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Stephen R. Donaldson
Stephen R. Donaldson was born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio, and now lives in New Mexico. He made his writing debut in 1977 with the Covenant trilogy. He received the John W. Campbell Award, and was named best New Writer of the Year shortly after his first published book which became an international bestseller. He writes Fantasy as well as Science Fiction stories.
Some people hate his writing, others have a love-hate relation with his works, and still others, like me, love his works. Donaldson adds another dimension to his stories which is not usually found in the Science Fiction and Fantasy 'genre'. I would categorize it as a dark side, or even diabolical, on the deeper psychological level, which is very much a part of human society, and which is, at times, too disturbing to dwell upon.
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Lord Foul's Bane
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Book One.
First Published in 1977.
Synopsis
Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, who is suffering from an illness which made him an outcast socially, suddenly finds himself in a strange world that also seems to be suffering from an illness. The Lords of the Land believe that he possesses the power to counter the degeneration of the world that is the doings of the evil Lord Foul. They see in Covenant the reincarnation of an ancient hero who was prophesied to save the world and its inhabitants. Covenant still does not believe in his responsibility, or, for that matter, in the power that he is claimed to possess, a power that he has no control over or any knowledge of how to use it.
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The Illearth War
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Book Two.
First Published in 1978.
Synopsis
After being back in the 'real' world for just a few days, Thomas Covenant again awakens in this magical Land where forty years have passed after his last visit. He is summoned by the Lords to help them in their fight against Lord Foul, who slowly unfolds his evil powers from the depth of his imprisonment which is held by magical bonds that is loosening by the years.
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The Power that Preserves
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Book Three.
First Published in 1978.
Synopsis
For a third time Thomas Covenant is being summoned by the Lords of Revelstone. As Lord Foul's power grows, the Land sickens and deteriorates further, and even the Lords become overpowered. The only way to stop this evil enemy is for Covenant to fight him in the Despiser's own lair, and to this end the Unbeliever has to make a dangerous journey to Foul's Creche.
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The Wounded Land
The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book One.
First Published in 1980.
Synopsis
4,000 years have passed after Thomas Covenant's last battle against Lord Foul. The ancient enemy of the Land has again found a way out of his imprisonment. Now Covenant is opposed by even greater forces on top of his personal despair, triggered by his progressing illness.
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The One Tree
The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book Two.
First Published in 1982.
Synopsis
Thomas Covenant goes on a dangerous quest beyond the borders of the Land to find the One Tree to forge a new Staff of Law that holds the key to the salvation of the Land. One of his companions on this riddled quest is Linden Avery who is also unwillingly plucked from the 'real' world for mysterious purposes that may be working against or in favor of Covenants goal.
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White Gold Wielder
The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book Three.
First Published in 1983.
Synopsis
Thomas Covenant learns through his battles internally, against his despair, and externally, against the evils of the Land, the secret of his magical power, and thereby gains control over it. Preparing himself for the final battle with Lord Foul, Covenant knows that the salvation of the Land also holds the answer to his own spiritual salvation.
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The Real Story
The Gap Series, Book One: The Gap into Conflict.
First Published in 1991.
Synopsis
"Angus Thermopyle was an ore pirate and a murderer; even the most disreputable asteroid pilots of Delta Sector stayed locked out of his way. Those who didn't ended up in the lockup--or dead. But when Thermopyle arrived at Mallory's Bar & Sleep with a gorgeous woman by his side the regulars had to take notice. Her name was Morn Hyland, and she had been a police officer--until she met up with Thermopyle.
But one person in Mallorys Bar wasn't intimidated. Nick Succorso had his own reputation as a bold pirate and he had a sleek frigate fitted for deep space. Everyone knew that Thermopyle and Succorso were on a collision course. What nobody expected was how quickly it would be over--or how devastating victory would be. It was common enough example of rivalry and revenge--or so everyone thought. The REAL story was something entirely different." (Excerpt from bn.com)
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Forbidden Knowledge
The Gap Series, Book Two: The Gap into Vision.
First Published in 1991.
