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Summary: THIS ONE STARTED IT ALL.
Review: THIS ONE STARTED IT ALL>. Little did I know about 4 or 5 years ago when I first stole this book that I would be reading the sequels to it for many years to come.
Goodkind one of my favorite authors now!!! I have welcomed he characters into my heart and thats just what the author is shooting for in this series. I will always remember the names and personalities in his books because he is that kind of writer and gets you emotionally involved(more than I`d like to admit)with his characters and there screwed up situations. Just asked the cats in the Goodkind website forum about me. Anyway if this is what ya like start from the first book and go in order.
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Summary: best book ever!!!!
Review: This is the best book I ever read! I am a fantasy fanatic and I loved this book! It had sword fights, battles amazing characters and a wonderful plot. I loved it and so did all my friends who read it. Although it had some inappropriate context, the rest of the plot completely made up for it. The rest of the series is not as good as this book, but they are still amazing. I liked them a little more than I liked the LOrd of the Rings, and that is saying something!
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Summary: Stop reading this so you can begin reading the book
Review: Quite simply my favorite fantasy series ever. There are some similarities to Jordan's Wheel of Time, however I prefer Goodkind's Sword of Truth because he seems to have a better focus. Goodkind's series seems to become only more satisfying with each new book. Do yourself a favor and buy this book. Do your friends and family a favor and buy each of them a copy.
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Summary: Annoying
Review: I really tried to like this book. Yet, right from the start, I found the protagonist, Richard, extremely annoying. He's just another in a long list of whiny, crying, vomiting main characters that often turn up in fantasy novels, which lead you to find some secondary character to latch onto. Unfortunately, neither Zedd nor Kahlan themselves are all that interesting. Zedd is your stereotypical wizard-type who can do all sorts of magical things and speaks in riddles. Kahlan is a little better, but then Goodkind kills it by making her the "Madonna" who can't have sex. I was very troubled by Denna as well, the dominatrix-type who tortures Richard in a sequence that went on way too long. She plays the "Whore" to Kahlan's character. Of course, Richard breaks his torturer (Denna), she falls in love with him and then he kills her. I don't know what kind of message Goodkind is trying to send with this but, then again, maybe I do. Once again, women are defined by their sexuality. All in all, I didn't find Goodkind's world very imaginative, but if you like your main character crying, pleading, begging for his life and then in the next microsecond killing people, maybe this is for you. Ridiculous.
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Summary: Book Was Ok...Cassettes Where HORRIBLE
Review: This is my first review. I've never before felt a sufficient urge that my insights were valuable enough to share with others...but this, Goodkind on Brilliance Audio, has changed that impression.I'll forego a review of the book itself other than to say it's your standard fantasy fare - Imaculate Good vs Abhorent Evil. The story is average but the dialogue is nearly unforgivable in its awkwardness. The item I really want to pass on is that the Brilliance Audio cassettes are HORRIBLE! Of 11 cassettes, six were okay, the remaining five had minor to major problems. First of all, realize that Brilliance, in an effort to cut costs, puts four (4) sides on every tape. They do this by separating out the left and right channels of a stereo playback - so if plan to listen to this on a cheapo walkman with no Balance controls...you're out-of-luck unless you like listening to two sides at once. However, as annoying as this feature may be, afterall it's not very enjoyable listening to a speaker on only one side of your speakers, the worst is the quality of the tapes themselves. On five of the tapes, either the left or right stereo playback warbled - meaning it faded in and out - frequently, it faded so far out that all I could here was the quiet hum of the tape spindle for minutes at a time before, finally, it faded back in. These fades would last anywhere from 10 minutes to the entire side of a tape (45 minutes). The other major problem was that between tape #8 and tape #9, somewhere between 80-100 pages of material is simply gone...not there. I searched the tapes frantically both forward and backward looking for the missing content, but it was just Skipped! Then, after all that I discovered that tapes #9 and #10 were mislabeled, they should have been reversed. And even then, the missing section of the story was still absent. Ack...not a pleasurable listening experience. During one of those aforementioned fade-out playback experiences, I learned that if I wedged my finger in the cassette slot just sooo, I turned to volume to max, and leaned my ear to the closest Left-side speaker while keeping both eyes on the road, I could "almost" hear what I was missing. Ugh...if you must, read the book...just don't buy these Brilliance Cassettes.
