The Illearth War
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 Cover of The Illearth War |
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| Author | Stephen R. Donaldson |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Del Rey |
| Released | 1978 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 527 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-8050-1271-0 (USA hardback) |
| Preceded by | Lord Foul's Bane |
| Followed by | The Power That Preserves |
The Illearth War is the second book of the first trilogy of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever fantasy series written by Stephen R. Donaldson. It is followed by The Power that Preserves.
[edit] Plot summary
Several weeks after his return to our world from The Land, the leper Thomas Covenant takes a phone call from his ex-wife Joan when he falls and hits his head, waking to find himself back in the Land.
Angered that he has been returned to the Land, Covenant nevertheless believes he is once again experiencing a dream or delusion due to his head injury. His hypothesis is supported by the fact that the Land has seen the passing of forty years compared to the few weeks that have passed in his own "real" world: the High Lord of the Council at Revelstone is Elena, the daughter of Lena and the product of Covenant's rape. Elena shows no ill-will towards her biological father, and she and Covenant become close friends.
During the forty year period, the evil Lord Foul has assembled a massive army, with which he now threatens the people of The Land. The commander of the army is one of three brothers of the race of Giants, a people previously thought incorruptible. With the aid of the powerful Illearth Stone, Foul's non-corporeal servants the Ravers have possessed the three brothers, now renamed Kinslaughterer, Fleshharrower and Satansfist. In shame and despair, the other Giants offer no resistance as Kinslaughterer murders them all in their home city. Thus, the Lords have lost their strongest and bravest ally in the fight against evil.
The Lords' army is now commanded by Hile Troy, a man born with no eyes, also from Covenant's world, who has a mystical form of sight granted when hurtloam was used to try and "heal" his lack of eyes. (The hurtloam used to heal Covenant's head injury also has the effect of "curing" his leprosy). While Troy leads the army to confront Fleshharrower's attacking force, Elena and Covenant go in search of the Seventh Ward, a repository of ancient magical power which Elena believes will assure victory.
Covenant, Elena and their two Bloodguard protectors journey through the remote mountain region on the western frontier of the Land to the hiding place of the Ward. Elena gains the power, but foolishly uses it to summon the long dead High Lord Kevin from his grave, and send him against Lord Foul. This act breaks the Law of Death, the barrier preventing the souls of the dead from interfering in the world of the living. Kevin's spirit is soon defeated and enslaved by Foul, and immediately sent back to destroy Elena. The two High Lords engage in a battle of magic, in which Elena is eventually defeated, her Bloodguard is killed, and the Staff of Law lost again. Covenant is able to save himself and his Bloodguard by using the power of his white gold ring, again without understanding how.
Meanwhile Hile Troy has been forced into a desperate retreat by the superior force of the Raver's army to the edge of a dangerous, forbidding forest known as Garroting Deep. In desperation, he begs the aid of Caerroil Wildwood, an immortal Forestal who is charged with protecting the ancient forests of the Land from the Ravers. Wildwood brings the forest to life, totally destroying Foul's army, and personally "garrotes" Fleshharrower. The victory is a Pyrrhic one, however: the Lords' army is nearly obliterated, and Hile Troy sacrifices himself as the price for the Forestal's aid, becoming Wildwood's immortal apprentice.
The war thus ends in a draw, and Covenant once again returns to his own world. His ex-wife has long since hung up the phone, and he is a leper once more.
[edit] External links
| The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever |
|---|
| Novels |
| The First Chronicles: Lord Foul's Bane | The Illearth War | The Power that Preserves |
| The Second Chronicles: The Wounded Land | The One Tree | White Gold Wielder |
| The Last Chronicles: The Runes of the Earth | Fatal Revenant | Against All Things Ending | The Last Dark |
