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Sword of Truth #1
Wizard's First Rule
Librarian's note: See alternate cover editions of ISBN 0812548051 here. and here.
Millions of readers the world over have been held spellbound by this valiant tale vividly told.
Now, enter Terry Goodkind's world, the world of the Sword of Truth.
In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help ... and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.
In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword-- to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed ... or that their time has run out.
This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.
Millions of readers the world over have been held spellbound by this valiant tale vividly told.
Now, enter Terry Goodkind's world, the world of the Sword of Truth.
In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help ... and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.
In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword-- to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed ... or that their time has run out.
This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.
836 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 15, 1994
About the author
Terry Goodkind
214 books12k followersTerry Goodkind was a contemporary American writer and author of the best-selling epic fantasy series, The Sword of Truth, creator of the television show The Legend of the Seeker, and writer of the self-published epic, The First Confessor: The Legend of Magda Searus (a prequel and origin story of the first Mother Confessor). He had over 20 million copies in print and has been translated into more than 20 different languages, world-wide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 7,711 reviews
September 4, 2007
It is always curious to see fantasy authors who don't consider themselves to be fantasy authors. Case-in-point: Terry Goodkind. The former landscape painter has told us how he isn't a fantasy author in every interview he's ever given:
"The books I write are first of all novels, not fantasy, and that is deliberate; I'm really writing books about human beings."(1)
"To define me as a fantasy writer is to misunderstand the context of my books by misidentifying their fundamentals."(2)
"The stories I'm telling are not fantasy-driven, they're character-driven, and the characters I want to write about could be set in any world. I'd like to address a broader audience."(3)
""What I have done with my work has irrevocably changed the face of fantasy. In so doing I've raised the standards. I have not only injected thought into a tired empty genre, but, more importantly, I've transcended it showing what more it can be . . ."
Then the interview usually devolves into a discussion of Ayn Rand and 'the meaning of art', just in case you missed the pretension of declaring fantasy books 'not fantasy!'
The guy certainly has a chip on his shoulder, but it makes me wonder whether he has actually read any fantasy. He doesn't seem to realize that the things he claims separate him from fantasy are fundamental parts of how modern fantasy works. A novel that's fundamentally about character interactions with a magical setting? How droll. Goodkind doesn't reinventing the novel; he doesn't even reinvent the fantasy novel, he just twists the knobs to get a little more steam out of it.
Michael Moorcock critiqued Tolkien as a false romantic, which is rather apt considering that his love story takes place almost entirely in absentia (prompting Peter Jackson to infuse some extra loving with a hot, elven, psychic dream sequence). Most fantasy authors rectify this by having the girl come along for the journey. Goodkind likes to keep the separation for much of the story as our hero tries to seek her out across a continent (though she is often just in the next room! Oh! What a tragic coincidence!)
Actually, after the first time it's just an annoying and painfully artificial way to try to hold off the conclusion for another hundred pages. It's a good thing Terry doesn't have to rely on magical or artificial means to keep his stories fresh!
The rest of the time, the hero finds the girl and lovingly transfixes her on his mighty sword. No, really. I'm not sure why these authors always end up feeling as if they have to dump their sex fetish issues at this particular juncture: "Huh, I dig BDSM. Maybe I should confide my fantasies in a book for mass publication".
I cannot think of a single female character in the entire series who isn't either raped or threatened with rape. If you want to give me an example of one, remember: I'm counting magical psychic blowjob rape as rape. I wish I never had the opportunity to qualify a statement with 'don't forget the psychic blowjob rape'.
I don't mind actual BDSM literature, but I'd rather have my own reaction to it than be told "isn't it totally dirty and wrong!? (but still super sexy, right?)" Porn for porn's sake is fine, but remember, Goodkind isn't some escapist fantasy author, these are 'real stories about real people' so he has to act like his magic porn is somehow a reflection of real life.
Goodkind's books are cookie-cutter genre fantasy, but the first few aren't that badly done, and if you like people narrowly missing one another, bondage, masochism, rape, and dragons, it might work for you, but the series dies on arrival part-way through, so prepare for disappointment.
If you are enjoying the series, you should probably avoid reading any of his interviews, as he rarely misses an opportunity to claim that he is superior to all other fantasy authors, and never compare him to Robert Jordan, because
"If you notice a similarity, then you probably aren't old enough to read my books."(4)
Goodkind truly lives in his own fantasy world if he thinks his mediocre genre re-hash is 'original' or 'deep'.
Then again, I've never met an adherent of Ayn Rand who didn't consider themselves a brilliant and unique snowflake trapped in a world of people who 'just don't understand'. The Randian philosophies are also laid on pretty thickly in his books, but at least he found a substitute grandmother figure to help him justify his Gorean sex-romp as 'high art'.
All in all, he's just another guy who likes to hear himself talk. Despite what he says, nothing separates his work from the average modern fantasy author, and like them, his greatest failing is the complete lack of self-awareness that overwhelms his themes, plots, and characters.
My Fantasy Book Suggestions
"The books I write are first of all novels, not fantasy, and that is deliberate; I'm really writing books about human beings."(1)
"To define me as a fantasy writer is to misunderstand the context of my books by misidentifying their fundamentals."(2)
"The stories I'm telling are not fantasy-driven, they're character-driven, and the characters I want to write about could be set in any world. I'd like to address a broader audience."(3)
""What I have done with my work has irrevocably changed the face of fantasy. In so doing I've raised the standards. I have not only injected thought into a tired empty genre, but, more importantly, I've transcended it showing what more it can be . . ."
Then the interview usually devolves into a discussion of Ayn Rand and 'the meaning of art', just in case you missed the pretension of declaring fantasy books 'not fantasy!'
The guy certainly has a chip on his shoulder, but it makes me wonder whether he has actually read any fantasy. He doesn't seem to realize that the things he claims separate him from fantasy are fundamental parts of how modern fantasy works. A novel that's fundamentally about character interactions with a magical setting? How droll. Goodkind doesn't reinventing the novel; he doesn't even reinvent the fantasy novel, he just twists the knobs to get a little more steam out of it.
Michael Moorcock critiqued Tolkien as a false romantic, which is rather apt considering that his love story takes place almost entirely in absentia (prompting Peter Jackson to infuse some extra loving with a hot, elven, psychic dream sequence). Most fantasy authors rectify this by having the girl come along for the journey. Goodkind likes to keep the separation for much of the story as our hero tries to seek her out across a continent (though she is often just in the next room! Oh! What a tragic coincidence!)
Actually, after the first time it's just an annoying and painfully artificial way to try to hold off the conclusion for another hundred pages. It's a good thing Terry doesn't have to rely on magical or artificial means to keep his stories fresh!
The rest of the time, the hero finds the girl and lovingly transfixes her on his mighty sword. No, really. I'm not sure why these authors always end up feeling as if they have to dump their sex fetish issues at this particular juncture: "Huh, I dig BDSM. Maybe I should confide my fantasies in a book for mass publication".
I cannot think of a single female character in the entire series who isn't either raped or threatened with rape. If you want to give me an example of one, remember: I'm counting magical psychic blowjob rape as rape. I wish I never had the opportunity to qualify a statement with 'don't forget the psychic blowjob rape'.
I don't mind actual BDSM literature, but I'd rather have my own reaction to it than be told "isn't it totally dirty and wrong!? (but still super sexy, right?)" Porn for porn's sake is fine, but remember, Goodkind isn't some escapist fantasy author, these are 'real stories about real people' so he has to act like his magic porn is somehow a reflection of real life.
Goodkind's books are cookie-cutter genre fantasy, but the first few aren't that badly done, and if you like people narrowly missing one another, bondage, masochism, rape, and dragons, it might work for you, but the series dies on arrival part-way through, so prepare for disappointment.
If you are enjoying the series, you should probably avoid reading any of his interviews, as he rarely misses an opportunity to claim that he is superior to all other fantasy authors, and never compare him to Robert Jordan, because
"If you notice a similarity, then you probably aren't old enough to read my books."(4)
Goodkind truly lives in his own fantasy world if he thinks his mediocre genre re-hash is 'original' or 'deep'.
Then again, I've never met an adherent of Ayn Rand who didn't consider themselves a brilliant and unique snowflake trapped in a world of people who 'just don't understand'. The Randian philosophies are also laid on pretty thickly in his books, but at least he found a substitute grandmother figure to help him justify his Gorean sex-romp as 'high art'.
All in all, he's just another guy who likes to hear himself talk. Despite what he says, nothing separates his work from the average modern fantasy author, and like them, his greatest failing is the complete lack of self-awareness that overwhelms his themes, plots, and characters.
My Fantasy Book Suggestions
February 5, 2019
Originality is a bit of a gray area. It's hard to find what exactly constitutes paying homage versus stealing. Terry Goodkind has left that gray area, sprinted 6 miles down the road, dug up the bodies of fantasy authors who came before him, and took the coins from their pockets.
July 24, 2007
Terry Goodkind is a grossly inept writer, with the writing ability of a somewhat intelligent seventh-grader, but he jumped into the wide-open fantasy field when there were hardly any good fantasy writers (a state that hasn't completely changed, btw) and he has the persistence to turn out 600 page novels, and so he got published and now he's grandfathered in, because some people don't have better taste than to buy his novels. Additionally, his early work is grotesquely derivative, mostly of Robert Jordan as a matter of fact. It also includes all kinds of cliché fantasy tropes, which then never appear again in the series, as though dragons and gars just up and wandered off the planet at some point. His bad guys, particularly in this book, are such a mish-mash of evil that they became caricatures of evil, and are actually laughable. For instance, either Darken Rahl or his henchman, I don't remember which. These guys were not just evil and out to despoil everything in sight and out for total power and in cahoots with the evil underworld spirits, one of them was also a child-molester to boot. I'm sure Goodkind would have called him a Nazi, had the concept fit into his milieu. And finally, after about four novels or so, Goodkind sacrifices story-telling on the altar of making a political point, and since then every book has been a thinly veiled objectivist, anti-religious and anti-altruism rant. I don't care that he has a point of view, or that he occasionally slips it into his writing, but his evil characters have become now, not caricatures of evil, but mean-spirited caricatures of the philosophy he opposes. And so he has shown himself, through his writing, to be someone I would despise quite apart from it: someone who can't conceive that the people who see things differently are men and women of good will who have just come to separate conclusions. He tortures the crap out of his writing in order to make it serve his convoluted agenda.
Do yourself a favor and don't start this series. Especially if, like me, you have OCD tendencies and feel compelled to finish what you start.
And yes, I am jealous—-that a lousy writer like that can have 600-page volume after 600-page volume published, and I can't. Because, frankly, I think I'm better than he is.
Do yourself a favor and don't start this series. Especially if, like me, you have OCD tendencies and feel compelled to finish what you start.
And yes, I am jealous—-that a lousy writer like that can have 600-page volume after 600-page volume published, and I can't. Because, frankly, I think I'm better than he is.
September 29, 2017
This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.
There are books you read once, you enjoy them and never give them a second thought. There are books you love and want to share this love with the entire world. And then there are books that are so precious to you that talking about them feels like sacrilege, like exposing your bare soul and instead you safeguard them like a treasure. For me, Sword of Truth belongs to the latest category. The only reason I decided to write a proper review is because it's a series that readers either love or hate, and I wanted to show you that despite the negative reviews there is something worth reading here, a gem that not everyone can appreciate but the ones who do, they will never be the same again. So, here's my bare soul.
There is a storm coming in the Three Kingdoms. The tyrant of D'Hara is about to put together the pieces of an ancient puzzle that can either give him unlimited power to control the world of the living or destroy life itself. The wizards have fallen, and the only person that stands a chance against him is the Seeker of Truth, the wielder of the Sword of Truth, a weapon forged with magic destined only for those that are deemed worthy. And that person is Richard Cypher. With a grumpy wizard and a mysterious woman as his companions, he sets off an epic journey, a journey to unlock the secrets of magic and human nature, greed and love, and find his destiny.
Terry Goodkind created a world I'd give anything to live in. He combines adventure with romance, magic, evil queens and dragons, sorcerers and wild tribes, past and present, death and life. His magic system is extremely well-written, his world-building solid and fascinating, his characters realistic. When I read his books, I feel like he's talking to me, he unravels the multiple layers of my soul and when he puts them back together, his story is among them. It's a part of who I am. Because his writing contains deeper messages and wisdom about life and love that sank into my bones.
Every fantasy books narrates a version of the eternal battle between Good and Evil. What makes Sword of Truth stand out, is that the enemy isn't a dark, inhuman lord who commands legions of nightmarish creatures. No, the enemy is one man, a man who has given his soul to the darkness, whose goal is to eliminate resistance and free will. And because of his pervertion, this book is dark, mature, cruel and sometimes disturbing, and themes like rape, tortures and human sacrifices are also included. But without the darkness, we would not appreciate the light.
I struggle to find words sufficient to describe why Richard is the best protagonist you could ever ask for. He is not a child, he is a man, a man brave and loyal and fair, a man who tried for years to tame his anger only to find out that his righteous fury will be the means to use the Sword of Truth and deliver justice, no matter how hard it is. He is kind and noble, he can forgive his enemies and fight for people he never met and above all, he is the smartest character I have ever met. He is a hero. And so is Kahlan. She is a woman of power, strong and confident, dedicated to her mission and a nightmare to her enemies. But the price of her power is the isolation and fear she inspires to everyone but Richard. To say that they are my favorite couple of all time would be an understatement. I ship them in an I-would-walk-through-the-fiery-pits-of-hell-to-make-sure-you-end-up-together kind of way. Don't expect rainbows and pink clouds, there are forces that keep them apart but their love is steady as a rock. In fact, I believe those two give the definition of the word love.
