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    The Last Dark
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    The Last Dark
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    The Last Dark
    Audiobook33 hours

    The Last Dark

    Written by Stephen R. Donaldson

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Compelled step by step to actions whose consequences they could neither see nor prevent, Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery have fought for what they love in the magical reality known only as "the Land." Now they face their final crisis.  Reunited after their separate struggles, they discover in each other their true power--and yet they cannot imagine how to stop the Worm of the World's End from unmaking Time.  Nevertheless they must resist the ruin of all things, giving their last strength in the service of the world's continuance.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 15, 2013
    ISBN9780698135628
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for The Last Dark

    4/5

    95 ratings26 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Plus another half star. Not a bad conclusion to such a mammoth undertaking, although I think the author tried to pack in far too much action. There were too many attacks from too many enemies so at times it read a bit like the kind of video game my children used to play where you have to find and kill all sorts of monsters before reaching and overcoming the top 'boss'. I think a lot of that could have been stripped out (did I really need to know in which order the stone monster eyes were put out?) to leave the internal journeys of the characters which are so rich and satisfying.
    • 5/5
      I've read the Thomas Covenant Chronicles many times over the years, as each new book was added. Saddened that the tale has finally been completed, and glad that it ended so well. I read this last book slowly to savor every moment. I loved it, as the finale was full of all the best aspects of the inhabitants of the land.

      Two very minor distractions. Covenant's scarred forehead and the 'She Who Must Not Be Named' are reminiscent of Harry Potter. Just a bit.

      That the final chapter was woven around Giants and Hauruchi is perfect. And that the Despiser is relegated to a lesser focus was also apt for the story.

      This book takes time to read and is quite the adventure. Don't rush it.
    • 5/5
      satisfying ending to the long saga.
    • 3/5
      While this book is an entirely fitting conclusion to entire Thomas Covenant series (10 books in all) and to the final series of four books, this one doesn't have the punch that many of the earlier books had. The plot is sustained by Donaldson's writing but the resolution is not as satisfying as I would have hoped. It was almost as though he couldn't quite figure out how to bring it to a conclusion. Don't get me wrong it achieves its goal; it just seems rather abrupt. Nevertheless, because Donaldson has built a complex and beautiful setting with intricate and well modeled characters the book still holds up as part of the entire canon. If you are a fan this is a must read - if you are not a fan you just haven't read Donaldson's work yet.
    • 4/5
      The New Year starts with the conclusion of a long running saga. Stephen Donaldson wrote the first Thomas Covenant books more than 35 years ago with the initial trilogy, and returned his anti-hero leper to 'The Land' on two further occasions, to 'damn and save' the earth. The saga culminates in the 'Final' Chronicles, a foursome, and perhaps the longest winded of the 10 volume epic.
      Donaldson is as overly erudite as ever, smattering the text with exotic words, though in this volume. the action moves ever forward as the author ties the whole edifice into a rather tidy conclusion. Linden Avery, and her adopted son Jeremiah get to whine and doubt themselves at length once more, though in this case the narrative is not bogged down as in the middle volumes of the set. Indeed, one has hardly completed the synopsis of what has gone before when the first onfmany dramatic set-pieces builds to a climax.

      A selection of the choicest special words....
      fuligin - blacker than black
      telic - purposeful
      bayamo - a violent wind
      cataphract - full armour for heavy cavalry
      guerdon - award or recompense
      jerrid - a blunt wooded javelin
      bedizened - ornamented or dressed in a showy manner
      marmoreal - made of or like marble
      sendaline - thin silk cloth
      thetic - constituting or beginning with a poetic thesis
      clinquant - glittering with gold or tinsel
      mansuetude - meekness, gentleness
      flamberge - a flame bladed sword
      hymnody - the singing of hymns



