Gradual Interview
(answers from January 2005, as of Jan 11 2026, 11:27:40 PM)
www.StephenRDonaldson.com
© 2004 by Stephen R.Donaldson

Haxson

While searching the web I stumbled over this site:

http://www.geocities.com/jmur9999/books.htm

As far as I can see the site has the complete chronicles (six books) available as text.

Unless the books have been released to the public it looks like a serious case of copyright infringement.
If it isn't, please disregard this message.

You’re right, this is significant copyright infringement, otherwise known as *stealing*.  But Ballantine Books, the holder of the copyright, has known about this for a long time, and has apparently chosen not to take any action.  And a number of people have expressed an interest in e-versions of the “Covenant” books.  So until Ballantine does get around to taking appropriate action, I say, What the hell.  If you want any of the “Covenant” books in a poorly-scanned .rtf file, help yourself.  And if you feel guilty about doing this (as I would), the solution is simple:  buy an (extra?) copy of the physical book(s) to balance out the moral equation.

(01/01/2005)

Mark Sanges

Dear Steve,
You have ruined me sir! I must protest the absolute wonderfulness that is The Runes of the Earth. I picked up my copy the day it was released and finished it in a matter of 4 or 5 days and now I am ruined! As an avid reader (especially of fantasy fiction), I typically read 3-4 books a month and since completing Runes I have been entirely unable to immerse myself in any other novel so far. Every single book I pick up pales by comparison. The characters, settings, plots and counterplots, and everything else that goes into your works simply put the rest of the field of writers in this genre to shame. Even old favorites seem pale and dry when I try to re-read them now.

That said, I do have a couple of quick questions. (1) How is your book tour going? I know you find such tours grueling, so I hope you are bearing the burden well and will soon be able to return to a more normal life. (2) When will Book 2 of the last chronicles be ready?! The ending of Runes left me breathless for more. And to end it *THERE* simply had to be an exercise in planned torture by you for all of your fans. You had to know we would all be saying, "I can't believe it ended THERE!" 

All I can say is well done. But you should probably express some form of apology to all the other fantasy writers out there whose works I can no longer become absorbed in. As I said, you've ruined me! Thank you so much for ALL of your books (btw, the Gap series is my favorite of your works, with Covenant taking a very close second) and for participating in such an open forum with your readers and fans. All my best to you and your family.

Sincerely,
Mark Sanges

I know you’re mostly kidding around when you say that I’ve ruined you for other fantasy books.  But in the same vein:  I don’t think I owe “all the other fantasy writers” an apology; I think *they* owe *you* one.

1) The fact that I’m answering this question suggests that I survived the book tours.  I suspect that my publishers would say the tours went “well” but not “great.”  For myself, I simply concentrate on trying to get through the experience intact--and then on forgetting the whole thing as soon as possible.

2) Eventually this interview will include some form of FAQ for such questions.  Until then, I’ll keep repeating:  hope to see “Fatal Revenant” in two years; expect to see it in three.

(01/01/2005)

Jim

Mr Donaldson,

I just have a couple of questions.

1) How much does your environment impact your ability to write. It would be unjustified to call myself a writer...yet...but I do a bit of writing, and I am currently trying to write a story, but I have found that my environment affects my ability to write. I am currently having a hard time, because I like peaceful quiet places where I have a nice pastoral view. My room is dreary and dark and I find it hard to "tap into" my creativity. So I was wondering if and how your environment impacts your writing.

2) I seem to have noticed a stylistic shift in your writing over the years and would like your comment if you don't mind. The First and Second Covenant books were very descriptive. I have actually heard people complain that this is an aspect of the books they didn't like, although I absolutely loved it. It gave me a vivid picture of the people and places and made the beauty of the Land really concrete for me. But I noticed, or I think I noticed, with the Gap series that there was less detailed descriptiveness. In the Gap books, I attributed this to the environment. I mean, they were in space for the most part. How descriptive can you be? But I think I am noticing this in the Runes of the Earth as well. The style seems similar to the Gap books with less in the way of descriptive detail. Now I can see a justification for this in the story itself with the introduction of Kevin D. (don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read it yet), which would make a lack of descriptive detail integral to the story itself. Is this a conscious device on your part, is it the result of stylistic evolution, am I off my rocker, or is there some other explanation? The third is quite a distinct possibility, so don't hesitate to say so if that is the answer. :)

Thank you in advance for answering, and... I don't want to be too obsequious here but... I absolutely drool whenever I hear another book of yours is coming out. You have spoiled all other fantasy for me. Everything else seems trite and predictable after Covenant. But maybe that's just me. :)

Jim

PS Sorry if you've answered either of these, but it is a long gradual interview, even with the filter. So I ask your forgiveness in advance. And PS, I love the covenant books, but I like the Man Who books too. Enough to pay unforgivable amounts of money for some of them used when they were out of print. If I'd known you were going to write a fourth... :)

1) I like to think that my environment doesn’t affect my *ability* to write.  But there’s no doubt that my environment has a profound effect on my ability to *keep on* writing.  In other words, I can write almost anywhere, if I have to--for short periods of time.  But the less congenial the environment is, the more effort I have to expend in order to concentrate effectively; and therefore the more quickly I become too tired to keep going.  So in practice the right environment (I mean right for me:  everyone is different) is critical.

2) I’m only aware in comparatively subtle ways of a stylistic shift between the first six “Covenant” books and the most recent one.  In particular, I know that there are a few technical methodologies which I developed for the GAP books which I’m reluctant to abandon now, for the simple reason that I like what can be accomplished with them.  At the same time, I’ve worked very hard at continuing the essential stylistic “spirit,” the “feel,” of the original “Covenant” prose.  And I’m not conscious of being “less descriptive” than I was years ago.  (Certainly my current editor usually feels that I’m *too* descriptive.)

