This book is not perfect. It is difficult, somewhat overwritten, and presents an incredibly unlikeable protagonist who does altogether too much navel-gazing.

Lord Foul's Bane attempts to distance itself from LotR while simultaneously drawing heavily from it (shepherds of the forests, a magic ring, a mighty stone fortress, Ravers who serve Lord Foul, and the ineluctable march toward ruin).

However, it and the rest of the books in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are rewarding, rich, and compelling, and I find myself drawn to them. What is belief? "Any belief that puts itself beyond doubt nurtures its own collapse." What does disease do to the soul? Where do we put our faith? Without beauty, how do we combat despair? This is a morally complex book that is more than its superficial genre earmarks. For that I come back to it over the years.