      Kudos to Donalson for actually bringing the ship home in what is a pretty brutal and effective way. After struggling through the 3rd volume (and particularly it's dire 1st half), I was not expecting all that much.
    • 5/5
      I started reading this series in high school and have always loved it. Thankfully Donaldson lived to finish it! This was a great finale to an wonderful story. Don't try to read just this book... You need to read the whole series to appreciate it and it's really worth the read!
    • 5/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I started this series when I was in middle school and found this book to be a fitting end to the series. I rank this book right up there with "The One Tree" and "The Wounded Land". Minus a couple of spots, this book is relentless with epic battles. It was hard to put down and I did not want to finish it as I knew I wouldn't get to enjoy the characters anymore. The previous books in the final series were tough to read but this one really brings the punch as was fun to read. I recommend it completely.
    • 5/5
      I first encountered Stephen R. Donaldson's characters from "The Land" when I was in grade school - about 9th grade if memory serves. Both like my other favorite fantasy "classics" like Tolkien's LOTR and other, "safer" fantasies, "Lord Foul's Bane" was both familiar and yet very different and surprising. Thomas Covenant, the modern-day protagonist, contracts what is now a very rare disease called Hansen's but better known as leprosy. The turmoil that follows basically destroys his life and relationship, and places him in a very dark place where he's had to become very regimented in everything he does, in fear of the disease spreading (while facing the fear of the disease by his spouse and community). When he's first exposed to the alternate reality of "The Land" - neither he nor the reader is sure whether the adventure is in his mind or in some way real. The trilogy has always had a lasting impression on me that no other has had, until Donaldson revisited the characters in a second trilogy.I remember how my friends howled at the sell-out, and then how surprised we all were at how good the second trilogy was, something that never happens. There are so many new characters and concepts, as well as those already established plus a plethora of plot twists and angst - all stuff that made me fall in love once again with the character and "The Land." The same and different and really, a better, more mature series than the first.Finally, this last 4 book story arc, once again visiting the land with new characters, major changes and a climax to the entire triptych (3 different series, related but spread over time) that feeling from reading the first 3 books returned and hit me hard. The books in this final cycle were both compelling yet repulsive, often twisting my guts with emotion while grasping for understanding in the new characters and motivations. In all, fairly tough to read and leading up to the last book, slightly disappointing (I almost gave up before completing book 3) - these books take more concentration that I usually like to commit. That being said, this final book really "fired on all cylinders" concluding to an awesome finish where all the questions come to a great finish and threads come to be raveled into a whole. If you're a fan of this series, you'll be very happy and satisfied with the conclusion. If you're new I think you'll be lost - this book and the three preceding are obviously written for the hardcore fans. Kudos to Donaldson for taking care of us - so few authors do these days.
    • 5/5
      This book was a nice conclusion to a series that has been around for many years. Donaldson has taken his time with each book, and that patience is evident in the quality of the writing. Having said that, however, thirty years is a long time, so the section catching the reader up on the previous novels' plots was a welcome addition. As for the story itself, the author paints the characters and their world in vivid, interesting details, keeping the reader's attention in an age where asking someone to read more than a page or two of text can be a daunting task. I'm glad to see that good fantasy writing still exists.
    • 4/5
      A great finish to an amazing series. Five stars for story and characters. Four stars for a narrative that often got bogged down in the complicated thoughts of the characters. Especially during battle scenes, I wanted to get through the story faster and this was a little frustrating.
    • 4/5
      Last book of the Last Chronicles. Sad day as always for me when an old friend leaves forever. Read the first book of the series back in 1977 and my initial thoughts were he was a Tolkien copycat. And it may have started out that way but Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever evolved into something more than a copy of something and became a great work in and of itself. Ten volumes over 47 years has earned Stephen R. Donaldson a place with the masters who have crafted a world that can stand on it's own.