No, what I’m aware of is a shift in my narrative priorities.  Putting the matter as crudely as possible, my characters now spend a lot more time talking to each other, and a lot less time moving around (and gazing at) the landscape.  This is to some extent a conscious choice (I’ve written at length about my growing emphasis on the “dignity” of my characters) and to some extent an evolutionary change (after all, you can hardly expect me to be the same person I was 25 years ago; so naturally I think in different ways, and want different things, than I did back then).

(01/01/2005)

Peter B.

Stephen,

I just finished reading Runes of the Earth. How wonderful it was to return to the Land! Thank you!! I'm hanging on with anticipation for Fatal Revenant.I'm sure you can hardly wait to begin actually writing it.

My question: At the end of The Power That Preserves Lord Mhoram states, "...we will not devote ourseles to to any Lore which precludes Peace. We will gain lore of our own--we will strive and quest and learn until we have found a lore in which the Oath of Peace and the preservation of the Land live together. We will serve Earthfriendship in a new way."

During the "Soothtell" in The Wounded Land Covenant learns a bit more about what happened after his victory over the Despiser. [Mhoram} commenced a search for new ways to use and serve Earthpower. Guided by his decision, Councils for generations after him had used and served,performing wonders."
I won't ask what new Lore Mhoram and others found. 
But did their decision to find another way, one not subject to Corruption, result at ALL in the coming of the Clave and the forthcoming Masters ineffective guardianship? 

I’ll have to refer to you back to earlier discussions of the Oath of Peace because I don’t want to re-explain the insight which allowed Mhoram to become more effective than his immediate predecessors, even though he lacked the Staff of Law.  The point is this:  for a long time, the people of the Land saw the Oath of Peace as a proscription against certain emotions, while Mhoram learned to see it as a prescription for certain behaviors.  In so doing, he opened the door for his own actions, and for the actions of others, to be galvanized, energized, empowered by previously-rejected emotions.  Now, speaking as a student of the martial arts, I believe this to be A Good Thing--as long as no one re-creates the conditions which led to the formulation of the Oath of Peace in the first place.  And those conditions were:  action *determined* by emotion (Kevin and the Ritual of Desecration, Trell and the devastation of The Close) rather than action determined by conscience and then *energized* by emotion (“Lord Mhoram’s Victory”).

Well, the unfortunate fact is that emotions are messy, wisdom is rare, and conscience can be misled.  In a very real sense, therefore, I think that when Mhoram removed the “proscription against certain emotions” and replaced it with the “prescription for certain behaviors” he did indeed open the door for the (eventual) emergence of the Clave.  (There’s a *reason* why religions tell you how to feel--and it isn’t just because religions are about control [although they certainly are].  They’re also trying to avoid the dangers inherent in letting emotion determine action.  Just to pick one example:  history has shown us over and over again that punishing people for murder is a less effective deterrent than teaching them that rage, jealousy, and greed are evil.)  An inevitable effect of unleashing emotion--even in the best of all possible causes--is that for some people emotion will then begin to overwhelm wisdom/conscience/morality.

So I think that Mhoram’s insight made the Clave possible.  Does this mean he made a mistake?  Far from it.  Consider the alternative:  Mhoram stays trapped within the confines of the “old” Oath of Peace; the Lords are defeated; Revelstone is over-run; and Covenant’s victory over Lord Foul does nothing to prevent a kind of cultural Dark Age (one which, in fact, closely resembles the state of affairs in “The Runes of the Earth”).

In practice, however, it was not Mhoram’s insight which led to the “ineffective guardianship” of the Masters:  it was the vacuum of culture and lore left by the Clave’s defeat which inspired the Masters to take on a challenge that became too big for them.

(01/01/2005)

Bryan Tannehill

Dear Mr. Donaldson,

Congratulations on the success of Runes.  You'd probably be surprised to know I found "Runes" at a Navy exchange overseas two days after it's release.

   Something occurred to me about your writing style and its potency while I was reading "The Illearth War" again.  You say you are not a visual writer but an emotional one, butI wondered how the places you describe so sparingly can seem so detailed in my mind's eye.  It later occurred to me that by evoking an emotion in a reader, you make them "fill in the blanks" with a place or setting that matches the emotion.  Describing Earthenroot made me think of being with my father when he got me a sneak preview (legally) tour of Karchner caverns.  The emotions you sought to evoke about Andelaine immediately made me mentally conjure up the Baldy Trail in Arizona, one of the most ecologically and geologically diverse places I've found.  Even Succorso's ship immediately drew up in my mind's eye the ineriors of a run-down 30 year old ship I'd served on whose captain was a screaming, raving tyrant. Is this something you thought about conciously, to give give a short emotive description and rely on the reader's similar emotional attachments to places to fill in the blanks?  For me, this has been the case, and because of it your tightly worded descriptions yield a much richer and detailed mental picture than other less effecient authors.  I've referred an aspiring writer who works for me to this interview, it's a remarkable insight into so many facets of being a writer and an author.  Thank you again for fielding these questions.

Very Respectfully,
Bryan Tannehill

The short answer is:  yes, this is both a conscious choice and a natural inclination.  I’m not a particularly visual person myself, so of course I want the reader to do as much of the “work” as possible.  <grin>  After all, communication through prose is always an interactive process, even though the “interactors”--the writer and the reader--are not physically present to each other, and are also separated in time.  And I’ve noticed that the writers who are most successful at making *me* see--and feel--are those who provide emotive and poetic descriptions rather than visually literal ones.

(01/01/2005)

Neil Parr

Perhaps a minor point but I was just wondering why the Last Chronicles aren't a trilogy?  Saying that I'm not complaining as each of Stephens books are a joy.

I’m truly surprised that this question keeps coming up.  What’s so special about a trilogy?  Why does anyone think it’s odd that I would choose some other format?

