, which I have already reviewed in full. You can find the playlist in the description below. This series started to come out in 1977, so I was very interested in what Donaldson had to say about fantasy in that time. Let's get started.

No Spoilers

The Basic Premise

The only reason I decided to check out this series is because I read The Gap beforehand. In many respects, I would say that the marketing of the book is particularly poor. Here is an example from the back of the book edition that I own:

"He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in this strange alternate world on which he suddenly found himself. Yet the Land tempted him. He had been sick; now he seemed better than ever before. Through no fault of his own, he had been outcast, unclean, a pariah. Now he was regarded as a reincarnation of the Land's greatest hero—Berek Halfhand—armed with the mystic power of White Gold. That power alone could protect the Lords of the Land from the ancient evil of the Despiser, Lord Foul. Except that Covenant had no idea how to use that power. . . ."

Bluntly put, I would never have read this book based on this description alone. Maybe in retrospect, I can find the appeal, but that is only after seeing the execution of the idea described. And I think this reflects the fact that it is one of the Tolkien "clones" that were typical of the time. Donaldson's book is one of the better one's, as it deliberately twists the story in important ways, but I don't think the description here says much about that.

This story is sometimes considered one of the forerunners of the grimdark genre. I wouldn't take it that far, but you can see where that notion comes from. Covenant is a leper. He is plagued by a debilitating disease, and is an outcast in his society. He is also defiant. When people refuse to associate with him, he lashes out, refusing their own refusals, so to speak. So when you take this bitter, resentful man and place him into a portal fantasy context, you arrive at very interesting scenarios for his character. He is filled with loathing, something that sharply cuts against the world he is now in, and he rejects the reality of the world for fear that he will have false hope at the sudden cure he has been given.

To say that he maliciously recoils at this miracle that has happened to him is an understatement. He commits an unspeakable and unforgivable act in the beginning, setting the stage for this man and his journey. That he is the "chosen one" is actually kind of terrifying, in a way. These specificities are what drew me in. And I imagine that this is what will drive most detractors away. The back-of-the-book description's focus on Covenant's inability to use the power of his ring is kind of odd, because it is one of the least interesting aspects of the story.

In any case, I would not take the basic descriptions of the story seriously, as they seem tailored to an audience that is obsessed with Tolkien-esque fantasy, and that really shows.

The Feel of the Writing

I would not have guessed that this book was written by the same writer as The Gap Cycle. All the way down to the prose level, this book is so far and away from that series that I honestly am impressed with Donaldson's ability to change up his writing style.

This even happens in seemingly insignificant ways. For example, in The Gap, Donaldson had a baffling way of using semicolons that made me question whether he even knew how to use them. This seemed to be across his character perspectives. Yet, in this book, which was written over a decade before The Gap, all of the semicolons were correctly placed. I have no idea what to make of that.

Other than that trivial example, this writing is loaded with Tolkienisms, in direct contrast to the political intrigue of The Gap. There are long descriptions of beautiful landscapes and a focus on adventure. There are the long songs that Tolkien is infamous for. There is even a place called "Mount Thunder," lol. There are the usual orcs, though they are called "Cavewights" in this one. There is an evil Dark Lord, with the remarkably clever name of "Lord Foul." There is a chosen one. And did I mention a ring with magical power associated with it? I guess this is the power to wield against the Dark Lord, though. Hahaha.

The only thing that really makes this story stand out is the character of Thomas Covenant, as I mentioned before. This is classic fantasy to the core, with one major twist to the protagonist that saves it from falling into a waste bin of repetition.

Character

I

At the core of this story is not only the character of Thomas Covenant, but his contrast to everyone around him. There is this juxtaposition between the selfish and resentful main character and the courageous and self-sacrificial questers who surround him. While Covenant hurts people and lashes out, and even refuses to believe in the world he is supposed to save, the rest are willing to do anything to fulfill their duty. Atiaran is one such character who discovers one horrifying thing that Covenant has done—to someone she loves, no less—and she pushes on to save humanity in spite of it.

Indeed, I wondered what Donaldson was doing, having her character behave as she was, but the complexity all comes out by the end, and this stands out.

Naturally, there is tension between Covenant and these people, and that forms most of the appeal of the story.

The one thing to complain about is how flat many of the other characters seem to be. Covenant is at the center, and everyone seems to be the contrast, with little to distinguish them from one another.

II

Covenant is one of the most unlikable sympathetic characters in fantasy, as one reviewer put it. (At least until Jorg was created). The sympathetic angle of his character is laid on very thick in the beginning, and it really affected me, I have to say. You get descriptions of leprosy at the outset, everything from the inability to heal, to the social isolation, to the inevitable programs to prevent suicide among the sufferers, and all I could think of was how good I had it, despite my own physical ailments.

As Covenant's nasty tendencies arise from this condition, you certainly understand why he is the way he is, which is exactly how characters should be written.

III

The fact that Covenant reacts to the miracle of the fantasyland curing him with disbelief is another fascinating choice. As he is a leper, you might expect him to jump at the idea that he is cured. People are often desperate. But for Covenant, the world is sinister in a way only he would interpret it as, something that tempts him with something he does not dare believe in. I love this spin.

VI

Finally, I like the motifs that you have with his character, like him giving himself VSE and shaving himself throughout the story. VSE is the training he received as a leper, where he looks over his body for injuries. Even as he has been healed, he still does this throughout, showing that he is unable to give up on his old existence. This is similar to shaving. Shaving is very dangerous for a leper, but he continues to do it. And in this case, it seems to be for the sake of control. He needs to do something to maintain control over himself.