When I have a problem, when I can't decide what to do, I think of what Richard and Kahlan and Zedd would do. They're more than friends, they live inside me. As soon as I read the first pages of Wizard's First Rule, I knew that my life was about to change. And for that I am eternally grateful.
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There are books you read once, you enjoy them and never give them a second thought. There are books you love and want to share this love with the entire world. And then there are books that are so precious to you that talking about them feels like sacrilege, like exposing your bare soul and instead you safeguard them like a treasure. For me, Sword of Truth belongs to the latest category. The only reason I decided to write a proper review is because it's a series that readers either love or hate, and I wanted to show you that despite the negative reviews there is something worth reading here, a gem that not everyone can appreciate but the ones who do, they will never be the same again. So, here's my bare soul.
“Take care, Seeker. You have the gift. Use it. Use everything you have to fight. Don't give in. Don't let him rule you. If you are to die, die fighting with everything you have, everything you know. That is the way of a dragon.”
There is a storm coming in the Three Kingdoms. The tyrant of D'Hara is about to put together the pieces of an ancient puzzle that can either give him unlimited power to control the world of the living or destroy life itself. The wizards have fallen, and the only person that stands a chance against him is the Seeker of Truth, the wielder of the Sword of Truth, a weapon forged with magic destined only for those that are deemed worthy. And that person is Richard Cypher. With a grumpy wizard and a mysterious woman as his companions, he sets off an epic journey, a journey to unlock the secrets of magic and human nature, greed and love, and find his destiny.
“People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.”
Terry Goodkind created a world I'd give anything to live in. He combines adventure with romance, magic, evil queens and dragons, sorcerers and wild tribes, past and present, death and life. His magic system is extremely well-written, his world-building solid and fascinating, his characters realistic. When I read his books, I feel like he's talking to me, he unravels the multiple layers of my soul and when he puts them back together, his story is among them. It's a part of who I am. Because his writing contains deeper messages and wisdom about life and love that sank into my bones.
“The light of a new day always chases the shadows of the night away, and shows us that the shape of our fears is only the ghost of our own minds.”
Every fantasy books narrates a version of the eternal battle between Good and Evil. What makes Sword of Truth stand out, is that the enemy isn't a dark, inhuman lord who commands legions of nightmarish creatures. No, the enemy is one man, a man who has given his soul to the darkness, whose goal is to eliminate resistance and free will. And because of his pervertion, this book is dark, mature, cruel and sometimes disturbing, and themes like rape, tortures and human sacrifices are also included. But without the darkness, we would not appreciate the light.
“I am who I am; no more, no less.”
I struggle to find words sufficient to describe why Richard is the best protagonist you could ever ask for. He is not a child, he is a man, a man brave and loyal and fair, a man who tried for years to tame his anger only to find out that his righteous fury will be the means to use the Sword of Truth and deliver justice, no matter how hard it is. He is kind and noble, he can forgive his enemies and fight for people he never met and above all, he is the smartest character I have ever met. He is a hero. And so is Kahlan. She is a woman of power, strong and confident, dedicated to her mission and a nightmare to her enemies. But the price of her power is the isolation and fear she inspires to everyone but Richard. To say that they are my favorite couple of all time would be an understatement. I ship them in an I-would-walk-through-the-fiery-pits-of-hell-to-make-sure-you-end-up-together kind of way. Don't expect rainbows and pink clouds, there are forces that keep them apart but their love is steady as a rock. In fact, I believe those two give the definition of the word love.
“Love is not about what you want. It's about finding happiness for the one you love.”
When I have a problem, when I can't decide what to do, I think of what Richard and Kahlan and Zedd would do. They're more than friends, they live inside me. As soon as I read the first pages of Wizard's First Rule, I knew that my life was about to change. And for that I am eternally grateful.
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December 12, 2013
Wizard's First Rule is a good example of why people think all post-Tolkien Fantasy is trash. It bears one tenth of Tolkien's imagination, a smaller fraction of his brilliant study, and - oh look, swords! Cliche family drama, an angsty romance between tormented lovers, powerful characters who are so unjustly tortured - it's immature at best. At its best, it is a clunky and self-indulgently obtuse hero's journey. Then there's the hundred page BDSM tangent, where the hero goes through excruciating pseudo-bondage games with his captor. This part borders on self-parody, because the outrageous subject matter is stretched out for so long that it becomes boring and we're just waiting for it to end, and we know it will, because this isn't an inventive story that's going to venture to brave new intellectual worlds. The romance is similarly brutal, but on the weepy side rather than the sado-masochistic. There isn't even the hero-empowerment fun of Eragon to turn this into a fun immature adventure - it's too slow and anxious for that. Instead it builds to a ludicrous climax and a plot twist that you wouldn't think anyone would pen after Star Wars came out. But this book would.
January 25, 2018
I very much enjoyed this book! I only hope I can say so for the rest of the series
Mel ❤️
Mel ❤️
October 13, 2021
So I made this review into a short parody video on my new booktube (youtube for book reviews) channel here. I hope you enjoy! Please subscribe if you do, thanks!
Richard and Kahlen's Relationship Timeline:
Day One:
Richard: "Kahlen, now that we just met, we're the bestestest friends aren't we?"
Kahlen: "We sure are."
Day Two:
Richard: "Kahlen, we're the bestestest of friends and I would give my life for you even though we just met."
Kahlen: "Me too!"
Day Three:
Richard: "Kahlen, I love you more than life itself. What? It's only been three days? Well, that still seems sensible."
Kahlen: "My sentiments exactly!"
Days Four through 20:
Richard: "Love, love, love."
Kahlen: "I love you, but we can never be together ever because of the magic."
Days 21 through 30:
Random Mord Sith comes in out of nowhere.
Days >30:
See Days Four through 20.
More Details:
So, I didn't quite go into this with the best of intentions. I wanted to jump on the bandwagon since I felt like the only one not making fun of Goodkind. I can, however, say that I enjoyed Wizard's First Rule.
Ten years ago, I would have loved it more than anything. Five years ago, I still would have really really liked it. Today, I've realized I'm not quite the same reader I was before.
I've always loved what many term the "traditional" fantasy. Farmer/scullion learns true history that he/she is the ultimate of awesome, the supreme queen of butterflies and aardvarks, the master and commander.
While I enjoyed Goodkind's twist on this traditional tale, it was still a bit much for me at times. Richard is the boy-who-would-be-insert-title and he's just too perfect. He's good at EVERYTHING. Okay, he's a wilderness guide, so he's good at tracking and woodsy stuff (that's the technical term, believe me, I'm a woodsy guide). I can get behind that. But then he can fight and solve riddles and do rubik's cubes and everything.
Then, and I kinda feel like a tool talking about this since I don't really know all that much what I'm talking about, there's the lack of foreshadowing. There's probably a better term that would qualify this, but we jump from one adventure to the next.
There's the ultimate good versus bad tale going on, but to get to the end, there's so much padding with multiple adventures in between. We have to go to the mud people so they can tell us stuff. Oops, the mud people can't tell us, we have to go to that mountain over there and it's such a dangerous mountain. Oops again, now we have to call a fairy by tapping our ankles twice while holding our breath, doing a somersault on a donkey and spelling the word Goodkind backward.
I know Eddings' Belgariad does much the same thing, but that has a special place in my heart, whereas The Sword of Truth was just too late in my reading career. Add to that the less than stellar feelings toward the later volumes in the series, you may not see me carrying on.
I will say, the ending was pretty good and will actually be moving my 3 star rating up to a 3.5. Lucky duck.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
Richard and Kahlen's Relationship Timeline:
Day One:
Richard: "Kahlen, now that we just met, we're the bestestest friends aren't we?"
Kahlen: "We sure are."
Day Two:
Richard: "Kahlen, we're the bestestest of friends and I would give my life for you even though we just met."
Kahlen: "Me too!"
Day Three:
Richard: "Kahlen, I love you more than life itself. What? It's only been three days? Well, that still seems sensible."
Kahlen: "My sentiments exactly!"
Days Four through 20:
Richard: "Love, love, love."
Kahlen: "I love you, but we can never be together ever because of the magic."
Days 21 through 30:
Random Mord Sith comes in out of nowhere.
Days >30:
See Days Four through 20.
More Details:
So, I didn't quite go into this with the best of intentions. I wanted to jump on the bandwagon since I felt like the only one not making fun of Goodkind. I can, however, say that I enjoyed Wizard's First Rule.
Ten years ago, I would have loved it more than anything. Five years ago, I still would have really really liked it. Today, I've realized I'm not quite the same reader I was before.
I've always loved what many term the "traditional" fantasy. Farmer/scullion learns true history that he/she is the ultimate of awesome, the supreme queen of butterflies and aardvarks, the master and commander.
While I enjoyed Goodkind's twist on this traditional tale, it was still a bit much for me at times. Richard is the boy-who-would-be-insert-title and he's just too perfect. He's good at EVERYTHING. Okay, he's a wilderness guide, so he's good at tracking and woodsy stuff (that's the technical term, believe me, I'm a woodsy guide). I can get behind that. But then he can fight and solve riddles and do rubik's cubes and everything.
Then, and I kinda feel like a tool talking about this since I don't really know all that much what I'm talking about, there's the lack of foreshadowing. There's probably a better term that would qualify this, but we jump from one adventure to the next.
There's the ultimate good versus bad tale going on, but to get to the end, there's so much padding with multiple adventures in between. We have to go to the mud people so they can tell us stuff. Oops, the mud people can't tell us, we have to go to that mountain over there and it's such a dangerous mountain. Oops again, now we have to call a fairy by tapping our ankles twice while holding our breath, doing a somersault on a donkey and spelling the word Goodkind backward.
I know Eddings' Belgariad does much the same thing, but that has a special place in my heart, whereas The Sword of Truth was just too late in my reading career. Add to that the less than stellar feelings toward the later volumes in the series, you may not see me carrying on.
I will say, the ending was pretty good and will actually be moving my 3 star rating up to a 3.5. Lucky duck.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
December 5, 2017
Okay everyone. Below is my review from when I tried to read Wizard's First Rule back in 2007. I was fresh out of college. You know, back when you thought your opinion mattered. While I didn't personally like the book and couldn't get into it, I really went for it in this review. I now regret it. You don't really understand how difficult it is to write something good until you try and write a book yourself. It's taxing, time consuming, alienating. Sometimes you think you wrote something amazing, and then someone will come around and tell you they'd rather lick their own dog's teeth than read what you wrote. Ouch. It's hurtful.
I'm leaving my review up below because I think it's a good lesson. If you don't like something, cool, that's fine. But you don't have to tear it down publicly. Better yet, why not point out the good you saw in it? There will be, inevitably, some person who shows up to point out all the bad. Nobody's worried that that person won't show up, so they now must shoulder the responsibility. I'm also leaving this review up so that I don't run from it. This review has gotten a lot of likes here on Goodreads, and with each new like, I feel more and more guilty about it.
Writing is hard. My hat's off to you, Mr. Goodkind. I apologize for my distasteful and mean review. Thankfully, you have so many fans out there that love your book and will stand by it, even when little shits like me throw out a mean review.
-----
I'm sorry. I really did try for this one, as I love my boyfriend (very much) who loves this book. I found the writing unbearable, as I would rather smell my dog's breath and lick his teeth than have to read words written by Terry Goodkind. That being said, I was interested in the story, but it was as if the guy did not have an editor. Oh, he had spell check, don't get me wrong, but no one told him to take out the emotions and/or inner-dialogue he would repeat up to 4 times in a paragraph.
I did love reading his acknowledgements page. Does that count?
Also, just incase Terry Good and Kind is out there, I am very sorry too. I wasn't too keen on your book, and I'm sorry this attack on your book was personal to your writing style and abilities. I think you are a cool looking man - one of the best with a ponytail - and I am sure you are as your last name implies.
I'm leaving my review up below because I think it's a good lesson. If you don't like something, cool, that's fine. But you don't have to tear it down publicly. Better yet, why not point out the good you saw in it? There will be, inevitably, some person who shows up to point out all the bad. Nobody's worried that that person won't show up, so they now must shoulder the responsibility. I'm also leaving this review up so that I don't run from it. This review has gotten a lot of likes here on Goodreads, and with each new like, I feel more and more guilty about it.
Writing is hard. My hat's off to you, Mr. Goodkind. I apologize for my distasteful and mean review. Thankfully, you have so many fans out there that love your book and will stand by it, even when little shits like me throw out a mean review.
-----
I'm sorry. I really did try for this one, as I love my boyfriend (very much) who loves this book. I found the writing unbearable, as I would rather smell my dog's breath and lick his teeth than have to read words written by Terry Goodkind. That being said, I was interested in the story, but it was as if the guy did not have an editor. Oh, he had spell check, don't get me wrong, but no one told him to take out the emotions and/or inner-dialogue he would repeat up to 4 times in a paragraph.
I did love reading his acknowledgements page. Does that count?
Also, just incase Terry Good and Kind is out there, I am very sorry too. I wasn't too keen on your book, and I'm sorry this attack on your book was personal to your writing style and abilities. I think you are a cool looking man - one of the best with a ponytail - and I am sure you are as your last name implies.
