Rating: 
Summary: A very good book
Review: The reason i liked this book was that it was diffrent from the other fantasy books i've read. The srory doesn't follow the Tolkyn tradition (you know elves ,dwarfs etc.) but it doesn't run from it like a lot of books do. Goodking has succeded in creating a new intersting world and well built characters. The only reason i didn't give this book 5 stars was that a lot of thing just poped up in the middel of the story and you feel like someone stoping the story and saying oops I forgot to tell you that part. Other then that this is a great book you should read soon , I myself can't wait reading the next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Intricate story line...
Review: Many twists and turns, not much gore compared to some books. Terry Goodkind shows his talent off in this extravagant work. he really makes you FEEL the character, i tried to guess what would happen next, but the story always took some brilliant turn. when it seems everything is going wrong, exactly the opposite is hapenning. its worth it.Regaurds, Cyprus
Rating:
Summary: A Light In The Dark That Is Fantasy....
Review: This glorified first novel by Terry Goodkind, shed a new light on the world of fantasy fiction. Not only is it the first stepping stone toward a magical and human journey, but the emotions that drive the core of this plot, are like four horses: thunder, lightning, heart, and soul; pulling a chariot of reason and wisdom across the gold embolden sky of fantasy. Richard "Cypher," a simple woodsman, becomes caught within a never-ceasing whirlwind of prophecy and dark tribulation. Accompanied by his love/midland guide/protector, Khalan Amnell, and his friend, Zeddicus Zul'Zorandor, Richard begins an unforgettable quest through the treacherous and magical land of the midlands. For a great and evil wizard (Darken Rahl) threatens the very exsistence of life. From his nestled perch in D'hara, Darken plans to get his hands on three magical items, which together could unleash morbid and macabre magic into the world should he avail. This novel really touches the spirit, and spices the imagination. It is perhaps the best novel i've ever read, and the most human. Others try to compare "The Sword Of Truth" series, to "The Wheel Of Time" series. Although Robert Jordan's novels are quite superb, Terry Goodkind tends to add more adult qualities to his work, not only the weaving of the story itself, but the actions of the characters and the decisions they make. As an aspiring writer of fantasy-fiction, this book has inspired me profoundly, and I recommend it for any loyal fantasy reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Formulaic
Review: There was probably nothing at all that happened in this book that I could not predict. At the introduction of Kahlan, it was obvious that she would become the romantic interest, although I felt that she and Richard's feelings for one another seemed a bit forced. I didn't find it convincing. That was the problem I suppose with most of this book. It seemed to have a small part of every stereotype in your average fantasy novel. Your hero knows right from wrong, never having any doubts, and your villain is just about as evil as any villain can be. I did like Denna though. I liked her far better than Kahlan. This whole book is rather... hurried, and I'm not sure why. The rest of the series is much better than this one, and takes on a much more realistic pace.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as it could have been
Review: It has been a long time since I have read a fantasy book and this one came highly recommended to me. Unfortunately I have to give this one a low rating. There were some interesting ideas but not enough to save the book in my mind. For starters it was much more violent then it needed to be. My goodness, there were 2 scenes of castration! The book was full of child abuse, rape, and genital mutilation. I am not timid about violence when it helps a story but this just wasn't necessary. I also didn't like the way the story unfolded. It was predictable from the beginning who would betray Richard. Too much time was spent on subplots like the love story with Richard and Kahlan or the mud people while not enough time was spent fighting Darken Raul or his army. I also didn't think that the other characters were used well enough. A wizard of the first order and the mother confessor were both very powerful yet at times seemed to be more in the way than anything else. On the positive side I did like the main characters of the story and I thought that the author had a good writing style and kept the story moving. I certainly was not bored.
Rating: 
Summary: Lack of realism is the main problem
Review: The whole thing just looks too artificial and unconvincing. Major characters in the book act as if they are participating in an unnatural show. People bahave awkwardly with the sole aim of keeping the plot moving. The encounter with the Confessor, wandering to attract spirits, capture and torture, the supposedly surprising escape at the end, all appear to be oddly fabricated scenes to make the story complete. Sorry to say that there are a lot of better fantasy novels around.
Rating:
Summary: There is nothing great about it...
