Rating: 
Summary: Captivating Fantasy
Review: The first 600 or so pages of the book are enchanting. I was immediately entranced with the three-dimensional characters who were so real. It's astounding how life-like they were (despite the rather unusual abilities). Each had conflicting emotions,and were neither entirely good or entirely evil. The imperfections of the characters are what make them so believable. And the tale is fascinating. One cannot help to be caught up in the exciting plot, full of suspense and unusual twists and turns. However, after you get to page 600, a more, shall we say, grotesque style is added to the story. This came as a bit of a shocker. I really enjoyed the book, but the whole frying of testicles part is a little bit over the top. It does however give us insight into the "bad guy" of the story. Mothers beware, do NOT allow your children to read this book without reading it first. There are some issues in here that I would not at all reccomend for the inquisitive 10 year old, no matter how mature or intelligent he/she is. However, for those a bit older, the story is enchanting, with all the aspects a great piece of literature should have: humor, adventure, drama, fighting, character development...the list goes on and on. Do not miss reading this book
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC!! :-)
Review: I absolutely loved this book! Terry has an incredible imagination - absolutely amazing. It was hard to put down. The characters were well developed. There was only 1 small flaw (to me)in that Richard's time with Diana was a little overdone, made the point and kept on it.....but its forgiven, as the story is just wonderful. :-)If you love Wizards and Dragons and Magic and all - you should love this book. :-) [At the time of this writing, I've just finished book 5 of the series -- so you can see he hooked me with this book.] -Nancy
Rating: 
Summary: Real fantasy lovers BEWARE
Review: Don't waste your money on Goodkind. A terrible writer who taints the fantasy genre with insipid, juvenile writing and even more insipid characters. How did this person get published? I've read fantasy novels for 20+ years and have never read a fantasy novel that I had trouble finishing, until Goodkind. I returned the books I bought and will never buy another one from this author ever again. I recommend George R.R. Martin or Robin Hobb, or just about anyone else besides Terry Goodkind.
Rating: 
Summary: Sadomasochism and more! Errm, I mean less.
Review: What words can I use to describe this book? Putrid, disgusting, slimy piece of complete and utter dreck sounds like a good start. The plot is full of terrible cliches and very cartoony bad guys. The entire series seems to follow a very generic, very boring "guy and girl incredibly in love, guy and girl get mysteriously* separated, each faces their own trials which generally includes as much unconsensual sex as possible, guy and girl meet back up" (*or sometimes not so mysteriously. this is the only source of diversity in the entire series). This book starts out bad; it uses extremely obvious plot devices to label its villains, has some disturbing (seriously, seriously disturbing) sex scenes, and ends with a "well, duh! Like I didn't see this coming from page 1" feeling. No one under 18 should be reading this book, and frankly half of it reads like it should be in a small seedy adult bookstore, not sold in major chains. For those parts that aren't taken up with sadomasochist sex, Goodkind is rather flat and boring. There's a heavy "and then, and then, and then" feeling to the plotline, which keeps even what little story there is from being compelling. As the series goes on, the books are getting less and less compelling; I've started reading them with morbid fascination rather than any desire for entertainment. As if all of the above weren't bad enough, Goodkind also steals minor plot pieces and characters from other series. If you're a fantasy fan, reading the series will be much like looking through a scrapbook of your favorite authors. A special note to other Robert Jordan fans; if you're a very good reader, compare what Goodkind and Jordan both say about a certain fruit. Then check the copyright dates. To sum all of this up: just stay away from Goodkind and you'll be much happier.