Synopsis
"Beautiful, brilliant, and dangerous, Morn Hyland is an ex-police officer for the United Mining Companies--and the target of two ruthless, powerful men. One is the charismatic ore-pirate Nick Succorso, who sees Morn as booty wrested from his vicious rival, Angus Thermopyle. thermopyle once made the mistake of underestimating Morn and now he's about to pay the ultimate price. Both men think they can possess her, but Morn is no one's trophy--and no one's pawn.
Meanwhile, withing the borders of Forbidden Space, wait the Amnioin, an alien race capable of horrific atrocities. The Amnion want something unspeakable from humanity--and they will go to unthinkable lengths to get it." (Excerpt from bn.com)
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A Dark and Hungry God Arises
The Gap Series, Book Three: The Gap into Power.
First Published in 1992.
Synopsis
"Billingate: illegal shipyard, haven for pirates and brigands, where every vice flourishes and every appetite can be sated...gateway to the alien realm of the Amnion and clearinghouse for all they require to fulfill their mutagenic plans against humanity. It is here that beautiful UMCP cop Morn Hyland is about to be traded to the Amnion by the buccaneer Nick Succorso - an act of profiteering and revenge that pushes his crew to mutiny. Now Nick's survival depends on retrieving Morn's sixteen-year-old son "force-grown" by the Amnion, a boy struggling to gain his identity. To accomplish the rescue, Nick must turn to his mortal enemy Angus Thermopyle. Irrevocably altered, programmed for an unknown purpose, Thermopyle has apparently escaped captivity and fled to Billingate with the infamous double-dealer, Milos Taverner. Together, they will
mount a raid against a man called the Bill, illegal spaceport owner and traitor to the human race - and into the center of the most heavily defended shipyard in the universe. At Billingate the stage is set for confrontation, when the fate of Morn Hyland is to be decided in a kaleidoscopic whirl of plot and counterplot, treachery and betrayal. In A
Dark and Hungry God Arises, nothing is as it seems. As schemes unravel to reveal yet deeper schemes, the lives of Morn, Nick, and Angus may all be forfeit as pawns in the titanic game played out between Warden Dios, dedicated director of the UMC Police, and the Dragon, greed-driven ruler of the UMC. Here, the future of humankind hangs on the uncertain fortune of Morn Hyland in a daring novel of epic power and suspense,
relentlessly gripping from first page to last." (Excerpt from bn.com)
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Chaos and Order
The Gap Series, Book Four: The Gap into Madness.
First Published in 1994.
Synopsis
"As the planetoid Thanatos Minor explodes into atoms, a specially fitted cruiser escapes the mass destruction and hurtles into space only a step ahead of hostile pursuit. On board Trumpet is a handful of bedraggled fugitives from an outlaw world, old enemies suddenly and violently thrown together in a desperate bid for survival. Among this unlikely crew of allies are Morn Hyland, once a UMCP cop, now a prisoner to the electrodes implanted in her brain; her son, Davies, "force-grown" to adulthood by the alien Amnion and struggling to understand his true identity; the amoral space buccaneer Nick Succorso, whose most daring act of piracy could be his last; and Angus Thermopyle, unstoppable cyborg struggling to wrest control of his own mind from his UMCP programmers. Locked in a lethal battle against one another for control of Trumpet, they also find themselves the target of Punisher, a police ship whose human captain, Min Donner, is torn between her duty and her sympathy for the outlaw crew she's been ordered to capture. Yet as Min races to reach Trumpet in time, Warden Dios, the director of the UMC Police, receives a darker directive from the mysterious, semi-immortal Dragon, ruler of the UMC: Kill everyone aboard Trumpet except for the one person whose blood carries the mutagenic key to ultimate Amnion triumph - the ability to appear perfectly human. In a final titanic showdown in space, amid uncharted comets, planets, and asteroid swarms, these forces will converge in a contest of skill and survival on which our future - and the future of the galaxy - depends." (Excerpt from bn.com)
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This Day All Gods Die
The Gap Series, Book Five: The Gap into Ruin.
First Published in 1996.
