Rating: 
Summary: 1st Book Starts As Number One
Review: This slow paced book with classic storytelling of fantasy literature kept me reading, despite the book's size. Wizard's First Rule I would have to say by far was/so far the best book of the Sword of Truth series. The others after words tend to become monotonous. The largest downside I would have to say of this book is the over one hundred pages Goodkind described of Richard's (leading character) gruesome torture. I found myself skimming that area much faster than the rest of the book. Okay, Goodkind, we got it, Richard is being tortured! Other than that, the rest of the book I thought was awesome! Any loyal fantasy reader must check this book out! There's always something new awaiting and information about the characters that make this large book seem like an easy read.
Rating: 
Summary: Sword of Truth
Review: I read this book on recommendation. I forgot that often in fantasy, personal likes are very subjective. Fantasy readers sometimes read the most aweful trash I've ever seen but like it anyway if it has the label 'fantasy'. I only got half way through this book and skimmed the rest which I feel guilty about. I like to at least finish a book before consigning it to the used book store heap. However I found myself forcing to read a book I really didn't like and decided that there were a lot better fantasy novels that should occupy my valuable reading time. Life is short and I don't want to waste valuable reading time on a overlong bad novel. So I picked up the latest George R. R. Martin and quite soon signed with relief as I realized that I found a well-written fantasy book.
Whenever I find myself becoming bored with a book early I always ask myself why. The language of 'Wizard's First Rule' is simple and easy to read but curiously empty. The characters, setting and the world of Sword of Truth is also curiously empty. I felt no real empathy for the characters nor the world the book was set in. No world building here, no sense of wonder. No understanding of the rules of magic or what makes this world special. It is almost as if significant parts of this story were never written down and exist only in the author's mind. Perhaps if you are a long time fantasy reader you can fill in the blanks but this is an 800 page novel with plenty of room for world building and character development. It should be in the book. It simply isn't there.
There are some moments of good story telling but there even more moments of awkward plotting and poor writing. This book needed to be leaner. Not recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Good and bad
Review: By the end of this book you'll wonder how you could have spent so long engrossed in it. It's quite an enjoyable read, as long as you skip a few pages as the characters undergo one pointless trial after another. However, the mysteries turn out to not be mysterious at all, there is a ludicrous plot twist at the end, the characters do not develop greatly, and everything is resolved a bit too easily.
Rating: 
Summary: Captive of The Wizard's First Rule
Review: Hi I'm a Freshman who loves things that challenge my mind, I live on a farm in Iowa. I read Wizard's the First Rule because I had recently read the Shannara series and was looking for something new. I went to the bookstore and asked about other highly liked fantasies and was told Wizards First Rule. Wizard's First Rule is part of a series that is still in the making; this is the Sword of Truth series. Wizard's First Rule is about a man, Richard, whose father was murdered, by a man named Darken Raul, and is made seeker by the most unlikely character, a wizard. Wizard's First Rule is the kind of book that once I start reading and I can't stop. When at school, I can be reading this book and just go into the book, everything just goes somewhere far away and I can just imagine the scenes, I can almost see it like I'm watching it at the theater. My teachers can't stand it when I start reading at the beginning of class and when they start their lesson, and I'm still reading and they have to come over and wake me from this trance I get in. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy and even those who don't. I say this is a five star book.
Rating:
Summary: An Intense Read
Review: If you plan to read this book, set aside a day...it is a compelling story, page after page. The characters are well developed, making you really care about what happens to them, even with the fast pace. This book kept me up way past bedtime, too many nights, and even when I set it aside I was thinking of what might happen next. I really enjoyed this book, but will not read the sequels until I can devote a day to reading. Mr. Goodkind certainly knows how to tell a tale!
Rating:
Summary: best first books to a series and best first novel attempt
Review: Wizard's First Rule is one of the best first books to a series, and it made a fan of me in 1995. In 2002, I re-read the book after recommending it to a friend. I have actually recommended this book and series to many, and I think very highly of Goodkind's storytelling.A strong female lead and many other strong female characters are present in this book, and that's something I do look for in fantasy novels. In fact, Goodkind treats many uncommon subjects well. Elderly people, such as Zed & Adie are portrayed with humor and humanity, and its refreshing to see an older couple portrayed in a similar fashion to any young couple. His villains all have a proper motivation, and I appreciate that people are not painted in white and black. I also like that his characters can make mistakes and learn from them. The characters are very realistic, and sympathetic - that can be lacking in much high fantasy. Goodkind also has a talent for creating suspense, and I can distinctly remember reading feverishly to make sure that my favorite hero and heroine got themselves out of the situation they were in. The story has lots of surprises, and ties together all its loose ends very effectively.
Rating:
Summary: ehh
Review: This book was good, but I found that it didn't evoke any emotions- probably because they'd all been used when I read the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. the similarities between the two series cannot be overlooked. and I find WoT to be a much better read.
Rating:
Summary: definitely not a wheel of time knock off
Review: i started reading wizards first rule and within the first 30 pages i couldnt put it down. i finished the book in thee days and on the fourth day i got the next book and the same thing. Terry Goodkind creates for us a world where we can escape, from the beginning you begin to love richards heroic nature and you can feel great things await him and you feel the love for kahlan and you almost begin to share it and you feel the hate for darken rahl and the mord sith and you just want to jumo into the story and become richard.goodkind is brilliant in the way he develops his characters so fully and makes you feel like youve known them your hole life, you get sucked into his world and you never want t leave
Rating:
Summary: Right-Wing Literature, beware
Review: I have finally decided to put this book down now that I am more than two thirds of the way though the story. The problem with this book, is not the plot (which is above average) or the characters (which are below average) or the prose (which is average), but the ideology of the book, which becomes increasingly obvious as each page is turned. Terry Goodkind is clearly a gun-totin' right-winger and he likes to shove it in our face. While I don't have anything wrong with Goodkind holding his own political values, I would prefer they be left, for the most part, out of his fantasy stories. I will not take part in reading a series which so blatantly portrays the platform of right-wing republicans. Some of the stances of the book that you will notice if you keep a careful eye while reading: Homophobic
Anti Gun Control
Pro Imperialism
Pro-Capitalist (to the point where it gets annoying in a fantasy)
Anti-Communist
Anti-Populist
Male Chauvinist
Sexual Fundamentalism And then there are the just plain weird stances he takes: Anti Native/Tribal cultures
Anti-vegetarian
Making fun of the handicapped If you like political Fantasy, and if your politics lean to the right, you might enjoy this (or if you simply read at such a level that you don't notice these blatant themes), otherwise stay away.
Rating:
Summary: I'm afraid I'm going to offend a lot of people with this
Review: Well, this is the first book in the series, and I actually enjoyed it. The style was a little off, and it certainly could have been better, but I still liked it.
It introduces a whole new world, with new characters and themes. I liked many of the ideas, and the plot twists kept me reading.
Now, the real problem for me was the sequels. I read on, eagerly awaiting further information on Richard, wielder of the sword of truth, and Kahlan, the Mother Confesser and Zedd and so on. I've read the whole series, though I can't figure out why. So no one can say I didn't give it a fair chance.
And my conclusion was.... Stop after the first book. They just get worse from there. Granted, that's only my feeling, so don't let me stop you, but I feel it very strongly.
The second book was a little worse than the first, and the third a little worse than the second.
So, while I liked this book, (liked it, not loved it) my advice is to stop with the one.
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