Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

In the original series, a man (living in our world and in our time) is mysteriously struck down with a disease long since believed to have been eradicated. He becomes a pariah in his small town and is abandoned by his wife who departs with their infant son. Alone and despairing, Thomas Covenant falls and, while unconscious, is transported to a fantastic world in which a battle for the soul of the land is being waged. Christened "The Unbeliever", for he is convinced the world is only an illusion, a dream, he finds himself slowly forced to accept the role that seems to be his destiny: savior of the Land.

At the end of the sixth book, Covenant is killed, both in the real world and in the Land, as his companion, Linden Avery, looks on in horror. His death is both the ultimate sacrifice...and his redemption.

At the opening of The Runes of Earth, 10 years have passed. Linden Avery comes home one day to find her child building images of the Land with blocks, and senses a terrible foreboding. She had thought that she would never again be summoned to the Land, nor ever again see her beloved Thomas Covenant. But in the Land, evil is unmaking the very laws of nature.