White Gold and White Gold Wielder (by Stephen R. Donaldson)

From Stephen R. Donaldson's 6th book in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever Series.

Wild Magic, graven in every rock

Contained for white gold to unleash or control.

Gold, rare metal, not born of the Land.

Nor ruled, limited, subdued by the Law, with which the Land was created.

And white, White Gold, because white is the hue of bone, structure of flesh,

Discipline of life.

 

A good series, unlike any other I've read.

My and my wife's white gold wedding bands. 

Best quote from my favorite character in the second Chronicles (and he uttered very few words):

"It is not death. It is purpose. We will redeem the Earth from corruption." Vain--Demondim-spawn, created by the Ur-viles.

Don't Ever Say a Fantasy Series Can't Make a Long-Lasting Impact

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Let's start off with this quote:

“...And he who wields white, wild magic gold is a paradox
For he is everything and nothing
Hero and fool
Potent, helpless
And with one word of truth or treachery
He will save or damn the earth
Because he is mad and sane
Cold and passionate
Lost and found.”

It's a song from Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.

I first read this series back in the early 1980s while in college. I've read it several times since, and occasionally glance back over certain chapters and pivotal events within the series. This is one of the series of books I studied while teaching myself to be a novelist.

If you ask me, it rivals the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien in epic scope, storytelling and creating a unique world, characters and cultures. Donaldson didn't create derivative works that included languages of the races and peoples, but as I read the Thomas Covenant Series, I felt the depth and complexity nevertheless.

I enjoyed the series so much that my wedding band is made of white gold. My wife has a white gold ring too. Well, because you never know ;)

I thought it'd look neat to show our rings
in conjunction with my
hardcover edition of Donaldson's book

You might, therefore, guess, I strongly recommend them. Lord Foul's Bane, I will admit, I started once, put it down as it was taking me a while to get through (and I had chemistry and calculus to study) but I came back to it and was and still am glad I did.

I'll close with one of my favorite quotes, which comes from The White Gold Wielder, spoken by Vain, Demondim-Spawn of the Ur-Viles, created for a secret purpose revealed at the end of the series--maybe it sort of gives a little bit away, but not much...

 "It is not death. It is purpose. We will redeem the Earth from corruption."

Who can argue with that objective?

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Writing: Studying and Improving

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Sometimes readers wonder, and even ask, how a writer improves.

While writing on a regular basis can help, it doesn't necessarily mean you're improving. Practising a flawed technique won't advance quality. Folks reading your work, pointing out weaknesses can help a writer focus. But how does a writer improve and overcome that weakness?

Here's how I do it...or attempt to:

When I come across an author/novel(s) that I really enjoy I often re-read them.

One of the benefits of reading novels is that it sets the foundation of storytelling for the writer. The writer gets an idea or feeling how it should be done, structure, flow, what works and what doesn't.

Then, I will re-read good novels again and again, but not for enjoyment. I'll mark pages as I go, noting how dialogue was written, action scenes were accomplished, and other things like description, wording and pacing. This gives me ideas on how a successful author managed what I might be struggling with, or working to improve. I compare how other authors accomplished the same thing by--you guessed it--re-reading their novels. Then I take what I observed/learned and merge it with my own writing style and projects.

It takes time--a lot of time, but I think it's the best way to learn and move forward.   Some of the authors I've studied:  

Roger Zelazny, especially The Chronicles of Amber, and A Night in the Lonesome October
Steven Brust, especially The Vlad Taltos Series
Stephen R. Donaldson, especially The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever
Laurel K. Hamilton, especially the Anita Blake Series (the early novels)

There are plenty more, but those are the main ones.

For a specific example, after finding a publisher for Flank Hawk, which I wrote as a standalone novel with the potential of continuing the storyline and characters into a series, I wanted to write Blood Sword as a novel that could be picked up and read without having to have read Flank Hawk. I also wanted readers of Flank Hawk to enjoy it, complementing while furthering the story and characters, but without feeling in any way redundant in what they already knew about the characters or the world they inhabit.