December 27, 2013
I am adding this author to the list of people that I wouldn't want to have lunch with. After this review, I suspect he won't want to have lunch with me either.
This book reads like a game of Dungeons and Dragons. It's a quest, a bit formulaic, and at times I could practically hear the narrator telling me to roll the ten-sided die to see what happens when we go down the left fork. In this book, we have the hapless regular guy who through a great series of coincidences finds himself traveling to save the world with the beautiful, mysterious woman (formerly, the damsel in distress), the great and powerful wizard (who is utterly disappointing and mostly serves as comic relief), and the hardened, streetwise soldier. It almost feels like the author drew a map of his new fantastical world, decided to put the main character at one end, and the solution at the other, and then gave him a veritable obstacle course of classic problems on the way. He runs into underworld beasts, monsters, dragons, deluded armies, and betrayal (which, consequently, the rest of us saw coming 500 pages before he did). To say this book is plot-driven would be an understatement. Sadly, though, even the pacing of that plot isn't good.
But none of that has anything to do with why I wouldn't want to hang out with the author. I found the creations of his imagination really disturbing. I could almost feel his delight in divining new and more horrible atrocities to detail as the story went on. Yes, the bad guy is very, very bad. But there was a definite sick, sadistic side to the story. I just have to wonder what kind of person decides to spend something like eight chapters on very descriptive and imaginative torture of one character, when the great love that supposedly drives the story took a comparative flash to develop. He's great at devising innovative ways to cause pain and anguish, but terrible at imagining realistic human interaction. The dialogue, sadly, reflects that.
When the author isn't describing pain or evil, a sitcom-like feeling prevails. A paraphrased typical scene: a genuinely disturbing challenge with an emotional resolution that should leave everyone drained and perhaps scarred, until big old wizard asks, "When do we eat?" To which everyone chuckles, "Oh, that wizard, his stomach's always in charge." and they all saunter off into the sunset arm in arm.
If you love Dungeons and Dragons, or if you're someone who enjoys causing or experiencing pain, this book is for you. For me, not so much. I wonder if his other books get any better?
This book reads like a game of Dungeons and Dragons. It's a quest, a bit formulaic, and at times I could practically hear the narrator telling me to roll the ten-sided die to see what happens when we go down the left fork. In this book, we have the hapless regular guy who through a great series of coincidences finds himself traveling to save the world with the beautiful, mysterious woman (formerly, the damsel in distress), the great and powerful wizard (who is utterly disappointing and mostly serves as comic relief), and the hardened, streetwise soldier. It almost feels like the author drew a map of his new fantastical world, decided to put the main character at one end, and the solution at the other, and then gave him a veritable obstacle course of classic problems on the way. He runs into underworld beasts, monsters, dragons, deluded armies, and betrayal (which, consequently, the rest of us saw coming 500 pages before he did). To say this book is plot-driven would be an understatement. Sadly, though, even the pacing of that plot isn't good.
But none of that has anything to do with why I wouldn't want to hang out with the author. I found the creations of his imagination really disturbing. I could almost feel his delight in divining new and more horrible atrocities to detail as the story went on. Yes, the bad guy is very, very bad. But there was a definite sick, sadistic side to the story. I just have to wonder what kind of person decides to spend something like eight chapters on very descriptive and imaginative torture of one character, when the great love that supposedly drives the story took a comparative flash to develop. He's great at devising innovative ways to cause pain and anguish, but terrible at imagining realistic human interaction. The dialogue, sadly, reflects that.
When the author isn't describing pain or evil, a sitcom-like feeling prevails. A paraphrased typical scene: a genuinely disturbing challenge with an emotional resolution that should leave everyone drained and perhaps scarred, until big old wizard asks, "When do we eat?" To which everyone chuckles, "Oh, that wizard, his stomach's always in charge." and they all saunter off into the sunset arm in arm.
If you love Dungeons and Dragons, or if you're someone who enjoys causing or experiencing pain, this book is for you. For me, not so much. I wonder if his other books get any better?
June 19, 2010
The sheer depth of Wizard's First Rule is simply amazing. His characters are unique and original, yet seem simple when you realize that they aren't perfect. Every chapter you read will cling you tighter to his series. Of course, many will dislike Terry Goodkind's works, either because he establishes dead on ethics in an 'I'm right, your wrong' approach, or because of dissatisfaction with his writing style, but it would be a baseless altercation to state that he is a run-in-the-mill, and mediocre author. Terry Goodkind deserves nothing but praise for this extraordinary novel.
December 17, 2015
a total shitshow.
despite the common monomythic DNA that should have excused it, this book seemed altogether cribbed from robert jordan's wheel of time series.
and then doused with absurd flourishes of disturbing provenance until it fairly reeked.
like when some seriously NYC-aggro person opens a plate of take-out chinese chicken wings in hot sauce on the subway.
usually just after the express leaves 125th and everyone has to spend the next eight minutes in an enclosed space together, stewing in the fumes.
.............but yeah, i hated this.
despite the common monomythic DNA that should have excused it, this book seemed altogether cribbed from robert jordan's wheel of time series.
and then doused with absurd flourishes of disturbing provenance until it fairly reeked.
like when some seriously NYC-aggro person opens a plate of take-out chinese chicken wings in hot sauce on the subway.
usually just after the express leaves 125th and everyone has to spend the next eight minutes in an enclosed space together, stewing in the fumes.
.............but yeah, i hated this.
June 29, 2012
I can honestly say this is the worst piece of fiction I have ever encountered, in any genre. It's hard to know where to start critiquing this book since I hated so very many things about it. First off, it is about four times too long. I'm all for an epic sized novel if the story can support it, but this one doesn't come close.
The dialogue is, for the most part, trite and boring and the characters are all astoundingly two-dimensional and unauthentic. They are all constantly doing things against their described nature, and so many of their actions are inconsistent with what the characters know and how they would logically act. This is part of what makes the story read like a rough draft where the author is trying to get the plot down and needs to go back and do some serious polishing. The polishing never occurred.
The characters all make the most idiotic mistakes about things that a kindergartner would have been able to reason out. This is just bad writing. The author could have achieved the same results in far more plausible ways, while at the same time giving the characters some consistency, intelligence, forethought, and reasoning ability.
Like many other negative reviewers, I am astounded by the sheer quantity of trite plot devices. He really pushes Jungian literary theories of collective conscious and archetypes to the limit. On just the fantasy genre level, we have woodsmen/rangers, a magical sword, a quirky old wizard, young, mysterious, and coincidentally gorgeous magic-wielding young woman, and old witch living by herself in the woods, hellhouds (I know they're called heart hounds, but come on, they're hellhounds), a mystically wise yet primitive tribe, a talking and intelligent red dragon, an evil sorceress, a wicked queen, mystical artifacts, spells and enchantments out the wazoo, a charming yet horrible villain who happens to have mastery over every type of magic with an unquestionably detestable 2nd in command, a monster in a cave, a character that is undeniably a Gollum rip-off, a magical deadline, and more. The real show stopper on the trite-fest that is this book is the "Luke, I am your father"-esque moment at the end.
The plot line in the book was not well planned out, if it even was planned out; I would not be the least bit surprised to hear that the author just winged it. Think of the plot of a good book as an enjoyable road trip. The route will turn, taking you past several interesting vistas, while still generally heading towards the destination. The plot for Wizard's First Rule stops at every turn out and explores every cul de sac along the way, and frequently stops, goes back a ways, and then drives over the same stretch a second time. It is chock full of sequences that do nothing to advance the story or aid character development.
The anti-collectivist/anti-communist/pro-individualism message came across crystal clear, as well it should, since it was not in the least bit disguised and was often repeated. I don't have a problem with the content of this message, just that it was so blatant and heavy handed. The other oft-repeated and preachy moral was that of relative morality, which I did have an issue with. The main character, through the preaching of his trusted wizard friend, keeps having deep thoughts about how there is no good or evil from the viewpoint of those making a choice or performing an action. Like we are supposed to believe that, from the viewpoint of the child-molesting serial killer character, he considers his actions good and morally acceptable. Boo, Mr. Goodkind, boo.
Speaking of the child-molesting serial killer, he was only one of several deeply disturbing elements of the book. Not only do we have evil characters doing horribly naughty things, we, as readers, are treated to graphic descriptions of said naughty things. We get to hear about the molester's love of buggery, the dominatrices passion for torture, and how the pointlessly-vegetarian-turned-cannibal evil ruler first brainwashed his child victim before pouring molten lead down his throat, mutilated his body, and ate parts of it. Oh, and a bunch of rape.
This was just 832 pages of a horribly written waste of time. If I didn't enjoy meeting with my book-club (which is discussing this in a few weeks), I wouldn't have continued past the first chapter. I deeply resent the time this book took to read, as I have so many more worthy things I could have been reading in its stead.
The dialogue is, for the most part, trite and boring and the characters are all astoundingly two-dimensional and unauthentic. They are all constantly doing things against their described nature, and so many of their actions are inconsistent with what the characters know and how they would logically act. This is part of what makes the story read like a rough draft where the author is trying to get the plot down and needs to go back and do some serious polishing. The polishing never occurred.
The characters all make the most idiotic mistakes about things that a kindergartner would have been able to reason out. This is just bad writing. The author could have achieved the same results in far more plausible ways, while at the same time giving the characters some consistency, intelligence, forethought, and reasoning ability.
Like many other negative reviewers, I am astounded by the sheer quantity of trite plot devices. He really pushes Jungian literary theories of collective conscious and archetypes to the limit. On just the fantasy genre level, we have woodsmen/rangers, a magical sword, a quirky old wizard, young, mysterious, and coincidentally gorgeous magic-wielding young woman, and old witch living by herself in the woods, hellhouds (I know they're called heart hounds, but come on, they're hellhounds), a mystically wise yet primitive tribe, a talking and intelligent red dragon, an evil sorceress, a wicked queen, mystical artifacts, spells and enchantments out the wazoo, a charming yet horrible villain who happens to have mastery over every type of magic with an unquestionably detestable 2nd in command, a monster in a cave, a character that is undeniably a Gollum rip-off, a magical deadline, and more. The real show stopper on the trite-fest that is this book is the "Luke, I am your father"-esque moment at the end.
The plot line in the book was not well planned out, if it even was planned out; I would not be the least bit surprised to hear that the author just winged it. Think of the plot of a good book as an enjoyable road trip. The route will turn, taking you past several interesting vistas, while still generally heading towards the destination. The plot for Wizard's First Rule stops at every turn out and explores every cul de sac along the way, and frequently stops, goes back a ways, and then drives over the same stretch a second time. It is chock full of sequences that do nothing to advance the story or aid character development.
The anti-collectivist/anti-communist/pro-individualism message came across crystal clear, as well it should, since it was not in the least bit disguised and was often repeated. I don't have a problem with the content of this message, just that it was so blatant and heavy handed. The other oft-repeated and preachy moral was that of relative morality, which I did have an issue with. The main character, through the preaching of his trusted wizard friend, keeps having deep thoughts about how there is no good or evil from the viewpoint of those making a choice or performing an action. Like we are supposed to believe that, from the viewpoint of the child-molesting serial killer character, he considers his actions good and morally acceptable. Boo, Mr. Goodkind, boo.
Speaking of the child-molesting serial killer, he was only one of several deeply disturbing elements of the book. Not only do we have evil characters doing horribly naughty things, we, as readers, are treated to graphic descriptions of said naughty things. We get to hear about the molester's love of buggery, the dominatrices passion for torture, and how the pointlessly-vegetarian-turned-cannibal evil ruler first brainwashed his child victim before pouring molten lead down his throat, mutilated his body, and ate parts of it. Oh, and a bunch of rape.
This was just 832 pages of a horribly written waste of time. If I didn't enjoy meeting with my book-club (which is discussing this in a few weeks), I wouldn't have continued past the first chapter. I deeply resent the time this book took to read, as I have so many more worthy things I could have been reading in its stead.
October 8, 2008
The gender ideologies underlying the novel's cosmology are just so profoundly disturbing that I couldn't enjoy what there was of the story -- not that I was likely to enjoy it anyway, since it featured large amounts of sexual torture of Our Hero. It's really not any more tasteful when gender-reversed.
November 30, 2022
*** 3.44 ***
"...“People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.”..."
This was much better than it would seem when you first start the book. It is a linear story, no multiple POV's or constant action sequences, but engrossing nonetheless... Recommend it to all Fantasy lovers, but I think those new to the genre would enjoy it most!
"...“People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.”..."
This was much better than it would seem when you first start the book. It is a linear story, no multiple POV's or constant action sequences, but engrossing nonetheless... Recommend it to all Fantasy lovers, but I think those new to the genre would enjoy it most!
November 25, 2007
I was referred to Terry Goodkind as a better alternative to Robert Jordan. I feel betrayed and lied to. Or maybe it was some kind of joke. Goodkind's characters are simply not believeable, and this absolutely kills the book. The dialog is forced, and it feels as if no one ever proof read Goodkind's "masterpiece."
If you like books written in a style where if you squint your eyes and pretend that instead of reading, you are watching a one-liner Bruce Willis fantasy movie, go out and get this book right now.
If you like books written in a style where if you squint your eyes and pretend that instead of reading, you are watching a one-liner Bruce Willis fantasy movie, go out and get this book right now.
November 12, 2019
Terry Goodkind's literary crimes are too numerous to go into any detailed sort of exploration, so I'll talk about just one.
