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

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

List Price: $39.95
Your Price: $25.17
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Splendid.
Review: People usually say that Goodkind has a lot in common with Jordan.The only thing I think he has in common with him is his ridiculously long books.Otherwise there are not as many pointless characters,the magic is as in depth as Terry Brooks,and the plot is fast moving and gripping.
Richard Cypher,an unsuspecting person in the Westland,suddenly saves a mysterious woman called Kahlan Amnell,who tells him some disturbing news:Darken Rahl(the evil dude)has two of the boxes of Orden and is searching for the third one.She has come to the Westland searching for the only wizard powerful enough to destroy Darken Rahl.When the wizard turns out to be Richard's old friend Zedd,Zedd appoints him Seeker and gives him the mission to destroy Darken Rahl.
This is a tale of romance,adventure,and wonderful magic .Buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wizard's First Rule
Review: What can I say...I was given this book by a friend of mine and I began to read it. At first, I have to admit, I found it hideously boring, but I convinced myself to stick with it and by about chapter four I couldn't put it down! It is now my favourite book and I am onto the third book in the series. If you are thinking of buying this book, do! I can almost guarantee that it will be the best book you will ever read.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Hack.
Review: This is the worst case of hack writing I've ever experienced. What a joke Goodkind is. If he were either 'good' or 'kind' he'd stop publishing immediately.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not original, but still excellent
Review: (4.5 stars)

The basic plot of this book is very typical of the fantasy genre...a simple country boy meets a sorceror/sorceress, and they are chased by evil people/monsters, and the boy learns that he is the only one who can save the world. This is virtually the same plot that is used in Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, and pretty much every fantasy series. Anyone reading an epic fantasy should not be expecting originality, they should only expect the plot to be interesting, the characters to be likeable, and the writing to be above par. In that way, the sword of Truth series delivers. While built on a basic plotline that is not original, Wizard's First Rule has enough plot twists to keep you guessing whats going to happen next. The characters have depth and there is a lot of character development. Richard matures as the story progresses, and there is always a conflict between what others expect him to do and what he wants to do, which is just go back to being a simple woods guide and marry Kahlan. At first the reader knows little about who kahlan is, but throughout the series more and more is revealed about her. They are the only two characters that the reader actually learns to care about, becuase there is not much emphasis on the others. There isn't any character development at all with Darken Rahl, and about the only thing you know about him is that he wants revenge against all wizards, especially Zedd, for killing his father. We don't really get to know why he is evil, other than that. We also don't get to know very much at all about Richard's relationship with his brother, even though his brother plays an important part in the plot at the end. Most of the time the reader will forget that he even has a brother at all. Goodkind does a very good job with the dialogue between the characters, it sounds completely natural. Even if some of it may sound simplistic, it still sounds like real dialogue, and it is never cheesy. He is descriptive enough to give you a good picture of whats happening, but he's not so descriptive that the book is bogged down by it (like Wheel of Time). Speaking of wheel of Time, Sword of Truth has many similarities to that series. Mord sith=Seanchean, Sisters of light=Aes Sedai, Sisters of Dark=Black Ajah, Mud people=Aiel, Aviendha=Du Chaillu, Richard=Rand, etc. It has enough differences so that you don't notice all that much though.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of THE best books that I have ever read!!
Review: Like many of you I picked this book up on a spare of the moment thing. I wasn't even sure if I would truly like it, but after reading the first chapter I was immediately captivated. The story and plot was excellent and funny. It has efverything that you could want in a story. I loved the characterizations and the stroy moved along beautifully. In a way it made me wish that I was one of the characters and fighting along with them.

I hope that more people will read this series. It's a great read and you won't even realize how many pages have gone by. Go ahead and buy this book you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: If you can get through the first two thirds of the book
Review: Terry Goodkind's "Wizard's First Rule" is a very cheesy fantasy novel. There are many points during the read which I would stop and think that some of the quotes and things the characters would say were straight off of a "Full House" episode or even worse, out of a "Barney" show (especially when they have multiple page long discussions about what friends are.

This book is also very Robert Jordan-ish in some parts. The main part that seems straight from Wheel of Time is the torture parts towards the end of the book when compared to the Sul'dam and Seanchan using A'dam's.

The magic in Terry Goodkind's world is somewhat strange and vague. Some of the magic I think is foolish and weak. Contrary to what some say, I think the world of the Three Kingdoms is hard to believe in and get sucked into, especially since the maps provided in the front of the book are extremely weak and non-informative. It's hard to guage distance and it seems that characters can jump from all the way across the map in a matter of days, while it takes forever for them to go a very small distance.

There are also many typos in the book.

However, I thought the end of "Wizard's First Rule" was incredible. I enjoyed it and would say that if you can get through the extremely long first two thirds of the book then it is worth reading. There were many points at which I was really not interested in finishing the book but I did anyway, and I was glad that I finished. Some of my favorite parts are when Richard, the main character is interacting with some of the smaller characters (Adie the Witch and the Mud People).