Well, repeating things I’ve said earlier:  I’ve only actually written one trilogy in my life, the original “Chronicles.”  “The Second Chronicles” was planned in four volumes:  it only became a trilogy when Lester del Rey waved his editorial wand and made it so.  “Mordant’s Need” is in four parts.  The GAP books are, in effect, an extended drumroll followed by four books.  I can’t explain why; but my creative impulse seems to work more naturally in four-part structures than in three (in symphonies, one might say, instead of in concertoes).  The structure of “The Last Chronicles” *suits* me in some fundamental, and entirely inarticulate, way.

(01/01/2005)

Michael Rowlands

Mr. Donaldson,
In response to what was written last month in the gradual interview I would like to state that I find your books thought-provoking and intelligent.  I am about to start a PhD in Psychology, and have found that many of your themes in the Chronicles and the Gap 'resonate' with what I have studied.  Particularly, the concepts of the inner-despiser and redemption.  

Anyway, my question regards redemption and the amnion mind.  Given that some people go so far to seek redemption and the amount of energy of trying to seek it, what would be the effect of being converted to Amnion?  Would the guilt become subsumed by the mindset of the amnion? I am curious to know considering what an interesting character Marc Vestabule was;  complex because of his past fears and the amnion mind.

From my perspective, what made Marc Vestabule interesting was the way in which he was trapped between identities:  no longer fully human, but certainly not fully Amnion; imperfectly able to function in both realities.  The Amnion themselves don’t strike me as particularly interesting.  They’re too single-minded:  for them, the whole concept of conflict between individuals, or between groups of individuals, is inherently meaningless.  I’m far more fascinated by the way in which humankind’s multifarious weaknesses can suddenly become strengths in the face of something as truly alien as single-mindedness.

(01/01/2005)

Thor Hammersen aka Briny the Pirate (reverse-oblique-inverted-hero)

Greetings and salutations Mr. Donaldson,

first off, Thank you.

 now that the important part of my message is out of the way and most of the questions I could ever have possibly thought to ask you have been answered here,  I'm left with this one: do you have a written copy of the speech by your father that helped to inspire TCoTCtU, and is there any possibility that it could be posted on this site?

Again, Thank you

Best wishes T.H.

My father never wrote out any of his “talks.”  And I was only half listening anyway, since I was in that creative zone where other things inspire thoughts which quickly leave their origins far behind.  So I couldn’t reproduce that original talk even if I wanted to.  Which, actually, I don’t.  I do still have what you might call a research paper that my father wrote on the subject of leprosy for my edification; and it’s really nothing more than an emotionless recitation of facts.  I wouldn’t inflict it on anyone.

(01/01/2005)

Stephen Collings

Dear Stephen,

Thanks as always for your fantastic writings!

A wee request: Please, when you start "Fatal Revenant", do post the happy news on your news board, so we can all celebrate and wish you good health!  :-)

As always, I wish you an exciting time writing it! 

Best wishes, Stephen.

I avoid doing this sort of thing for various reasons, one of which is that I dislike the sensation that people are looking over my shoulder, and another of which is that I don’t want to turn this into a “tease.”  But since you asked so nicely <grin>, I’ll say just this once that I have in fact “broken ground” on Book Two, and that--changing metaphors as violently as possible--I’m juggling an enormous number of balls as fast as I can.

(01/01/2005)

Pam Chinery

Mr. Donaldson,

Thanks for answering my previous question.  Here is one last one from me.  I did run it through your filter, and evidently it hasn't been asked yet.

When my husband gave me "Lord Foul's Bane" to read thirteen years ago, I started a little game with him.  From the beginning, I hoped your books would eventually be made into movies. So independently, we made up our own "dream team" of actors to cast the characters.  Not necessarily superstars (in fact, we tended away from them), but to see who embodied our own mental pictures of the characters.  

So here's the question.  Who, if you could have anyone, and money was no object, would you cast for Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery? (Because, of course, all the books would be made into movies -grin-).  My husband says Christopher Walken and Holly Hunter. 

It's strange.  I used to (mildly) enjoy playing Cast The Movie.  But now that serious movie people are making a serious attempt to acquire financing for a "Covenant" film, I'm no longer interested.  Doubtless this is self-protective:  I'm trying hard to avoid expectations and disappointments.  In an entirely personal, and rather peculiar, way, this has ceased to be a safe topic for me.  <sigh>  At this point, I really can't afford to worry about whether Justin Timberlake gets cast as Linden Avery.

(01/01/2005)

Ryan H

Mr Donaldson,

I have noticed a recurring theme in the TC books that I find the most appealing. Many of the sequences of your stories and sub-stories culiminate to a climax chapter. I speak not of action, but of fortitude and pressure-driven dialog by either Covenant or Linden. I call these chapters the "zinger" chapters whereby so much inadequency or damaging innocence or blind conviction of the Land characters forces Covenant or Linden to blow characters apart with shock treatment. The most entertaining aspect of that is that you have a realistic protaganist doing that in a fantasy setting. This makes my suspension of disbelief while reading very plausible! Does the extremes of a fantasy setting make these zingers easier to accomplish? Do you put yourself in Linden or Covenant's place as if you were there listening to Haruchai spout off about the impossibilities (and caveats) of perfect service or the Lords thinking that all the world's answers come in the form of a stick and some humming stones? Or how about the time, Covenant told Foamfollower just where he could stick his habitual laughter? ect....

Thank you so much for your time!

I'm not sure I know quite what your question is.  Certainly the way I organize my stories (including, but not limited to, how I break them down into chapters) is deliberate.  But does writing fantasy make this easier to do?  Not that I know of.  It's clear that all of my fiction deals in "extremes" of one kind or another.  That seems inherent to the way I think.  It isn't affected by the setting (fantasy, sf, mystery).

(01/07/2005)

Matthew Orgel (The Dreaming)

What I was asking [in my previous question] was did you plan from the start to bring Hollian back to life? It was a very strange relief I felt when Cear Caveral brought her back. 

All I was really asking though was if you meant her resurrection to feel like a complete vindication for the pain you put us through upon her death. (I am trying to word it as best I can and I am having trouble) Or did you want that feeling of strange, reluctant relief? I was frankly a little confused. It felt a little strange, and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel. On one hand it felt like a cop-out. You get the emotional Impact of killing a principle without the impact that it would have on the story. 

