The Last Dark: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 4

The grand finale to the Thomas Covenant saga moves slower than one might predict, given the apocalyptic atmosphere and scant amount of time remaining for the Land. The sun and stars have all gone out, the Worm of the World's End is approaching and mindlessly consuming everything in its path, and our (anti)heroes face daunting foes who continue to lash out in pain or in glee to create new immediate perils that must be dealt with first. Yet in that hazardous gloom, there are still lengthy scenes of grandiloquent dialogue, weighted with accusations, defenses, and pleading. It is a Stephen R. Donaldson story, after all.The moral crux of this series has shifted over these ten volumes, moving past the initial concern of Unbelief over the setting's reality, but it has stayed a profoundly introspective and deconstructive take on the fantasy genre. Lately, the primary focus has been on the importance of fighting for what's right even when all hope seems lost -- not merely because help and salvation can always arrive unexpectedly, but because the effort itself is a meaningful pursuit entirely apart from its actual success or failure. That's easier to say than to fully internalize and accept, however, and this novel finds its cast struggling with apathy and despair at the overwhelming odds arrayed against them. Simultaneously, there is a question of how much grace is owed to one's enemies, from the resentful Elohim to Lord Foul himself, and whether saving someone who wouldn't return the favor is more wisdom or folly.Readers who have enjoyed that philosophical aspect thus far will likely appreciate it here (and it's hard to imagine anyone even reaching this point otherwise), with the added poignance of finality that any great conclusion brings. There are surprising reunions and anxious farewells and incredible last feats of strength and dedication, not to mention the sweet and long-overdue development of Linden starting to call Covenant by his first name. It all builds to a tripartite climax as he faces off against his son channeling the Despiser, she seeks to redeem and unbind the eldritch amalgam She Who Must Not Be Named -- a sequence I feel works better than the creature's introduction in the previous title -- and her newfound child Jeremiah undergoes an internal ordeal with his own possessor, the sole surviving Raver.It's not a flawless ending. The Insequent are barely mentioned despite playing a fairly large role in the last couple books, and I would have personally liked to see a stronger payoff to the time travel element of this quartet, like bringing any of the Unhomed or some other champions forward from their place in established history to meet the challenges of this later era. I also don't love how the Worm is effectively neutralized off-screen, turning it into a bit of an afterthought to the emotional crisis involving the more personal adversaries rather than a proper spectacle in its own right. And a good editor probably could have trimmed down the often-superfluous levels of combat and journeying throughout.Overall, though, this is a fine sendoff to a realm rich in intricate worldbuilding and an assembly of complex characters who will forever mean a lot to me. I've adored falling back in and getting to know them all over again via this reread, as well as pushing myself to think critically and articulate why exactly they move me so for these reviews. I thank you for following along with me -- for as the people of Mithil Stonedown once said, "In accepting a gift you honor the giver." I honor Donaldson for sharing these tales with us, and you honor me by reading my thoughts on them.[Content warning for gore and mention of rape.]This volume: ★★★★☆Overall series: ★★★★☆Volumes ranked: 2 > 4 > 1 > 3

