Reading and diversity - which author are you reading?

[HanaBi]

After a very long break from his books, I have decided to give Stephen Donaldson another try, and more specifically those Thomas Covenant Chronicles of his.

I remember reading the first Chronicles way back in the late 70s, and found it hard going to say the least. So it took some considerable time before I could muster the enthusiasm to move onto this 2nd Chronicles. And when I did, I was even more dispirited. And as a consequence I never bothered with the final Chronicles.

However, that was a very long time ago, and things have moved on since then. So now I'm willing to give old Steve another try by revisiting Tom once again. I think I will appreciate the writing and the characters a whole lot more now that I know what to expect. Donaldson's writing style is sometimes hard to appreciate, but I think the effort will be worth it this time round.

 

[svalbard]

Clifford Beal's The Raven's Banquet. I believe the author is a white, male, although I read the book on a recommendation from Brian a while back. Shame on him for lacking originality, and diversity in his reading and leading unsuspecting readers down the slippery slope of maintaining the mediocre reading habits of the masses.

 

[svalbard]

Good book, btw.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Clifford Beal's The Raven's Banquet.

It has women, witches and foreign people.
Um ... dead people.

I found it very different to what I usually read.

 

[GOLLUM]

After a very long break from his books, I have decided to give Stephen Donaldson another try, and more specifically those Thomas Covenant Chronicles of his.

I remember reading the first Chronicles way back in the late 70s, and found it hard going to say the least. So it took some considerable time before I could muster the enthusiasm to move onto this 2nd Chronicles. And when I did, I was even more dispirited. And as a consequence I never bothered with the final Chronicles.

However, that was a very long time ago, and things have moved on since then. So now I'm willing to give old Steve another try by revisiting Tom once again. I think I will appreciate the writing and the characters a whole lot more now that I know what to expect. Donaldson's writing style is sometimes hard to appreciate, but I think the effort will be worth it this time round.

Good choice.

I am a Donaldson fan and have read all of the Thomas Covenant Chronicles. I first picked them up in the early '80s and have enjoyed them over the years through to the final novel published only a few years back now.

I find Donaldson, especially the Covenant series, appears to polarize fans. It is quite heavy and the central character is a somewhat troubled, pessimistic soul but I really enjoyed them for their psychological depth and use of allegory. I can't claim to understand all of the mechanics of the magic system that is being discussed though. It is not an easy read....definitely not something I would recommend to someone who is fairly new to SFF or embarking on more mature works but the rewards are certainly there if you persist.

Cheers.