Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth, Book 1)

I have been in love with this series since first reading over 10 years ago. This first book is wonderful for a variety of reasons. It is a fantasy novel that doesn't overwhelm you with fantasy. The story has a fantasy setting, but the focus is always on the story, not the setting. The world created by Terry Goodkind is almost a fantatastical mirror image of our own making it something we can see and imagine being a part of. Goodkind's writing style is one that creates a movie in your mind as you read that is so immersive you forget that you're reading a book and not watching a movie. This book has been a spring board for so many of my friends who hate to read, but were hooked so quickly they became avid readers themselves just because of this first book. I tell everyone that they will be hooked within three chapters, and that if they're not, I'll never ask them to read another book again. No one I have met yet can put the book down once they're that far into it. I am a middle school math teacher and have used it to share my love of reading with my students, so much so that I still talk and share stories about this book and the series with those students years later. A friend of mine actually skipped a college class to keep reading because he was so engrossed in this book. I introduced the series to my wife and she became an instant fan, so much so that she agreed to let me name our first born daughter after the lead character, Kahlan. Goodkind creates a world and story that is truly inspiring. He shares insights into how the world we live in today truly works and sets examples of the quality people we should be through the interactions, and thoughts, and emotions of his characters. If you have watched the TV Show, "The Seeker," do not even being to expect a comparison or likeness to this book or the others. The show ruined a great story line and should not be allowed the credit of being 'based on the Sword of Truth Series." This book is so much greater by leaps and bounds, it should not be compared in anyway to the TV Show. If you are ready to lose yourself in a book for a few days, this is the one that you have to try. Just be sure to warn your family and friends that you will be rather distracted until you are finished. Get all your chores done, turn off the TV, log off Facebook and disappear with this book and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

I'll try to avoid spoilers since some reviews really ruined a part of the book for me. For background on the book, it's as medieval fantasy as you can get. It is definitely not a children's book, it has quite a bit of adult content. Not recommended to anyone who would freak out at a scene of child violence and perverted characters (and no it's not a common theme don't worry much). If you have read George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books you will be familiar with the dark settings. If you have gone through other reviews, you might think the book is terribly graphic and horrifying, but it is by no means a monster. I saw the dark chapters as a trial for the protagonists to overcome and become stronger because of it, I was not turned down by those chapters. Even though the outline of the plot is pretty typical for fantasy, with your nobody 18 year oldish woodsman finding love and becoming the white knight in shining armor to fight evil; the story and the world its based in is very unique in my opinion. Especially the magic has an interesting and deep mystery to it. If you're into romance that's a little sappy and has drama you'll love the story even more. Romance was one of the core things I enjoyed. Above all, the characters were fantastic and memorable, Terry Goodkind really nails down personality well. You should be able to feel and understand the characters on a deep level. I burned through this book in a couple of days and hated that I could have gotten some work done instead of reading. All though I don't regret that.From other reviews I've read, I have never been a picky critic, I enjoy a story for what it is despite any errors on how it is written. Other reviewers may say they were irritated by the writing style and grammar, but I did not notice anything bad. I was able to understand the story and message pretty clear, I was too engrossed with my love for the characters to notice. There was not much I disliked about the book except for the lengthy dialogue when it came to the main character learning important life lessons. A thing that I both liked and disliked was that there was always something interesting happening, if you wanted to stop reading it would undoubtedly be on a cliffhanger. I'd give this book 4 and a half stars in the end. By the way if you were like me and read the latest book "The Third Kingdom" of this series first unknowingly like I have, this is still worth the read. There is so much to know.

