Stephen R. Donaldson

Stephen Reeder Donaldson (born 1947) is an American fantasy, science fiction, and mystery novelist most famous for his ten-novel series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. He spent part of his youth in India where his father worked as a medical missionary with lepers, earned a bachelor's from the College of Wooster and a master's from Kent State University, and debuted with the first Covenant trilogy in 1977. His psychologically complex works have won awards including the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and World Fantasy Award, and he holds a black belt in Shotokan karate.