It took me about a year of reading and re-reading, and studying mainly works by Brust and Hamilton, in an effort to get the balance right--for providing backstory for Blood Sword. I wanted to blend it all into the storyline where needed, without detracting from the experience for those who'd read and enjoyed Flank Hawk. I noted when and how, through exposition, dialogue, and character observation, to accomplish this, since much of what happened in Blood Sword had its roots in Flank Hawk. It took about a year to do, and I think I got it right.

Really, what better way is there to learn how to write than by studying the works of successful writers?

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What caught my attention in Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson

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Below is a section of the third chapter of Lord Foul's Bane. It's what hooked me. A mixture of foreshadowing, including hints of some of the places and 'player's to come, not only in the first novel, but throughout the trilogy (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever).

The word choice, names, multiple titles--it just set the atmosphere for me. There were times the first novel proved hard to get through, especially as I was busy in college, but it really set up the rest of the trilogy well, and a read that I would argue rivals Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Anyway, here it is:

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… “I have had many names,” the voice said. “To the Lords of Revelstone, I am Lord Foul the Despiser; to the Giants of Seareach, Satansheart and Soulcrusher. The Ramen name me Fangthane. In the dreams of the Bloodguard, I am Corruption. But the people of the Land call me the Grey Slayer.” …

…“But I have wasted time enough. Now to my purpose. Heed me well, groveler. I have a task for you. You will bear a message for me to Revelstone—to the Council of Lords.

“Say to the Council of Lords and to High Lord Prothall, son of Dwillian, that the uttermost limit of their span of days upon the Land is seven times seven years from this present time. Before the end of those days are numbered, I will have the command of life and death in my hand. And as a token that what I say is the one word of truth, tell them this: Drool Rockworm, Cavewight of Mount Thunder, has found the Staff of Law, which was lost ten times a hundred years ago by Kevin at the Ritual of Desecration. Say to them that the task appointed to their generation is to regain the Staff. Without it, they will not be able to resist me for seven years, and my complete victory will be achieved six times seven years earlier than it would be else.

“As for you, groveler: do not fail with this message. If you do not bring it before the Council, then every human in the Land will be dead before ten seasons have passed. You do not understand—but I tell you Drool Rockworm has the Staff, and that is a cause for terror. He will be enthroned at Lord’s Keep in two years if the message fails. Already, the Cavewights are marching to his call; and wolves, and ur-viles of the Demondim, answer the power of the Staff. But war is not the worst peril. Drool delves ever deeper into the dark roots of Mount Thunder—Gravin Therndor, Peak of Fire-Lions. And there are banes buried in the deeps of the Earth too potent and terrible for any mortal to control. They would make of the universe a hell forever. But such a bane Drool seeks. He searches for the Illearth Stone. If he becomes its master, there will be woe for low and high alike until Time itself falls.

“Do not fail with my message, groveler. You have met Drool. Do you relish dying in his hands?”

The voice paused, and Covenant held his head in his arms, trying to silence the echo of Foul’s threats. This is a dream, he thought. A dream! But the blindness of the mist made him feel trapped, encapsulated in insanity. He shuddered with the force of his desire for escape and warmth. “Go away! Leave me alone!”

“One word more,” Foul said, “a final caution. Do not forget whom to fear at the last. I have had to be content with killing and torment. But now my plans are laid, and I have begun. I shall not rest until I have eradicated hope from the Earth. Think on that and be dismayed!”

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Yes, I think Lord Foul makes a pretty good villain.

Fantasy & Sci Fi Blogger Award

I received this award from writer Angie Lofthouse. Very cool and much appreciated!

Aubrie Dionne created the award for blogs that promote the genres of Fantasy and Science Fiction through writing, reviews and interviews. The rules to pass on the award are that recipient must state five favorite sci-fi/fantasy books or movies that have inspired them in some way.

There are many to select from, but here five of them (books only) from the top tier, in no particular order:

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks: Many years back my sister borrowed this book from the local library and I was the one who read it (and re-read it) for the better part of the month--and I borrowed it again on my card a month later. It really sparked my imagination and put me on the path toward reading fantasy.

