The Reed Stephens Novels

The Man Who #1-3

by Stephen R. Donaldson

Genres: Fiction

960 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2001

About the author

Stephen Reeder Donaldson is an American fantasy, science fiction, and mystery novelist; in the United Kingdom he is usually called "Stephen Donaldson" (without the "R"). He has also written non-fiction under the pen name Reed Stephens.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION:

Stephen R. Donaldson was born May 13, 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 earned his bachelor's degree from The College of Wooster and master's degree from Kent State University.

INSPIRATIONS:

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. The writers he most admires are Patricia A. McKillip, Steven Erikson, and Tim Powers.

It is believed that a speech his father made on leprosy (whilst working with lepers in India) led to Donaldson's creation of Thomas Covenant, the anti-hero of his most famous work (Thomas Covenant). The first book in that series, Lord Foul's Bane, received 47 rejections before a publisher agreed to publish it.

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

PERSONAL LIFE:
He currently resides in New Mexico.

THE GRADUAL INTERVIEW

Reviews

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Reed Stephens Novels collects the first three of speculative fiction author Stephen R. Donaldson’s The Man Who series (originally published under the pseudonym of the title): The Man Who Killed His Brother, The Man Who Risked His Partner and The Man Who Tried to Get Away.

I was first introduced to Donaldson years ago, when a friend recommended The Thomas Covenant books - which turned out to be one of the best fantasy series I’d ever read. Years later, when I picked up The Gap Cycle, I wasn’t sure what to expect, being that it was science fiction and I’d only ever read SRD’s fantasy writing. After reading it, I found it, too, to be one of the best of its genre. Now, here I am in the same boat (SRD writing in the mystery genre?!) - you’d think I’d know by now.

Just like with the previous genre change, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but once again I found that my misgivings were unfounded. I won’t say it’s one of the best of the genre, but Donaldson’s writing is high quality as usual. His mysteries aren’t so much about trying to solve a puzzle as much as they are about the characters. Gritty, real-world characters, putting in the good fight (despite their personal failings) in a sleaze-bag, crime ridden city. Good stuff. The third book of this collection, wasn’t as good as the first two, and even felt a little convoluted, plot-wise. Still a solid 4 stars for this collection!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strange book ( or rather books, as it's an omnibus, even though timeline wise, they follow straight on... ), though I wonder if that's more because I'm aware that they are written by Stephen Donaldson, and more used to his fantasy work than detective/thriller novels. Even so, it was an enjoyable read.....

[Ms K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Donaldson’s prose and the passionate self flagellation of his unconscious heroes never fails to engage; however, as a mystery, the murderer was pretty obvious from about the first third to half of the book.