What sets Terry Goodkin's novel apart from the other fantasy novels out there is not the plot itself. At the heart of the story you have the basic ultimate good vs ultimate evil in a battle to the death. One man, in this case the "seeker", along with loyal friends goes off on what could be a suicide mission to save the world. It's not necessarily a unique plot. What Goodkin does that is original, however, are the individual elements of the story. While his magic and creatures have roots in the fantasy canon he puts an element in them that makes them uniquely individual to his midlands. No where is this moe obvious than his description of the mord-sith. In probably the most detailed,vivid, and frightening portion of the book Goodkin introduces us to a class of magical villians with a dominatrix quality and yet manages to gain the readers empathy towards them in the end. Truly brilliant writing on its own. The main characters: Richard, Kahlan, Zedd,Chase are not written quite as vividly but each have their own unique powers to add to the story. Chase is your average woodsman with a heart, and not quite as original as expected but he plays his role well and adds a little non magical force to the rest of the ggroup. Kahlan, the mother confessor, adds an element all on her own and Goodkin creates a character capable of intemidating the reader just like she intimidates those of the midland. Zed is your average merlin like wizard, powerful and yet keeping a sense of humor. It is not his talent that sets him apart but the personality goodkin paints for him. Richard is the hero, more powerful than he knows and maybe not 100% unique when it comes to fantasy literature, but he worms his way into the heart of the reader and you want him to succeed. Everything in goodkin's novel is impeccable described. There are a few stereotyped characters that left me a little disappointed, such as the former seeker Richard runs into, a hunched over creature that keeps looking at the Sword of Truth and yelling "mine" (at any moment I expected him to slip up and call out `my precious'). I'd like to think these incidents are a homage to the writers whose works have come before Goodkin, but it's hard to tell. Even with these typical fantasy creatures: your gollum character, the noble dragon turned ally, etc. Goodkin does create a compelling plot, and I was perfectly willingly to overlook them to continue with the story. I do have a complaint about the kindle version of this book though, there are a massive number of typos (there was an entire page where kahlan's name is typed Ka Ian) but this cant really be held against the author. I'm just upset some publishers seem to be using ebooks as an opportunity to put out lesser quality books. This book was an epic read and it is worth getting invested not only in this book but the rest of the series if you haven't already. While it might not look quite so original from the surface, once you start to get invested in the story the characters take on a life of their own. It might not be up to the quality of Tolkien (but what out there is...) but it is a very compelling fantasy read which I enjoyed greatly. As a side note, if you are familiar with the t.v. series, legend of he seeker, don't worry about it spoiling the plot. The books differ greatly and there are plenty of surprises left for you as the novel comes to a close.

Hands down my favorite book series! I was sucked in by the thought out and believable world that Terry Goodkind has created! There are over a dozen in this series and some in spin offs which only add to the story rather than try to make money. Must buy!!

I'm going to try to refute the 1 star reviews for this book. #1. WORLD vs CHARACTER Goodkind did not set out to make a world first (as did Tolkien) and then tell a story centered around an event in that world. Goodkind is a character builder and as he himself has said could have written this book in any style or genre, his focus is on the characters and their experiences. NOT the history of the world unless that in some way pertains to the characters! NOT on the system of magic he's developed, only as it pertains to the characters! Magic is simply a metaphor for technology and (as Goodkind himself mentioned) you don't see stories set in the present day describing how an internal combustion engine works every time someone starts a car. #2: TORTURE/DEPRAVITY: If you have actually paid attention when reading you will see that such scenes are not overly detailed or long. The entire primary sequence of this type in the first book is 2 pages. They are simply emotionally powerful and are focused more on the characters feeling of hopelessness (the real torture) then the actual acts of violence. #3: SIMPLE?: This is the most ridiculous attack, the books are easy and enjoyable to read, the plot is orderly and engaging. The fact that the book is not overly complicated or confusing should not be a con! My only nag regarding the books (besides the lackluster ending of the series) is that he assumes you haven't read the previous books and fills you in on the backstory for each book, which was of course his purpose so that you could start anywhere in the series.. but it is a bit irritating none the less if you have read the previous books. For those of you who don't know the primary characters philosopy is centered around the philosophy of objectivism which is especially apparent in the wizards rules. This is one thing other fantasy novels lack, an underlying philosophical struggle that makes sense and relates well with reality. That's what makes this series so powerful.

