GRADUAL INTERVIEW SPOILER WARNING!   ..........   Spoilers - Fatal Revenant Marc Dalesandro:  Hello Mr. Donaldson, Two questions: #1 - I was wondering whether Lord Foul was ignorant of the "real world" prior to the arrival of Thomas Covenant. Since then, he has attempted to use & manipulate Joan, Linden, etc...but does he "care" about our world, or does he regard it as a curiosity, another place from which to draw lackeys? #2 - In Fatal Revenant we see for the first time Foul using servants ("allies") who are greater than the Ravers. Roger (+croyel) and Kastenessen both seem to be more powerful than any of Foul's previous tools. Is this a conscious choice on the Despiser's part? Or just another example of how this Last Chronicles has escalated in scope? Thanks! 1) Such questions make me uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. You're presupposing that Lord Foul actually exists outside the boundaries of Covenant's (and Linden's) conscious/unconscious minds. This is a subject which has been discussed often in the GI--and on which I'm apparently unable to make my position clear. So for now let me just put it this way: as soon as I say something like, "Yes, LF has either prior or separate knowledge of the 'real world,'" I'm confirming both his and the Land's independent "reality"; and I don't want that responsibility. I want you to arrive at your own conclusions and read accordingly. 2) LF has already shown he's smart enough to recognize that his earlier strategies haven't worked. Between defeats, he doesn't just sit around muttering, "Curse you, Red Baron!" He asks himself, "Where did I go wrong? What can I do differently? What do I need to win this fight?" Working through more powerful--but also more unpredictable--surrogates is only the most recent change in his approach. Meanwhile he's been trying to find ways to escalate the conflict since the beginning of LFB; so that is also consistent with his earlier actions. (03/19/2008)