reubenalbatross 's review for:

The Runes of the Earth by Stephen R. Donaldson
DID NOT FINISH: 50%

This book did absolutely nothing for me, especially compared to the previous trilogies.
 
It has none of the depravity that made the previous series' good, which just turns it into a miserable fantasy rather than an interesting/challenging one.
 
Because I've been in this world so much and know the lore well, I've learned basically nothing new about the Land in this book, which is one of the things I enjoy most in fantasy. The second trilogy had a lot of new things to process with the Sunbane, travelling to new places etc., but this one has nothing apart from moodier Haruchai. 
 
At 50% there's basically no plot. They've just been traipsing through mountains and giving confusing explanations about ur-viles and demondim spawn.
 
Linden as the main protagonist is BORING. Thomas Covenant was interesting because he's a pure anti-hero. Yes, it could be difficult to read at times, but at least it was interesting. Linden has nothing apart from sometimes mentioning her son - but she doesn't worry about him enough to make that an interesting characteristic. 

Maybe I'll pick it up again at some point, as I glean from other reviews that Thomas Covenant does actually return. But at 50% with literally nothing happening, I'm just done.