And just for the record, I am planning on reading book 2 in the series.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Might be a 3.5 stars or a 4.5 depending...
Review: STORY: Richard, son of a trader and a simple woodsman, finds himself as part of a prophecy to save the world from the evils of Rahl. With the help of Kahlan (a woman he can't have) and Zedd (his old mentor) these three become the force that must strive to turn the tide of evil washing over the entire world.

MY FEEDBACK:
1) SETTING - A nice imaginative world separated by the Boundaries and filled with all kinds of dangers. Great monster creations, though some of the escapes the characters make are a little too easy. The ruling class of a queen/princess was nothing new, but the roles of Confessor and Seeker were a nice change of pace and added to the strangness and mystery of the world.
One complaint was the Mud People - his psuedo American Indian culture was pretty hokie and I was about to skip forward a bit when the author probably realized the same thing and changed the pace of the story. Whew.

2) CHARACTERS: It just seemed a bit too conincidental that Richard is the last of the Seekers and Kahlan is the last of the Confessors and Zedd is the last of the wizards. Also, Zedd was way too cliche (just think of Ben Kenobi's relationship to Luke)
Reasons why Richard and Kahlan can't experience their love was a nice and intriguing major conflict in the story.
The only character that "grows" in the story is Richard, but there are reasons for that. The entire span of the story covers less than a year so there aren't major changes to be expected by characters like Kahlan and Zedd who are use to more strange experiences than Richard.
A complaint is that the dragon gets corny at the end...especially the way it talks to Richard and has this sudden bond with him. It didn't do it for me.
NOTE: When you get to the part where Richard is being tortured you may have the same reaction I did and cringe and want it to end but find it lasts for many pages...there is a reason for it,which is explained and it makes for more foreshadowing of how Richard is going to become something more in future books.

3) STORY: I was hooked right off the bat and was surprised when I had read 400 pages and didn't know where the time had gone. The story moves at just the right pace and just when you might get tired of a scene/location/character the author introduces some new interesting magic, monster or situation. I tried reading Dragonbone Chair from Tadd Williams and both times felt like was was sloshing my way through the swamp of names while the mud of details kept trying to pull me down and drowned me. I didn't feel that way with this story. The reading was very easy and so where the names...though Richard hardly seems an appropriate fantasy protagonist name.
Yes, the story has some VERY telegraphed plot elements (I totally figured out who Richard's traitor is very, very early on). But I realize this is the first book in a long series and it is necessary to get introductions done, setup the world a bit and have our protagonist grow a bit.

OVERALL: There are some sex and torture/violence scenes that I would not recommend for kids or teenagers. It was a nice summer read when you are relaxing by the pool, beach or garden with a cold drink in your hand. When I look at some of the reviews where people slam the book, I have to agree with some of their points and in turn would rate this a 3.5 stars. But, like many, I enjoyed this fast read and I really got caught up in some of the scenes and relationships, which is why at times I rate this a 4.5.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Keeps you on the edge of your seat
Review: When I started reading this book I wondered, "What else has this guy written?!" I was amazed to find out that this was his first novel. This action packed book keeps you turning the pages and not wanting it to ever end. The bad news is, it does end. The good news, he wrote a sequel! (or two) If you love fantasy, I cannot recomend this book enough. I have recommended it to a number of friends and they all have loved it too. Buy this one!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Absolutely Stunning!
Review: Normally I'm not much of a reader, but after picking up Wizard's First Rule, I wasn't able to put it down until I had finished reading the last page. This book is simply amazing, and I have recommended it to all of my personal friends to read.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A waste of time.
Review: It had a promise there somewhere in the beginning, but then it simply got lost. I don't know how this book appeals to so many people. I guess that the average readers age is around 13, the kind that could get excited over exaggerated violence sadism and sex .

Plot: Richard meets Kahlan and they boldly go to save the world from the evil sorcerer and wonder of wonders, they succeed. That about sums it up.
Maybe I should mention that on the way Richard is caught by a beautiful cruel but kind hearted torturer lady (I like my SM with high heels and lots of leather, thank you please). This lady has some steamy torture sessions with Richard which last a couple of chapters. These chapters don't seem to have anything to do with advancing the plot. The only reason I can think of that they were added was maybe to advance the book sales. My advice, get an adult book, hire an adult movie, much cheaper and far less a waste of time. The story is linear, full of over stretched scenes (maybe GoodKind had some quota to fill), and is mostly boring.

Characters: are all one dimensional and uninspiring. Both heroes Richard and Kahlan portrayed as childish and even stupid. They walk around in a Mr. Goody bear attitude that simply doesn't fit in the entire book. Both never develop an inch through this 836 pages book. This point might be argued since Richard does acquire new skills thought the story. But if I want this kind of development I'll play an AD&D computer game instead of reading this book (much more entertaining).

Story Telling: Have to agree with previous critic. I was lost in a sea of meaningless sentences (again it looks like GoodKind had some quota to fill ).

World building: The only point of light. GoodKind had some nice original ideas. Too bad they were misused.

To sum it up: This is a bad book, leave it on the bookshelf of the store.


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