Rating: 
Summary: Sword of truth series - what is good and what is not
Review: I` ve read all of the now existing books from the Sword of truth saga and I must say that the first one and the second one are quite good. All in all Goodkind has some nice characters, even though the good guys are a little too good and heroic and the bad guys - well a little to uncomplicated. I liked the idea of the confessors, the mord-sith and different tipes of magic and magicians, or I should say wizards, witch women and sorcerers, wich are not the same thing, and use magic differently and to a different extent. There are no elves (don`t get me wrong, I adore elves, but it is a nice change) and there are no trolls, dwarfs, ogers or any typicall faerie, but for all of these there are substitutes in one way or another. The band of the good guys is a standard one - a good hero and a woman he is in love with, and a wizard. Some other people join them during their quest - but these three are the original
Richard Cypher, or as he later finds out - Rhal is the good guy, from a land where there is no magic. He is a very powerfull wizard, but has no knowledge of it, until he meets the lovely Kahlan, who is in fact the mother confessor. She is searching for the First wizard who should help her defeat Darken Rahl - the evil lord of this book - wich is kind of invading Midlands, from O`Hara. So we have three different lands and in the following books there are even more. Richard who is the main characther has to face a different kind of evil or catastrophe in every book but before he does it, he has to learn how he can controll the power he had just discovered and keeps on dicsovering trough the story. And of course there is a woman he falls in love with and that too is a puzzle he must solve, because she is not an ordirary girl, but one with powers that could destroy him, just as easy as the ones of his enemy, be it Darken Rahl, the dreamwalker,or the Keeper, wich come about in the later books along with their bands of bad guys and servants and slaves with power.
In Stone of tears Richard is taken away to yet another land, by a sister of light. There he is supposed to learn about magic, because if he doesn`t it will kill him. In the palace of prophets, time flows more slowly and people age accordingly. But he cannot leave and wears a collar that enables the sisters to controll him and if need be, overpower him. An as story goes by, we learn not all of the sisters are sisters of light - good sisters. There are also sisters of the dark - bad sisters, that aren`t supposed to exist. The land he is taken to is the Old world, wich is separated from the new one by a magic ¡wall¡.
Every fan of the heroic fantasy will probably love Wizards first fule and Stone of tears, but after that Goodkind deteriorates. Richard becomes too allpowerfull, he always finds a solution just as the time is running out, and it becomes predictable, he is also too politically correct and cares way too much about justice. There is a different danger, evil, plague...in each book, but in a way there is no real differenc between them, so I would grade Stone of tears a 4 also, but later books 3 and two and a half, because even the worst one is better than just a two.
The characters as I already said, are a little too onesided....they are either good or bad....some like them to be that way, I could use some diversity and more in-depth charachterisation, but the story of the first two books is interesting and it keeps you wanting to read more, even though sometimes you know what the nex thing is going to be, you can guess it easily,but it is the right next thing and it doesn`t matter. The thing that is not so good is that the plots get even more predictabe, and the stories less interesting in the later books. Richard Cypher gets too good, and too powerfull and sometimes he gets on your nerves, especially in the last book where Richard and Kahlan are the main charachters - Faith of the fallen - I rate this one a 3-(in this book there is little action, and it is really easy to find similarities between the philosophy of The Old world with one of the real world (the one we - you and I - live in:) ), because they are practically the same (try capitalism and comunism). There is little magic, and magic fans will hate that, but it is a change nevertheless and that is a plus (I like changes)
In the next book -rating 2,5- (The pillars of creation) there is a new main charachter: Jennsen,and it gives us a different perspective on the things, but the book was in my opinion a little dissapointing and the most loyal fans of the Sord of truth saga probably agree with me.
The books between:
Blod of the fold - rating 3- is the book I noticed that the series are deteriorating. It is still readable, it still puts a hod on you, and if you really liked the firs two this one won`t be that bad, but it is not as good as them. Richard is already the most powerfull wizard in the world and that itself is a little irritating. The situations the characters are in are worse every time, the problems bigger, but still they find the solution every time - just in time.
Temple of winds - rating 3 - This time the problem Richard has to face is a plague. A different problem, but not so very different story. The interesting sub plot of this book are the love/marriage problems.
