Stephen R. Donaldson

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Stephen R. Donaldson

Stephen R. Donaldson (born May 13, 1947 in Cleveland , Ohio ) is an American fantasy and science fiction author.

Life

Stephen Reeder Donaldson spent a large part of his childhood in India from 1950 due to his parents' missionary work and did not return to the United States until 1963. He graduated from the College of Wooster , Ohio in 1968 and worked as a conscientious objector in a hospital for two years during the Vietnam War . He later continued his studies at Kent State University and received his Masters in English in 1971 . He broke off his subsequent doctoral studies early in order to devote himself entirely to writing. It was not until 1993 that he received his doctorate in literature. In 1994 he acquired the black belt in Shōtōkan karate.

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Donaldson's 1977 debut album, released Lord Foul's bane ( Lord Foul's Bane ) became a surprise bestseller (after it had been siebenundvierzigmal rejected because the protagonist was too negative). It formed the prelude to the "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Doubtful". Donaldson was inspired to the figure of his leprosy antihero by the work of his father, who was a doctor in India who specialized in working with leprosy sufferers and who primarily dealt with the psychological consequences of this disease.

"The Chronicles" have been compared by some critics to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings . Similar to Tolkien's work, a normal, rather weak person is confronted with having great power through possession of a magic ring. Donaldson, however, expands the topic to include aspects of modern psychology and draws characters that seem much more ambivalent than Tolkien's. In addition to the ring or power complex and its corruption problem, Donaldson extensively examines the subject of " leprosy " - the expulsion of the sick from society. The title figure of the book, the writer Thomas Covenant, is ill with leprosy and is then shunned and hostile by those around him. During brief periods of unconsciousness, he lived for months in a parallel world called “Das Land” , which was strongly reminiscent of Tolkien's Middle-earth . There his leprosy is no problem and his white gold wedding ring is a talisman of immeasurable power.

Critics see the Amnion cycle, which must be attributed to science fiction , as Donaldson's best work. The story depicts an interstellar intrigue within the human sphere of influence against the background of a possible war with the Amnioni , aliens who have special skills in the field of biotechnology .

In addition to his "official" works, Donaldson has published The Man Who since 1980, a crime series. The first three books in the series originally appeared under the pen name Reed Stephens. All books have since been published under his real name.

Awards

bibliography

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (the Doubtful)

First Chronicle ( The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever )

Second Chronicles ( The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant )

Last Chronicle ( The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant )

  • 1 The Runes of the Earth (2005)
  • 2 Fatal Revenant (2007)
  • 3 Against All Things Ending (2010)
  • 4 The Last Dark (2013)
Mordants Not ( Mordant's Need )
  • 1 The Mirror Of Her Dreams (1986)
  • 2 A Man Rides Through (1987)
  • 1–2 Mordant's Need (2007, anthology)
Amnion ( gap )
  • 1 The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story (1991)
  • 2 The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge (1991)
  • 3 The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises (1992)
  • 4 The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order (1994)
  • 5 The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die (1996)
The Man Who series
  • 1 The Man Who Killed his Brother (1980)
  • 2 The Man Who Risked His Partner (1984)
  • 3 The Man Who Tried To Get Away (1990)
  • 4 The Man Who Fought Alone (2001)
Short story collections
  • Daughter of Regals and Other Tales (1984)
  • Daughter of Regals , 1984 ("Daughter of Kings")
  • Gilden-Fire , 1981 ("Gülden-Fire")
  • Mythological Beast , 1979 ("Once upon a time there was an animal ...")
  • The Lady in White , 1978 ("The Lady in White")
  • Animal Lover , 1978 ("The Animal Lover ")
  • Unworthy of the Angel , 1983 (" Unworthy of the Angel ")
  • The Conqueror Worm , 1983 ("The Victorious Worm")
  • Ser Visal's Tale , 1984 ("Ser Visal's Tale")
  • Reave the Just and Other Tales (1999)
  • What Makes Us Human , 1984
  • The Djinn Who Watches Over the Accursed , 1985
  • Reave the Just , 1992
  • The Woman Who Loved Pigs , 1993
  • The Kings of Tarshish Shall Bring Gifts , 1995
  • By Any Other Name , 1998
  • The Killing Stroke , 1998
  • Penance , 1998

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Donaldson, Stephen R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Donaldson, Stephens Reed; Donaldson, Stephen Reeder
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Cleveland , Ohio, USA
Spoken version of the article