Synopsis
"As the crippled starship Trumpet drifts in space, its drives sabotaged from within by a crewman tainted with an alien mutagen, a deadly game is being played out on a satellite near Earth in the headquarters of the UMC Police. In the wake of a suicide attack in the chambers of the Governing Council for Earth and Space, UMCP Director Warden Dios is preparing to expose the secret machinations of the Dragon, the corrupt head of the United Mining Companies. But Dios's own dangerous actions are about to come to light and may precipitate all-out war with the Amnion, leaving Dios - and all humanity - to pay a terrible price for what could be termed treason. Thought dead in space, Trumpet broadcasts to any ship in range the formula of the mutagen's antidote - a drug the UMC has suppressed for its own sinister purposes. A small band of battered survivors, these fugitives hold the key to Earth's future: Morn Hyland, a former UMCP cop whose obsession with the Amnion has grown so fierce she is becoming something even her son doesn't recognize; Angus Thermopyle, cyborg tool of the UMCP, released from his cybernetic enslavement and now testing the boundaries of his new freedom; Ciro Vasaczk, tormented by the damage done him by the Amnion mutagen - and by the damage he himself has done Trumpet while in thrall to the drug. Their escape from the Calm Horizons will prove to be only a temporary triumph if the alien combat craft survives its battle with the UMCP ship Punisher and returns to the Amnion with the antidote's formula - and the key to the destruction of all human life. Morn Hyland can see just one way out of their situation. As Min Donner and Punisher close in on the disabled Trumpet to arrest the fugitives, Morn prepares for a desperate gamble. To commandeer the police craft by any means necessary...and take it back to Earth. As Dios in Earth's orbit and Morn in deep space each make dire, far-reaching decisions, the Amnion act with swift fury, and suddenly Earth stands." (Excerpt from bn.com)
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Mirror of her Dreams
Mordant's Need, Volume I.
First Published in 1986.
Synopsis
"Terisa had been planning to spend another night home alone when a man appeared in her mirror--not as a reflection--he was in the mirror. Next, she found a strange young man lying on her floor telling her that she needed to return with him to an ancient kingdom." (Excerpt from bn.com)
"This first volume introduces the land of Mordant, beset from without by armies and monsters and from within by plots, dissension and madness. The search for a champion goes awry as the Congery of Imagers first lures poor little rich girl Terisa Morgan from our world, and then snatches a mysterious warrior whose futuristic weapons destroy part of the castle he is supposed to defend. Terisa rises to the challenge, quickly becoming a key figure, a wild card among the many cliques and powers vying to save or seize king and kingdom." (Excerpt from bn.com)
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A Man Rides Through
Mordant's Need, Volume I.
First Published in 1987.
Synopsis
"Terisa Morgan desperately needed to escape from Mordant. Everything that Geraden loved was about to be destroyed--unless the two of them could find a way to prevent it by using the talent for mirrors and Imagery that Terisa now knew they both possessed. If they failed, the kingdom would be lost--and she and Geraden would surely die." (Excerpt from bn.com)
"While the Alend army lays siege to Orison Castle, Terisa and Geraden strive to penetrate the secret maneuverings of a mad king and a senile wizard so that the evil threatening the land of Mordant can be named and defeated." (Excerpt from bn.com)
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Daughter of Regals & Other Tales
First Published in
Synopsis
"In his first collection of short fiction, the bestselling author of White Gold Wielder presents eight superb stories, including "Gilden-Fire," the famous "outtake" from Illearth War, and two brand new novellas written especially for this edition." (Excerpt from bn.com)
"Daughter of Regals is a fantasy novella concerning a unique royal line and an unusual conception of magic.
The Conqueror Worm is a deliciously creepy "horror" piece in which havoc is wreaked by one lowly centipede.
Ser Visal's Tale begins as a simple story told over several flagons of wine at the local inn, this novella ends with a surprising twist.
Gilden-Fire is the famous chapter about Korik of the Bloodguard and his mission to Seareach that was part of the original manuscript of The Illearth War, but omitted from the published version." (Excerpt from bn.com)
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