I found the Sword of Truth series first through the Legend of the Seeker TV show. While I enjoyed the show, the book is SOOOO much better than the TV series. The writing style is straightforward, he is no poet or masterful wordcrafter like CS Lewis or Tolkien. But to me that's a strength. The story is easy to read and the plot is excellent. The characters have depth and are easy to relate to. Richard is far more likeable, to me, in the book compared to the TV show. He is actually intelligent and intuitive, making him more of a thoughtful character. The TV show portrays him as a mindless action hero, where in the book his most dangerous weapon isn't his sword or sword arm, it's his head. This makes sense, considering he is the Seeker of Truth. Other people have commented on the torture scenes and while they are gruesome, they aren't that bad if you have a strong stomach or are used to playing more gruesome video games or watching more violent movies. I really liked that the book had some depth beyond just a good fantasy story. Terry worked in several strong messages about humanity and the beliefs we all hold dear. It was well done - and more than just simply explained in the dialog, he weaved these truths into the plot and demonstrated them well inside the story. While the story was great, there was only a few minor weaknesses. The story is an almost literal play by play of the hero's journey, having many similar plot points to a lot of fantasy and sci-fi stories. The hero is the usual reluctant hero who is straight laced and has high moral values. The Wizard is the wise mentor. The villain seeks to rule the world and cover it in darkness. The love between the main characters can't happen because something doesn't allow them to be together. Some may think these are cliche' but I still enjoyed it without issue. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys the fantasy genre.

I started off with LOTR and moved to ASOIAF. Like many I wanted something similar while I wait for Martin to finally finish his next book. I read several books and his dark material series trying to fill the void. I came upon the debt of bones in a collection of short fantasy stories and it reeled me in. I saw that Goodkind was getting a lot of positive reviews but after reading his critics I thought twice about starting the series. It really is crazy how well his books are rated but so many people like me were almost influenced by the strong criticism against him. Anyway after I started I had a really hard time putting the book down. I think reading Martin actually made this book better for me. Martin is so ruthless you never know who is safe and I think that kept me on the edge of my seat while reading this book. Also I really bought in to the anguish and despair of the characters and I thought that really made the book great too. Another draw for me are the different kinds of magics. Their limitations and how they compliment each other are really interesting. There are some pretty dark parts, but if you are fine with Martin you'll be fine with Goodkind. There are a lot of coincidences and maybe luck, but this is fantasy so to me that stuff is ok :) He does reiterate a lot, but again it didn't bother me. To me it kept reinforcing the despair and anguish. Lastly, like I said, I had a hard time putting this book down and that's what I've been looking for since Martin's last book. It moves at a pretty fast pace I think. Goodkind put in plenty of twists that make you want to keep reading to see how they come together.

