The One Tree (The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 2)

This is the second book of the new trilogy and the fifth book in the series. The first three can stand alone, and the second trilogy probably could, as well, but it is best to think of this series as a sextet. While this is the slowest book of the six, Donaldson continues to have characters that are deep and well-developed; complicated, intelligent, and extremely sophisticated writing (the exact...more

This is the second book of the new trilogy and the fifth book in the series. The first three can stand alone, and the second trilogy probably could, as well, but it is best to think of this series as a sextet. While this is the slowest book of the six, Donaldson continues to have characters that are deep and well-developed; complicated, intelligent, and extremely sophisticated writing (the exact opposite of Hemingway's stunning simplicity and not far off from Faulkner's esoteric and obtuse complexity); and a riveting story. What gets introduced is the dawning realization by Covenant that, whether the Land and its people are real or not, he is beginning to care about them. This is NOT a quick, easy read. This IS deep, major fantasy on an epic scale.   hide