The Last Dark
Cover art depicting Caerwood ur-Mahrtiir.
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| Author | Stephen R. Donaldson |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant |
| Genre | Fantasy novels |
| Publisher | Gollancz (UK) |
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Publication date
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October 15, 2013 |
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| Pages | 592 pp. (English paperback) |
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| Preceded by | Against All Things Ending |
The Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson is the final book of The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, ending the story that Donaldson began in 1977 with Lord Foul's Bane. It was published on October 15, 2013.
In April 2013 a preview of chapter 3 was made available at the author's official website.
On the promontory where Foul's Creche once stood, Thomas Covenant, Clyme, and Branl are met by Covenant's old Haruchai companion Brinn, who became the Guardian of the One Tree during his quest for a second Staff of Law. The aged Brinn renounces the Humbled's actions, likening their Mastery of the Land to "simony" and stating his shame. The Humbled, who hold ak-Haru Brinn in great respect, are affected by his judgments, but do not relent. They are further troubled by him when Brinn then chooses to ignore them; with the Worm of the World's End roused, Brinn has arrived to give Covenant counsel and healing. He informs Covenant that following Joan's death, the Raver turiya Herem has fled north to Sarangrave Flat in an attempt to possess Horrim Carabal, the lurker of the Sarangrave. Brinn advises that Covenant kill the Raver rather than return to Linden, and cryptically reminds him that the krill is "capable of much". Brinn then heals him from the hurts gained from Joan, but also causes Covenant to fall unconscious.
When Covenant rouses, he and the Humbled use wild magic to teleport several times towards the Sarangrave. The Raver has already begun his attack on the lurker, but because the lurker is so large, he cannot possess it easily or quickly. With the help of the Feroce and the lurker's consent, Covenant uses the krill to chop off the possessed tentacle and jumps into the swamp after it, attempting to kill the Raver inside. Before he can reach the sinking tentacle, Branl pulls him out of the water and Clyme allows turiya Herem to possess him, and in turn Clyme holds the Raver within him (similarly to Grimmand Honninscrave's actions in Revelstone). Remembering that samadhi Sheol was only "rent", Branl uses the krill to disembowl Clyme and brutally chops him into pieces, killing both him and the Raver.
The lurker, grateful that Covenant and the Harauchai have exceeded the terms of their alliance, offers hurtloam to the two. Before leaving, Covenant asks the Feroce to convey a message to Linden to "remember forbidding". They then travel eastwards via teleportation with wild magic, watching the Worm of the World's End in the Sunbirth Sea as it draws towards the Land and Mount Thunder. Covenant instructs that the lurker blocks the Worm's senses with its sheer mass, thereby temporarily slowing it down; with the aid of the surviving ur‑viles and Waynhim, it does so successfully. Confident that he has done all he can, Covenant then heads back west with Branl.
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