Review: Sure, it had some neat scenes in it, some surprises, but they do not make up for the rather painful reading experience. If you are a fan of sadomasochism or vagrant sex descriptions, than the book might be for you, but I found the ... appeals to base emotions repelling. I did not find an ounce of purely original or interesting fantasy material anywhere. In a genre that is so rich with imagination and creation, I am surprised to find a "popular" book that lacks these virtues with such ardor. .... I'm not even sure how big it is supposed to be. The map provided in the cover is one of the worst I have seen and the book lacks decent description as far as relative size is concerned. There are very few cities to speak of, and yet there seems to be multitudes of people about. An entire race of natives is contained in one small village. (Can anybody say "Indians" stereotype?) Moreover, most everything is unimaginatively named. ("Michael" and "Richard" are not considered superbly fantastic names.) I could not get involved with the book because I felt so detached from the setting that it takes place in. I read it sure, but I do not recommend that anybody else does.
Rating:
Summary: Marginally readable
Review: This book was almost bad enough to make me put it on my Later shelf, yet was just barely interesting enough that I did manage to finish it without running off to read a different book. Barely. Richard Cypher, a young mellowish woodsman, lives in Westland, which is a world without magic. He has a brother, Michael, who is pretty much an arrogant buffoon with lofty political aspirations. Michael of course lives in a fancy manse in a fancy residential area, whereas Richard lives in a humble cabin in the woods. Richard's two best friends are Zedd, an older, eccentric man, and Chase, a "boundary warden" (a ranger-warrior who patrols the borderlands). One day, while strolling though the woods, Richard rescues a strange woman from a small group of equally strange pursuers, dispatching the pursuers with the help of the woman. Although obviously trained in the use of arms, Richard isn't exactly a seasoned warrior, so the incident puts him in a dark mood. Much of the base tale is predictable and follows a very standard fantasy mold: a character who is not what he originally claimed to be, a character who is not what he thought he is, a highborn character pursued by sinister agents, a search for a necessary magical item, dangerous fantastic creatures who recognize a hero on sight (and offer help when needed), dangerous semi-intelligent creatures who kill first and belch later, a betrayal, a man-child growing into an adult through circumstance, and of course.... a magic sword. While most of the happenings were predictable, there were some surprising aspects in WFR. The Bad Guys are all sadistic wackos, one of them being a demented pedophile, liking very young boys. This isn't handled in a subtle manner, in fact very little is subtle in this book. Half the book is sure to shock the timid. There is an obscene segment in WFR in which Richard is captured and brutally "trained" by a professional torturer/dominatrix who is a kind of magical vampire. This "training" is lengthy and graphically detailed, and included esoteric apparatus, exotic fetishes, gory ultraviolence, and assorted kinkiness. An interesting quirk of Richard's that we, the readers, can appreciate is that he is as clueless of the magical lands of Midlands and D'Hara as we are. At first, we don't know what a "gar" is, either. All we know is what's obvious: it's big, it's mean, it's ugly, it's hungry, it can crush boulders in its fists, and it smells bad. We the readers, along with Richard, find out what the assorted magical creatures are. When Richard is lost and separated, so are we. Yet there were times I wished whatever creature was lurking in the shadows would just eat everyone. The characters failed to elicit my sympathy, and with the exception of Richard (sometimes) and a child character, I didn't really care if the companions succeeded or not. Although WFR is the first book of six so far, it did a fairly good job of wrapping up a story arc. Since I started this "Sword of Truth" series to help fill in my reading time while I wait for Martin to grace us with the next installment of his "Song of Ice and Fire" series, I can appreciate a doorstopper that does end in a maddening cliffhanger. Still, while I have book two, "Stone of Tears" on hand, I'm not in any hurry to read it. Although I can see the potential for a grand epic here, I'll say again that this book just barely kept me interested. I put the book down several times and wandered off to see which of my books needed re-reading. Then I came back to WFR, only to wander off again.
Rating:
Summary: The Blues clues of Fantasy fiction
Review: I once heard that small children have to hear something three times before they absorb it. It seems Goodkind takes this ideology to heart and treats the reader like a four year old addicted to sword and sorcery gore. The plot is tediously predictable, so much so it made the story drag for me. Juvenile logic puzzles and semantics plague the intrigue that the author seemed to be trying to built. I would recommend this book to children who just got done with the Harry Potter series except for two things. First, some of the scenarios tend to lean towards the uselessly graphic, Secondly, really Id be insulting Harry by letting kids devaluate. A teenager might like it but then again they make walk away as insulted as I was. But maybe the series gets better after this book Ill never know.
Rating:
Summary: A great story, but not very original.
Review: Yes, it is a WoT clone. Yes, it is filled with gratuitos sex and violence. But it's also fun and exciting, and the characters have real personality, unlike the stoic chumps from Wheel of Time. Sword of Truth appeals to the kids who always wanted their shot at the big bad bully like Richard Cypher, or the DnD nerds who wanted to be able to turn their enemies into slaves like the beautiful Kahlan. Although it has it's flaws, it's a great easy-reading story for any fantasy fan.
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