Intrigue

As I mentioned before, this story is not especially about intrigue in the same way that The Gap was. That said, there is some intrigue that I felt was compelling, mainly coming from Lord Foul himself. He is not just this abstract force in the background, but someone who is manipulating the people under him to do his bidding. Indeed, we see more or less from the outset that Covenant himself is doing Lord Foul's bidding in an ominous manner. I found that I really appreciated this aspect, especially by the end of the story.

Ending

Overall, I really liked the ending. I might critique some aspects, hopefully to make the ending more compelling, but by the very end, I was satisfied. Donaldson did a very good job making the threat palpable, even making the protagonists' solution present itself as a kind of threat, in and of itself. I had thought they were saved, until the book revealed that the "here comes the cavalry" moment could kill them as well as everything else. Good stuff.

Criticisms

I think the biggest problem of the story is the pacing. The beginning of the book is very drawn out and needlessly slow. The real story and the heavier aspects of it are heavily loaded in the back half. The beginning is not unreadable. I liked the prose for its own sake, and I was not bored to tears. But there could have been some balance, too. They should have arrived at the council earlier. There should have been a little more action in the beginning too. Even if the latter technically makes the beginning longer in terms of page count, it at least justifies it.

There were some exposition dumps in the chapters, especially at the beginning, but I personally did not think they were especially bad. Either way, I at least try to break them up in my own writing. For Donaldson, he is operating in that old tradition where these dumps are more common. At least he doesn't go full Tolkien and do it on page one, lol.

Another question I have is why Covenant did not seem to be training with his unknown power, or even seem to be trying to. I guess it is because he has no idea what he can do about it, but even still.

Finally, there was a battle in the story where no one seemed to have weapons. I don't know why. Did they not carry them on the journey at all? This did not seem to be set up, though I could have missed something. The fact seemed to come out of nowhere, and for no reason.

Conclusion

Overall, I liked the story, even if it is not what I usually read. I am interested in the next book, which I should be coming around to soon enough. I will give this a 7/10.

Spoilers

I

The first thing to talk about is the nature of reality itself. The book is not as philosophical as I generally prefer, but most things are not. Either way, I hope there are some questions that are explored later in the story that serve to expand on the questions posed directly or indirectly in this one.

This story is a portal fantasy, and it explicitly asks questions about the truth of this alternative reality. And I think this is a fascinating question to ask. So many portal fantasies seem to just take for granted the idea that the fantasy world is real. This story does not. But, I want to take the question a step further, which I hope will be reflected in Donaldson's later entries. What does it mean for a world to be real? When people ask this question, they don't seem to be asking a strict factual question, but an evaluative one. The point is not simply what it means to be real, but what is worth actually taking seriously. Another way to frame this question is to ask this: If the world is entirely in his head, does that make it unreal? The intuitive answer is yes, but I'm not sure what would justify that. Both are rich in detail. They have people born and raised there, and people who take it seriously. There are consequences. And even if The Land has no consequences in the world Covenant comes from, it's not like Covenant's world requires any higher reality to make it "real"; it simply has consequences within its own frame, just as The Land does.

The question itself is not directly addressed in this entry, but we do see that Covenant becomes attached to the world even after he returns home and finds that his clothes are untouched, as if he never actually went there. Emotionally, he has chosen to take the world seriously.

Also, if The Land comes out of Covenant's mind, then what does it say about him, as a character?

II

Covenant's rape of Lena is probably the most significant part of the story. The portrayal itself was not particularly graphic, but it was still effective. And the reason for it was grounded on his character, and seems to have multiple levels of complexity built in. He does it because she claims that her world is real, as Covenant denies it. He likely does it because he denies the consequences of his actions; this is indirect, and perhaps implied by the question of the beggar in the beginning of the story. And he does it because he is a bitter and hateful man.

At the same time, there is a surprising lack of focus on this major aspect of the story. I know it becomes more relevant in the story in the later entries, but we don't really see much here. Covenant doesn't really think about it much, either. This is partly justified. When Atiaran finds out, he just acts like a shit, blithely ignoring her revelation. And he seems to only confront it when he has to.

The degree to which this scene matters remains to be seen.

III

I particularly liked Covenant's comments about his own world, namely how there is no beauty in it. I also liked how the Quester's reacted to it. They seemed horrified. It was somewhat similar to the part where Covenant "explains" what leprosy is to Foamfollower, namely through that story about suicidality and depression. It was a rather stunning look into Covenant's psychology. Not surprising, but definitely insightful.

IV

There are two open questions that I hope are addressed in later entries.

First, is Covenant's relationship to the Ranyhyn. The story shows that they are afraid of Covenant, and I believe that this is something that separates Covenant from the rest. What does this imply?

Second, at the very end of the story, Covenant offhandedly mentions that the Morinmoss Forest was sending a message to him through the markings on his robes. But I did not grasp the answer in the story. Maybe I missed it, but I hope this is expanded upon. I don't see how, with those robes seemingly gone. But maybe he will get those old robes back when he returns. Who knows?

V

I still have questions about the nature of Lord Foul's position in relation to Drool Rockworm. The council suggested that Foul was technically threatened by Drool, now that the gangrel creature had both the stone and the staff in hand—but he was also manipulating both the humans and Drool to release himself. The later story seemed to suggest otherwise by claiming that Lord Foul was controlling everything that was happening. But maybe these comments were simply in relation to Foul's manipulations, which is what I am leaning toward.

Conclusion

Overall, I liked the story, even if it is not what I usually read. I am interested in the next book, which I should be coming around to soon enough. I will give this a 7/10.

Video: https://youtu.be/0QpnNfp9yFo

The Gap Cycle Reviews and Discussions: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgVyT6OIaqXnCr55I0ntqzBNoukb72F2X&si=qT7Ikws5sF_AELSQ