theillearthwar

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The Illearth War

Stephen R. Donaldson

Donaldson, Stephen R. The Illearth War. Ballantine Books. New York, New York. 1977.

The Illearth War is an epic fantasy written by the great Stephen R. Donaldson. It’s the second book in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever series. The series has many different characters that have very good detail and personality.

The Illearth War is about tiny people that live in and on trees. Only the wealthy ones live in the trees and the poor must suffer the swaying branches and the cold wet days. The book has three main characters. One person is very rich, and the other two are poor and have only the leftovers from the rich ones. Harold Jackson and his family are the richest in the big tree and the most snobby. The other two are named Frank Moore and John Fourfold. Frank is very polite and well mannered, while John is grumpy and wished he was rich like the others. This is how the tragic war started.

One steaming hot summer day, when John was still complaining about not having a big tree, John got mad and decided he wanted to get along with the rich people, so that they can have a house or shelter for themselves. John gathered the poor people and talked about what they should say. They talked and talked and decided that Frank would go and negotiate for some rights in the big tree to get some dignity. While he was walking down the tree steps and into the tree, he told the guards that he wanted to talk to Harold Jackson, the head of the tree. The guards said that no one is allowed to talk to Harold Jackson unless he wishes to be spoken with. Frank got annoyed and tried to talk his way in, but the guards were well armed.

That night, Frank got everyone together to talk about this event. The people decided on an attack around the whole tree. They got a group of men around each entrance, North, South, East, and West. They attacked, and were off to a good start, except they did not know where they were going. The poor people fought and fought, but it seemed that the rich people kept bringing in new soldiers. The poor people tried as hard as they could and almost succeeded, but the rich people had twice the people, armory and weapons. The poor ones retreated for their own good and prayed that the wounded would heal back to full health. After this, the poor people were allowed in the tree once a week with Harold who had made a few friends.

The Illearth War tells everyone that even if you don't have many things, you can still make a difference. Also, if you try hard enough for something, you can make it come true. This book was awarded The Platinum Album Award.

Contributed by D.Titus

3.5 out of 5 stars

June 2nd, 2011