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| 2.5 stars out of 5 |
Thomas Covenant found himself once again summoned to the Land. The
Council of Lords needed him to move against Foul the Despiser who held the
Illearth Stone, ancient source of evil power. But although Thomas Covenant held
the legendary ring, he didn't know how to use its strength, and risked losing
everything....
I’ll admit that book 2 is an improvement over book 1, but
it’s a grudging admission. Having said
that, Thomas Covenant is STILL an ass, but the improvement is that this
installment isn’t all in Covenant’s POV.
Mind you, Hile Troy as narrator is only a small step upwards. What is it with the Lords’ magic that they
can only seem to snag “damaged” men from “our” world? At least Troy had some theoretical battle
knowledge to contribute [but he would probably be much better at mission
planning if he was less emotionally involved, à la Ender’s Game].
I hate that there are lots of female characters and all of
them are cardboard cutouts (mind you, even the vast majority of the male
characters are extremely under-developed, so I guess I shouldn’t bitch too
much). High Lord Elena wastes time
“massaging the brows” of upset men, instead of giving them a swift kick and
telling them to get over themselves. Especially
since Covenant and Troy both really need to get over themselves. Plus if a male High Lord spent time cooking
and cleaning up along the journey, we’d wonder what the heck was wrong with him—where
is his support staff? Elena’s
willingness to just go haring off after the Seventh Ward right before battle just
baffled me—once again, behaviour which wouldn’t be acceptable in a male
character in her position and I didn’t find acceptable for her either.
Pacing was a big issue for me in this book. This tale just whips you onward, giving no
respite, no hint that there is hope with which to buoy your spirit as the
battle unfolds. I kept waiting for a
switch, for a chapter to describe what Elena and Covenant were doing, for
example. Instead, I was getting beaten down, as the
army keeps on making heroic sacrifices and nothing is gained, they just face
another retreat when they are already completely worn down and worn out. Even a glimpse behind enemy lines would have
be an improvement, just to tear the gaze away from the grind of marching and
making a series of “last stands.”
Eventually, we get Covenant’s perspective, but I would have preferred
some kind of alternation between the two, rather than just doggedly following
one plot line to the end before starting in on the second plot line. And we never get a glimpse into the enemy
camp, to know what the good guys are up against.
My biggest beef, I think, is that the people don’t act like
any real people that I know. The people
of The Land are sheep-like in accepting that Covenant’s ring accords him
special treatment and in placing their faith in him and in Troy without any
suspicion or any real discussion. There
seems to be blind faith in their leadership by the council of Lords. The only emotions expressed by any characters
are those of anger and unhappiness—if you don’t count unbelievable insta-love
(which I don’t because it doesn’t exist).
[And women falling in love with their fathers—like that’s going to
happen except in Sigmund Freud’s wild imagination.]
2.5 stars, and that’s being generous.
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