Category talk:Fictional planets

Ill-Earth?

Is Ill-Earth in Donaldson's books a planet; or an otherworld; it's an other-Earth, isn't it? - something like Lankhmar, connected to us by the story's universe, rather than having its own existence like Middle-Earth; not us, but us as if we might have been.

I've been looking for Ill-Earth or Donaldson in the fantasy sections of Wikipedia and have tried different capitatlizations of the world-name (I don't have the books anymore), having forgotten the name of his character which I half-need for an article I'm writing; ah, Thomas Covenant - got it from Google.

The one name I always remember is Saltheart Foamfollower, the last surviving giant, of a race of sea-giants whose ships, like themselves, were made out of stone. At first I thought the names in the book sucked; too artificial; but as the story expanded and the characters began to reveal their nature the names began to resonate; especially Foamfollower's, whose vanished race takes on tragic grandeur, as do his own strivings on behalf of the antihero character. There's a medical-experience creepiness to Ill-Earth, though; he goes there in trance when his leprosy overtakes him; or rather the parallel disease that is undiagnosed takes him there.

In Tolkien, it's like the purging of Eden, the driving-out of Satan and the Serpent by Adam - aided by Eve's father-in-law, one of the kings of the elves. In Donaldson I'm impressed by the quality of the writing, which is nearly psychiatric in its depth sometimes, and sometimes overtly psychotic in character, or at least the characterizations are; whereas Tolkien describes psychosis in characters - very well - but he does not partake of the psychosis, or take us there (to think like Gollum or Saruman, for instance). His cures are those of nature healers and the powers of virtue and nature; in Ill-Earth it is nature itself that is sick, and the reluctant anti-hero drawn to a counter-determined destiny he does not want in being its healer, and he is rescued in spite of himself, and so on; Tolkien's characters are more clear-cut. Aragorn is ambitious, but doesn't show it and must walk the middle path; but he's just a good guy; he's uncomplicated and "born to rule" and proud of it; Covenant's dragged into it, kicking and screaming. Realize these comments belong on the Thomas Covenant page where it belongs; but I'll move it tomorrow; gotta start me a blog...I know my comments are too lengthy for normal wikispace guidelinesSkookum1 19:54, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

Arcturus?

And shouldn't David Lindsay's fantasy-fictional Arcturus be here? And Eddison's Mercury?Skookum1 19:56, 26 November 2005 (UTC) Re Voyage to Arcturus - I'd forgotten the planet in the book is named Tormance; no article on it yet, although it has an extensive geography; might be worth a shot one day but I don't own a copy any more; and it's a dizzying read....Skookum1 07:04, 27 July 2006 (UTC)