I have this bad habit of only writing reviews when I think people have missed a point or issue that should be published in the product's review section. This time, I think the reviewers did a pretty good job covering the points I'd make. So, why am I writing a review? Well, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was the quickest almost 600 kindle pages I've read in a long time. I tend to read lying in bed at night, and I can say I lost a few hours of sleep because I couldn't put the book down. Yes, the book was that good. Now that my motivation is out of the way, let me offer some information potential readers may find useful. 1) This book reads like a youth novel in style and diction. However, some events here and there that I'd recommend to more mature readers (teenager or older). I was unsure if this book was supposed to be targeted towards youths or not, but be warned the book does have killings, torture, maiming, and a little bit of sexual innuendo. Basically, I wouldn't give this book to a 7 year old just because the story includes wizards and dragons. 2) The book moves along at a quick pace. Two parts did seem to drag just a little bit, but if you stick through them the story will resume its gallop, I promise. If George R.R. Martin had written this book, it would have been 3000 pages. At least. Seriously. 3) The book does wrap up the story, but leaves plenty of things open for the many novels that follow. 4) I watched some of the TV show (Legend of the Seeker) and the book and TV show are quite different. I find the Richard character in the book much more likable, and the TV show has a lot more 'side quests' not included in this first book. Am I dying to read the second book? No, the first book was wrapped up well. But I absolutely WILL read the second book at some point, I have no doubt--I've already purchased it. I will warn you, this book may ruin you for other book series. I've read the first 3 books in the Song of Ice and Fire (SoIF) series, but Goodkind is such a succinct writer and moves the story along so well, he makes me not want to read any more SoIF books because of the tremendous amount of fluff Martin adds. I don't need a complete menu for every stinkin' meal... But I digress. I've also started to read King's Dark Tower series, I've gotten through the first 4 books. I'm not sure if I want to read #5. Goodkind moves the story along, King does not. I deducted 1 star for two reasons that I'll try to keep spoiler free: 1) Took too long to get through the boundary, compared to the amount of time spent on other plot points. How many red dragon pages were there compared to how many boundary crossing pages? One seems rushed, the other drawn out a bit. 2) Took too long to get through the, um, Mord-Sith 'training'. Yeah, we get it, somebody had a bad time. It was well written, but it hit the brakes on the story pretty hard. I think it was like 4 to 5% or so of the book spent on this, a little excessive. The graphic nature of the training didn't bother me, as it appeared to bother some reviewers. Evil people do evil things... Otherwise, a great read. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could. If you like wizards, dragons, and sword carriers with a story that moves along, read this book.

A Superb Novel that will take you on a wild ride through a magical world. One of the best fantasy series in existence , the world Terry Goodkind has created is unique and fascinating.You will fell in love with the characters at once and share their journey.This book is unputdownlable.This is a series of 11 books (main series) and 4 more books which he added later. Each book is a giant with 700+ pages (which is just what i like in fantasy.You can spend days immersed in this beautifully crafted world;Page after page of unending adventure.Those of you who loved "The Lord of the rings" or "The Chronicles of Narnia" will undoubtedly love this too.This is classic adventure at its best with all the things you love(dark lords, a beautiful magic system,wizards,dragons,dwarves,elves just to name a few).So just stop reading this review and buy the book.Get ready for one thrilling ride.

I was enchanted by the TV series, I really loved Cara and Zedd so I decided to read the books of SoT. I am Italian, but I bought this book in English because it's easy to read, so it is a good way for me to learn the language. The story and the characters are quite different, in both appearance and special powers. Even though I like both TV and book version, of course I prefer the book, maybe because it's more detailed and explained better. I don't know why this book is so criticized, I admit the very first part of the story is not very original - you know, Richard, Zedd and Darken Rahl are very similar to Luke Skywalker, ObiWan Kenobi and Darth Wader. But as the story evolves, there are a lot of new elements, neither less nor more original than ANY fantasy or science fiction book. Once I started reading the first page I was not able to stop reading. And I can say the same for the second book, Stone of Tears. I only feared that the final was going to disappoint me, but I found it better than the Tv series. I felt a fatherly feeling reading the adventures of the little Rachel, I almost felt physical pain when Richard was tortured by mistress Denna. This is what I expect from a good book. That's what I got, more than I expected to get.

Ein episches Werk. Unglaublich facettenreich und fesselnd. Selbst beim unzähligsten mal lesen ;) Ein muss für wahre Fantasy Fans. Deutsch wie englisch.

A true loss to the world. At least he left behind a quite a few of these tales. Confessor, Agiel, or Zeddiculous' bushy brows twitching humourously. Would find no change to my righteous conviction, this tale is worth told.

おもしろいですよ。あっという間に物語が進みます。iTune でオーディオブックを購入して、聞きながら読むのもいいかもしれません。 ストーリー構成が、見事です。登場人物も魅力的です。いろいとと関係が変化していくのも楽しめます。どぎついところも、全体の流れの中で、自然に感じられます。どんどん進んでいき、全巻、読んでしまいました。The Pillars of Creation, Chainfire などは、いろいろと想像がかきたてられ、すごく楽しめます。全巻、最後の100ページのどんでん返しがたまりません。