Blame Stephen Donaldson, Please...

Somewhere about twenty five years ago, I read my first book by Stephen Donaldson. It was titled, "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: The Unbeliever". It was promoted as a trilogy. Three books. Storyline over. On to the next author. Or so I thought. I was so wrong.

Because I learned of this author around 1985, I found that all three of the original trilogy had already been written and published, enabling me to skate from the end of one story right along to the next. In addition, Mr. D had already begun the second trilogy of the Chronicles, so I could continue the story through to the fifth book. Then, I had to wait for the sixth book to be written. (Sort of the way J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books. Hurry up and wait - at least a year!)

While I was waiting, I acquired my first dog, a yellow Labrador retriever. Bryn was named after one of the characters in one of those early books. In her third year, she gave birth to her first litter of puppies and I kept a male. I also named Bannor after one of the characters in the Chronicles. Kyra was born in Bryn's second litter, and I think she too was named from one of the Covenant books.

One of the things I love about Stephen Donaldson's books is that I can lose myself in the triumphs and struggles of good over evil in the battles to save The Land. No movie could ever do justice to the images I've created in my mind from the most minute detail to the most vast features he describes about the places that make up their world.

I read the last book in the trilogy when it came out and lamented the end of the series...until very recently. I learned that Donaldson decided that there should be four more books to make up "The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant". Wha? No one told me!! Three of the books have already been written. How did I miss that?

So, thanks to Amazon's fast shipping, all three books arrived last week. I couldn't help myself. I thought I'd just read a few chapters and then head back to the studio and work on my Summertime quilt. I really had the best intentions of finishing it over the weekend.

Before I knew it, I'd finished Book One of the final four...and Thomas Covenant (who I believed long dead a few books ago) was riding one of the majestic horses of lore across the plain toward the safety of The Keep - just as the book came to an end. ARGGGH! I was smiling from ear to ear. Yes! He was alive! But, I couldn't possibly stop reading there. I had to start the next book!

I began Sunday with hot coffee and cinnamon rolls - and my nose in "The Fatal Revenant". I managed to crochet for a few hours in the afternoon, but most of the weekend was spent immersed in a book. I was blissfully lost in the stories. Fantasy filled my waking hours and for a while I forgot some of the weight that had been bearing down on me of late. Stephen Donaldson brought Thomas Covenant back to life and together they have again taken me out of myself and plunked me right down in the middle of his struggles. I find myself flying through the pages and enjoying every single second.

So, there you have it. No finished projects. No new projects. No creating in the studio. Nothing to tell you unless you want details from the stories I'm reading. I'll be back in the studio soon, but until then, you know where I'll be. Engrossed in a great book...reading about friends old and new. If you'd like to blame anyone, please blame Stephen Donaldson. The man's a genius!

Note: You may have noticed that there are only five books in the photo (instead of nine - two sets of three and three of the final four). Years after the original two trilogies were printed, Donaldson reprinted the first and second trilogies into a single book for each three. I gave the original books to my niece and purchased the reprints for my library. The Final Chronicles are each in single hardcover books, so I have the three that are already in print and will add the fourth when it comes out in 2013. Dang! 2013. I guess that's good. I can get a lot of projects finished before I'll be able to read the last one.