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Stephen Reeder Donaldson (born May 13, 1947 in Cleveland) is an American fantasy, science fiction and mystery novelist. His works range from the conventional "space opera" style of science fiction to "sword and sorcery" fantasy.

Major Influences

Though often compared to J. R. R. Tolkien, Donaldson's stories are also strongly influenced by William Shakespeare, Mervyn Peake and the operas of Richard Wagner. The Thomas Covenant and Mordant's Need series also make use of the "alternate world" paradigm in a manner reminiscent of the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. A notable specific influence is Roger Zelazny's Amber series, which influenced Mordant's Need. Also, in the Gradual Interview section of his website, he mentions his deep study of Joseph Conrad, Henry James and William Faulkner to develop his narrative style.

The Covenant Books

Main article: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever

Donaldson's most celebrated character is Thomas Covenant, a cynical leprosy-sufferer, shunned and despised by society, who is destined to become the heroic saviour of an alternate Earth (or, perhaps, only of his own sanity?). Covenant struggles against the evil Lord Foul - "The Despiser" - who intends to break the physical universe (the Arch of Time) to escape its bondage and wreak revenge upon his arch-enemy "The Creator".

The story of Covenant was told originally across two trilogies of novels published between 1977 and 1983. A third series, "The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" began publication in 2004.

The First Chronicles:

  1. Lord Foul's Bane ISBN 0030227712
  2. The Illearth War ISBN 0030227763
  3. The Power that Preserves ISBN 0345257189

The Second Chronicles:

  1. The Wounded Land ISBN 0345348680
  2. The One Tree ISBN 0345348699
  3. White Gold Wielder ISBN 0345348702

The Last Chronicles:

  1. The Runes of the Earth ISBN 044101304X
  2. Fatal Revenant (coming in 2007)
  3. Shall Pass Utterly (still in planning)
  4. The Last Dark (still in planning)

Other works

Mordant's Need
  1. The Mirror of Her Dreams (1986) ISBN 0345459857
  2. A Man Rides Through (1987) ISBN 0345459849

The Gap Cycle (science fiction)

  1. The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story (1990) ISBN 0553295098
  2. The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge (1991) ISBN 0553297600
  3. The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises (1992) ISBN 0553562606
  4. The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order (1994) ISBN 0553572539
  5. The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die (1996) ISBN 0553573284

Short stories:

  • Gilden-Fire (1981) an incident which occurs during The Illearth War - actually written for that book but cut for narrative reasons as explained in the Author's Foreword. Published in the Daughter of Regals collection.
  • Daughter of Regals or Daughter of Regals and Other Tales (1984) ISBN 0345314433
  • Reave the Just and Other Tales (1998) ISBN 0553580140
  • Epic Fantasy in the Modern World: A Few Observations (1986)
  • What Makes Us Human The 1985 Annual World's Best SF (1985). Also published in Berserker Base edited by Fred Saberhagen.

The Man Who detective novels:

  • The Man Who Killed His Brother (1980) ISBN 0765341255
  • The Man Who Risked His Partner (1984) ISBN 0765341263
  • The Man Who Tried to Get Away (1990) ISBN 0765302055
  • The Man Who Fought Alone (2001) ISBN 0765341247

The first three The Man Who books were originally published under the name Reed Stephens and have subsequently been rereleased under Donaldson's own name.

External links

1947 births | American fantasy writers | American novelists | American science fiction writers | Living people

Stephen R. Donaldson | Stephen Reeder Donaldson | Stephen R. Donaldson | Stephen R. Donaldson | ステファン・ドナルドソン | Stephen R. Donaldson | Stephen R. Donaldson

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Stephen R. Donaldson".

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