Stephen Donaldson biography

Stephen R. Donaldson was born on the 13th May 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio. His father, James, was a medical missionary and his mother, Ruth, a prosthetist (a person skilled in making or fitting prosthetic devices). Donaldson spent the years between the ages of 3 and 16 living in India where his father was working as an orthopaedic surgeon. Donaldson was educated at the College of Wooster and the Kent State University, being awarded a Bachelor's and Master's degree respectively. Stephen Donaldson's work is heavily influenced by other fantasy authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Roger Zelazny, Joseph Conrad, Henry James and William Faulkner. Stephen Donaldson currently lives in New Mexico.

Stephen Donaldson came to prominence in 1977 with the The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, a story that centred around a leper shunned by society and his trials and tribulations as his destiny unfolds. These books established Stephen Donaldson as one of the most important figures in modern fantasy fiction.

The writers that Stephen Donaldson most admires are Patricia A. McKillip, Steven Erikson, and Tim Powers.

"I do suffer from a kind of "performance anxiety" that I associate with competing with myself. So many people enjoyed the first six "Covenant" books--and I've made them wait so long to complete the story--that I can hardly bear the prospect of disappointing them. In the long run, however, I'm more concerned about doing justice to the story. For that reason, I hope that my own expectations for myself are higher than anyone else's for me."

... for The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

If there is any justice in the literary world, Donaldson will earn the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with Tolkien. Time Out

Magnificently sustained... millions of readers on both sides of the Atlantic rave about this series. Irish Independent

An irresistable epic... imagination, heroism and excitement, made all the more real by Donaldson's deft handling of the rich history of the Land. Chicago Daily News

Comparable to Tolkien at his best... a remarkable achievement which will certainly find a place on the small list of true classics. Washington Post

All Stephen Donaldson Reviews