I am still slogging through "Fatal Revenant: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" by Stephen R. Donaldson. My reading has slowed considerably over the last few days. Why? I am scanning earlier passages, making lists of words I've had to look up. I am also skimming earlier books in the series to add words to my list. I'll give you an example of why I am doing this. Look at the title of the book: "Fatal Revenant." What does revenant mean? Heck, even the Word 2007 dictionary doesn't seem to know. Dictionary.com gives the following meanings:
- a person who returns.
- a person who returns as a spirit after death; ghost.
In the case of the story line, the protagonist, Linden Avery has returned to "the Land", an eldritch land. Linden died when she was summoned to the land. Given the context that Linden is mortal and corporeal, but unable to return to her world as a living being leads me to believe meaning 2 might be preferred.
This is yet one more example of the Shiny Things theory. I've distracted myself from completing the story. I've allowed myself to get caught up in a flood of words that are new or renewed to me. My point of view is that knowledge of how to use the words and expanding my vocabulary will aid me in the future, whereas completing the story only provides short term entertainment.