I believe this is the first time since A MAN RIDES THROUGH that the ending of a Donaldson novel has left me grinning from ear to ear.First, a little background geekery: I am a huge, unabashed fan of Stephen R. Donaldson, and have been since 1980 or so -- ever since I discovered Lord Foul's Bane in my local library and remembered that a college friend had said it was a terrific book. (Thank you, Elizabeth, wherever you are.) I've read all of his published work, I think, and have met him in person several times. In addition, I've been an active member of the message boards at kevinswatch.com for more than ten years (ask me about the EZ Board days -- on second thought, don't) and I count many of the posters there as real-life friends. One of those friends loaned me an ARC of this book, and this review is based on that version, although I've got the final one on my Kindle right now.The three novels that comprised the original Chronicles (over at the Watch, we call 'em the Chrons for short) were all published in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s, the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant were released. And then there was a 20-year hiatus while the author got on with living his life, learning what he needed to know in order to write the Last Chronicles.The setup for the series is this: Bestselling author Thomas Covenant contracts leprosy and his life falls apart. His wife leaves him, taking their infant son, and he becomes a pariah in his hometown. (Leprosy is still not a fun disease today, but it was scarier in the '70s, before there was a cure.) Covenant runs into a beggar who hands him a piece of paper that asks him about the necessity of freedom. Soon afterward, he finds himself translated to an alternate reality/parallel universe/place in his own head called the Land. There, he is cured of leprosy and revered for his white gold wedding band, as white gold is a conduit for a kind of power called wild magic. In addition, a bad guy named Lord Foul the Despiser claims anything Covenant does will play right into his hands. Covenant buys none of this; his life since his diagnosis has been harsh reality, and so he spends the first three books both doing and not doing stuff he regrets while he decides whether the Land is real -- and whether it even matters.In the Second Chrons, Covenant's experiences in the Land have changed him, but he still has work to do. Enter Linden Avery, a doctor new to town, but with a horrific past. As a child, her father forced her to watch him commit suicide; as a teen, she suffocated her abusive mother. She, too, meets up with the beggar, who tells her there is also love in the world. She is present when Covenant swaps places with his ex-wife, Joan, as the sacrificial victim of a cult. Both Linden and Covenant are then transported to the Land, where Lord Foul is in the process of destroying the ecosystem. Linden, it turns out, has a magical health-sense that allows her to use Earthpower to heal. Of course, the power can also be misused, and she has her share of missteps along the way. And she and Covenant fall in love.The Last Chrons open again in the real world, where Linden heads the local mental hospital in which Joan is a patient. She has also adopted Jeremiah, a boy whose hand was damaged in the same ritual in which Covenant was killed and who consequently suffers from dissociation disorder. This time, a whole bunch of people suffer fatal injuries in a gunfight before their translation to the Land -- Linden, Jeremiah, Joan, and Covenant's son, Roger. Roger has been turned by Lord Foul and is using his mad mother to trick Linden into bringing down the Arch of Time so Foul can escape the Land. Roger also kidnaps Jeremiah, and Linden will do almost anything to get the boy back -- including resurrecting Covenant.There's a lot to wrap up in this final book of the ten-book series, and Donaldson does an admirable job. As the book opens, Linden is coming to terms with Jeremiah's recovery, while Covenant must find his way back from the edge of the Sunbirth Sea where Joan died. The Worm of the World's End is coming -- it's beginning to gobble up stars -- and the Elohim mistrust Jeremiah's solution for protecting them. Covenant's leprosy is back, courtesy of Kevin's Dirt, and Linden is still kicking herself for not apologizing to Covenant's lost daughter Elena. And there's every indication that this journey in the Land is going to end where the whole thing began: in the bowels of Mount Thunder.THE LAST DARK has everything Donaldson fans love him for: big words, big ideas, and extreme peril; noble horses, Haruchai, and Giants; and Thomas Covenant. And in the end, as that beggar told Linden, there is also love in the world. I can't wait to read it again.

This story has kept me enthralled for a long time. I especially liked the creativity of the author, although I found the darkest passages hard to enjoy at times. The ending is as good as one could hope for, although I feel that the author finally hurried the story on a bit.

Since the first novel came out in 1977 up to this concluding novel, the tenth book, 2013, 36 years passed. I've started reading through all of them in a row and can conclude that the story is consistent from start to end. I enjoyed every bit of it. In the very last part things get a bit kitschy but I think that is the way it has to be.

Il decimo e ultimo volume della daga di Covenant è assolutamente all'altezza delle aspettative.Un ciclo fantasy maturo, che si rivolge ad un pubblico adulto, dove per adulto si intende una reale maturità e non semplicemente dallo stomaco forte.Globalmente un capolavoro

One of the things I have always loved about this series is how morbid it is - luck is really not on Thomas Covenant's side. But this final book in the series is more of a happy feel good story. This disappointed me a little but the characters and high standard of writing is still great and worth the 4 stars.

It's a book.