Soul of the fire - rating 2.5 - well this time the problem is eradication of magic, cused by the three chimes loosed on the world by something Kahlan did in the previous book. But we meet some interesting new charachters, but there is an annoying resemblance between the way the people, in the land most of the story takes part, live in and our world again.
The nex book it the faith of the fallen.
There is one book I don`t really know where to put - Debt of bones tells a story before the Wizard`s first rule, Zed is younger, Panis Rahl (Darken Rahl`s father) is still alive. It is an interesting view.
The one thing that I really don`t like about Goodkind`s books is tahat he keeps repeating facts, situations and relations from previous books, be it trough conversation ar just description), he keeps reminding us about what happend and who is who or how they met. It is irritating to those who have read previous books and much too little for those who haven`t, so it serves no purpose. He also uses his books to point out what he thinks is wrong with our world (politics and philosophies like democracy, comunism, capitalism, slavery, witch-hunts...) and I don`t think these are things fantasy readers wnt to read about. If it is a fantasy world it soul be a fantasy world, if it is a critique of the modern world - well he sould say so.Another thing that is a little annoying is a million of strange coincidences that take place and that there is always the beginning of the next problem in the end of every book, like a comercial.
Terry Goodkind has talent, he just shouldn`t drag this series on any longer, but start another. I really loved the first two books, even with obvious faults they have, but the rest were more and more dissapointing. I still read them all and I must say there are worse things you can find on the book shelves, much worse. And it is obvious Goodkind has fans, loyal fans, so it can`t be all that bad, can it?
Rating:
Summary: This Book Rules!
Review: Wizard's First Rule, by Terry Goodkind, is a book of mystery and character. The book takes you to a world where magic conquers all. The characters are well-developed, and it's almost a shame that they aren't real. Although the book is an awesome work of literature, the length may shy some readers away. I absolutely love the way Goodkind puts you in the characters' shoes and lets you experience each emotion as it races through their minds. Richard Cypher meets Kahlan Amnell, who was sent into the region of Westland to find a certain person. They, along with Chase and Zedd, friends of Richard, journey through the Midlands and D'Hara, attempting to defeat the evil Darken Rahl. As they travel, the foursome becomes separated, each setting off on their own adventure. The story blossoms anew in each chapter, never dying, nor fading away. The title comes into play later in the book, so don't get confused about its meaning. I definitely love the details, insightful and satisfactory, but not floury. I plan to read the rest of the Sword of Truth series, of which Rule is the first book. If you would like to be transported to another time and place, check this book out at your local library or bookstore.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible, simply horrible
Review: I'm certain that my meager review will be lost in the hundreds written by the stalwart fans of the series, but I was so disappointed by it that I feel compelled to put in my two cents. Here it goes. It's a shame that what could potentially be a compelling and interesting fantasy epic has to suffer from such poor delivery. Mr. Goodkind's writing style seems to cater more to an audience with a fifth or sixth grade education and the story itself is clumsily told. Major plot developments are telegraphed well in advance (did anyone really doubt that Zedd was the great wizard?) so that nothing was a surprise. The charaters are very simple as are their emotional reactions to the events around them and I found myself secretly wanting them all to meet a bloody and quite painful end. The world itself shows little imagination of the part of the author and it saddens me that this eries has been allowed to ramble on through so many books. If you are a parent looking for a series for your 10 year old, this may be to your liking. If you are looking for an intellectually stimulating fantasy series that is both well-written and brilliantly told, I would suggest George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.
Rating:
Summary: Very readable beginning to the series.