The Illearth War (actually the first entire First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) by Stephen R. Donaldson: He created The Land, a world as broad and intricate as Tolkien's Middle Earth, but totally unlike Middle Earth. Populated with unique peoples and creatures (the Haruchai and Ur-Viles, for example) the story's scope, conflict and language really kept my attention. There's a reason the wedding bands of my wife and I share are white gold. ;)

Jhereg (part of the ongoing The Vlad Taltos series) by Steven Brust: A friend mentioned this series when I was in college, but I didn't pick up on them until much later. The snappy dialogue and the way each novel in the series is a bit different in structure and focus has kept my interest and has helped me along as a writer through the different techniques used.

The Guns of Avalon (really the first five books in the Chronicles of Amber) by Roger Zelazny: Although I've read these, the audio versions read by Roger Zelazny himself, really brings the story and characters to life. A great read that involves mystery and politics (in the royal court sense) matched with a creative storyline and characters. His use of first person POV to create a world (actually universe) with such diverse characters and conflict provided me with a host of ideas how to write in that POV.

The WorldWar series by Harry Turtledove: A great alternative history series based around an alien invasion during the height or World War II. I really enjoyed the historical aspect and characters combined with science fiction. The way Turtledove used different characters (human and alien) to bring so many aspects of the global conflict to the reader, I found very effective. How he introduced so many characters, and made them memorable to the reader, provided a great example for me to employ (but on a smaller scale).

I would like to pass this award on to:

Erica Hayes, Urban Fantasy Author (The Shadowfae Chronicles)

Kim Smith, author of the recent release, A Mirror in Time.

If you get a chance, visit their blogs and check out their works!

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In addition to the five, I want to mention just a few of the other authors who've had a big influence on my writing: C. Dean Andersson, Elizabeth Boyer, Michael Moorcock, JRR Tolkien, Sterling E. Lanier, Dennis McKiernan, Fred Saberhagen, and Frank Herbert (among others).

Poetry and Songs in the Works of Stephen R. Donaldson

Stephen R. Donaldson is a best-selling author. Among his most recognized works would be the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever novels.

At some time in the future, I will write a reviews of the first two trilogies in the series. Mr. Donaldson is currently completing The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, but I won’t start reading them until he has completed The Last Chronicles—I don’t like waiting once I start a good series.

One of the many things I find interesting in Donaldson’s writing are some of the songs and poems that appear in his works. The two listed below appear in the first Thomas Covenant novel, Lord Foul’s Bane:

These are the pale deaths
which men miscall their lives:
for all the scents of green things growing,
each breath is but an exhalation of the grave.
bodies jerk like puppet corpses,
and hell walks laughing.


Something there is in beauty
which grows in the soul of the beholder
like a flower:
fragile—
for many are the blights
which may waste
the beauty
or the beholder—
and imperishable—
for the beauty may die,
or the beholder may die,
or the world may die,
but the soul in which the follower grows
survives.

Both appear early in the Lord Foul’s Bane and set the tone for the first trilogy, if not the entire series. The first poem included in this post is one thought of and pondered by Thomas Covenant, a leper and main character. The second example is a song sung by Lena, a young girl of the Land who first finds and befriends Thomas Covenant.

Both are grim, yet the second offers hope. They reflect Covenant’s mind-set as opposed to that of the defenders of the Land fending off despair as the conflict with Lord Foul the Despiser grows, foreshadowing the utter destruction faced by all that is beautiful, healthy and free. The complicating factor is that Thomas Covenant is the one tasked to defend the Land and its people against their ancient foe, something Covenant has no desire to do.

As a writer, I admire Donaldson’s ability to craft poems and songs that blend so well with the history, characters, and conflicts in his works, adding to their depth and quality. For me, writing poetry is a difficult thing, and those who know me know my knowledge of music and ability carry a tune, let alone write one—it’s nil.

Note: The cover I posted is my favorite of the many editions of Lord Foul’s Bane that have been published over the years.