Your completely shot in the dark response though reveals that I was correct in my other feeling. That somehow Cear-Caveral breaking the law of life was more important than Just brining back a dead character. 

I somehow got this image of you in front of a computer (I know you used a typewriter, but I don't think in terms of them. I am a very young man) gleefully killing her off, and then saying "oh $#@$, I need her in the story again" and finding a way to bring her back. I am glad I was wrong, bit it was an amusing thought nonetheless.  

As a matter of storytelling principle, I don't believe in jerking my readers around.  So if something in what I've written makes you feel jerked around, you can be pretty sure that there's Something Else Going On.  (And keep in mind that I know my stories before I write them--especially true in the case of the first six "Covenant" books--so the scenario you've imagined isn't likely to happen.)  In "The Second Chronicles," it was absolutely essential that somebody who knew what was going on, and who wanted to help Covenant save the Land, broke the Law of Life.  But since that somebody was clearly going to be one of the Good Guys, he/she/it had to have a pretty damn good reason for taking action.

The fact that Hollian's resurrection is also essential to "The Last Chronicles" is simply not a good enough excuse for, well, "toying with the reader's affections."  By my standards, if what I'm doing isn't fully justified by the story I'm actually telling, then it isn't justified at all.

(01/07/2005)

Lono

In the Chronicles, it has been established that things that have to do with the Land have seeped through into Covenant and Linden's world, and that time moves at a completely different pace.

I presumed that, at least to me,  that the snake bite and venom in the First Chronicles had some ties to the Second. I know this is a stretch, but, since in the WHGB section and Lord Foul's Bane there was mention that Covenant's disease came completely out of left field, is there any correlation between this and Kevin's desecration in the legend of the Land?  

Well, I can't argue with you.  But I don't think of it that way myself.  From my perspective, any "seepage" from the Land into the "real world" didn't start until fundamental Laws essential to the Land's existence had begun to break down.  Certainly I consider the snake bite in the first trilogy and the venom in the second to be "seepage" in the opposite direction.  So, in terms of Covenant's psychology (his need in the first trilogy to believe that the Land is a dream), obviously you could argue that Kevin's Ritual of Desecration also represents "seepage" from the "real world" into the Land.  But I don't see any evidence to indicate that anything "seeped" from the Land to the "real world" until after the first trilogy.

(01/07/2005)

Bryan J. Flynn

Stephen, bravo on the release of "Runes of the Earth." I just finished it for the second time - the first being a sprint, the second a walk - and it’s a remarkable start. Open sites like this can diminish a fan’s praiseworthy reaction, but Runes is masterful art. Reading it has been a treat on many levels: thank you. I wish you all the best (luck, happiness, speed?) in your work on the chronicles.

My question is: why the heck didn’t Ballantine publish the Last Chronicles? Nothing against Putnam’s publishing (the book is excellent) but I find it hard to believe Ballantine was not willing to support these books. The Covenant series is popular and widely read, and I’m certain there will be a wide interest in the Last Chronicles.

My own impression is the release of Runes is under the radar for a lot of your audience thanks to little advance work. I vividly recall seeing a large ad in *Rolling Stone* for the GAP series back in the early 90s; why so little for Runes? I found out about its release as a lark when in July I found this site! Can you shed some light on Ballantine’s decision?

Yours,

Bryan

Ballantine Books, like several other publishers, expressed very little interest in "The Last Chronicles" because they considered--and perhaps still consider--me a has-been.  (In their defense:  I do write more and more slowly as I get older; and nothing that I've published in past 20 years has sold even 10% as well as "Covenant"--which naturally makes publishers think that the success of "Covenant" was an aberration, perhaps nothing more than a symptom of the zeitgeist of the late 70's and early 80's.)

Jennifer Hershey at Putnams bought "The Last Chronicles" because she was my editor for the GAP books and she believes in me.  In fact, she believes that I deserve to be published whether my books make money or not.

It's true that "The Runes of the Earth" has not been as well promoted (at least in the US) as the first "Covenant" books were.  But we all lived in a different world back then.  Publishers could afford to take more chances in how they marketted books.  And Judy-Lynn del Rey was the publisher of DEL REY/Ballantine.  She was a marketting genius.  In addition, she received unprecedented support from her bosses.  That combination of circumstances won't recur.  It can't:  the mega-corporations which own all of modern publishing won't allow it because they can't understand it.

And keep in mind as well:  Bantam's attempts to promote the GAP books failed dismally.  What good is an ad in "Rolling Stone" if it doesn't sell books?

(01/07/2005)

Tony Powell

Of all the generous glimpses you've given us into your writing process, the most intriguing to me is the notion of knowing how it all ends before you begin.

How literally should we take this? Do you know who, when, where and how everyone and everything will turn out specifically before you even begin? Surely not because elsewhere you speak of sometimes getting on the wrong track and having to "go back and figure out where things began to go wrong."

I would've imagined that many, many characters (Nom, e.g.) presented themselves long after your writing had begun, the story and its people appearing around each bend, so to speak. Not all could be conceived so completely from the first. Could they?

You should take it very literally.  As I keep saying, I can't write at all unless I know "how it all ends."

However, what this means in practice has changed over the years.  As I've explained elsewhere, the first six "Covenant" books were meticulously planned *in toto* before I began writing.  Nom certainly came as no surprise to me:  I had planned on that creature from the beginning.  (Of course, there *were* surprises for me throughout the writing of those books.  But those surprises revolved around "personality" rather than "function."  Saltheart Foamfollower's personality was my biggest surprise in the whole of the first six books, followed closely by Pitchwife's personality, and by Lord Hyrim's.)

