Definitely better than book 1 because there was a huge section without Thomas Covenant in it, but even the part with him in it at the end wasn't terrible. I'll definitely be finishing the trilogy, but that third book will help me decide whether I do the 2nd trilogy or not.

Spoiler
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When confronted by his daughter and she says she wants to be his lover, what does Covenant say? Not, "eww that's gross you're my daughter.", Not "Well you are hot, but you're my daughter so no." But instead he says, "We can't because I'm a leper." EVEN THOUGH he totally can, because he's not really a leper in the fantasy world. But of course, he has to bring up being a leper. He's worse than a vegan! ( )

I'm well over half done and the thought of picking this up again is filling me with dread. Maybe I'll try again when winter has settled in. But now I need something with some life in it. Something that won't leave me rolling my eyes at the characters and wishing that they'd get on with it. I'm starting to understand why Kevin just said "Fuck it. I'm just gonna burn it all down. These asshats just won't STFU."

How did my judgement fail me so horribly when I was a teenager/young adult?

Oh wait.

I was a moody, hormonal teenager/young adult. That might be it right there.

I'm leaving an extra star because there are a lot of moody, hormonal people out there who might like this as much as I did back in the day. ( )

Lord Foul's Bane was a decent start to a potentially refreshing series. Illearth War fails to deliver on that and has put me off completely.
It begins well, with the build-up to Covenants summoning and the transition from his world to the next setting a good foundation.
It is a shame that the next 150 pages consist almost entirely of war council meetings. The next phase of the story takes up more than a third of the book and comprises entirely of a long war march led by a character that's new to the series. He's also a bit whiny. Thomas Covenant is not involved in this part of the story which rather contradicts the fact that the rest of the story is centered on him and his unbelief in the potentially imaginary world that surrounds him. When we finally get past this dull deviation, we are shown his “meanwhile" galavantings in the latter part of the book. Unfortunately, his strange attraction to his daughter (whose mother he raped), and her even stranger attraction to him, seem to become more of a focus than the actual plot.
Accompanying this are a lot of unrealistic, overblown events that are only just about acceptable due to the fact that this is a fantasy book and, I guess, you can get away with more or less anything under that umbrella.
Ah well, on to better things. ( )

What a pleasure to spend time in this world again, with the Unbeliever. There's a bit of cookie-cutter work here, sending Covenant back to the land after a short respite remembering his condition, and sending him home rather unceremoniously at the height of the conclusion. But the world building skills Donaldson displays in the second installment shine. Interestingly, Covenant is joined by another refugee from his world, and the unusual, fragile relations between the two make for good reading - as does the revelation that Covenant's violent sin in the first book produced a child. I'm sorry I didn't know about this series earlier in my reading life.

4 1/2 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended!!!!! ( )

Thomas Covenant se autodenominaba ”El Incrédulo” porque ni aún en su segunda visita al Reino pudo descuidar las precauciones que necesita un leproso para sobrevivir. Aquí, en el planeta Tierra, una cantante de cabaret había pedido después de su actuación un aplauso para él, que se hallaba entre el público, llamándole Berek Mediamano. Poco después, ya en su casa, Covenant se desvaneció e inició su segunda visita al Reino. Y se encontró en una reunión del Consejo de los Amos que había apelado desesperadarnente a él y a la magia legendaria del oro blanco, porque el Amo Execrable estaba en posesión de Illearth, la ”Piedra de la Mala Tierra”.