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Summary: Birth of the begining
Review: This has got to be the best Book I have ever read. The characters are fascinating and intriguing. Richard Cypher is the perfect portrayal of the Seek er of Truth. He draws on everything fro mthe Mundane to otherworldly powers in his adventures. And I know that as you read this you to will fall in love with the beatutiful and mysterious Kuhlan. And Zed will make you laugh till you fall out of your seat and your head explodes. It is a book steeped in mystery, intrigue, romance, and sheer force of will. I HIGHLY recomend this book to all audiences.
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Summary: Great story, weak writing
Review: I haven't read any of the other books in this series, yet. I plan on doing so. This was a great story. The characters were a little cookie-cutter, but nonetheless enjoyable. The writing was obviously from someone who hadn't written a novel before. It made it hard to really get into the book, but all-in-all, it's pretty good for a first try! I haven't read the Wheel of Time series, but am starting the first book real soon. I can compare this to George R. R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series, however. Fire/Ice is much more well written with much more unique and interesting characters. However, I like that Wizard's First Rule wraps up the story whereas the Fire/Ice books just keep going and continue to unravel plot lines instead of tying them up. Definitely good fantasy and I hope that the writing improves over the series.
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Summary: Wizard's First Rule
Review: I thought that Terry Goodkind did an excellent job writing his first book in the Sword of Truth series. This book constantly had me on the edge, and I was always being thrown with all the new twists. He keeps introducing new things to keep you glued to this book. I have also noticed many similarities between certain elements of this book and other fantasy series I have read such as The Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, and Terry Brooks's works. I noticed that it seems he takes small elements from other stories and integrates them with mainly his own genius to produce a truly riveting novel. For example, the Sword of Truth does in this book a lot of what the Ring of Power does to Gollum in the Lord of the Rings. Also, Richard rejects and hates the inherent magic, but eventually embraces it, much as Walker Boh does in the Scions of Shannara. Overall, I thought that this was a great read, and I can't wait to read the rest of this series.
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Summary: First, to all the little Jordanites out there.
Review: Get over it. The sun does not rise and set on the Wheel of Time series. To accuse Goodkind of ripping off Jordan is ridiculous in light of all the parallels that can be drawn between Jordan's work and that of Tolkien and various stories based on Arthurian legend. People that hold this opinion obviously aren't very well versed in fantasy literature; the fantasy genre did not begin with the WoT. Any similiarities that can be drawn between Goodkind and Jordan result from them having the same influences. In fact, Goodkind borrows much less from Tolkien than Jordan does and his work overall is more original. Now that I got THAT off my chest, on with the review... Wizard's First Rule is good stuff, though not without it's problems. The primary problem is Goodkind's prose. It's admittedly clumsy at times. But I also have to say, that this is strangely refreshing. WFR was Goodkind's first novel. He'd never written anything prior to it, so I'd say for a first time author, he really did one heck of a job. And his passion for his characters really shows through. I really get the sense that he cares about the people he's created. This makes me really care about them. Goodkind is one of the few authors who can rip a tear from me, and that's saying a lot. There were a couple of times when I first read this book that my lower lip was quivering. That's not something easily accomplished with me. Another problem - and this is more of an issue with the series as a whole - is that Goodkind's world isn't too well thought out. He seems to be making a lot of it up as he goes along. Obviously he didn't put too much work into the world's history and backstory. But this is a forgivable flaw as The Sword of Truth series is a much more character driven series than, say, the ever overrated Wheel of Time. Goodkind is more concerned with taking us on an emotional journey than giving us a million little details about how magic works. Goodkind can also get a little too descriptive when describing many of the violent acts in the book. While this does a good job of making the reader feel the horror of the situation, I feel he goes a little overboard at times. I don't need to know exactly how many pieces of bone and brain are flying through the air and what they sound like when they hit the ground. Another issue is that good and evil are by and large divided along very black and white lines. But this is one of the reasons I read fantasy. We live in a world that can be so nasty at times that it's nice to escape into world where there are truely noble characters. If you're looking for a more realistic experience, George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series comes HIGHLY recommended. So while the book is far from perfect, it gets four stars from me because rarely has a book been able to rip this much raw emotion from me. Goodkind might not be the most technically proficient writer out there, but he really nows how to connect with a reader emotionally. And that's really what it's all about isn't it? If you care more about tiny little technical details and debating what would happen if you opened one gateway under another, then go jump on the Wheel of Time band wagon with all of Jordan's flat, horribly written cast of characters.
Rating:
Summary: above and beyond
Review: Wizards First Rule is one of better fantasy books I have ever read. First the characters are unique and quite inventive along with exceptional dialoge and emotions. You will find yourself feeling for the characters in a way that most books don't.The plot though long is quite enthralling to the point were you will find it hard to put it down. This book is a great representation of the genre and a must have for any fantasy reader reader.
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