Goodkind is a sexual fetishist who is disgusted by his own fantasies of rape and sexual violence, portraying them as vile and evil even as he delves into the details. The more you read of his books, the more titillating sexual violence encounters are foisted onto his female characters. Most of the women in these books are either raped, threatened with rape, are rapists, or intentionally have sex with demons who have barbed penises, and then get raped later on. The level of depravity is revolting throughout. All the while, a beautiful young woman in a wedding dress runs around, protected against losing her virginity because of her anti-sex magic, which literally destroys anyone who sleeps with her. Unless they are her one true love, of course.
This grotesque and damaging view of sexuality is really Goodkind's main point after his Ayn Rand objectivist philosophy. He just wants to write grotty, woman-hating stories about his darkly violent sexual desires. Goodkind says he writes stories about people, not stories about fantasy; this is not true. He writes fantasy stories about the imaginary people being subjected to his sexual fantasies. Which involve demons. And lots of rape.
Goodkind is a sexual fetishist who is disgusted by his own fantasies of rape and sexual violence, portraying them as vile and evil even as he delves into the details. The more you read of his books, the more titillating sexual violence encounters are foisted onto his female characters. Most of the women in these books are either raped, threatened with rape, are rapists, or intentionally have sex with demons who have barbed penises, and then get raped later on. The level of depravity is revolting throughout. All the while, a beautiful young woman in a wedding dress runs around, protected against losing her virginity because of her anti-sex magic, which literally destroys anyone who sleeps with her. Unless they are her one true love, of course.
This grotesque and damaging view of sexuality is really Goodkind's main point after his Ayn Rand objectivist philosophy. He just wants to write grotty, woman-hating stories about his darkly violent sexual desires. Goodkind says he writes stories about people, not stories about fantasy; this is not true. He writes fantasy stories about the imaginary people being subjected to his sexual fantasies. Which involve demons. And lots of rape.
March 13, 2023
Still 5/5 for me.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"I don't think I could ever trust anyone who doesn't like cheese. It's not natural" -Zedd"
"Don't step off the Narrows. There be death"
"Zedd's first question upon waking up: "How many meals have I missed?"
He leaned forward:"What's wrong with your leg?"
"Nothing. It be perfectly fine.""
"No no," he said with a frown, pointing. "Not that one, the other."
Adie looked down at the missing foot, then back up to Zedd. "It does not go all the way to the ground."
"I give up. We have been trying all day, and it is the same now as when we started. Richard With The Temper," he announced, "you are the worst bird caller I have ever seen. A child could learn it in three tries, but there is not enough breath in you for the rest of your life to learn. It is hopeless. The only thing your whistle says is, 'Come, there is food here.'"
"But I was thinking 'hawk,' I really was."
Some of my favorite quotes:
"I don't think I could ever trust anyone who doesn't like cheese. It's not natural" -Zedd"
"Don't step off the Narrows. There be death"
"Zedd's first question upon waking up: "How many meals have I missed?"
He leaned forward:"What's wrong with your leg?"
"Nothing. It be perfectly fine.""
"No no," he said with a frown, pointing. "Not that one, the other."
Adie looked down at the missing foot, then back up to Zedd. "It does not go all the way to the ground."
"I give up. We have been trying all day, and it is the same now as when we started. Richard With The Temper," he announced, "you are the worst bird caller I have ever seen. A child could learn it in three tries, but there is not enough breath in you for the rest of your life to learn. It is hopeless. The only thing your whistle says is, 'Come, there is food here.'"
"But I was thinking 'hawk,' I really was."
July 31, 2020
I loved it. It was one of the first fantasy books I ever read. I think I must have read the first seven plus books in the series lots of times over the years. After that the series began to gradually become samey!
During lock down, it was so enjoyable to read this first book of the series again. I carried it around the home daily reading whenever I got the chance. I will get round to the next in the series eventually. Highly recommended to all epic fantasy fans.
During lock down, it was so enjoyable to read this first book of the series again. I carried it around the home daily reading whenever I got the chance. I will get round to the next in the series eventually. Highly recommended to all epic fantasy fans.
April 20, 2017
To be honest I started this book with certain bias.Because statements like:
"The books I write are first of all novels, not fantasy, and that is deliberate; I'm really writing books about human beings."
and
"The stories I'm telling are not fantasy-driven, they're character-driven, and the characters I want to write about could be set in any world. I'd like to address a broader audience."
I had impressions that he is smug at best(and delusional at worst) and he is unfamiliar with fantasy genre.I started his book hoping for ammunition against author.Well I have to say I didn't get it, Goodkind may be all of the above but he isn't a bad writer.
"What I have done with my work has irrevocably changed the face of fantasy. In so doing I've raised the standards. I have not only injected thought into a tired empty genre, but, more importantly, I've transcended it showing what more it can be.
No he's books don't transcend fantasy genre, but if we ignore author's delusion of grandeur we have decent heroic fantasy with a twist.
I had one big problem with it. Book tries to have serious themes in it but in book with noble heroes and evil, evil villains they often feel out of place.
No matter what Goodkind claims he's book doesn't transcend fantasy genre but it's good enough and it might have been 4 stars if not for 30 page torture porn. I am not sensitive person but I would prefer if authors would leave their kinky fetishes out of their books.
April 5, 2023
“Sometimes, making the wrong choice is better than making no choice. You have the courage to go forward, that is rare. A person who stands at the fork, unable to pick, will never get anywhere.”
With solid characters and interesting world-building, there is a lot to like about Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth #1). Even though this is a fairly long book, I read it quickly and stayed engaged. That said, I didn't really care for the chapters with the antagonist's POV. I think it was to show that everyone has a reason for what they do, but I felt we'd been hit over the head with that already. Luckily for me, there weren't that many of these chapters. Overall, though, I felt immersed in the story and enjoyed it. Zed was also a great character. 3.75 stars
“Wizard's First Rule: People are stupid”
With solid characters and interesting world-building, there is a lot to like about Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth #1). Even though this is a fairly long book, I read it quickly and stayed engaged. That said, I didn't really care for the chapters with the antagonist's POV. I think it was to show that everyone has a reason for what they do, but I felt we'd been hit over the head with that already. Luckily for me, there weren't that many of these chapters. Overall, though, I felt immersed in the story and enjoyed it. Zed was also a great character. 3.75 stars
“Wizard's First Rule: People are stupid”
June 21, 2019
I'm not really sure what to say about Wizard's First Rule as a book. Usually I can throw some sort of review together for even the worst books I've read but I'm finding reviewing this one is proving surprisingly tough. It does not help that I've read it multiple times over the years but never had to write a review for it before as I had not found my way to Goodreads on any of those previous occasions. What is worse is I do not even know how many times I've actually read Wizard's First Rule over the years. I know this is at least my third read. I first read the series when I was still in my teens and it ended up being my absolute favourite fantasy series! Trouble is I do not know if I ever reread it while I was in my teens (if only Goodreads was around to keep track of that stuff back then!). I was not big on rereading but I did make exceptions for the books I really loved. I know for sure I made a second attempt at the SoT series around 2007. I know that as it was when I made the transition from reading to audio. SoT and WoT were the first series I bought from Audible. They were both favourites from my teen years and seemed solid value for money picks as the were all well over 25 hours long in audio. I struggled a bit with SoT second time around as its flaws were more apparent and the audio versions of the series really sucked. So that means this 2019 return to Sword of Truth is at least my third attempt at the series. I've never finished the series! In my teen years I read up to the 6th book and then caught the next few as they got published but I only made it to the 8th or 9th book in the series. I decided to pause to let a few of them build up as I was forgetting too many of the happenings between instalments. My second attempt of the series ended sometime around the 3rd to 5th book. The series just never held my attention as well as it should have. I was never sure if that was because it was just not as much fun now that I was a more mature reader or if it was simply because I was struggling to make the transition from physical reading to audio and SoT, with its poor narration, was just a bad choice for that experiment. That is why I'm back for this 2019 reread. I had great success recently with rereading, and finally completing, two of my other teen favourite series (WoT and Malazan in case you guys were wondering) so I figured it was time for a third and probably final go at the SoT series!
So how did this 2019 read of Wizard's First Rule go? Pretty well and better than I expected considering my memories of my 2007 reread were slightly negative. I quite enjoyed Wizard's First Rule even if it was not quite the favourite I considered it to be in my teen years. Goodkind has a weird writing style but it is still pretty engaging. The story itself really does feel like a typically epic 1990s fantasy series. It has young heroes banding together to save the world from an evil villain and packs in plenty of action, mystery, adventure, and magic along the way as well as a tad of romance. It is also not shy in using a lot of the old school tropes as this book alone had everything from prophecy to magic swords and even dragons!
The basic story was enjoyable and intriguing enough. Richard Cypher, a young woodsman, finds his life taking a dramatic turn when, in the space of a few weeks, he finds his father brutally murdered and then stumbles across a mysterious woman fighting for her life against four men who are trying to kill her. Richard helps her escape and soon finds himself caught up in events that will shape the fate of the world. The woman he saves, Kahlan, explains that the magic boundaries that separate the three lands, D'Hara (ruled by an evil wizard lord), the Midlands (a collection of countries in a land where magic is prevalent), and the Westland (a place with no magic at all) are failing and that she has come to Westland in order to find the Great Wizard. The boundary between the Midlands and D'Hara has already fallen and Kahlan's people are besieged by the evil Wizard Darkhen Rahl. She has come come to the Westland as Rahl has started a magic ritual that will give him complete dominion over the living world if he manages to complete it successfully. She needs the help of the Great Wizard to stop it and he fled to the Westland after the rulers of the Midlands turned their back on him years ago.
That sounds like fairly standard 90s fantasy fare but Goodkind made it work and this was a pretty fun story. Rahl was an awful guy so it was fairly easy to root for Richard and Kahlan on their various adventures as they tried to stop him gaining the power to rule the whole world. I found the story engaging most of the time so that is always a good sign and I did like the heroes even if they did indulge in a few morally questionable moments along he way!
I know a lot of people hate this series and it does not have a positive reputation with modern fantasy fans and I can see why people might feel that way as this time around a lot of the flaws that I missed in my innocent teen years were clear to me this time around but I have to admit that they did not bother me enough that they ruined the story for me. This was still a fun read despite them! I'm not sure how much my nostalgia plays a part in my ability to ignore some of the more disturbing stuff that goes on but I guess that does not really matter as long as I do enjoy what I'm reading. I think the three big complaints I see in regards to SoT are Goodkind's Objectivist beliefs, the sexual violence in the story, and the casual sexism so I'll share my thoughts on each of those issues:
- The Casual Sexism - Of the three the casual sexism and single outburst of homophobia I spotted in the story are the things that annoyed me the most! Goodkind has a few flaws for sure but I do think his views on women are what I find most disturbing. Not that I want to slam the guy too much as it is not like he comes across as a guy that hates women and there are a fair few strong female characters in this book and across the rest of the SoT series it is just that he holds to some fairly old school conservative views on women and gender roles that can be quite annoying for the modern reader to have to deal with. As a hardened fantasy reader I'm well used to this sort of casual sexism so while I found it annoying it did not overly hinder my ability to enjoy the story. I've read far worse in many other books/series over the years. For example the sexism in The Last Wish, which I read a few months ago, was far worse than anything one will find in the SoT series!
- The Sexual Violence - I must admit I found Wizard's Firt Rule to be a lot darker than I remembered it being and a lot of that was due to the dark nature of the villains and the violence within the story. I think in terms of tone the story was not all that bleak or dark but it definitely had a few dark moments. There was a fair bit of torture and death as well as plenty of allusions to rape and sexual violence within the story but I never felt like any of it was all that explicit. Usually most sexual violence within fantasy stories ends up falling on the female characters but it was fairly well spread gender wise in this particular book. If anything the guys suffered the worst of it! I could have lived without people being castrated and without the Mord-Sith being so over the top but it was not so bad or explicit that it damaged my enjoyment of the story and the nature of the villains did give them a more menacing and human feel than your average fantasy villains. I even feel like that whole Mord-Sith story arc had a few good moments mixed in with all the cringe-worthy ones. Speaking about the Mord-Sith I still cannot believe they made it to the TV version of the series. I bet the actresses and scrip writers for the show must have been pissing themselves laughing while writing and acting out Goodkind's kinky dominatrix fantasies lol! Also worth noting that when I read this series as an innocent teen I had no clue about dominatrix or sadomasochism so just figured the Mord-Sith were some sort of twisted fantasy style torture villains Goodkind had dreamed up on his own. Don't judge me! It was the pre-internet era back in those days so there was still a few of us innocent souls around lol!
- Goodkind's Objectivist Beliefs - This actually seems to be the issue that bothers people the most about the SoT series. Goodkind definitely injects his beliefs and philosophy into his story but I do not think he gets all that preachy until around the 6th book in the series. His objectivist beliefs are clear to see even in this very first book but I do not think they hurt the story. I actually felt like they gave the story an interesting twist. The heroes in this book had a different feel to those in your average fantasy tale and I found that more intriguing and thought provoking than annoying. I'm not a fan of Objectivism but I do not hate every single aspect of the philosophy (just most of them since I'm a super liberal socialist with vastly different ethical and moral values as well as a guy who does not give a fuck about "art") so I found it fascinating to see the ideas interwoven into a fantasy story in a fairly seamless manner.
In terms of feel Wizard's First Rule came across as a weird mix of Robert Jordan and Stephen Donaldson with a little Erikson style philosophising thrown into the blend. It was a strange mix but I felt like it worked especially as old school 90s fantasy series like WoT were clearly the biggest influence on this book.
