Major Influences
Though typically compared to J. R. R. Tolkien, Donaldson's stories are also strongly influenced by William Shakespeare, Mervyn Peake and the operas of Richard Wagner. A Thomas Covenant and Mordant's Need series also make use of the "alternate world" paradigm in a manner reminiscent of the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. The notable specific influence is Roger Zelazny's Amber series, which influenced Mordant's Need.

The Covenant Books
Independent article: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever

Donaldson's virtually all celebrated character is Thomas Covenant, a misanthropic leprosy-sufferer, shunned and detested by society, world health organization is destined to be a heroic saviour of an surrogate Globe (or even, perchance, sole of his have saneness?). Covenant struggles against a evil Lord Foul - "The Despiser" - that intends to break a physical universe to escape its bondage & wreak retaliation upon his arch-enemy "The Creator".

A story of Covenant was told originally through ii trilogies of novels published between 1977 & 1983. A third series, "The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" began publication inside 2004.

Other Works
''Mordant's Need