Rating: 
Summary: Incredible book for those not scared off by it's size!
Review: All I can say was that this was a GREAT book! Mr. Goodkind has written one of the finest books since Tolkien
A must for all fantasy fans. In this book, Richard Cypher, a simple woodsman, Is sent on an important quest.
After his father's murder, he is determined to find the killer. He then meets Khalan, a women of mysterious origin.
She has been sent to find the last great Wizard to help defeat the evil sorcerer Darken Rahl, who holds a power that
could conquer the entire world. After Richard is made Seeker of Truth by the Wizard, he is the only one who can stop
Darken Rahl. This makes for a GREAT adventure, with a twist at the end.
Rating:
Summary: INTRICATE AND ENGROSSING PLOT... ALL AROUND GOOD READ!
Review: The plot is pleasantly intricate, and avoids fouling itself on inconsistancies of motives and details like many stories of similar length. It does wander into a distinctly odd area of interest a time or two, but the basic story is good enough and the characters likeable enough to make it worth the while. I will definately add it to my hardcover library
Rating:
Summary: Good story line and fast-paced action for such a large book.
Review: The goodness of the hero Richard is a little unbelievable,
but the characters are very strong and the story line is excellent
... it really is! I will be buying the hardback edition for
my personnal library and I look forward to more by this author.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst dialogue EVER.
Review: It really was painful to read. The plot was fine, despite being incredibly typical. The dialogue, however, was childish to the point of being absurd. Read any of the exchanges between the two main characters out loud and you'll see what I mean. Many passages where characters conversed in this book were so unrealistic they were unintentionally funny... NOT recommended
Rating: 
Summary: Worthy reading for adults
Review: I just want to add my two cents to the myriads of reviews already posted here. I am in my late 20s and I thoroughly enjoyed this book so if you are an adult you can pick this book up to satisfy your need for some fun fantasy reading. A Song of Ice and Fire it is not but I will continue to read books in this series while I wait for Feast. Goodkind was able to make overdone fantasy elements such as wizard's fire and dragons seem fresh but the real treat of this book is the pacing of the plot. This is the most evenly paced fantasy book I think I have read. Goodkind's world and plot development offset the action moments perfectly unlike Jordan's books which get too bogged down with goofy character interactions.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book
Review: I love this book! I could not put it down. The characters are awesome, Zed is my favorite. Everybody that has borrowed it from me are hooked on the series now.
Rating:
Summary: A mature fantasy and a good long read
Review: My interest in reading was waning, finding a lot of the same stuff over and over... and then, suddenly, a few books that REALLY entertained me! Wizard's First Rule...
I sat down to continue reading WLR late one afternoon, when, like coming up for breath of air I discovered it had turned dark out and night had fallen. It had been ages since I had been so enraptured in a story, almost all the way back to reading the Edgar Rice Burrough's 'John Carter, Warlord of Mars' books when I was young. A very cool, very satisfying experience.
Reading a few of the other reviews I must agree the book is for a mature audiences. I can't comment on any simularities with 'The Wheel of Time', I am one of a few fantasy readers who just hasn't read that cycle. BUT, I expecially enjoyed this book. The characters, the storyline, the world and the writing itself. One recommendation here.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Brilliant
Review: This book has restored my faith in the Fantasy Genre. After coming off a bout of bad books, it was refreshing to pick this one up and I could not put it down for anything.
Epic is the word to describe this book, though for lack of a better one. This book is more than epic, it is EPIC... if I could increase the font size to reiterate my point I would.
Beautifully written with stunning imagery. The main character, Richard, is very easy to identify with. He is not perfect, and he knows it, and it makes him that much more believeable. The book also brings in a bit of humor into such a dark fantasy novel with the character of Zedd.
EXCELLENT READ! Once you read this you will want to run out and buy the rest of the series. I know, because that is exactly what I did.
Rating:
Summary: I can't believe this was even published
Review: This book is appallingly bad. I can't believe it was even published. I have never read anything so bad, and I've read a lot. I couldn't even finish the book (although I did skim to the end, to see if it got any better. It didn't.) OK, my mama always told me, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. There are some original ideas scattered throughout the book. They do not make up for the overwhelmingly bad quality of the rest of it. So what's wrong with it? Calling the characters two-dimensional card-board cut-outs would be generous. Characters say something that is meant to be deceiving--and I could see right through it (although the other characters were too stupid to see it). The hero, Richard Cypher, gains the love of children by insulting them--he always tells kids they're ugly. No, really. May be it would work if it's a kid you know and who loves you (though I doubt it), but he says it to a kid he's just met and who's been traumatized, and she immediately loves him. Right ... The magic system and history are grotesquely simplistic. And then there's the dragon. Scarlet. You do not name dragons Scarlet (not if you're trying to be serious, which Goodkind apparently is). You name them Smaug or Embar Orm or something, but not Scarlet. (And if you have no idea who Smaug or Embar Orm are, read Tolkien's The Hobbit and LeGuin's Earthsea series--far better works.) And Scarlet, depsite being a gigantic, fire-breathing reptile has a very feminine voice. And, oh yes, she's a sucker for flattery. (Can you say "sexist"?) Even the painfully obvious flattery Richard uses on her (this goes back to the bad characterization). And finally there is the Wizard's First Rule. And perhaps you are expecting something deep and earth-shaking? I'm sorry, you'll be disappointed. It's about as trite and cliche as you can get--Wizard's First Rule is that people are stupid. Oooh. I'm so impressed with your insight into the human condition, Mr. Goodkind.
Rating: 
Summary: Flat, dull, and cliched
Review: Okay. I started reading this book without knowing that Goodkind apparently feels he has "transcended" the fantasy genre. On his website, he spends great amounts of verbiage stating that he is "more than a fantasy writer". We are treated to such insight as:
"Terry's first goal, and any author for that matter, is to tell a story. Whether the story is fiction or non-fiction, the story always follows a specific formula: beginning, middle, climax, end."
This is just a sample. Read throught his website, and you'll find an unceasing flow of pretentiousness that this reader found overwhelming.
All this could be forgiven, perhaps, if Goodkind actually wrote something which comes even close to actually doing what he thinks his books do. Rather than "transcending" the genre, this book is a completely tired cliche of a fantasy book. The young man who against his will is pulled into an epic struggle. The mysterious woman he falls in love with. The magical object he must wield to save the world. The powerful wizard, disguised as an old harmless man. Please.
On top of this, the writing is flat and dull. And the main characters are stupid. Literally. Richard's brother has become First Councilor of Westland. He gives a speech about the "boundary" with the Midlands one day falling, about "peace" with those in the Midlands, and, seeminlgy at random, about the evil of fire.
In the next chapter, the mysterious woman Kahlan tells Richard that the boundary between D'Hara and the Midlands has disappeared, the evil armies came and somehow the people had been brainwashed to want "peace" with them, and rather than fight gave in to them; and that the evil leader, Darken Rhal has banned fire.
And Richard (and Kahlan), see no connection between Michael's speech and the events that took place in the Midlands. Like I said, stupid. Which is what this book is.
Read George R.R. Martin. Or even early Robert Jordan. Just not this crap.
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