All in all I did not unconditionally love this series like I did in my teen years and would not rate it up to the standards of my modern day fantasy favourites but I do think it was still an entertaining and enjoyable read despite its flaws.
Rating: This is a hard book to rate. Since this was my absolute favourite series in my younger days it is probably worth a 5 star rating for the nostalgia value alone! I think I'd probably still rate it around 4 stars nowadays despite the flaws and issues that are apparent in the story. It was still a fun read even if it was a bit more dark and disturbing than I remembered.
Audio Note 1: The official version of this audio I have was narrated by Jim Bond. It was the very first audiobook I ever bought from Audible! It is a pretty poor effort and performance. I've no idea why but the audio publisher for Sword of Truth treats the series like absolute shit. Not only does the series get lumbered with multiple different audio narrators, which destroys any consistency of interpretation for the characters, but it also has the misfortune of getting a piss poor narrator every single time. I notice even the newer books in the series (which I've not listened to yet) also get brand new narrators so it seems like the publishers have learned absolutely nothing over the years. It boggles the mind why a publisher would treat one of their most popular series so poorly in audio!
Audio Note 2: For this 2019 reread I decided to hunt down the versions of the audio that were produced for the NLS. The audio narrator for this version of the series was Nick Sullivan. He gave a good performance of the story. I've no idea why they did not just retain him for the commercial versions!
So how did this 2019 read of Wizard's First Rule go? Pretty well and better than I expected considering my memories of my 2007 reread were slightly negative. I quite enjoyed Wizard's First Rule even if it was not quite the favourite I considered it to be in my teen years. Goodkind has a weird writing style but it is still pretty engaging. The story itself really does feel like a typically epic 1990s fantasy series. It has young heroes banding together to save the world from an evil villain and packs in plenty of action, mystery, adventure, and magic along the way as well as a tad of romance. It is also not shy in using a lot of the old school tropes as this book alone had everything from prophecy to magic swords and even dragons!
The basic story was enjoyable and intriguing enough. Richard Cypher, a young woodsman, finds his life taking a dramatic turn when, in the space of a few weeks, he finds his father brutally murdered and then stumbles across a mysterious woman fighting for her life against four men who are trying to kill her. Richard helps her escape and soon finds himself caught up in events that will shape the fate of the world. The woman he saves, Kahlan, explains that the magic boundaries that separate the three lands, D'Hara (ruled by an evil wizard lord), the Midlands (a collection of countries in a land where magic is prevalent), and the Westland (a place with no magic at all) are failing and that she has come to Westland in order to find the Great Wizard. The boundary between the Midlands and D'Hara has already fallen and Kahlan's people are besieged by the evil Wizard Darkhen Rahl. She has come come to the Westland as Rahl has started a magic ritual that will give him complete dominion over the living world if he manages to complete it successfully. She needs the help of the Great Wizard to stop it and he fled to the Westland after the rulers of the Midlands turned their back on him years ago.
That sounds like fairly standard 90s fantasy fare but Goodkind made it work and this was a pretty fun story. Rahl was an awful guy so it was fairly easy to root for Richard and Kahlan on their various adventures as they tried to stop him gaining the power to rule the whole world. I found the story engaging most of the time so that is always a good sign and I did like the heroes even if they did indulge in a few morally questionable moments along he way!
I know a lot of people hate this series and it does not have a positive reputation with modern fantasy fans and I can see why people might feel that way as this time around a lot of the flaws that I missed in my innocent teen years were clear to me this time around but I have to admit that they did not bother me enough that they ruined the story for me. This was still a fun read despite them! I'm not sure how much my nostalgia plays a part in my ability to ignore some of the more disturbing stuff that goes on but I guess that does not really matter as long as I do enjoy what I'm reading. I think the three big complaints I see in regards to SoT are Goodkind's Objectivist beliefs, the sexual violence in the story, and the casual sexism so I'll share my thoughts on each of those issues:
- The Casual Sexism - Of the three the casual sexism and single outburst of homophobia I spotted in the story are the things that annoyed me the most! Goodkind has a few flaws for sure but I do think his views on women are what I find most disturbing. Not that I want to slam the guy too much as it is not like he comes across as a guy that hates women and there are a fair few strong female characters in this book and across the rest of the SoT series it is just that he holds to some fairly old school conservative views on women and gender roles that can be quite annoying for the modern reader to have to deal with. As a hardened fantasy reader I'm well used to this sort of casual sexism so while I found it annoying it did not overly hinder my ability to enjoy the story. I've read far worse in many other books/series over the years. For example the sexism in The Last Wish, which I read a few months ago, was far worse than anything one will find in the SoT series!
- The Sexual Violence - I must admit I found Wizard's Firt Rule to be a lot darker than I remembered it being and a lot of that was due to the dark nature of the villains and the violence within the story. I think in terms of tone the story was not all that bleak or dark but it definitely had a few dark moments. There was a fair bit of torture and death as well as plenty of allusions to rape and sexual violence within the story but I never felt like any of it was all that explicit. Usually most sexual violence within fantasy stories ends up falling on the female characters but it was fairly well spread gender wise in this particular book. If anything the guys suffered the worst of it! I could have lived without people being castrated and without the Mord-Sith being so over the top but it was not so bad or explicit that it damaged my enjoyment of the story and the nature of the villains did give them a more menacing and human feel than your average fantasy villains. I even feel like that whole Mord-Sith story arc had a few good moments mixed in with all the cringe-worthy ones. Speaking about the Mord-Sith I still cannot believe they made it to the TV version of the series. I bet the actresses and scrip writers for the show must have been pissing themselves laughing while writing and acting out Goodkind's kinky dominatrix fantasies lol! Also worth noting that when I read this series as an innocent teen I had no clue about dominatrix or sadomasochism so just figured the Mord-Sith were some sort of twisted fantasy style torture villains Goodkind had dreamed up on his own. Don't judge me! It was the pre-internet era back in those days so there was still a few of us innocent souls around lol!
- Goodkind's Objectivist Beliefs - This actually seems to be the issue that bothers people the most about the SoT series. Goodkind definitely injects his beliefs and philosophy into his story but I do not think he gets all that preachy until around the 6th book in the series. His objectivist beliefs are clear to see even in this very first book but I do not think they hurt the story. I actually felt like they gave the story an interesting twist. The heroes in this book had a different feel to those in your average fantasy tale and I found that more intriguing and thought provoking than annoying. I'm not a fan of Objectivism but I do not hate every single aspect of the philosophy (just most of them since I'm a super liberal socialist with vastly different ethical and moral values as well as a guy who does not give a fuck about "art") so I found it fascinating to see the ideas interwoven into a fantasy story in a fairly seamless manner.
In terms of feel Wizard's First Rule came across as a weird mix of Robert Jordan and Stephen Donaldson with a little Erikson style philosophising thrown into the blend. It was a strange mix but I felt like it worked especially as old school 90s fantasy series like WoT were clearly the biggest influence on this book.
All in all I did not unconditionally love this series like I did in my teen years and would not rate it up to the standards of my modern day fantasy favourites but I do think it was still an entertaining and enjoyable read despite its flaws.
Rating: This is a hard book to rate. Since this was my absolute favourite series in my younger days it is probably worth a 5 star rating for the nostalgia value alone! I think I'd probably still rate it around 4 stars nowadays despite the flaws and issues that are apparent in the story. It was still a fun read even if it was a bit more dark and disturbing than I remembered.
Audio Note 1: The official version of this audio I have was narrated by Jim Bond. It was the very first audiobook I ever bought from Audible! It is a pretty poor effort and performance. I've no idea why but the audio publisher for Sword of Truth treats the series like absolute shit. Not only does the series get lumbered with multiple different audio narrators, which destroys any consistency of interpretation for the characters, but it also has the misfortune of getting a piss poor narrator every single time. I notice even the newer books in the series (which I've not listened to yet) also get brand new narrators so it seems like the publishers have learned absolutely nothing over the years. It boggles the mind why a publisher would treat one of their most popular series so poorly in audio!
Audio Note 2: For this 2019 reread I decided to hunt down the versions of the audio that were produced for the NLS. The audio narrator for this version of the series was Nick Sullivan. He gave a good performance of the story. I've no idea why they did not just retain him for the commercial versions!
July 19, 2007
When an author displays a poorly developed writing style I have a hard time getting past it and caring about the story. That's what happend to me with this book. The story was decent, but Goodkind's writing was lousy. He probably improved with later efforts, but I'll never know because I'm not going to read them.
August 17, 2019
Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth, #1), Terry Goodkind
The Sword of Truth is a series of twenty one epic fantasy novels written by Terry Goodkind. The books follow the protagonists Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell, Nicci, Cara, and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander on their quest to defeat oppressors who seek to control the world and those who wish to unleash evil upon the world of the living. While each novel was written to stand alone, except for the final three that were intended to be a trilogy, they follow a common timeline and are linked by ongoing events that occur throughout the series. The series began in 1994 with Wizard's First Rule and Goodkind has since written eighteen more novels in addition to a novella titled Debt of Bones. The latest novel in the series, Shroud of Eternity, was released in 2018. As of 2008, 25 million copies of the series' books have been sold worldwide, and the series has been translated into more than 20 languages.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز هفدهم ماه آگوست سال 2014 میلادی
مجموعه شمشیر حقیقت یک سری بیست و یک جلدی ست که یازده جلد آن اثر «تری گودکایند» است. ماجرای داستان در یک سرزمین تخیلی رخ میدهد که به سه قسمت وستلند، سرزمین میانه، و دی هارا تقسیم شده است. نقش اصلی داستان «ریچارد سایفر» پسری از وستلند است، که طی اتفاقی با دختری از سرزمین میانه به نام کیلان آمنل دیدار میکند و سرنوشت، آن دو را در کنار هم قرار میدهد تا علیه ظلم و سیاهی مبارزه کنند. جلد اول: قانون اول جادوگری؛ مترجم: تیم ترجمه سایت کرم کتاب؛ سال 1392؛ در 842 ص؛
داستان در مورد پسری به نام «ریچارد سایفر» از شهر وستلند هست؛ که به تازگی پدرش، به طرز وحشتناکی به قتل رسیده، و روزی به طور اتفاقی در جنگل ، دختری به نام «کیلان» را که از دنیای مردگان عبور کرده، نجات میدهد و معلوم میشود که این سرزمین سالها پیش توسط جادوگر بزرگ به سه بخش تقسیم شده، که توسط مرزهایی محافظت میشوند و در وستلند، که یکی از این بخشها هست، جادویی وجود ندارد، و سالهاست که جادوگر بزرگ شش شاگرد و دنیایش را به حال خودشان رها کرده، و پنهان شده، و حالا جادوگری به نام «دارکن رال» سعی دارد، با به دست آوردن سه جعبه قدرت «اوردن» به قدرت مرگ و زندگی کل خلقت دست یابد….؛
The Sword of Truth is a series of twenty one epic fantasy novels written by Terry Goodkind. The books follow the protagonists Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell, Nicci, Cara, and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander on their quest to defeat oppressors who seek to control the world and those who wish to unleash evil upon the world of the living. While each novel was written to stand alone, except for the final three that were intended to be a trilogy, they follow a common timeline and are linked by ongoing events that occur throughout the series. The series began in 1994 with Wizard's First Rule and Goodkind has since written eighteen more novels in addition to a novella titled Debt of Bones. The latest novel in the series, Shroud of Eternity, was released in 2018. As of 2008, 25 million copies of the series' books have been sold worldwide, and the series has been translated into more than 20 languages.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز هفدهم ماه آگوست سال 2014 میلادی
مجموعه شمشیر حقیقت یک سری بیست و یک جلدی ست که یازده جلد آن اثر «تری گودکایند» است. ماجرای داستان در یک سرزمین تخیلی رخ میدهد که به سه قسمت وستلند، سرزمین میانه، و دی هارا تقسیم شده است. نقش اصلی داستان «ریچارد سایفر» پسری از وستلند است، که طی اتفاقی با دختری از سرزمین میانه به نام کیلان آمنل دیدار میکند و سرنوشت، آن دو را در کنار هم قرار میدهد تا علیه ظلم و سیاهی مبارزه کنند. جلد اول: قانون اول جادوگری؛ مترجم: تیم ترجمه سایت کرم کتاب؛ سال 1392؛ در 842 ص؛
داستان در مورد پسری به نام «ریچارد سایفر» از شهر وستلند هست؛ که به تازگی پدرش، به طرز وحشتناکی به قتل رسیده، و روزی به طور اتفاقی در جنگل ، دختری به نام «کیلان» را که از دنیای مردگان عبور کرده، نجات میدهد و معلوم میشود که این سرزمین سالها پیش توسط جادوگر بزرگ به سه بخش تقسیم شده، که توسط مرزهایی محافظت میشوند و در وستلند، که یکی از این بخشها هست، جادویی وجود ندارد، و سالهاست که جادوگر بزرگ شش شاگرد و دنیایش را به حال خودشان رها کرده، و پنهان شده، و حالا جادوگری به نام «دارکن رال» سعی دارد، با به دست آوردن سه جعبه قدرت «اوردن» به قدرت مرگ و زندگی کل خلقت دست یابد….؛
February 2, 2008
I ripped right through the book and all and all, enjoyed it. Here is some of my input:
1. I found that the story moved along well and that I was always entertained. The main hero is a bit Frodoian, and perhaps a bit Arthurian, but it is its own unique story and an entertaining cast of characters.