But since those days, I've become considerably more flexible.  I still know exactly "how it all ends," but I no longer feel a need to pre-plan every single action and character along my way toward that end.  Just one example:  in the GAP books everything about Sorus Chatelaine came as a (wonderful) surprise to me.  So your conception of how I work is much more accurate now than it once was.

(01/07/2005)

Mike G

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Spoilers - The Runes of the Earth

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(01/07/2005)

Daljit Singh Kainth

Thank you for your visit to London, i really enjoyed your talk and look forward to the last chronicles. heres the question i was to nervous to ask during the book signings, did you and in particular your publisher think it a risk to have your main character suffer from leprosy and 
commit rape so early on in the book and thereby loose any sympathy that the reader may have had to what  is the "hero". Is immortality tough.

It is to Lester del Rey's eternal credit that he never blinked at Covenant's leprosy, or at the rape of Lena.  He understood perfectly that such things were essential a) to the story itself, and b) to distinguish what I was doing from everyone else's work.  Of course he knew that he was taking a risk (although it wasn't as big a risk as you might think, considering how little he paid me).  But he was always ready and able to trust his own judgment.

"Is immortality tough."  Is that a question?  If it is, I'll let you know when I get there.  The only thing I can tell you at the moment is that I find mortality plenty difficult enough.

(01/07/2005)

Dean Ambroz

Firstly, thank you for your transports to the Land and to Amnion space. 
I am surprised and delighted that his foulness is up to his old tricks and can't wait to begin 'RUNES'.  
I note that in response to an earlier question, you believe the GAP series is complete, yet the "Last Chronicles" has been there for 20+yrs waiting to be written!  As an avid GAP fan, I want to know more about the Amnion, about Angus before he met Morn, about the Hylands clan, about Nick as a youth and his ruin, about the early GAP years, about Hashi (my personal favourite) and I can't believe that Angus could leave Morn forever.  Surely there's another few books there somewhere.
Also, will GAP ever be made into a movie?
Kind Regards
Dean

Alas, I can only repeat that there is nothing "waiting to be written" in the GAP sequence.  I have no ideas at all.

And I have no control at all over whether or not any of my books is ever made into a movie.  A couple of wannabees once approached me about filming the GAP books.  But they wanted *me* to finance the project--and I don't happen to have 300-400 million dollars I can spare.

(01/07/2005)

Peter B.

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(01/07/2005)

Darran Handshaw

Dr. Donaldson,

I just finished Runes and it was wonderful.. I especially enjoyed the ending and the implications it has on the next books.

My question though, has nothing to do with Runes.. it was actually inspired by a few of the questions you answered about character names...

Have you ever decided to change a character name after you had written a portion of the whole of your story?  If so.. what characters? Why? And what were their names beforehand?  Also, has anyone ever suggested you change a name? Whether it be someone that reads your work before it is released or a publishing firm itself?

I don't like revealing my mistakes.  They're embarrassing; and they undermine my (already tenuous) confidence.  In addition, I believe passionately in the rewriting process; and I don't want to be judged by ANYthing that hasn't been through several stages of re-evaluation and reconsideration.

But Yes, I have occasionally (rarely) become dissatisfied with a character's name while I was working; and when I become dissatisfied I do change that name.  In "Runes," Mahrtiir once labored under a less satisfying name (but no, I'm not going to tell you what that name was).  And Yes, people (e.g. my agent, an editor) do occasionally (rarely) suggest that I change a name.  When I understand their reasoning, I comply.  In "Daughter of Regals," the rebel, Kodar, once suffered from a name that elicited reasonable objections.

In both cases, I think it would be fair to say that the original name had less, well, dignity than the name I eventually chose.

(01/09/2005)

Ben

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(01/09/2005)

Mr. Donaldson,

Earlier in the interview I read that you lamented the “death” of DOS and the subsequent loss of a command line interface (it’s still there with Windows, just hard to find<grin>) and Wordstar. What OS do you use currently? Windows? Perhaps MacOS?

Have you had the opportunity to work with any of the free/open source operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, or OpenBSD?  The reason I ask is that there are a number of Wordstar “clones” still active in the open source world.

I am pretty sure I know the answer the last question: your time is limited, so you do not have the freedom to experiment. Even with enormous usability improvements over the past few years, the free software operating systems and applications remain esoteric to users who just want things “to work.”  

In what format do your publishers accept you submissions?

Also, when I discovered your Web page while looking for information on “Runes” I was immediately amazed by your picture. Your features (or those of your hired impersonator) are close to how I imagined TC in the second chronicles. 

Thank you for taking the time to relate with your readers and more importantly writing the works we enjoy so much. 

You're right:  I don't have time to learn a completely new operating system (I'm stuck in the Windows world, and I hope I *never* have to leave Windows 2000), never mind new word processing software.  And Word has sort of become the industry standard in publishing.  My publishers would probably accept a small number of other formats (e.g. WordPerfect), but then they might well convert my files to Word anyway (introducing textual corruption as they do so).  I'll stay where I am as long as I can.

(01/09/2005)

Steve Brown

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(01/09/2005)

Michaelson

Hello Mr. Donaldson. Do you find that this kind of continuous explication of your creative works on the internet diminishes your authors aura or the mystique of your works? For me it does to some extant. 

Then I suggest you stop reading this interview.  Personally, I have no interest in my "aura," or in the "mystique" of my works, and so I don't mind diminishing them (if that indeed is what this interview does).

(01/09/2005)

Teresa Dealey

Simple(or not so simple)question. If you could have any Christmas wish granted, what would it be?

Soulquest1970 (aka Mama T, Monstermom, and occasionally "hey, you with the face")

You mean I don't get to pick Peace On Earth?  <grin>  In that case, your question is *way* too personal for a public forum like this.

(01/09/2005)

Paul Huntington

Dear Mr Donaldson

Like a number of other correspondents (inquisitors) of the gradual interview, I have recently come out from under my rock, blinked while looking about, and discovered that a new Donaldson novel was released as I slept.  Fantastic. I’m just sorry to have missed the UK book tour (?) and to have only just discovered this site.