Review: Terry Goodkind, Wizard's First Rule (Tor, 1994) Terry Goodkind hasn't been around as long as some of the fantasy writers who are currently churning out long- winded, seemingly neverending series; Harry Turtledove's alternate-history alien-invasion World War II series' first book has been in print longer than most of Goodkind's whole catalogue. But, as J. R. R. Tolkein and Greg Bear have shown us, you don't have to be established to come up with a really whiz-bang first novel. Wizard's First Rule is, most decidedly, a whiz-bang first novel. The action opens with unassuming woodland guide Richard Cypher trying to dig up a few clues as to the means and motive of his father's recent death. While in the process, he spots four men menacing a woman, goes to her aid, and unleashes the chain of events that have taken us seven eight-hundred-plus-page books and counting to unravel. Make no mistake, when you crack the cover on the first Sword of Truth novel, you're committing yourself to a whole lot of reading. Sword of Truth is longer than Mission Earth, longer than Necroscope, longer than Michael Moorcock's presently-in-progress series. Think of a series containing a whole lot of big, thick books. Sword of Truth is longer. It'll probably reach Encyclopedia Britannica proportions before long. The good news is, of course, that Wizard's First Rule is a whole lot more readable than Britannica (in order, even). He's got more of an eye for the readable than Moorcock, and is more restrained than Lumley. Goodkind doesn't skimp on the character development, has an excellent eye for description and detail, and presents it all in such a way that, when you've finished the first book, you wonder how it is you managed to get through eight hundred twenty pages quite as fast as you did. (In other words, by the second one before you start the first, because you're not going to want to take enough of a break to run to the store and get it. Trust me, I know-my copy of Stone of Tears is still in the mail.) With such a large canvas on which to paint, Goodkind takes the luxury of building up the minor characters; one of my most common complaints with genre fiction is the surfeit of cardboard characters who are set up just to be killed, or what have you. When Goodkind sets a character up to be killed, you know everything from what the character had for breakfast to his psychological makeup to his favorite color. It's a refreshing change from the majority of fantasy novels. And it doesn't slow the book down, because even the minor characters are contributing in some way to the plot. This stands out, even at a time when fantasy seems to be at a high point in the public consciousness. George R. R. Martin and Philip Pullman may be getting more press and more awards than Terry Goodkind, but Wizard's First Rule stands easily with A Game of Thrones or The Golden Compass as the beginning to an excellent series. **** ½
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: the best thing in this book is the grounwork it lays for the second and third books.
in this book i finally get the sense of magic as not a great force that it's fun to have, but as a fearsome and terrifying force that misuse of it, can cause horrific catastrophe.
in this book we learn the first rule of wizards and then we see it's manifestation in the action that the heroes take.
we see clearly that every action has a consquence which the heroes must be aware of.
the only bothering thing in this book is richard's overly perceptive mind, and his overly confident manner, like when he tricks the mud people into avoding marriage.
in all the book is a great read, and good thinking book as well, which is more than the usual fantasy books which are mainly action and motives.
one of the best of it's kind.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Fascinating!!
Review: In my opinion, the only way to enjoy fantasy stories is for the reader to go back in time and relive the experience of the heroes in the story. I think the author does a good job in absorbing the reader into the enchanting depths of the fantasy world. I agree with some reviewers that some things could've been done better, like the meaning of the Wizard's First Rule, I think the author could've came up with a better wording for the first rule! However, I disagree with some reviewers who talked about how twisted Mr. Goodkind is and described his work as "anti-feminist, anti-communist, pro-republican dogma"!! Come on guys, it's just a fantasy story for crying out loud! What's really amazing is the fast pace of the story that gets brought to a sudden halt when engaged in combat. The entire scene moves in slow motion while the author goes deep with details to paint a picture before you of the entire scene (surroundings, characters, movements, emotions, thoughts). T.G. does a good job in wrapping up the reader with the story, at one point i got really [mad] and started cursing when Khalan was in trouble and Richard wasn't there to help! Which brings up another interesting side of the story and shows the talents of T.G. in which he puts the characters in awkward situations that make you think "no way in hell are you getting out of this buddy"...but then, in a very clever way, T.G. comes up with some bizarre trick that would help the character out. Absolutely fascinating. It would be really interesting if an Anime could be made out of this story, I think it would be a hit. ...
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