2. The story sometimes gets a bit twisted with torture, rape, bad guys who like young boys, overly bad bad guys. The training and torture chapter was beyond what I was comfortable with, but making it through that, there was enough good stuff left to make me forgive him for this portion of the story.
3. Does the author's picture bug you a little like it did me? Mr. Kungfu, yogi, mastermind, serious guy.
4. I have to admit that there were some excellent and emotional moments in the story where great and wonderful things happen. Our hero is one good man and the love story with our heroine is also nice. They make one whale of a couple!
5. I was a bit disappointed to see so much awkward writing, typos, hard to read printing, etc. Is the publisher a bit lame?
6. There were many likable and well characterized secondary players. In general, I liked all of them except that a couple of the evil ones, like Princess Violet, were too ridiculously bad.
7. The author needs to be more subtle. There are too many great big hints about what is going to happen. The bad guys are way too bad and it is fairly easy to guess the outcome. Nevertheless, for a time, I wasn't sure.
Read the book without high expectations. Don't re-read and dwell on thing too much. The author describes the little things several times so you'll never have to wonder what happened. If you are a fast reader and want a fairly entertaining quick ride, this will work. If you are a perfectionist and very careful reader, I think this one will bother you a little bit.
1. I found that the story moved along well and that I was always entertained. The main hero is a bit Frodoian, and perhaps a bit Arthurian, but it is its own unique story and an entertaining cast of characters.
2. The story sometimes gets a bit twisted with torture, rape, bad guys who like young boys, overly bad bad guys. The training and torture chapter was beyond what I was comfortable with, but making it through that, there was enough good stuff left to make me forgive him for this portion of the story.
3. Does the author's picture bug you a little like it did me? Mr. Kungfu, yogi, mastermind, serious guy.
4. I have to admit that there were some excellent and emotional moments in the story where great and wonderful things happen. Our hero is one good man and the love story with our heroine is also nice. They make one whale of a couple!
5. I was a bit disappointed to see so much awkward writing, typos, hard to read printing, etc. Is the publisher a bit lame?
6. There were many likable and well characterized secondary players. In general, I liked all of them except that a couple of the evil ones, like Princess Violet, were too ridiculously bad.
7. The author needs to be more subtle. There are too many great big hints about what is going to happen. The bad guys are way too bad and it is fairly easy to guess the outcome. Nevertheless, for a time, I wasn't sure.
Read the book without high expectations. Don't re-read and dwell on thing too much. The author describes the little things several times so you'll never have to wonder what happened. If you are a fast reader and want a fairly entertaining quick ride, this will work. If you are a perfectionist and very careful reader, I think this one will bother you a little bit.
January 2, 2009
This is yet another standard fantasy tale, with a questing youth and his magical item and aged mentor who turns out to be the premier wizard in the land. I didn't enjoy this book for a variety of reasons, but mainly for the repeated appearance of overused fantasy elements and the inane dialogue between the protagonist and his romantic interest. The wizard character is more interesting and engaging. With one exception, there are no plot surprises, and things are always just a little too convenient for our heroes.
The one twist that stands out as unusual in the genre is an extended episode in which the protagonist is trapped by a sado-masochist and the reader is subjected to unending detail about the tortures that ensue. Bizarrely lengthy, this sub-story claims to have an educational effect on the protagonist, but really it's just an extended torture of the reader. After the first page or so, we get the point. Adding to the jarring feeling of having swapped books temporarily, when he escapes from this captor, there seem to be zero lingering physical effects. Having been dragged through the descriptions of his torture, it's hard to believe that he could be anything more than a stumbling cripple, much less a hale and hearty hero who swings a sword, tames a dragon, escapes a horde of angry gars, and so on. During captivity, he definitely had several ribs broken (and probably other bones as well) and suffered blows, contusions, concussions, welts, dislocations, as well as other details that the author delicately (?) glossed over. No mention is made of setting broken bones or healing any of these wounds. Innovation is fine, but it needs to be plausibly integrated with the rest of the book, which fails to happen here.
The one twist that stands out as unusual in the genre is an extended episode in which the protagonist is trapped by a sado-masochist and the reader is subjected to unending detail about the tortures that ensue. Bizarrely lengthy, this sub-story claims to have an educational effect on the protagonist, but really it's just an extended torture of the reader. After the first page or so, we get the point. Adding to the jarring feeling of having swapped books temporarily, when he escapes from this captor, there seem to be zero lingering physical effects. Having been dragged through the descriptions of his torture, it's hard to believe that he could be anything more than a stumbling cripple, much less a hale and hearty hero who swings a sword, tames a dragon, escapes a horde of angry gars, and so on. During captivity, he definitely had several ribs broken (and probably other bones as well) and suffered blows, contusions, concussions, welts, dislocations, as well as other details that the author delicately (?) glossed over. No mention is made of setting broken bones or healing any of these wounds. Innovation is fine, but it needs to be plausibly integrated with the rest of the book, which fails to happen here.
September 18, 2017
You know, some really sick part of me wants to reread this series but I'm pretty sure doing so now would devastate my Middle School self. I'm letting this 5 star rating stand, but I was 13 or 14 when I read this book & EVEN THEN I realized it was very derivative in nature. So basically take this with a grain of salt, I was but a wee lass.
January 2, 2016
OVERALL GRADE: B to B plus; READ: 2000 (revised review early April 2012).
SPOILER WARNING
CONCEPT: A young woodsman is chosen as the Seeker, a long lost position of power given to a warrior of ultimate good in distant lands. Now, he must go to those distant lands to face the Evil controlling it, as well as to deal with issues of truth. Along his journey, his position is tested as his love for his new lady love. (This didn't hit me as big of a concept as say HUMA or THE HOBBIT. But, it attracted a lot of fantasy readers, who tend to be more thinkers, and it holds a great deal of promise). MARKETING APPEAL: This story dealt with archetypes and LEVEL ONE readers; it was above average of most fantasy novels; used archetypes and the mythical Hero's Quest to appeal; good characters and focus on context; less on plot and surprises. Richard was very noble and easy to anger when faced with lies or difficult appeal; I think this resonated with many readers who are tired of the BS in our society and desire simpler times; characters are interesting but only on a simple level; if you want gray characters and profound thinking and interactions, you won't get it in this series. I suspect this is a VERY HEAVY LEVEL ONE series.
SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-) Above Average (C+), Mediocre (C ), Barely Passable (C-) Pretty Bad (D+), Dismal (D), Waste of Time (D-), Into the Trash (F)
DIALOGUE: B STRUCTURE: B HISTORY SETTING: A- CHARACTERS: A- EVIL SETUP/ANTAGONISTS: C+ EMOTIONAL IMPACT: B+ SURPRISES: B MONSTERS: A- PACING: B LITTLE THINGS: B OVERALL STYLE: B FLOW OF WORDS: B CHOICE OF FOCUS: B TRANSITIONS/FLASHBACKS/POV: B+ COMPLEXITY OF WORDS/SYMBOLISM/THEMES: B
OVERALL GRADE: B to B+
OVERALL STRUCTURE: Spent a lot of time building up the characters. This is much more a story of context and characters than of plot or fast action. A great deal of time is spent playing off the character relationships, describing the landscape and people and monsters and also in laying out the History. And actually, the History is pretty interesting as are the monsters. There were several character revelations which weren't surprising in this novel since it was so character focused. A few surprises and such, too. Richard Cypher is a good and moral character. Perhaps a bit too much. He is the typical innocent yet good youth (from mythology) who sets out on a mission where the odds seem insurmountable.
WHY IT WORKED FOR ME: As described above, the monsters were orchestrated nicely into the ecology. The dragon character was fresh enough and the description of the travels along the wilderness were interesting. The interplay between Richard and Kahlan kept my interest. Enough tug and pull and conflict. Zedd was introduced naked which was interesting and new. He wasn't stereotypical either and had enough of his own lines to make him stand out more. Also, he wasn't some big buffed dude. I liked the way he manipulated in a good sense towards other people to achieve some better end, but still felt bad over it. The viewpoint of using a child and changing the word usage was good, too. The villain wasn't different but interesting enough. The sexual debauchery made them even worse. No doubt this was to create moral outrage. Have to say Richard is no warrior in the first novel but that's okay. He seemed to get out of jams enough times. Not clever. More noble and good that he gets others to help him as in the case of the Dragon. Interesting how Richard went through pain whenever he took a human life and had to deal with the results. Magic, in other words, has its limitations. Great details of the world and History; in regards to the lands being divided into three areas; the red fruit that is poisonous in the magical lands; the illusions used to fool the hero and heroine; the limitation of magic users; the confessor development and History; the Seekers and info. on their creation; the ecology of the monsters was something new and entertaining (many fantasy books forget that there are so many monsters that the ecological system would be destroyed); great interplay between the lovers even though some of the dialogue was a bit simple at times on Richard's part (of course, he's supposed to be a simple character so I won't hold this against the author). Pay attention to some of the names: DARKEN RAHL (for evil) and Richard Cypher (for DECIPHER since he's a seeker of truth). Those are the main ones which come to mind but I'm sure there are others. Also interesting were the little phrases that permeated the storyline, giving it texture. For instance, Zedd the high wizard had the best ones: "Nothing is every easy." and "Bags!" (a swear word). One other thing I found interesting in relation to truth was Wizard's First Rule: "People are stupid and will believe what they want to believe." This came in handy during the story when many of the townfolk were told to blame the good people for their problems and used those good people as scapegoats. So too, Richard's people were told that the magic lands were dangerous to their well being and created an army to put an end to it. It's little points such as this, as well as blends with style, that pushed this up from a solid B to a B+. It would have gotten even higher if the themes of truth had been elaborated upon more so. Why not have someone who is compelled to tell the truth all the time in difficult situations to show the flip side of being honest? Psychologists tells us that our society couldn't exist if everyone told the truth b/c it would come across as tactless and because most people aren't good at taking conflict or criticism. While being honest with your intimate partner is an ideal, being honest in the workforce or with people you hardly know can sometimes be destructive. Too much self disclosure to such types looks bad and weak. Another area that I felt was missed on truth was to develop the local populace opinions on what they felt was right. While Goodkind did a good job with it, I felt he could have really mined this area more to make it more thought provoking.
FLAWS: Too much introspection can turn some readers off. The discussion of truth wasn't taken far enough or really hammered into the them big time. The part about Richard being a bastard child of the villain was revealed a bit late and made it anticlimatic. Perhaps it was intended and the next book will tell. The story lacked surprises. There were certainly a few but not enough for such a long novel. As I said above, it was more of a page turned for appreciation of the characters than a great moving story with lots of surprises and mysteries to it. It tended to be formulaic in the quest and perhaps it would have done Goodkind well to hold back some of the information of the story rather than reveal too much up front as he did. COMMENTS: A lot of details to characters and somewhat of a hit on truth and what is truth. For those interested in such areas, it's an entertaining read. I wouldn't advise this for people who don't like innocent, good hearted youths (since Richard dominates most of the text), or people who are more interested in a plot driven fantasy
GRADE REASON: I am giving this an at the cusp B to B+ (higher than I give most fantasy novels) for the reasons listed above). The fact that Goodkind followed the typical mold of the innocent, good youth on a quest doesn't really place it any higher because it follows a typical pattern that has been done over and over by fantasy authors. So too, the love story got melodramatic at certain points (losing the feeling of this being love than just effects) and there weren't as many surprises as I felt there should have been. However, it had some truly amazing characters in it, even if parts of the love story got irritating at times. Moreover, the history setting of the land divisions, the rules on magic, the History of seekers, confessors and wizards, as well as the ecologically sound monsters pumped it up pretty high. There were certain points where it lagged at times, but perhaps that is attributed to the required page count of novels at a 1000 pages now. Very long. Geesh. It probably would have gotten a solid B+ or even an A- if Terry had analyzed more issues of truth and really pushed the limits upon the characters. However, since there was so much story to cover, I can see why there were problems in doing so. Perhaps additional books will cover these matters in the future. Of course, he would have had to develop his Evil antagonist beyond a caricature, too. I think it should be mentioned that Goodkind is dyslexiac and spends something like 12 hours a day working on his books (6 or 7 days a week). The man is obviously driven. Some have claimed he stole many ideas from Jordan's WHEEL OF TIME (I only read the first book in the series and found the passive male characters and constant meandering not to my liking) but I don't see this as much as they claim. If anything, I would take Goodkind over Jordan since there's more thinking in the head. It is no surprise to me, however, that this book broke the record and Terry was awarded $275,000 for the first novel. There are a lot of great ideas in here, as well as characters (if Richard’s simple philosophies are not viewed as abhorrent) and it delivers on several components of the genre. All in all, this is much better than perhaps 75% of the fantasy books I have read in the past.
SPOILER WARNING
CONCEPT: A young woodsman is chosen as the Seeker, a long lost position of power given to a warrior of ultimate good in distant lands. Now, he must go to those distant lands to face the Evil controlling it, as well as to deal with issues of truth. Along his journey, his position is tested as his love for his new lady love. (This didn't hit me as big of a concept as say HUMA or THE HOBBIT. But, it attracted a lot of fantasy readers, who tend to be more thinkers, and it holds a great deal of promise). MARKETING APPEAL: This story dealt with archetypes and LEVEL ONE readers; it was above average of most fantasy novels; used archetypes and the mythical Hero's Quest to appeal; good characters and focus on context; less on plot and surprises. Richard was very noble and easy to anger when faced with lies or difficult appeal; I think this resonated with many readers who are tired of the BS in our society and desire simpler times; characters are interesting but only on a simple level; if you want gray characters and profound thinking and interactions, you won't get it in this series. I suspect this is a VERY HEAVY LEVEL ONE series.
SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-) Above Average (C+), Mediocre (C ), Barely Passable (C-) Pretty Bad (D+), Dismal (D), Waste of Time (D-), Into the Trash (F)
DIALOGUE: B STRUCTURE: B HISTORY SETTING: A- CHARACTERS: A- EVIL SETUP/ANTAGONISTS: C+ EMOTIONAL IMPACT: B+ SURPRISES: B MONSTERS: A- PACING: B LITTLE THINGS: B OVERALL STYLE: B FLOW OF WORDS: B CHOICE OF FOCUS: B TRANSITIONS/FLASHBACKS/POV: B+ COMPLEXITY OF WORDS/SYMBOLISM/THEMES: B
OVERALL GRADE: B to B+
OVERALL STRUCTURE: Spent a lot of time building up the characters. This is much more a story of context and characters than of plot or fast action. A great deal of time is spent playing off the character relationships, describing the landscape and people and monsters and also in laying out the History. And actually, the History is pretty interesting as are the monsters. There were several character revelations which weren't surprising in this novel since it was so character focused. A few surprises and such, too. Richard Cypher is a good and moral character. Perhaps a bit too much. He is the typical innocent yet good youth (from mythology) who sets out on a mission where the odds seem insurmountable.
WHY IT WORKED FOR ME: As described above, the monsters were orchestrated nicely into the ecology. The dragon character was fresh enough and the description of the travels along the wilderness were interesting. The interplay between Richard and Kahlan kept my interest. Enough tug and pull and conflict. Zedd was introduced naked which was interesting and new. He wasn't stereotypical either and had enough of his own lines to make him stand out more. Also, he wasn't some big buffed dude. I liked the way he manipulated in a good sense towards other people to achieve some better end, but still felt bad over it. The viewpoint of using a child and changing the word usage was good, too. The villain wasn't different but interesting enough. The sexual debauchery made them even worse. No doubt this was to create moral outrage. Have to say Richard is no warrior in the first novel but that's okay. He seemed to get out of jams enough times. Not clever. More noble and good that he gets others to help him as in the case of the Dragon. Interesting how Richard went through pain whenever he took a human life and had to deal with the results. Magic, in other words, has its limitations. Great details of the world and History; in regards to the lands being divided into three areas; the red fruit that is poisonous in the magical lands; the illusions used to fool the hero and heroine; the limitation of magic users; the confessor development and History; the Seekers and info. on their creation; the ecology of the monsters was something new and entertaining (many fantasy books forget that there are so many monsters that the ecological system would be destroyed); great interplay between the lovers even though some of the dialogue was a bit simple at times on Richard's part (of course, he's supposed to be a simple character so I won't hold this against the author). Pay attention to some of the names: DARKEN RAHL (for evil) and Richard Cypher (for DECIPHER since he's a seeker of truth). Those are the main ones which come to mind but I'm sure there are others. Also interesting were the little phrases that permeated the storyline, giving it texture. For instance, Zedd the high wizard had the best ones: "Nothing is every easy." and "Bags!" (a swear word). One other thing I found interesting in relation to truth was Wizard's First Rule: "People are stupid and will believe what they want to believe." This came in handy during the story when many of the townfolk were told to blame the good people for their problems and used those good people as scapegoats. So too, Richard's people were told that the magic lands were dangerous to their well being and created an army to put an end to it. It's little points such as this, as well as blends with style, that pushed this up from a solid B to a B+. It would have gotten even higher if the themes of truth had been elaborated upon more so. Why not have someone who is compelled to tell the truth all the time in difficult situations to show the flip side of being honest? Psychologists tells us that our society couldn't exist if everyone told the truth b/c it would come across as tactless and because most people aren't good at taking conflict or criticism. While being honest with your intimate partner is an ideal, being honest in the workforce or with people you hardly know can sometimes be destructive. Too much self disclosure to such types looks bad and weak. Another area that I felt was missed on truth was to develop the local populace opinions on what they felt was right. While Goodkind did a good job with it, I felt he could have really mined this area more to make it more thought provoking.
FLAWS: Too much introspection can turn some readers off. The discussion of truth wasn't taken far enough or really hammered into the them big time. The part about Richard being a bastard child of the villain was revealed a bit late and made it anticlimatic. Perhaps it was intended and the next book will tell. The story lacked surprises. There were certainly a few but not enough for such a long novel. As I said above, it was more of a page turned for appreciation of the characters than a great moving story with lots of surprises and mysteries to it. It tended to be formulaic in the quest and perhaps it would have done Goodkind well to hold back some of the information of the story rather than reveal too much up front as he did. COMMENTS: A lot of details to characters and somewhat of a hit on truth and what is truth. For those interested in such areas, it's an entertaining read. I wouldn't advise this for people who don't like innocent, good hearted youths (since Richard dominates most of the text), or people who are more interested in a plot driven fantasy
GRADE REASON: I am giving this an at the cusp B to B+ (higher than I give most fantasy novels) for the reasons listed above). The fact that Goodkind followed the typical mold of the innocent, good youth on a quest doesn't really place it any higher because it follows a typical pattern that has been done over and over by fantasy authors. So too, the love story got melodramatic at certain points (losing the feeling of this being love than just effects) and there weren't as many surprises as I felt there should have been. However, it had some truly amazing characters in it, even if parts of the love story got irritating at times. Moreover, the history setting of the land divisions, the rules on magic, the History of seekers, confessors and wizards, as well as the ecologically sound monsters pumped it up pretty high. There were certain points where it lagged at times, but perhaps that is attributed to the required page count of novels at a 1000 pages now. Very long. Geesh. It probably would have gotten a solid B+ or even an A- if Terry had analyzed more issues of truth and really pushed the limits upon the characters. However, since there was so much story to cover, I can see why there were problems in doing so. Perhaps additional books will cover these matters in the future. Of course, he would have had to develop his Evil antagonist beyond a caricature, too. I think it should be mentioned that Goodkind is dyslexiac and spends something like 12 hours a day working on his books (6 or 7 days a week). The man is obviously driven. Some have claimed he stole many ideas from Jordan's WHEEL OF TIME (I only read the first book in the series and found the passive male characters and constant meandering not to my liking) but I don't see this as much as they claim. If anything, I would take Goodkind over Jordan since there's more thinking in the head. It is no surprise to me, however, that this book broke the record and Terry was awarded $275,000 for the first novel. There are a lot of great ideas in here, as well as characters (if Richard’s simple philosophies are not viewed as abhorrent) and it delivers on several components of the genre. All in all, this is much better than perhaps 75% of the fantasy books I have read in the past.
May 25, 2020
Wizard's First Rule is the first book in Terry Goodkind's The Sword of Truth series. I must confess, before this review grows any longer, that while I did enjoy reading this book (perhaps much more than what my rating reflects, but more about that later) I'm not a fan of the series, so not a fan I didn't pass book three. Nonetheless, this first book, despite its length, manages to tell a concise and intelligent story that has a ring of truth and it's easy to believe from the start.
But beware, this is straight-up adult fantasy, not doubt about it, and some chapters contain graphic descriptions of a sexual and/or violent nature.
It is also clear, and one of the main reasons why I didn't continue reading the series, that Goodkind has very strong political and social opinions and they are all clearly expressed in this and the following books. From the place that women occupy in this book's societies to observing violence as the only real way of ruling, the story aims at convincing the reader of how certain things had to be to be right. And while I don't dislike books presenting ideas for my consideration, I do distrust books that preach a certain way of living as the only good one.
Now, leaving the political intricacies behind, some of the fantastic elements of the book are well thought and do sustain a marvelous new world that it's a pleasure to explore.
In general, I will advice to read it and make your own opinion of it.
But beware, this is straight-up adult fantasy, not doubt about it, and some chapters contain graphic descriptions of a sexual and/or violent nature.
It is also clear, and one of the main reasons why I didn't continue reading the series, that Goodkind has very strong political and social opinions and they are all clearly expressed in this and the following books. From the place that women occupy in this book's societies to observing violence as the only real way of ruling, the story aims at convincing the reader of how certain things had to be to be right. And while I don't dislike books presenting ideas for my consideration, I do distrust books that preach a certain way of living as the only good one.
Now, leaving the political intricacies behind, some of the fantastic elements of the book are well thought and do sustain a marvelous new world that it's a pleasure to explore.
In general, I will advice to read it and make your own opinion of it.
June 20, 2019
An Opinionated Look At:
Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule
By Eric Allen
I've given Terry Goodkind some very, very harsh reviews of late, and I've had a LOT of comments on those reviews from angry fans. I claim to be a fan of The Sword of Truth, and yet I mercilessly thrash his newer work? So, I've decided to go back and reread the entire Sword of Truth series and review them. (Except for Faith of the Fallen, which I already reviewed last summer.) Is it as good as I remember it being, or am I just looking back through nostalgia goggles? Is it as well written as I remember, or was Goodkind always the repetitive, lazy, talentless, unimaginative hack he's become in recent years? Did these books really have the fire and passion I remember, or were they all boring, dull, and emotionless like his recent works? Well, let's find out. As I'm no longer being paid to do this, I may take a bit longer between reviews as I have on previous retrospective series I've done. There are spoilers, but since the book has been out for over twenty years I feel the statute of limitations on adding in spoiler tags has expired. Which is my way of saying F it, I'm too lazy to bother today.
Back in the day there were two fantasy series that I followed religiously. The Wheel of Time, by far the better of the two, and The Sword of Truth. I'm not amongst those people who enjoy one to the exclusion of the other, as I see a lot of out there on the internet. That never made sense to me. It's like the Star Wars vs. Star Trek argument. I enjoy both of them. Is that so wrong? They're both good series, and entertaining, in their own ways. I'd see people writing huge dissertations on why one is superior and how anyone who likes it could not possibly enjoy the other because of it, and I'd shake my head at the stupidity of it. What can I say, I liked them both. Though I did like one more than the other, they were both good series that I had a great time with, and I never saw any reason to limit myself to just one because a bunch of assholes on the internet said I had to. I think that was the first time I actually rolled my eyes at how stupid people can be, back in the days when the internet was new, not everyone had it, and, for the most part, people hadn't turned into the raging assholes they would become a few years later when they realized what internet anonymity was.
Anyway, I picked up Wizard's First Rule on recommendation from a friend while suffering through another long wait between Wheel of Time releases, and my High School self loved it. Probably because of the gore, more than anything, but eh, who isn't at least a little brain dead in High School? I know I was haha.
While out looking for clues to his father's murder, Richard Cipher comes across a beautiful woman being chased by four men intent on doing her harm. Naturally, he intervenes, saving her life. Kahlan has come from the Midlands, a realm of magic blocked off from Richard's Westland by a magical barrier called the Boundary. The Midlands are at war. Darken Rahl of D'Hara has invaded and has set a special magic into play that could, if he is not stopped, give him power and dominion over all life come the first day of winter. Kahlan has come seeking the great old Wizard in order to force him, if need be, to do his duty and name a Seeker to bring down Rahl and free the Midlands of his evil. Luckily, Richard's oldest and closest friend, Zedd, just happens to be said Wizard, and names Richard Seeker, sending him on a quest into the Midlands to save the world from Darken Rahl.
The Good? I really like the world in which this series takes place. It's imaginative, well put together, and has a deep and rich history. I enjoy how Goodkind manages to give just enough of the back story to let us know what's going on, while also keeping the feel of the mysterious unknown about most of the book as well. The characters are all relatively well written and distinct from one another in the way they speak, act and think. And the dialog is often well crafted and sometimes witty.
Goodkind claims that this is his first attempt ever to write anything novel length. If that is true, then this book is extraordinarily well written for it being an authors first attempt at writing a novel. Many authors have at least one failed project in their closet before writing the book that gets them published, some have many. Brandon Sanderson, for example, wrote seven books before Elantris caught the eye of an editor at a writer's convention. As the old adage goes, you have to write a million bad words before you can write your first good one.
The story flows along very well. There are no really dead spots where nothing seems to be happening. Everything is always moving toward and building up to the climax. Everything comes together flawlessly in the end, and in a very rare showing for Terry Goodkind, things are resolved through Richard outsmarting the villain using lessons he's learned along his journey, rather than through Deus ex Machina.
The bad? When I was younger I thought the love story in this book was cute and endearing. Now that I've grown a bit older, I find it somewhat heavy handed and oppressive. And I can see the beginnings of Goodkind's trademark repetition in it. He really doesn't know when to quit beating us over the head with how this love can never be, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. The romantic drama feels a little too artificially forced. And drama that feels forced, doesn't feel dramatic.