 I have often wondered if Linden would be seen again, in many respects I thought she had just begun to “be true”, much as Covenant had after the Power that Preserves.  I’ve always loved your character-based approach to storytelling and the strong under current of redemption, which is almost always present.

Anyway I’m supposed to be asking a question so here it is.  Are King Joyce and Warden Dios by any chance related?  What I mean by that is did you develop on the ideas and character of King Joyce to produce Warden Dios or was he “stolen” (as you understand the word) from Wotan?  (by the way; Gap was fantastic!)

Good luck with the rest of the new story.

"Related"?  Well, they certainly have a number of characteristics in common.  In retrospect, it's easy to see King Joyse as "practicing," "getting ready," for Warden Dios.  But of course I don't write books in retrospect.  And at the time when I wrote "Mordant's Need," I had no vision at all of ever writing the GAP books.  In fact, I had no idea of any kind about what I was going to do after "Mordant's Need."  And when I wrote the GAP books, I was thinking about Wotan rather than about King Joyse.  Still, it's probably fair to say that Warden Dios is in some sense built on the experience I gained in exploring King Joyse.

(01/16/2005)

Curtis Huska

Hello Mr. Donaldson,

I had the pleasure of meeting you in Calgary, Alberta back in 1991.  Since I found your descriptions of battle scenes in the First Chronicles to be some of the best I have ever read I was wondering where the inspiration came from?  Did you do research on military tactics or particular historical battles?

Since finishing the Second Chronicles twenty years ago, I have not read any fantasy that has come close to the emotional impact that those 6 books had on me.  Having read 'Runes'I believe the Last Chronicles may change that.  My sincerest thanks for writing these books.

To the extent that I know where the inpiration came from, it came from the necessities of the story I was trying to tell.  I certainly didn't do any research into "real" battles or "real" ideas about strategy and tactics.  On the other hand, I always pay close attention when I'm reading novels (e.g. LOTR), looking for what "works" for me as a reader, and for what doesn't.  Then I try to profit from those experiences, both positive and negative.

(01/16/2005)

Paul Hawke

I have 2 questions.  Firstly, I am trying to track down the exact dialogue / quote from the Second Chronicles - a conversation that said if you truly want to hurt a man, you give him back the thing he most loves in a broken state.  Do you recall where it is, or perhaps could you search your electronic manuscripts for it?

Secondly, what're your views of fanfiction set in the Thomas Covenant universe?  I know that some authors encourage it (JK Rowling) while others strongly discorage it (e.g. Raymond E. Feist, Anne McCaffrey).  What are your feelings?

The actual quote is, "There's only one way to hurt a man who's lost everything. Give him back something broken."  Look in "The Wounded Land," chapter 2 of the prologue.

I've already discussed my views on the fan fiction you describe.  In brief:  as far as I'm concerned, as long as there's no copyright infringement involved, and appropriate credit is given, then go ahead.  Creativity is a good thing.  Just understand that building on someone else's ideas is, well, second-hand creativity; therefore less beneficial for the creator.  Creating your own work from scratch will do you more good.

(01/16/2005)

Todd Knight

Mr Donaldson,

First, please accept my thanks for the joys and growth I've experienced reading (and re-reading) the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.  Their influence on my worldview has been deep, even to the point of using the lessons I've learned "in the Land" in the ongioing education of my (beautiful, intelligent) daughter.

Also, I must express the joy I have felt while reading ROTE.  Returning to The World after all this time is like finding my old combat boots from college - and discovering that they still fit.

For both of these things, my thanks.

Now for the question: You have said that your characters occasionally suprise you as you write.  Can you give some favorite examples of this (preferably from the Covenant Series)?

(Worded carefully to avoid "spoilers"): The question of your characters doing what even the author "doesn't expect" came to me while reading ROTE.  If I'm not being too cryptic, can you also comment on this?

I've already discussed "surprises" at several points in this interview.  I'm not going to repeat myself.  But I can tell you that I only encountered one such surprise in "The Runes of the Earth."  However, it would be a spoiler to explain what that surprise was, or who supplied it.

(01/16/2005)

Paul

First - thanks for Runes...fantastic and a real pleasure after such a long wait. 

Three short questions:

1. There is more 'realistic' swearing in Runes than the first six books - was this a decision that came easily and why change now (not that I was bothered....a bit of Anglo-Saxon never hurt anyone!)

2. You said recently that "First, I consider myself an "efficient" writer, by which I mean (in part) that I only create what I need". Previously you mentioned that internal consistency was a female dog because you had to remember what information had been revealed about places and people (can't find the exact quote, so I am paraphrasing there). To me, the latter implies that you do have an extended history etc in your mind, at least some of which is never going to see the light of day, and that you have to differentiate between the total information, and what has been printed (so you might have enough for a prequel or two...as you are clearly a big fan of that idea...NOT!) Am I completely mixed up in my assumption?

3. Now that Runes is read, I sadly have to fill my time reading other authors, so I took a sideways step and decided to reread Primo Levi's books (a great author). Given that the focus of much of his work is what it is to be human (and inhuman) I am wondering if you have read any of his books, and if they have influenced you at all?

Thanks again - looking forward to the next book!

Paul  

First, a bit of trivia for regular contributers to the Gradual Interview:  I'm now 193 questions behind.  The good news?  I'm so far behind because I'm working hard on "Fatal Revenant."

Now:

1) This wasn't a conscious choice.  Rather I think it reflects the evolution of how I perceive character.  (Or it may just be an aftereffect of writing the GAP books and four mystery novels.  <grin>)

2) You appear to be looking at my comments about "efficiency" and "internal consistency" backward.  When I wrote the first three "Covenant" books, I absolutely did not foresee that I would ever continue the story; so I only invented as much "world background" as I needed.  Then when I wrote "The Second Chronicles" I was able to foresee (and prepare for) a certain number of the issues which would arise in "The Last Chronicles" (since I knew the story I would eventually write); but there I failed to foresee just how complex the challenge of unifying *all* of the "Covenant" books would be.  So once again I only invented as much "world background" as I needed for "The Second Chronicles."  Which has now placed me in the terribly INefficient position of having to rediscover and (in some cases) reinvent the world as it has been previously presented.  None of this would have happened if I had first created the kind of "extended history" you describe.  Like MS-DOS, I'm trying frantically to invent "backward compatibility."

