God, I love this book. Endings are difficult as concluding a story in a manner that makes sense and is true to the characters you have been on a journey with is akin to landing a rocket on the moon. Donaldson pulled the feat off with this novel.
The sequences where Covenant is being pulled into the Land are incredibly strong. The first attempt fails, not because the Lords of the Land were insufficient, but because when they were attempting to summon Covenant he was in the process of trying to save a young girl who had been bitten by a rattlesnake. Even though Covenant could be the key to saving the Land from destruction, they chose to let him go to save the life of a child.
I am not going to lie, this scene and the decision the leaders made has stuck with me during these dark times we are facing in the US. I have, quite literally, referenced this sequence when having discussions with my leaders in my synagogue about what we should do if someone comes to our door when being chased by ICE agents. Do we open our doors and allow the person in, knowing that it could be a trap or could get us in trouble or do we keep the door closed? It is easy to have a strong sense of morals when things are going well but who are you, and how will you act when you are in a dire situation? Will you stick with the principles you espouse even if it could cause you great harm? The scene is powerful, moving, and ultimately hopeful. Because, if the Land was going to be destroyed, they were doing to do it while adhering to their own principles of valuing and saving life. This scene, and the book in general, presents the reader with a moral decision and makes me ask of myself, what would I do? There is a scene in the second chronicles that I love just a bit more, but this was my second favorite scene in the entire series.
Covenant is brought back to the Land after the child is saved by Triock, a man who loved Lena, the woman he raped in the first book and his friend the Giant, Saltheart Foamfollower. Actions have consequences in this series, which lends weight and depth to the story. Not everything is neatly tied up and forgiven not just for Covenant but for all characters. Foamfollower is scarred from his actions earlier in the series where he took the lives of many who were servants of Lord Foul. The Haruchai, also known the bloodguard, give up their vow to protect the Lords because their arrogance causes them to make a huge mistake. They cannot handle the fact that they messed up so badly and resign, leaving the Lords without a key defense.
Covenant still is a bit of a dick and the weakest character in the story but Donaldson consistently writes the surrounding characters so strongly that I really do not mind. No one in this book gives him quite the level of grief that Hile Troy did in the previous novel but Triock comes closest. Covenant does not ask for forgiveness and knows he would never receive it. But he is going to try to do his best in the meantime to save who he can.
The ending also is tremendous. Lord Foul is not defeated through violence, through Covenant mastering the power of the ring or through miraculous intervention. He is defeated by Foamfollower’s laugher. Laughing at this wannabe tyrant was the tool that ended his reign. It is beautiful, poignant and absolutely appropriate considering our current administration. Not that I believe laughing at the orange cockwomble will cause his downfall, would that it could only be so. But there is one thing every tyrant fears more than armies and that is being mocked and laughed at. This book reminded me of a powerful principle that we often imbue more power in someone or something than it truly possesses and, when we laugh at it, we take away much of that power. Also, that if we stay true to our beliefs, we stand a much greater chance of winning than if we bow to expediency and compromise who we are in the process. I cannot recommend this book any higher.
