The Last Dark

Compelled step by step to actions whose consequences they could neither see nor prevent, Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery have fought for what they love in the magical reality known only as "the Land." Now they face their final crisis. Reunited after their separate struggles, they discover in each other their true power--and yet they cannot imagine how to stop the Worm of the World's End from unmaking Time. Nevertheless they must resist the ruin of all things, giving their last strength in the service of the world's continuance.

New York Times bestselling author Stephen R. Donaldson presents the first novel of the four-volume finale to the series that’s become a modern fantasy classic: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Thomas Covenant lost everything. Abandoned by his wife and child, sick and alone, he was transported while unconscious to a magical, dreamlike world called the Land. Convinced it was all a delusion, Covenant was christened The Unbeliever by the Land’s inhabitants—but gave his life to save this new-found world he came to regard as precious. Ten years after Covenant’s death, Linden Avery still mourns for her beloved companion. But a violent confrontation with Covenant’s son, who is doing the evil Lord Foul’s bidding, forces her into the Land, where a dark malevolence is about to unmake the laws of nature—and of life and death itself. It is here that she comes upon Esmer, son of the Dancers of the Sea, a creature of strange powers who draws Linden backwards through time to witness Thomas Covenant’s return to life, and to reinvent the mysterious, dangerous, and violent history of the Land.

Linden Avery returns to the Land in search of her kidnapped mentally ill son, whom she discovers fully healed and at the side of her believed-dead beloved, Thomas Covenant, leading an attack on Revelstone.

Linden's defiant act of love--resurrecting Thomas Covenant--awakens the Worm of the World's End. If they have any chance to save the Land, it will come from unlikely sources--including the mysterious boy Jeremiah, Linden's adopted son, whose secrets are only beginning to come to light.

“Covenant is [Stephen R.] Donaldson's genius!”—The Village Voice He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in this strange alternate world on which he suddenly found himself. Yet the Land tempted him. He had been sick; now he seemed better than ever before. Through no fault of his own, he had been outcast, unclean, a pariah. Now he was regarded as a reincarnation of the Land's greatest hero—Berek Halfhand—armed with the mystic power of White Gold. That power alone could protect the Lords of the Land from the ancient evil of the Despiser, Lord Foul. Except that Covenant had no idea how to use that power. . . .

Includes and excerpt from The last wild.

When canine heroes Max, Rocky, and Gizmo encounter a lavish riverboat moored close to shore, they're wary of what they might find on board. But as they're welcomed by a friendly community of dogs, the trio discover that there's more to their new world than they expected. These dogs have seen humans -- who Max, Rocky, and Gizmo thought had disappeared without a trace. The brave companions meet new friends and encounter old enemies in their search for their people, traveling to places they never imagined -- from a high-speed monorail to a zoo filled with exotic animals. Max, Rocky, and Gizmo uncover secrets that promise to change their lives forever as they draw closer to figuring out why the humans left and being reunited with their families. The Last Dogs: Dark Waters is the second book in a thrilling series about three friends on a journey to find their people -- and bring them home.

Dark as Last Night confirms, once again, that Tony Birch is a master of the short story. These exceptional stories capture the importance of human connection at pivotal moments in our lives, whether those occur because of the loss of a loved one or the uncertainties of childhood. In this collection we witness a young girl struggling to protect her mother from her father's violence, two teenagers clumsily getting to know one another by way of a shared love of music, and a man mourning the death of his younger brother, while beset by memories and regrets from their past. Throughout this powerful collection, Birch's concern for the humanity of those who are often marginalised or overlooked shines bright.