    • 3/5
      I started reading this in High School, so glad it was able to come to a conclusion. Like all his books a bit slow in parts but if you finish them, well worth the read. A fitting conclusion.
    • 5/5
      And so the saga concludes. It's been a long time coming, this is the 10th book in the series, and clocks in at yet another 600 pages. The first was written back in the 80s, so we're 3 decades down the line too. Characters have been born, died, resurrected, and fallen in and out of love, they've wrestled with doubt and mis-trust, fear and loathing, hate and wonder. The Land has changed beyond all recognition over the millennia of Covenant's visitations. Time itself is finally in peril as we're down to the last few days before the Worm at the World's End reaches the Earthblood and shatters the Arch of Time. It has been beyond all doubt an epic ride filled with obtuse vocabulary, intense passion and commitment, dramatic action and helpless passivity. A series of contrasts and great extremes. This the final final conclusion is worthy of all that drama.As ever the focus is on the characters emotions. How do you trust. How to do you cope with pain. There are many forms of betrayal, but some of them can be forgiven and embraced. Linden and Covenant have to accept there are also many forms of service and that they can neither ask nor forbid others to make their own choices.Jeremiah finally has a voice of his own, not often or for long, but regaling similar themes to the others. Given how Hyrim's ride of Gilden Fire was removed from the earliest books, I do wonder whether the same editorial decisions should have been made. But then again, different questions are answered by his presence.It isn't a book or series that I'll re-read often. It is a massive undertaking, and these last volumes don't have the impact of the earliest works. But they remain a tour-de-force among epic fantasy, something that many authors could strive to emulate rather than concentrating on prolonged action sequences. There is plenty of action here too of course, far more than in some of the series. But it's timely given the forces at play and the consequences all of the parties both "good" and "bad" face. I approve of the ending.and feel the series has been well completed.
    • 3/5
      I, like many other, have been reading this series for years. When I first heard about the new chronicles I reread the first two before diving into the final chronicles. I loved The Land from the beginning and enjoyed the sweeping changes of the second chronicles. The change in characters over time and the new characters introduced were great. To replicate this feat is not easy. Donaldson gives it a good try. The first book was an adequate start. The second book was my favorite of the final four. It advanced the story well. The third was the slowest. It dragged and not much happened to keep ones interest. This final book did tie things up. I still like Covenant with all his faults. That said, I have to agree with many of the other reviewers that the ending left much to be desired. It seemed a flat and abrupt ending with little satisfaction for us longtime followers.
    • 5/5
      I began reading this saga in the early 80's and tonight I finished. The Last Dark begins with Linden and the renewed Thomas Covenant fighting on different paths against the Despiser, Lord Foul and to prevent the End of Time. The Worm works it's way toward Melenkurien Skyweir and the Earths Blood, eating the Elohim and all other Earth power as it goes and leaving distraction in its wake. Linden frees her son, Jeremiah from the grips of the Croyel and helps him to discover his own power. Jeremiah uses his ability to build to save the remaining Elohim, whilst Covenant and his follows slay a Raver and his ex-wife. Covenant rejoins Linden Avery and the group make their way to Mount Thunder to stop Lord Foul escaping when the World meets it's doom. This book is long, and I mean long, but it is worth the time. A final and fitting conclusion to a saga that is captivating and rich. Thank you Stephen Donaldson.
    • 5/5
      So the 10 book series finishes. It has been a 30 year journey for the author and for me. You are not going to read this book if you have not read and enjoyed the previous 9.SPOILERS - I first read the First and Second Chronicles as a teenager and loved them. LOTR is still my top book but the Chronicles are a close competitor. They are compared to LOTR but are in fact very, very different.I have not enjoyed the Last Chronicles as much as the first but I wonder if one can ever feel the same passion for a book as an adult as you can as a teenager. They are still an absorbing challenging read about guilt and power and responsibility and self hate. The final book is a succession of battles after the relatively slow progress of the other 3 books. And this is where the book failed to reach the heights of the previous series.To me, Donaldson's strength was always his ability to make you care about the Land and his characters. As you journey with Covenant you fall in