Lord Foul’s Bane is a novel by author Stephen R. Donaldson and is the first book in his epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever.
The story follows the character Thomas Covenant, an embittered and cynical writer who has been stricken with leprosy and lives a life of solitude in the small town of Haven Farm. One day, Covenant is mysteriously transported to a fantastical realm called The Land, where he is hailed as a hero and given the task of saving the inhabitants from the evil Lord Foul.
Despite his newfound powers and the aid of various allies, Covenant remains deeply skeptical of his surroundings, convinced that the entire experience is nothing more than a hallucination brought on by his disease. As the stakes continue to rise and Covenant is forced to confront the possibility that The Land is real, he must come to terms with his own sense of disbelief and find a way to overcome his inner demons in order to fulfill his destiny.
Published in 1977, Lord Foul’s Bane has become a classic of modern fantasy and has spawned numerous sequels and adaptations over the years.