The One Tree
The second book of Stephen R. Donaldson's Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant finds Covenant and physician Linden Avery setting sail aboard the giant-crewed Starfare's Gem in search of the One Tree — the only source of wood pure enough to forge a new Staff of Law. Guided by knowledge granted to Covenant in Andelain by the Forestal Hile Troy, the voyage is the Land's last hope against the Sunbane's spreading desecration and the bloody sacrificial rites of the Clave.
The journey carries Covenant, Linden, and their giant and Haruchai companions across dangerous seas and stranger shores, pursued at every turn by forces determined to see the quest fail before the Staff can ever be remade.
Dense with Donaldson's characteristic moral anguish and richly imagined world-building, The One Tree pushes its unbelieving hero deeper into a Land whose survival depends on a power he still isn't sure he has the right to wield.
This book is the second volume in 'The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant' and continues directly from the events of 'The Wounded Land'. Readers will benefit from starting with the first book in that series to fully understand the characters' motivations and the ongoing narrative.
The One Tree is part of the second major trilogy set in the Land, following the original 'Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever'. While it features returning characters and builds upon the established mythology, it also introduces new elements and expands the scope of the world.