thync1

In all honesty, I didn't finish reading this because I really struggled to get involved in Donaldson's intricately woven world, and eventually lost interest. Donaldson has really striven to create a rich and complex alternate world with realistic/flawed characters and a not too implausible unreality, which differs greatly from the majority of fantasy. This is part of the problem in my view, as fantasy relies heavily on the suspension of disbelief, and contrary to reason, the more incredible it is, the easier it is for us to accept. Donaldson has created guilt-ridden, angsty, noir fantasy which doesn't gain acceptance very easily.

Having said that, all of the above is exactly why I am determined to read it through. That and the fact that I am thoroughly in awe of his Gap SF series, which employs exactly the same characteristics as Covenant but distilled into an orgy of violence, degradation, fallibility, weakness and contradiction that is vile and addictive simultaneously.