love with the Land and its people in the same way he does. In particular, his Giant characters are unforgettable. I sobbed over Foamfollower's death, the struggles of The First and Pitchwife, Seadreamer and Honniscrave. So when he reintroduced Giants in the Last Chronicles, I was thrilled. BUT somehow these Giants failed to make an impact on me. They were indistinguishable from each other. Most of them die in this book and most of the time I wasn't even sure which one it was that had died and as a result I didn't care much.I still cared about Covenant and Linden (it was really weird when she started calling him Thomas! - I kept wondering who she was referring to!). Again I was obviously supposed to care about Jeremiah but I really didn't feel it. Linden loves him obviously but he has to be interesting to the reader too and he didn't quite work. You care about Stave because of his actions, not because another character loves him.I feel I have been very critical in this review and maybe given the impression I didn't like it. But I did - it has a satisfying end and Donaldson is still better than 99% of other writers. Expanding your vocabulary if nothing else!When I am old and retired, I will reread the entire series and be able to see the whole.
    • 5/5
      A fitting finale to a long series. The best of the whole 10 books.
    • 5/5
      In this digital age there are thousands of "writers" spewing all sorts of stories from the ends of their fingertips, but very few "authors" that are creating their own highly intriguing and sustainable double universes. The latest book by Mr Donaldson, (even though it is claimed to be the last, Thomas Covenant never was one for following the main stream), wraps up a milllenial journey with a cast of old and new characters. A stunning, bewildering and insightful ending to this multi-series series, bring Thomas, Linden, and Jeremiah once again to the brink of utter destruction, although this time - destruction is complete. If you are bibliophobic, then you will be missing out on a good percentage of the descriptive story line, and I can assure you that when you get wrapped up in the dozens of different creatures and characters from elohim to cave wights, from giant to ur-viles you won't want to miss a syllable. The conclusion to this story begs for more and yet in itself is complete. I don't want to give any of it away other than to tell you it is full of adventure, inner conflict, battles, and conundrums that you have come to expect from this great author with each book about Thomas Covenant. Although it is supposed to be the end, I certainly hope that Thomas and Linden and Jeremiah have not just "faded away".The Last Dark is an absolutely great book to top off a wonderful series, and if you have read any of the Covenant books, be sure to finish up with this one. Kudos to a truly inspired author.
    • 4/5
      Finally, the LAST Covenant book! I have been reading this series since the early 80s when Lord Foul's Bane first hit the stores. This latest, and last installment lives up to the rest of the series, and exceeds some of them. Like all Donaldson books, have your dictionary handy. This is the fourth book in the Last Chronicles series and consistent with the other books, the situation by now is very dire. Like all of the previous trilogies, events have lead Covenant and Linden Avery to a nearly inescapable confrontation with the plots of Lord Foul. Without giving anything away for those who haven't read the books, the situation is as bad as ever, and perhaps worse. What sets this book apart from all others to me, is that Covenant and Linden have finally accepted their fate, and are prepared to live with the consequences. Gone is all the angst, doubt, hesitation and endless debate of the previous books in the series. It has been replaced with a refreshing realization that doing something is better than doing nothing, that all actions have consequences, but acting is better than doing nothing. Faced with the end of the world, its time for them to do their best and stop worrying about what might have been. This is a tremendous relief and a great improvement on the previous 3 books. Instead of constantly being frozen by 'what if', this book is about the characters coming together and doing whatever they can. It is a great ending to the series and a refreshing change. I do have to wonder at the ending. It seemed too convenient, and I hesitate to say it - incomplete, as if there is really room for another chronicles. I hope not, this was a great conclusion to a long series of great books.
    • 5/5
