THOMAS COVENANT, UR-LORD

He called himself Covenant the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in this strange alternate world on which he suddenly found himself.  The magic of the Land could not be real.  Loremasters could not draw fire from wood that never burned, not force stone to flow freely under their fingers.  Yet they did.  Hurtloam could not regenerate ruined nerves.  Yet, miraculously, it did.

The Land tempted him.  He had been sick; now he seemed better than ever before.  Through no fault of his own, he had been outcast, unclean, a pariah.  Now he was regarded as a reincarnation of the Land's greatest hero - Berek Halfhand - armed with the mystic power of White Gold.  That power alone could protect the Lords of the Land from the ancient evil of the Despairer, Lord Foul.  Only... Covenant had no idea of how the power could be used!

Thus begins one of the strangest epic fantasies ever written...

THE CHRONICLES OF
THOMAS COVENANT THE UNBELEIVER

Book One LORD FOUL'S BANE
Book Two THE ILLEARTH WAR
Book Three THE POWER THAT PRESERVES

WHILE THE EVIL DAYS COME

After scant days in his "real" world, Thomas Covenant found himself again summoned to the Land - the strange world of magic and earthpower.  There forty bitter years had passed, while Lord Foul, moved to fulfill his prophesy of doom.  Foul's countless minions, led by a Giant Raver, were already on the march of destruction.  They were opposed only by the untried war skill of Hile Troy, blind and bitter exile from "reality."

The Council of Lords found their spells useless, now that Foul the Despiser held the Illearth Stone, ancient source of evil power.  High Lord Elena turned in desperation to Covenant and the legendary white gold magic of his ring.  And nobody knew how to use the white gold - least of all, Thomas Covenant.

Thus continues one of the strangest epic fantasies ever written...

THE CHRONICLES OF
THOMAS COVENANT THE UNBELIEVER

Book One LORD FOUL'S BANE
Book Two THE ILLEARTH WAR
Book Three THE POWER THAT PRESERVES

THE FINAL CHALLENGE

Twice before, Thomas Covenant had been summoned to the Land, the strange other-world where magic worked.  Twice he had been forced to join with the Lords of Ravelstone in their war against Lord Foul, the ancient enemy of the Land.  Thomas Covenant, pariah on Earth, was a reincarnation of the Land's greatest hero, armed with the wild magic of White Gold - and without knowledge of its power!

Now he was back - to a Land ravaged by the armies of Lord Foul.  The Lords were besieged and helpless.  No place was safe for men.  Foul's victory seemed certain.  Only Covenant could avert it.

Desperately and without hope, he set out to confront the might of the Enemy.  With him went a Giant, a Bloodguard and the madwoman he had wronged.  And in Foul's Creche, Lord Foul grew in power with each new defeat for the Land.

THE CHRONICLES OF
THOMAS COVENANT THE UNBELIEVER

Book One LORD FOUL'S BANE
Book Two THE ILLEARTH WAR
Book Three THE POWER THAT PRESERVES

IT ALL BEGAN WITH THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT THE UNBELIEVER...

"At the age of 30, Stephen R. Donaldson makes his debut before an audience created and spoiled by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien with a trilogy of remarkable scope and sophistication that conquers almost as much territory as it claims."
- Los Angeles Time

...AND NOW THE STORY CONTINUES IN THE WOUNDED LAND

4000 years have passed since Covenant first freed the Land from the devastating grip of Lord Foul and his minions.  The monstrous force of Evil has regained its power, once again warping the very fabric and balance of the Land.  Armed with his stunning white gold, wild magic, Covenant must battle not only terrifying external forces but his own capacity for despair and devastation.  His quest to save the Land from ultimate ruin is as exciting and heroic as ever.

"...I'M GOING TO LEAVE THE LAND - TRY TO FIND THE ONE TREE.  SO I CAN REPLACE THE STAFF OF LAW.  I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO," COVENANT SAID.  "I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I'M GOING TO BE GONE, AND EVERY DAY THEY KILL MORE PEOPLE.  SOMEBODY HAS TO STOP THEM."

Thus Thomas Covenant, accompanied by Linden Avery, begins his search for the One Tree aboard the giantship Starfare's Gem.  Armed with the knowledge given to him in Andelain by his trusted friend, the Forestal Hile Troy, Covenant was determined to succeed.  He was the last hope for the salvation of the Land.  Only he had the power to forge a new Staff of Law and return to the Land to stop the encroaching desecration of the Sunbane and the bloody sacrificial rites of the Clave.

But fate decreed that the journey was to be long, arduous, and fraught with danger as Covenant and his companions are assailed by powerful forces whose sole purpose is to ensure the failure of their quest.

THE ONE TREE, the long-awaited sequel to The Wounded Land, continues the extraordinary saga that has become an international bestseller.

"...I WANT YOU TO GO BACK TO THE LAND.  TO REVELSTONE.  AND STOP THE CLAVE.  PUT OUT THE BANEFIRE.  IF YOU DO THAT, THE SUNBANE'LL SLOW DOWN.  MAYBE IT'LL EVEN RECEDE.  THAT'LL GIVE US TIME TO LOOK FOR A BETTER ANSWER."

Thomas Covenant was shocked by Linden Avery's demand; but he realized that, despite their awful failure on The Isle of The One Tree, there was no alternative but to return and fight.  Mhoram had warned him: "...In the end, you must return to the Land."

After a long and arduous journey overland, the company reaches Revelstone.  Following a fiery showdown with Gibbon Raver, Covenant discovers that he can come to terms with - and control - his awesome power.  As he readies himself for the final showdown with Lord Foul, the Despiser, Thomas Covenant knows he has the answer at last.

WHITE GOLD WIELDER, Book Three of The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, is the stunning conclusion to the extraordinary saga that has become a major international bestseller.