Goodkind follows the "pull-it-outta-ur-ass" school of thought when it comes to magic. Now, there's really nothing wrong with this sort of thing, so long as it remains consistent, and never strays too far into Deus ex Machina territory. If you want your magic to be mysterious and vague, go for it. Tolkien did a really good job with it in Middle Earth, and it can be done well. For the most part, it's done pretty well in Wizard's First Rule, except near the end when both Richard and Kahlan just sort of start pulling new powers coming from the Sword of Truth, or "powers they always had, but never learned how to use" right out of their asses. In Kahlan's case it's infinitely worse, because her magic was actually given rules and limitations that Goodkind casually shattered as if they meant nothing. There's being vague and mysterious, and then there's blatant Deus ex Machina. It sort of works here, because Richard knows absolutely nothing about magic, and so everything new is a new discovery to him as a character. But when it happens later on in the series, with much more frequency, and a lot more lazy explanation from the author, it does tend to get a little tiresome. Personally, I prefer magic systems that have set rules and limitations that the author gives me ahead of time, and then follows to the letter throughout the entirety of the story. That way I know what a character is capable of, what they're not capable of, and they do a lot less pulling things out of their ass at plot convenient moments. Goodkind also begins to ruin the vague mysteriousness of it in later books by trying to technobabble for page after page on the workings of magic, which makes the pulling things out of your ass seem even worse and even more Deus ex Machina-y.
The Ugly? One of my pet peeves in writing is when an author will either a.) have someone deliberately misinterpret something to create drama, b.) have someone believe the words of someone they just met as gospel in order to create drama, c.) have someone believe the words of an enemy whose words they have absolutely no reason to trust and every reason to mistrust to create drama or d.) some combination of the above. They all boil down to the same thing in the end: the author trying to artificially create drama by making his characters freaking idiots. It feels so fake and forced, and it makes characters who have previously shown themselves to be intelligent and resourceful to be utter morons instead. And like I said, drama that feels forced, doesn't feel dramatic. There are other FAR better ways to create drama than to momentarily lobotomize your characters to the point where they will deliberately misunderstand, or take the words of someone they really have no reason to trust as the god's honest truth. It always pisses me off to see an author doing something like this. But, as this book is Goodkind's very first attempt at writing a novel, I suppose I can forgive it... this time... unfortunately HE KEEPS DOING IT THROUGHOUT THE SERIES!!!
I've read The Omen Machine. Having read The Omen Machine utterly ruins the climax of this book. Why, you ask? Well, let me explain. The book builds flawlessly to the confrontation between Richard and Darken Rahl. Richard outsmarts the villain, and wins the day using things he's learned along his journey. And all of this takes place within the Garden of Life in the People's Palace in D'Hara. Yeah... guess what's burried right beneath their feet as they're having this epic showdown? That's right. The Omen Machine. The Effing Omen Machine is hidden away beneath them as all of this awesomeness is going on. The ridiculously stupid friggen Omen Machine is just a few feet below them. I can never, ever, ever, ever take any scene that takes place in the Garden of Life seriously ever again. All I can think is, "they're standing on top of the Omen Machine." And then my brain starts quoting HAL lines from 2001. Way to ruin something awesome there, Goodkind. Thanks for that.
All in all, this was a great book. It's reasonably well written, with good characters that are visibly distinct from one another in the ways they speak, act, and think, and builds to an excellent climax. It sets up for a great series to come in a wonderfully crafted and imaginative world with a deep and mysterious history. There are a few flaws in the book that can easily be chalked up to the author's inexperience, but they don't really take much away from the rest of the book in my opinion. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy series. Although, I will give warning that there is quite a bit of graphic violence, violence against women, rape, threat of rape, rape of children both male and female, an extended scene of torture, implied sexual torture, sexual violence such as a child molester being forced to eat his own testicles, and some of the good old fashioned normal sexual themes as well. If any of these things offend you, you may want to skip this one. This book has a very hard R rating.
This book reads like it is written by a completely different author than anything Goodkind has published since Law of Nines. I simply cannot understand what happened to him. He used to be a decent, sometimes excellent, writer. Now he just isn't trying anymore. Wizard's First Rule is so far above his recent work in terms of imagination, writing quality, characters, character development, story, excitement, tension and drama, and so on that it seriously feels like a completely different author wrote it. One of my biggest complaints about Severed Souls was that Goodkind doesn't seem to know how horror and fear in writing work. But in this book, he proves that he does. There are some really creepy and frightening scenes in this book, and never once does a character have to tell me that they're creepy or frightening like they did all throughout Severed Souls. I just don't get it. What happened to the real Terry Goodkind? The one who wrote THIS book?
Check out my other reviews.
Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule
By Eric Allen
I've given Terry Goodkind some very, very harsh reviews of late, and I've had a LOT of comments on those reviews from angry fans. I claim to be a fan of The Sword of Truth, and yet I mercilessly thrash his newer work? So, I've decided to go back and reread the entire Sword of Truth series and review them. (Except for Faith of the Fallen, which I already reviewed last summer.) Is it as good as I remember it being, or am I just looking back through nostalgia goggles? Is it as well written as I remember, or was Goodkind always the repetitive, lazy, talentless, unimaginative hack he's become in recent years? Did these books really have the fire and passion I remember, or were they all boring, dull, and emotionless like his recent works? Well, let's find out. As I'm no longer being paid to do this, I may take a bit longer between reviews as I have on previous retrospective series I've done. There are spoilers, but since the book has been out for over twenty years I feel the statute of limitations on adding in spoiler tags has expired. Which is my way of saying F it, I'm too lazy to bother today.
Back in the day there were two fantasy series that I followed religiously. The Wheel of Time, by far the better of the two, and The Sword of Truth. I'm not amongst those people who enjoy one to the exclusion of the other, as I see a lot of out there on the internet. That never made sense to me. It's like the Star Wars vs. Star Trek argument. I enjoy both of them. Is that so wrong? They're both good series, and entertaining, in their own ways. I'd see people writing huge dissertations on why one is superior and how anyone who likes it could not possibly enjoy the other because of it, and I'd shake my head at the stupidity of it. What can I say, I liked them both. Though I did like one more than the other, they were both good series that I had a great time with, and I never saw any reason to limit myself to just one because a bunch of assholes on the internet said I had to. I think that was the first time I actually rolled my eyes at how stupid people can be, back in the days when the internet was new, not everyone had it, and, for the most part, people hadn't turned into the raging assholes they would become a few years later when they realized what internet anonymity was.
Anyway, I picked up Wizard's First Rule on recommendation from a friend while suffering through another long wait between Wheel of Time releases, and my High School self loved it. Probably because of the gore, more than anything, but eh, who isn't at least a little brain dead in High School? I know I was haha.
While out looking for clues to his father's murder, Richard Cipher comes across a beautiful woman being chased by four men intent on doing her harm. Naturally, he intervenes, saving her life. Kahlan has come from the Midlands, a realm of magic blocked off from Richard's Westland by a magical barrier called the Boundary. The Midlands are at war. Darken Rahl of D'Hara has invaded and has set a special magic into play that could, if he is not stopped, give him power and dominion over all life come the first day of winter. Kahlan has come seeking the great old Wizard in order to force him, if need be, to do his duty and name a Seeker to bring down Rahl and free the Midlands of his evil. Luckily, Richard's oldest and closest friend, Zedd, just happens to be said Wizard, and names Richard Seeker, sending him on a quest into the Midlands to save the world from Darken Rahl.
The Good? I really like the world in which this series takes place. It's imaginative, well put together, and has a deep and rich history. I enjoy how Goodkind manages to give just enough of the back story to let us know what's going on, while also keeping the feel of the mysterious unknown about most of the book as well. The characters are all relatively well written and distinct from one another in the way they speak, act and think. And the dialog is often well crafted and sometimes witty.
Goodkind claims that this is his first attempt ever to write anything novel length. If that is true, then this book is extraordinarily well written for it being an authors first attempt at writing a novel. Many authors have at least one failed project in their closet before writing the book that gets them published, some have many. Brandon Sanderson, for example, wrote seven books before Elantris caught the eye of an editor at a writer's convention. As the old adage goes, you have to write a million bad words before you can write your first good one.
The story flows along very well. There are no really dead spots where nothing seems to be happening. Everything is always moving toward and building up to the climax. Everything comes together flawlessly in the end, and in a very rare showing for Terry Goodkind, things are resolved through Richard outsmarting the villain using lessons he's learned along his journey, rather than through Deus ex Machina.
The bad? When I was younger I thought the love story in this book was cute and endearing. Now that I've grown a bit older, I find it somewhat heavy handed and oppressive. And I can see the beginnings of Goodkind's trademark repetition in it. He really doesn't know when to quit beating us over the head with how this love can never be, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. The romantic drama feels a little too artificially forced. And drama that feels forced, doesn't feel dramatic.
Goodkind follows the "pull-it-outta-ur-ass" school of thought when it comes to magic. Now, there's really nothing wrong with this sort of thing, so long as it remains consistent, and never strays too far into Deus ex Machina territory. If you want your magic to be mysterious and vague, go for it. Tolkien did a really good job with it in Middle Earth, and it can be done well. For the most part, it's done pretty well in Wizard's First Rule, except near the end when both Richard and Kahlan just sort of start pulling new powers coming from the Sword of Truth, or "powers they always had, but never learned how to use" right out of their asses. In Kahlan's case it's infinitely worse, because her magic was actually given rules and limitations that Goodkind casually shattered as if they meant nothing. There's being vague and mysterious, and then there's blatant Deus ex Machina. It sort of works here, because Richard knows absolutely nothing about magic, and so everything new is a new discovery to him as a character. But when it happens later on in the series, with much more frequency, and a lot more lazy explanation from the author, it does tend to get a little tiresome. Personally, I prefer magic systems that have set rules and limitations that the author gives me ahead of time, and then follows to the letter throughout the entirety of the story. That way I know what a character is capable of, what they're not capable of, and they do a lot less pulling things out of their ass at plot convenient moments. Goodkind also begins to ruin the vague mysteriousness of it in later books by trying to technobabble for page after page on the workings of magic, which makes the pulling things out of your ass seem even worse and even more Deus ex Machina-y.
The Ugly? One of my pet peeves in writing is when an author will either a.) have someone deliberately misinterpret something to create drama, b.) have someone believe the words of someone they just met as gospel in order to create drama, c.) have someone believe the words of an enemy whose words they have absolutely no reason to trust and every reason to mistrust to create drama or d.) some combination of the above. They all boil down to the same thing in the end: the author trying to artificially create drama by making his characters freaking idiots. It feels so fake and forced, and it makes characters who have previously shown themselves to be intelligent and resourceful to be utter morons instead. And like I said, drama that feels forced, doesn't feel dramatic. There are other FAR better ways to create drama than to momentarily lobotomize your characters to the point where they will deliberately misunderstand, or take the words of someone they really have no reason to trust as the god's honest truth. It always pisses me off to see an author doing something like this. But, as this book is Goodkind's very first attempt at writing a novel, I suppose I can forgive it... this time... unfortunately HE KEEPS DOING IT THROUGHOUT THE SERIES!!!
I've read The Omen Machine. Having read The Omen Machine utterly ruins the climax of this book. Why, you ask? Well, let me explain. The book builds flawlessly to the confrontation between Richard and Darken Rahl. Richard outsmarts the villain, and wins the day using things he's learned along his journey. And all of this takes place within the Garden of Life in the People's Palace in D'Hara. Yeah... guess what's burried right beneath their feet as they're having this epic showdown? That's right. The Omen Machine. The Effing Omen Machine is hidden away beneath them as all of this awesomeness is going on. The ridiculously stupid friggen Omen Machine is just a few feet below them. I can never, ever, ever, ever take any scene that takes place in the Garden of Life seriously ever again. All I can think is, "they're standing on top of the Omen Machine." And then my brain starts quoting HAL lines from 2001. Way to ruin something awesome there, Goodkind. Thanks for that.
All in all, this was a great book. It's reasonably well written, with good characters that are visibly distinct from one another in the ways they speak, act, and think, and builds to an excellent climax. It sets up for a great series to come in a wonderfully crafted and imaginative world with a deep and mysterious history. There are a few flaws in the book that can easily be chalked up to the author's inexperience, but they don't really take much away from the rest of the book in my opinion. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy series. Although, I will give warning that there is quite a bit of graphic violence, violence against women, rape, threat of rape, rape of children both male and female, an extended scene of torture, implied sexual torture, sexual violence such as a child molester being forced to eat his own testicles, and some of the good old fashioned normal sexual themes as well. If any of these things offend you, you may want to skip this one. This book has a very hard R rating.
This book reads like it is written by a completely different author than anything Goodkind has published since Law of Nines. I simply cannot understand what happened to him. He used to be a decent, sometimes excellent, writer. Now he just isn't trying anymore. Wizard's First Rule is so far above his recent work in terms of imagination, writing quality, characters, character development, story, excitement, tension and drama, and so on that it seriously feels like a completely different author wrote it. One of my biggest complaints about Severed Souls was that Goodkind doesn't seem to know how horror and fear in writing work. But in this book, he proves that he does. There are some really creepy and frightening scenes in this book, and never once does a character have to tell me that they're creepy or frightening like they did all throughout Severed Souls. I just don't get it. What happened to the real Terry Goodkind? The one who wrote THIS book?
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October 19, 2008
Excellent series of contemporary fantasy. Goodkind's books always center around difficult moral or social concepts that are put to the test by believable characters. The theme of Goodkind's books is that people should be true to themselves, not sacrificing their beliefs for conformist ideals or things that sound appealing but have no grounding in reality. To truly live one's life is what is most important. Towards the end of the series, this theme tends to get a little preachy and starts to lean towards agnosticism. Still, definitely worth reading to the end. There are a lot of good ideas and messages that anyone can take out of Goodkind's books. One caution, because Goodkind loves to preach about the sanctity of life, there are frequent depictions and images of those who would desecrate life, through murder, torture, rape, etc. Goodkind uses these in contrast to the heroes of the books who uphold moral standards and value life. Sometimes the images are intense, but the ones that may questionable are few in number.
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