Lord Foul’s Bane

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Book 1

De: Stephen R. Donaldson

Narrado por: Scott Brick

Thomas Covenant is a leper, a bitter and solitary pariah who is mystically transported to another Earth where time moves differently than ours, one in which magic takes many forms. The Land is threatened by many evils, the most immediate of which is a maddened Cavewight whose subterranean excavations have unearthed the ancient and puissant Staff of Law.

More dangerous to the free people of the Land is the Gray Slayer, Lord Foul, the Despiser, who intends to destroy the actual foundations of the Earth that he might wage war against the universe’s creator. And Foul’s intended weapon in this conflict? None other than Thomas Covenant himself.

©1977 Stephen R. Donaldson (P)2020 Brick by Brick Audiobooks

NOPE

A really good friend recommended this. The narration was the first to get over. He’s terrible and makes the annoying protagonist even more so, and all of the other characters lackluster. Then came increasingly frequent comments about the physique of each woman that came into the story. How holding a pot accentuating this one’s breasts and all that crap. The end for me was the terribly written rape of the teenage girl. Now I hate the protagonist and wonder where the story will end up. So I read several reviews and several blogs. Basically if you like ambiguous characters and morality this may work for you. But it’s not a redemptive read according to those who have read it so I’m moving on. Wish I would’ve read the reviews before wasting my credit.

Unlikeable Protagonist with no Progression

The main character in this story is a selfish, cowardly, whiner with no redeeming qualities who does not grow or progress in any way. I hated him from start to finish, and since he's the sole focus of the entire story, it's a tough listen/read. There's no hero's journey here, and it's exactly what this story needs.

Better than Tolkien!

I know, I love Tolkien as well...but this,...this work is deeper than that! More connected to our time and our plights!!! Some have said it is too dark! If we are being honest, I would prefer the simplicity of the Land's methods of life, than the slow drip depreciation of our existence in our REAL world! I see a correlation to the true beauty of our great planet Earth, with the telling of the health of the Land! And a coupling of the greatly stunted reach of our Leprous selves to bond to our only Habitat with any sense of coexisting on a plane of true symbiotic existence! Perhaps I'm wrong, but I feel as if the story tells of how we somehow deceive ourselves into believing that we don't have to make any efforts to effect our own realities!!! As if it were just a dream we experience and have no stake in the outcome of the waking of our lives!!! This work may, or may not be that profound......yet its literary brilliance causes questions of this great nature to be brought forth!!! So, without further adu, please, either read, or listen to one of the greatest written pieces of literature of our age!!! My salutations to Mr Stephen R. Donaldson, for a most spectacular work, that for all time should be a great representation of the minds of our day! Here is to the hope of many such great attributions to our family of enlightened knowledge that may exist.....if you but so want of them too!!! Thank You Mr. Donaldson for your incredible share of the most beautiful imagination!!! until the end, I dare say....... keep up the fantastic work!!!

excellent performance

I first read this book 25 yrs ago and fell in love with the author's superior skill with the language. I recommend this author for anyone who longs to be an author. but it takes a skillful narrator to do Mr. Donaldson's work justice. in this recording I found both. but don't stop here. The story continues in subsequent episodes. The first set of three are available as recordrd books. Well worth hearing!

Wonderful book

Scott Brick makes a great reader for this dark noir fantasy novel series. A must listen.

The most important fantasy series since the Lord of the rings

Stephen. R Donaldson text fantasy to an all new dimension in this groundbreaking fantasy series, which has influenced everything that’s come afterwards. This is the beginning of modern epic fantasy.

Most original work of fantasy of the 20th century

The theme of a man in constant unbelief of his circumstances is masterfully executed. Some of the voices performed by the narrator fall short of the description of the characters, but don't let that spoil your enjoyment of this incredible tale.

Narrator is terrible. Book is still amazing

First off, go read this in hard copy. This narrator will ruin the whole thing for you. Covenant is a difficult protagonist, but he’s not as completely out of control as the narrator makes him out to be.
Second, this book was written in the 70s. If you are expecting millennial sentiments you will be disappointed. That said, there are numerous important and strong female characters, Lord titles given to leaders irrespective of gender, and the highest ranking person in the Land in the second book is a woman. This was written by a man in the 70s, and all that is still true. Don’t cry about misogyny because of one rape. It’s awful and almost gratuitous and I wish it wasn’t in the books, but nonetheless, this is an amazing series.
Lastly. Covenant is not a good person. This is largely the point. He’s an ostracized, lonely, angry, bastard who’s losing his mind. This series is a redemption story. Book one, you hate him. Book two you start to understand him. Book three, you think he might just turn out to be ok. You will never love him. But if you don’t love The Land, there is something wrong with you.

best fantasy series ever

This is among the very best fantasy i have ever known. The writing is obviously donaldsons earliest efforts, with some over used metaphores and such, but the quality of charachters and especially world building, sets the chronicles in a league of thier own. The narration took me some time to get used to, but in the end I feel Scotts dramatic tone was well suited to the tale he was telling. stick with this series and you will note be disappointed.

A Rarer Gem amongst other more known fantasy works

I've read this 4 times and now listened to it once across various stages of my life and I always come away learning something more, about the story, it's characters and myself at the stage at which I've been at in life while reading it. While it does borrow a bit conceptually from the likes of Tolkien it also manages to create a wholly realized and unique world of its own. Something like cross between fantasy and a Stephen King novel, it possesses an interesting multifaceted magic system for each of it's peoples and some very interesting, unique and memorable characters overall. The supporting cast are often more liked than the protagonist, and in ways I believe that was by design. Certainly not a book for those who dislike nuance or complexity or moral failings in their protagonists and clearly a product of it's time. Still, after all these years, authors and works in the genre this one still calls to me and never fails to evoke deep musings about life, illness, escapism, morality, the way humanity treats it's outcasts and the power of fiction to give insights into ourselves and this world. Highly recommended - and I'll bet you will come away wanting to learn more about the magic of The Land itself and with admiration and of love some of the interesting supporting cast standouts like Lord Mhoram, Bannor of The Bloodguard and of course Saltheart Foamfollower of The Giants of Seareach. It has a slower start but if you stick around the payoff is well worth it and books two and three are much better paced. Overall a great work of fiction especially for it's time.
Four Stars.