      It has been a long time since I read the Thomas Covenant series. Started reading them back in the 80's during my college years. Was a very good story line then. Many years later as the books intro says, it is very nice to see this story line again. For those like me that haven't reread the series in quite a long time now, the first section of this book "what has gone before" was a great way to start the book. I found a lot of the previous storylines coming back to life in my mind as I read the beginning synopsis of the previous stories. Then begins this final chapter, back again with the familiar Thomas Covenant, Linden Avery and the other familiar characters. The story is very well written with details to bring the previously imagined visuals back to life. I was able to picture the journey again.Without giving any of the story away, it was very well done, fun to read and a very welcome follow up and conclusion to a story line I enjoyed many years ago. At some point, I will go back and start at the beginning to see what other insights from this story I can pick up along the way. Reading an entire story line back to back after finally having the whole series is a fun way to pick up on new aspects that were not realized the first time.
    • 5/5
      WOW! This is the best book that I have read in a very long time. While I did lose interest with this series at the end of the second series of books this one has really helped to regain my interest. This is some of the best writing Donaldson has ever done. The characters are detailed, the dialogue well-scripted and the world is three dimensional. Wonderful book and highly recommended for fantasy lovers everywhere.
    • 5/5
      I was very satisfied with the ending to this epic. The epilog was just about perfect, tying up many loose ends. I'm sure there were questions unanswered but in a series that lasted through 10 long books and some 30 years, I'm sure I don't even remember some of the questions. Compared to other great fantasy books I've read, I'd but this up there as #2 behind LOTR. #3 is far behind those two.I first read LOTR in 7th grade and have re-read it some 5 times. It will always be one of my favorite books.I also read (or slogged) through the 13 or so volumes of "The Wheel of Time". I liked most of it, but it was too long and the middle sections really dragged. Sanderson did a great job of finishing it but I was vaguely unhappy with the ending.I've tried to read "The Game of Thrones". I like the TV show but tried to get into the books (long before the HBO series) and just can't.Other than that, I don't generally read much fantasy.
    • 4/5
      This ending satisfies, but I'm frustrated with how ungraceful the Last Chronicles were. Ornate dialogue of the Land's peoples excepted, everything else felt hastily put together. The Armageddon scenario felt contrived, aimlessness was rampant and the decision to finally face Foul directly seemed to arrive only because time was up. Silly imagery was a frequent issue (riding a cavewight, being held in order to outline a perfect circle ...), unexplained phenomena (how does the lumbering worm catch Elohim? how did possessors obtain rights to certain terrain for claiming possession?), and I could not care less about the frequent, detailed addressing of healing, hunger and thirst that did nothing to advance the plot. It was an unnecessarily extended journey and Lester Del Rey's dogged insistence is borne out by the evidence: this should have been a trilogy, too. Four stars anyway. The Last Chronicles were worth my time in that I couldn't have withstood my curiosity to do otherwise, and I was so engaged by the first six books that it was a pleasure to return to the world of the Land under Donaldson's pen. The author remains true to his creation, however rugged the journey became at times, and I have to salute his courage. I don't view these final four volumes with scorn; only with a sort of melancholy over how they might have been if written and published in the 1980s on the immediate heels of their predecessors and under Lester's eye.
    • 5/5
      Great ending to a fantastic series!
    • 4/5
      I just finished reading the entire Chronicles (all ten books!) back-to-back (-to-back-to-back-to-back...) and whew! it's finally over. The Last Dark caps the whole series off about as well as you could hope. It's probably the weakest individual book of the bunch, but much of that is a result of the final 2-1/2 or so books being a more-or-less continuous narrative, whereas previous books in the series more readily stand on their own as novels. As a whole, the four-book Last Chronicles is a slower, more ponderous read than either of the preceding trilogies, but it's a more intimate story—and simultaneously a more epic one.
    • 5/5
      I stalled out a bit reading this, but mostly due to other concerns and demands. This is a lengthy book that builds upon the lore that was created in the previous books and develops and expands upon it. Donaldson continues to use obscure vocabulary and archaic meaning - for me, this is how the Land is defined, and is appropriate, but mileage will vary for each reader. Also, if you have gotten this far, you have come to some term with it.

      This book primarily focuses son the viewpoints of Thomas Covenant, Linden Avery, and Jeremiah, her adopted son. Each of these characters is further developed, and grows through their conflicts, both internal and external.

      The last few chapters were wonderful to read and think about. I found the conclusion to be highly satisfying.