3) Sorry, I've never read any Primo Levi.  But I'll look for him.

(01/19/2005)

John

Hi,
Firstly let me say what  a pleasure it was to see you in Manchester. It was good that you took the time to answer as many questions. It was both informative and interesting. My son left the signing swearing that he is going to be a writer. 
Now to the question, you have told us previously that you read slowly and are very selective in your choice of book. I was wondering if you read slowly or if you avoided reading/particular genres whilst in the writing process. And the second part of the same question, do you think that reading could affect your story telling? 

I read slowly in part because I study what I read:  I want to be able to see how the author "did it".  So yes, what I read does definitely affect my storytelling (style, structure, presentation of character and dialogue, etc.).  But I don't choose what I'm reading on the basis of what I'm writing.  I once did:  back in my unpublished days, I stayed away from reading fantasy while I wrote the first three "Chronicles".  For two reasons:  1) if what I read was good, it would intimidate me (I can't compete with *this*); and 2) if what I read was bad, it would depress me (how come *this* bozo can get published and I can't?).  However, such reactions have long since ceased to trouble me.  I now know perfectly well how bad books get published; and I no longer make the mistake of comparing myself to writers I admire.

(01/19/2005)

thinbuddha

One thing that I don't remember comming up in the 1st chronicles (or 2nd, for that matter, but it seems more relevant to the 1st chrionicles)-

Covenant was spending so much energy trying to prove that the Land was a dream, yet he never brought up the fact that everybody seems to be speaking perfect English.  The obvious question is: wouldn't a separate land develop a different communication system?  I'm not sure how someone like Morham would respond to such a question.  I know you have a rule about answering questions that are outside the text, but it seems like you must have thought of this one, and perhaps even written a passage about it that ended up getting cut.  Do you care to comment on how Morham might address this "hole" in the reality of the Land?

Oh, and remember: "Lysol is the power that preserves" <wink>

Well, I suppose you could say that I didn't bring up the "language" issue (e.g. between Covenant and Mhoram) because I didn't think of it.  <grin>  Or you could say that the fact that our characters in our dreams speak our language is so axiomatic that *Covenant* didn't think of it.  But the fact is that I considered the whole how-come-you-and-I-and-everyone-in-the-whole-world-can-understand-each-other issue to be an appalling can of worms, and I did *not* want to open it.  I foresaw the possibility that I might undermine the entire narrative foundation of the story.  In sf, a writer is compelled by the exigencies of the format to confront problems like language barriers.  But the underlying assumptions of fantasy are not so rational:  they are, in a sense, a-rational (rather than non-rational or irrational), arising as they do from that aspect of the human mind which creates dreams.  I was--and am--acutely reluctant to impose the wrong kind of rationality on the story I'm trying to tell in the "Chronicles."

(01/19/2005)

Stephen Collings

I was very entertained by the "One Tree", as there was lots of exciting newness in it. :)

I have a highly-emotional yet mixed response to the Second Chronicles, because whilst they are fantastically AWESOME and HYPER-BRILLIANT in many many places, and over and over again, the schema upon which the RESOLUTION of the Second Chronicles depends upon has always struck me as VERY SHAKY, and because I like the books so much, it has unhappily bothered me much more than is sensible!!

Perhaps you would care to shed some light on this, and perhaps help me understand (if this is possible!)  [ONE of the reasons I am excited about the Last Chronicles, is that I am keen to understand more about what went on in the second!]

So here are specific questions that might help:

What happened to Vain at the One Tree?  Did he need to gain something from being touched by the aura of the Worm?  Or was it just COINCIDENCE - as he had been pre-programmed by his makers to be able and ready to turn into a staff of wood, and the hyper primal power of the aura of the worm just accidentally set that inbuilt power uncontrollably off for a brief burst of transformation?

I have to think that the Forestal had a hand in the making of a being who was to turn into a PIECE OF WOOD!! (Caer-Caveral has some experience in this area I think!)

Surely Lord Lord Foul wasn't planning to have Linden in the Land?

Why did Lord Foul EVER expect Thomas Covenant to just hand him the ring (or did he not, as was that just a machination of his, to make the things he wanted happen?)

Did Thomas Covenant fear Lord Foul would possess/merge with Linden, if he had given her the ring - so that Thomas Covenant would have effectively given the Despiser his ring, by having given in to Linden? 

And for what its worth, I will NEVER buy that the Dead could not just have told Covenant what's what!

He had already shown his resistance to posession by Despite, so he would have been a safe carrier of this information! 

I will NEVER buy the notion that the truth is dangerous!  Ignorance is dangerous!

Having been deceived, misled, and bewildered by outrageously reckless insanity from early childhood - I shall treat apologies for mystification and obfuscation about anyone not telling-people-what's-what when they need it, with the OUTRAGE that is deserves!!

Thanks very much for your writings! I wish you very well in your exploits, and wish you the best "unexpected characters" and happenings.   

Thanks again!

Feel free to pick a question!

"we shall pass utterly"

As you obviously realize, you've asked quite a number of very complex questions:  too many, and too complex, for me to try to answer them all at once.  I've already discussed elsewhere what happened to Vain at the One Tree.  And I suspect that you could deduce the answers to some of your other questions.  So for now I'm only going to address this:  "I will NEVER buy the notion that the truth is dangerous! Ignorance is dangerous!"

