- Hardcover: 280 pages
- Publisher: Kent State University Press (November 1995)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0873385284
- ISBN-13: 978-0873385282
- Product Dimensions: 23.7 x 16.1 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 594 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,894,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
readable literary criticism of Donaldson,
By A Customer
This review is from: Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Variations on the Fantasy Tradition (Hardcover)
Keep in mind, contrary to most of the reviews below, this is NOT a novel by Stephen Donaldson. It's a scholarly book written by a PhD ABOUT Donaldson's Thomas Covenant trilogies. If you're looking for the actual books, don't get this one. As for this book, Variations on the Fantasy Tradition, it's readable, if somewhat over written and in places awkward--a common failing of academic writing. It examines Donaldson's Covenant books (mainly the First Chronicles) in light of general trends and tendencies in fantasy. As such, it's often a compare-contrast operation: this is what a fantasy hero is usually like; this is how Thomas Covenant is similar and different from the standard fantasy hero. It covers in its chapters the hero and how Covenant is something of an inversion of the typical hero; comparisons to Tolkien; myth and how it is used in the Covenant books; the significance/importance of knowledge in the books and how it is gained; the narrative structure; and how life and death are viewed and what meanings they are given in the text. It also does a general coverage of the Second Chronicles. Some "trivia" are gotten wrong or misstated, so that could have been tightened up, though that in itself doesn't affect any of the main points made. The scholarship isn't ground-breaking and it's fairly straightforward, but interesting to me as someone who liked the Covenant books and has taken English courses. The interviews with Donaldson are interesting, though I wouldn't buy it only for them ....If you liked thinking about the themes and ideas in the Covenant books, you may like this, though more of it is devoted to form and structure and than the meanings/reasons behind them (i.e. how Covenant differs from typical heros as opposed to _why_ make him not like other heros). But, then, that's not really why this book was written. It's aim is to locate Donaldson in the literary canon of fantasy. So in that sense, it does all right. Say, three and a half stars.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews) 31 of 35 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read book for all Donaldson fans.,
By Marc Dalesandro - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Variations on the Fantasy Tradition (Hardcover)
The book "variations" is a must-read for anyone who enjoys Donaldson's writing. The two interviews alone make it worth the cover price. Before I discovered Lord Foul's Bane, I never thought I would find a better fantasy series than Lord of the Rings. I was mistaken. Donaldson has been called the best pure writer of fantasy, and I have to agree. Tolkien was a linguist, but never claimed to be a writer. He wrote LOTR as an examination of the fictional Elven language. Donaldson writes his fiction in order to lay bare and expose the workings of the human psyche, and that is why his books win out in my mind in a comparison with Tolkien. You will CARE about his characters. Feel their pain, cheer for them, even curse and possibly despise them. Best fantasy series ever, in my opinion. Lots of battles and stuff too, for the action fans!
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
readable literary criticism of Donaldson,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Variations on the Fantasy Tradition (Hardcover)
Keep in mind, contrary to most of the reviews below, this is NOT a novel by Stephen Donaldson. It's a scholarly book written by a PhD ABOUT Donaldson's Thomas Covenant trilogies. If you're looking for the actual books, don't get this one. As for this book, Variations on the Fantasy Tradition, it's readable, if somewhat over written and in places awkward--a common failing of academic writing. It examines Donaldson's Covenant books (mainly the First Chronicles) in light of general trends and tendencies in fantasy. As such, it's often a compare-contrast operation: this is what a fantasy hero is usually like; this is how Thomas Covenant is similar and different from the standard fantasy hero. It covers in its chapters the hero and how Covenant is something of an inversion of the typical hero; comparisons to Tolkien; myth and how it is used in the Covenant books; the significance/importance of knowledge in the books and how it is gained; the narrative structure; and how life and death are viewed and what meanings they are given in the text. It also does a general coverage of the Second Chronicles. Some "trivia" are gotten wrong or misstated, so that could have been tightened up, though that in itself doesn't affect any of the main points made. The scholarship isn't ground-breaking and it's fairly straightforward, but interesting to me as someone who liked the Covenant books and has taken English courses. The interviews with Donaldson are interesting, though I wouldn't buy it only for them ....If you liked thinking about the themes and ideas in the Covenant books, you may like this, though more of it is devoted to form and structure and than the meanings/reasons behind them (i.e. how Covenant differs from typical heros as opposed to _why_ make him not like other heros). But, then, that's not really why this book was written. It's aim is to locate Donaldson in the literary canon of fantasy. So in that sense, it does all right. Say, three and a half stars.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
This book is an academic paper on the trilogy,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Variations on the Fantasy Tradition (Hardcover)
For the benefit of the people who are reading these reviews, this book is a research paper on the trilogy, NOT the trilogy itself. It's a worthwhile read, but if you're going to write a review on the Amazon.com website (like the first 2 reviews) make sure you write it about Senior's work, not Donaldson's!!!
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