Donaldson really seems to find himself in this, the second book of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Covenant is still the weakest part of the book, along with the time spent in our world, but everything else is so vibrant.
What I loved is how he took characters from the first book that were already interesting and provided even more background and context to them to make them fully 3 dimensional. Mhoram is a wonderful example of this. He played a key role in the first book but his importance in this story is elevated and you can see him grow in both strength and confidence, mirroring the confidence Donaldson has in his own writing prowess. And yet, he still has doubts and worries about his own ability to handle what is being asked of him. If I had to rank all of the characters in this series, he would definitely be in the top 5.
2 new lords, Shetra and Verement also stood out for me. Their marriage, the perceived imbalance in power (with Verement feeling himself unworthy of his wife), the striving to prove oneself, really spoke to me. They are not major characters and do not appear outside this book but they both shone bright for the limited time they had.
I did have a couple of issues with the book. One being with Elena, the new High Lord and daughter of Covenant and his rape of the woman Lena. Elena’s focus on her father is, to be blunt, creepy as hell. I can understand why a young woman, whose mother idolized the man who disappeared, would have a complex relationship with this individual. But calling him Beloved as her mother did, kissing him and basically all but daring him to seduce her was very uncomfortable.
The other issue is with the Illearth Stone, from where the book receives it title. This uber powerful artifact of evil, not created by Lord Foul, the source of evil in this realm, mystifies me. Where did it come from? If it is so powerful, why wasn’t it protected better? It just seems a bit convenient.
One of the things I loved the most, though, was the introduction of Hile Troy, a blind man from our world who was pulled into the Land. He is a tactical genius and represents the best hope of the Land to defeat an overwhelming army. The strategies employed, the leadership shown by Troy and others was magnificent. But, best of all, he really does not care for Covenant, mocks him and berates him at every opportunity. He is a lot of fun.
This book is a big step up from the first book in the series and reminded me why I fell in love with the Chronicles initially. Highly recommended