Now, I don't want to get side-tracked into a discussion of the difference between "truth" and "knowledge."  But I would argue that what the Dead withhold from Covenant in Andelain is not truth, but rather knowledge.  And I have had long and intimate experience with how dangerous premature knowledge can be.  (Again, in order to avoid being side-tracked, I won't mention *parenting*; but any parent can tell you that it's easy to hurt children by teaching them things they aren't ready to learn.)  I'll stick to one example:  the study of the martial arts.

At their core, the martials arts (as knowledge) are all about killing and maiming.  Yet every responsible teacher of the martial arts knows that it would be destructive and even immoral to teach "killing and maiming" without *first* teaching the control AND the maturity to make ethical choices about when and how to *use* "killing and maiming."  EsPEcially since many students of the martial arts are children who aren't developmentally qualified to make ethical choices.  Therefore every responsible teacher of the martial arts begins by teaching a stylized and restricted version of the real arts.  Will we teach you how to kick your attacker effectively in the stomach?  Yes, we will:  an effective kick to the stomach can save your life, and is *very* unlikely to kill or maim your attacker.  But will we teach you how to kick in a way that will shatter your attacker's kneecap?  No, we will not:  not until the student has demonstrated the control necessary to practice the technique safely AND the maturity necessary to use the technique appropriately.

My point is that knowledge is dangerous unless it has been *earned.*  Which is exactly why Kevin went to all the trouble of concealing his lore in caches which were intended to be discovered in a specific sequence.  Learning x prepares you to learn y safely.  Learning y prepares you to learn z safely.  In responsible martial arts schools, the earning of a black belt is considered a prerequisite to learning the *actual* martial art.  A student without a black belt simply isn't *trusted* enough to be taught "killing and maiming."

So think about it.  What do you suppose the consequences would be if Covenant's Dead had simply *explained* everything to him?  Well, let's see.  Who in his right mind would visit the Elohim under those conditions?  Who in his right mind would risk rousing the Worm?  And why would the Elohim *ever* decide to Appoint Findail if Covenant and Linden already knew all of the answers?  ("Pardon me.  We don't actually need anything from you.  We just want to trick you into Appointing Findail so we can go risk destroying the world for the sole purpose of bringing Vain into contact with the right kind of power.")

It seems to me that the "schema" of "The One Tree" is considerably more solid than you think it is.  (Keeping in mind that this is Just My Opinion, and you have every right to your own opinion.)

(01/26/2005)

Robert

One of the many things I love about your books is that you have no fear in killing main characters, be it hero or villain (and I suspect that who the hero's and villain's are depend solely on the reader) seemingly without remorse.  Unlike most popular fiction, you are never quite sure who will prevail.  You may have already dealt with this elsewhere but my question is this, have you ever regretted killing off a character and thought later you could have explored their situation more and do you feel "sad" for them? 

I do feel "sad," to varying degrees, for characters whose lives end at my hands.  (See my comments on the Tor long ago in the GI.)  And I have occasionally regretted that I haven't succeeded at exploring their situations/psychologies/stories more.  (See my coments about Davies Hyland, also long ago.)  But none of that means I regret "killing" those characters.  I don't "kill off" characters because I'm tired of them, or because I just don't know what to do with them, or because I want to mess with my reader's emotions:  I kill them off because their deaths are necessary, and perhaps even inevitable, in the story I'm trying to tell.  Their deaths *fit*.  Remember, I know my stories pretty well before I ever start telling them.  I know what needs to happen.  From that perspective, I couldn't regret "killing off a character" without regretting the whole story; and that would violate my fundamental relationship with my work, including my reasons for telling specific stories in the first place.

(01/30/2005)

Allen

I just read "The Runes Of The Earth" and I feel properly devastated, horrified, and apphrensive.  In the Gap Saga you began to explore moral ambiguities with a vengeance but with the Last Chronicles the vengeance comes home to roost.  Do you feel that the Last Chronicles is the work of your life - ?  Your magnum opus?  
Are you trying to destroy (or at least confuse) the moral universe or is this kind of incandescent havoc as easy for you as spitting at the dirt?
I have no fear that the next three volumes will make us all squirm.  You're the best.

I'm uncomfortable with the whole "magnum opus" concept.  And I certainly don't feel qualified to comment on it.  I only hope that when I'm done with "The Last Chronicles" I'll feel as proud of it as I do of the GAP books.

I'm not "trying to destroy the moral universe."  Nor am I "spitting at the dirt."  (Surely those aren't my only choices? <grin>)  Here's how I look at it.  What you're seeing is the natural evolution of a (no longer young) writer who has spent his whole life studying the mystery of his own heart, trying hard to understand the stringent and often cruel dilemmas of the people around him, learning how to "be true" to his own values and commitments, and striving for excellence.  Of COURSE everything I do becomes more complex, ambiguous, and fraught.  Under the circumstances, what else would you expect?

(01/30/2005)

Luke (Variol son)

Having just started reading Runes of the Earth for the second time, I am noticing that the entire book takes place within a time period measuring a little under a fortnight. This is a sharp contrast to previous Covenant novels, which take place over a much longer time span, months in some cases. Runes also had very little down time, the gap between the start of the Horserite and Liden's return to the Verge of Wondering being the only one I can remember.

Now, I have no doubt that this was purposeful on your part, but what were your reasons for so drastically reducing the number of days in which all that action takes place? Would The Second Chronicles be similar if they had been published as a quadrilogy as opposed to a trilogy?

Every story has its own unique needs and demands.  "The Last Chronicles" is structured differently than the earlier "Covenant" stories because the story itself is fundamentally different.  The truth may not yet be apparent; but "The Last Chronicles" is a far more *urgent* story than its predecessors.  (However, squeezing a lot of events into relatively short periods of time does happen often in Donaldson stories.  Just look at my mystery novels and the last three GAP books.)

*How* "The Second Chronicles" was published (as a trilogy instead of a tetralogy) had nothing to do with the content or fundamental structure of the story itself.  The only reason I allowed Lester del Rey to make a trilogy out of a tetralogy is that his action had no effect at all on the actual story.

(01/30/2005)