Stephen R. Donaldson and the Thomas Covenant Series.

I started looking at certain authors that I enjoy in order to translate their words into images. I've always found Stephen R. Donaldson's work entertaining and a good exercise in testing my Webster's dictionary with words like mien and puissant when I was in middle school.

 As disturbing as the main character Thomas Covenant is, the Land's inhabitants wear away his leprous anti-social walls with courage, beauty, and friendship. They are so forgiving of his flaws and in accepting him, to the point where he eventually goes from the arrogant heel to saving them all from the all powerful Satan like character he his pitted against.

 

Sadly the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are lacking in visual artists. Tolkien has had the likes of the brothers Hildebrandt and Alan Lee who's visions inspired Peter Jackson, who in turn created the epic movies of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Stephen R. Donaldson seems to have very little to choose from what I've seen in internet searches for anything relating to his vision. From all accounts his movie deal is in the dreaded limbo of Hollywood middlemen. 

Probably one reason for this is because the hero of the story purposely and gravely injures a young girl in the onset of the first novel. He's a completely unlikable character thrust into the heart of a world in danger and he's the only hope of saving it. It is too much for an individual who has to struggle with being a leper, a raper, and possibly a mad man all at once.

I would imagine the only way Stephen R. Donaldson's work could be translated into the silver screen would be through the second series. The images posted along with this musing are of Nom. Any fan who has read the books ranks this creature's appearances through the novel the One Tree and the White Gold Wielder as one of the top most characters they really want to see in action.

So now I'm putting my sketch book to use and I'm trying my hand at visualizing this body of work into form and line.  Hopefully in a few days I will be able to post the images for Mhoram's victory over the giant Satansfist from the third novel the Powers That Preserve.