"Fans can celebrate." - The Kansas City Star

"Donaldson's saga has transformed tremendously since the initial volumes offered startlingly original antiheroic fantasy resonating with echos of both Tolkien and Philip K. Dick... fans will welcome a return to the Land." - Publishers Weekly

More than twenty years ago, Stephen R. Donaldson set a literary landmark with his first fantasy bestseller.  His New York Times bestselling series, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, transformed modern fantasy.  Now, at long last, Donaldson shows he "still has the power to surprise in this richly imagined" (Publishers Weekly) first novel of the long-awaited, four-volume finale to the series that's sold more than ten million copies...

Thomas Covenant lost everything.  Abandoned by his wife and child, sick and alone, he was transported while unconscious to a magical, dreamlike world called the Land.  Convinced it was all a delusion, Covenant was christened The Unbeliever by the Land's inhabitants - but gave his life to save this newfound world he came to regard as precious.

Ten years after Covenant's death, Linden Avery still mourns for her beloved companion.  But a violent confrontation with Covenant's son, who is doing the evil Lord Foul's bidding, forces her back to the Land, where a dark malevolence is about to unmake the laws of nature - and the laws of life and death...

"Donaldson has met [readers'] high expectations... you might utter at book's end: 'I want the next book right now!'" - Detroit Free Press

"Impressive... Filled with splendid inventions." - Booklist

Be cautious of love.  It misleads.  There is a glamour upon it which binds the heart to destruction...

Linden Avery, who loved Thomas Covenant and watched him die, has returned to the Land in search of her kidnapped son, Jeremiah.  As Fatal Revenant begins, Linden, watching from the battlements of Revelstone, sees Jeremiah and Covenant himself, apparently very much alive.  Linden has heard his voice in her dreams, has heard him urge her on - "Linden, find me."  But the prospect of being reunited with Thomas Covenant drives her to her knees in shock and disbelief.

Here in the Land, Jeremiah is healed of the mental condition that kept him mute and unresponsive for so many years.  He is full of life, and devoted to Covenant.  But Covenant is strangely changed: he no longer seems like the man she adored.  And yet he says he has a plan - and plan that will save the Land as well as both Linden and Jeremiah - but he refuses to explain.  Instead of trying to win her trust, he insists that he needs her help.  He is Thomas Covenant.  How can she make any choice except to aid him?

But is he still the man who twice saved the Land, or has he been twisted by death and time into something darker?  Fighting for her life against new enemies and old, across appalling distances, Linden Avery is inexorably forced toward a terrible leap of faith that could cost her everything, including Covenant and her son.

Praise for the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

"Will certainly find a place on the small list of true classics."
- The Washington Post Book World

"Covenant is Donaldson's genius."
- The Village Voice

Back Cover:
Praise For
Fatal Revenant
"This complicated and emotional continuation of the Thomas Covenant saga is exactly what Donaldson's fans have been hoping for."
- PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

Praise For
The Runes of the Earth
"An epic with page-turning intrigue."
- DETROIT FREE PRESS

Praise For
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
"Will certainly find a place on the small list of true classics."
- THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD

"Covenant is Donaldson's genius."
- THE VILLAGE VOICE

Inside flap:
Attempts must be made, even when there is no hope.  And betimes some wonder is wrought to redeem us....

Thomas Covenant is alive again, restored to his mortal body by the unimaginable combines power of hos own white gold ring, Linden Avery's Staff of Law, and the ancient dagger called High Lord Loric's krill.  His resurrection is Linden's defiant act of love, despite warnings from mortals and immortals that unleashing this much power would destroy the world.  She brought his spirit back from its prison in the Arch of Time, and restored his slain body, so precious to her, his wild white hair like flame, his face now etched with lines of pain.  Thomas Covenant is returned to her.

But the truth is inescapable: the thunderclap of power from Linden's action has awakened the Worm of the World's End, and all of them, and the Land itself, are forfeit to its devouring.  If they have any chance to save the Land, it will come from unlikely sources - including the mysterious bot Jeremiah, Linden's adopted son, whose secrets are only beginning to come to light.  And it will come from sacrifices, some freely offered by friends who have traveled far and trusted much, and some taken by force that can be recognized only later as compassion.

Dimly, but holding on to whatever hope leaves behind when hope itself has failed, Linden clings to one prophecy: You would not be driven by mistaken love to bring about the end of all things.

Back flap:
STEPHEN R. DONALSON is the author of the six volumes of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, a landmark in modern fantasy.  Every volume, beginning with Lord Foul's Bane in 1977, has been an international bestseller.  Donaldson returned to the series with The Runes of the Earth in 2004.  He lives in New Mexico.

Ater more than three decades, having attained bestseller status all over the world, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant reaches its conclusion.  This is a truly historic moment in fantasy, as Stephen R. Donaldson's innumerable fans learn of the final fate of the Land.

The worm of the World's End is roused, seeking the ruin of all things....

Compelled step-by-step to actions whose consequences they could neither forsee nor prevent, Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery have fought for what they love in the magical reality known only as "the Land."  Now they face their final crisis.  Reunited after their separate stuggles, they discover in each other their true power - and yet they cannot imagine how to stop the Worm of the World's End from unmaking Time.  Nevertheless, they must resist the ruin of all things, giving their last strength in the service of the world's continuance.

You risk much, as you have ever done.  Mayhap you will prevail.  If you do not, your worth is not thereby diminished.

"Donaldson build toward a staggering resolution of love, endurance, and self sacrifice."
- TOR.COM

[Donaldson's] work is remarkably distinct in its hero, its themes, its relationship to the real world."
- THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Donaldson's landmark historical fantasy series marks a milestone of epic storytelling."
-LIBRARY JOURNAL