"The Illearth War" (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Book 2) by Stephen R. Donaldson

This story continues immediately after Thomas Covenant's return to the "real" world after the events of Lord Foul's Bane. His guilt and self-torment due to his shortcomings (both percieved and real) and crimes committed during his adventures in the Land is only magnified when, after a couple of weeks, he is again inexplicably returned to the Land, where forty years have passed. Once again, the Land is facing a crisis in the war against Lord Foul, and the Lords have summoned Covenant to the Land to try to convince him to use his wild magic to aid them.

Covenant is, again tormented by the fact that he believes the Land to be nothing more than an escape from reality for his wounded and grieving mind and spirit. He cannot accept that the Land may be real and deserving of his aid. He knows that he will eventually have to "wake up", and if he gives in to his dreams, his existence defined by loneliness and leprosy will be unbearable.

Stephen R. Donaldson, once again, does a magnificent job of creating a lush, wondrous world peopled with unforgettable characters. The most interesting character in the book is Hile Troy, a blind man from the "real" world who, through his uncanny tactical skill and leadership, has risen to command the Warward, the army of the Lords. Unlike Covenant, Troy has accepted the Land as reality and is striving to aid the Land to the best of his ability. Troy considers Covenant a coward because of his reluctance to aid the Land. But Troy can no more comprehend Covenant's inner conflict any more than the native people of the Land.

There are many other well-drawn characters introduced here, including High Lord Elena, Lords Hyrim and Verement, and the inscrutable and mysterious Amok. Also, more flesh is added to the characters of Bannor of the Bloodguard and Lord Mhoram, returning characters from the first book.

It's tough to talk about the plot too much without risking revealing too much to those who have not read it. But this book is a much more complex plot than the fairly straightforward quest in the first book. The different subplots of the military conflict between the Warward and Lord Foul's army and High Lord Elena's (and Covenant's) quest to gain new power to fight Lord Foul are both compelling and well-written. But, perhaps the most gripping part of the book are the two chapters dealing with the efforts of the Lords to give aid to the Giants, who have mysteriously dropped out of sight just when the Land needs their aid the most.

This book is both a continuation of and an improvement on the story told in Lord Foul's Bane. It's just as full of obscure words, though, which does make the reading of it a little difficult. Donaldson is truly a master of epic fantasy.

Download