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

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

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wizard's First Rule
Review: This book was my first experience with science fiction fantasy. I couldn't have made a better choice. Wizard's First Rule was spellbinding from the first page to the last. The characters were real and extremely likable. I look forward to reading each book in the series.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: One-sided characters and overt politcal views
Review: This book disappointed me for several reasons.

Firstly, it seemed too clever and too perfect, especially when it came to the static main character, Richard. Through the whole book, I got the feeling that this was Terry Goodkind's fantasy: to be perfectly clever and all-powerful (Richard) and travel with a beautiful woman (Kahlan) who wanted nothing more than to follow him around and tell him how clever he is. At the end of the book, when Richard became involved in a some sexual S&M, my suspicions were confirmed. This books is nothing but a male fantasy created by Goodkind, right down to the overt political views he expresses in it. There is a distinctly anti-feminist vein. All of the women in the Midlands hate Kahlan because they are jealous of her, because she is the only woman there who is not subordinate to a male. Kahlan, on the other hands, thinks their wishes for independence are stupid, because she admits to herself that being ruled by a lover is all she really wants. I won't even get into the blatant Anti-communist, pro-republican dogma Goodkind tries to force on the reader with about as much tact as Richard himself. Plenty of the other reviews cover that.

This novel may fulfill male sexual fantasies- I wouldn't know, being female. as just a fantasy-reader, however, it did nothing for me. Most the world Goodkind introduces to us is bland and unoriginal, with distinct Terry Brooks overtones. Some scenes drag on, while other important ones are written in a choppy style which is probably to make it more suspenseful, but only leaves the reader feeling unfulfilled.

One thing I did like about this book is that it ended in a satisfactory manner, and it can be read alone rather than as just part of a mammoth series. It leaves an opening for the novels that follow, but still gives the readers closure. This is lucky, because although it made for an interesting read, I don't feel compelled to read anymore about these shallow characters.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Tolkien Wanna-Be Meets BDSM
Review: Maybe it was due to being on a very long flight but I found this book disappointing. The book came highly recommended and so, I had great expectations which were not fulfilled.

I am not a newbie to the genre so I can say the following: the story is very predictable in its cast of characters; poor world building; character development was sporadic throughtout its 800+ pages and a lack of the vital energy and verve that is great fantasy writing. Also, some may find the characterization of women not very expansive.

What does make this book different is the delight of the BDSM chapters with Richard and his female torturer. That dynamic was unique since Richard is at his most realistic when he begins to love his tormentor and becomes submissive. Of course, he comes out triumphant at the end and the torturer ends up falling in love with him. Omnia vincit amor.

There are some good parts to the book such as, no dwarves, elves or unicorns though, that could change in the later books and some of the concepts were interesting but they were spread thin in this long book.

I would recommend other books in the genre before this series such as, George R.R Martin's superlative Song of Fire and Ice (if you can handle the brutality) or Feist's original Riftwar Saga. Classic series like Lieber's Lankhmar series would be good as well. For a taste of BDSM how can one resist oldies such as, John Norman's Gor series or even Sharon Green's Jalav series though they are not as in depth as Goodkind's scenes. This book is not a keeper on the shelf.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Utterly mediocre
Review: This isn't a bad book per se, it's just not a particularly good one either. Actually, no, scratch that, it probably IS a bad book, it just happens to be reasonably entertaining as well. Goodkind has put almost no thought into this before he started, it's painfully apparent. His world doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and seems to be constructed on a piecemeal ad hoc basis. This would be forgiveable if his time had been channelled into the characters instead of the world (although other authors seem to find time to do both), but despite what some would have you believe, it hasn't. Aside from the main trio (all cliches I might add), the characters are flat and tedious. I would guess Goodkind decided he might like to be an author, make loads of money, and started writing before he even considered what his story was.

So, my particular problems with this book are:
1) Richard's brother. A laughably ONE dimensional character, with no apparent redeeming qualities. Despite always appearing to be more treacherous worm than man, and despite his sudden declaration of a hatred of fire a couple of pages after we learn the main villain hates and fears fire, it's suppose to come as a suprise when he turns out to be on the villian's side! No, actually Mr Goodkind, it's forehead smackingly obvious from the moment we meet him.
2) Richard's father. Get's murdered by the villain really early on. We feel for Richard's lost, his grief...you know, the grief he never shows or mentions the day after the deed...
3) Zedd. Staggeringly unoriginal character, and (possibly unsurprisingly), one of the few semi-realised ones.
4) The villain, Darken. 2-dimensional 'hammer horror' style bad guy. Could be transplanted from here into any trashy fantasy novel and would fit just as well.
5) The wizard's rule. Hardly profund or deep as Goodkind seems to think it is.
6) S&M torture. Sure it's titillating. It's also completely over the top, and far too graphic. What the mind thinks up on its own is usually be far more horrifying than anything authors can write, but Goodkind doesn't appear to know that.
7) Richard. Annoyingly self-righteous.
8) Numerous plot holes. Probably too many to go into here.
9) Stupidly didatic. Yes Mr Goodkind, we get what your particularly unoriginal and intellectually shallow 'philosophy' is (i.e. love conquers all, and people are dumb - woohoo! Better watch your back here Wittgenstein!), please stop bludgeoning us over the head with it now.

So entirely rubbish huh? Well no. It is entertaining as I said, in a trashy, hack kind of way. The character of Kahlan is quite well realised, complex and interesting. It's just a pity Goodkind couldn't extend the promise he showed in her character on to other elements of the book. Just think of it as a game of Dungeons and Dragons novellised.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: wow.....
Review: I was very impressed with the way this book was written. I have read many fantasy books and series (wheel of time-good Fire and Ice-better Lord of the rings-excellent etc...) but i must say that this is by far the best.

Terry Goodkind does SEEM to copy a bit, however this is probably not the case. All fantasy novels have been a bit alike dont they... and for all of you people who have rated this book as less than 4 stars, you obviously did NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WERE READING(ingrates)!!!

This book grabbed me from the beginning and held me throughout the rest of it. From the moment T.G. describes an odd plant, to the last word. This book was obviously meant to go on into a larger story, no way could this be the end of our hero's story. One of my favorite aspects of this story were the battle scenes, there have been better written, but these are still very good. However there are torture scenes and these are NOT for the feint hearted. My only real complaint though, is that i thought that there were a few little things the book could do without(night wisps and such). However most of it just led to a better understanding of the character.

T.G. develops characters so well it's just incredible. And after i got done reading this book, i just had to step back and take a look at myself to see how i stood up to the hero's in the story they were so good. On the other side, i can't imagine a more evil person then Darken Rahl, i wonder about T.G. in this aspect. However, I loved being able to see inside the characters' mind, find out what they thought, and how they worked. Simply incredible....

It is an amazing plot, has incredible moral values, with outstanding characters. All in all it was an (i wish there was a better word for it) exceptional story!!!!!!!!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Total Garbage!
Review: Nothing in fantasy has amazed me more than the fact that Goodkind has been able to get as many books out of this series as he has. I bought the first four books in this series after reading all of the rave reviews and I wish I would have spent the money on lottery tickets. That would have given me greater satisfaction than this drivel.

Never has there been a fantasy "hero" who was as much as a total wuss as Richard. Is this supposed to be fantasy for the politically correct? And the whole romance between he and Kahlan was just sickening. If I wanted to read that kind of ... I'd pick up a Harlequin Romance.

And here's an idea...how's about a little excitement every few hundred pages or so? It was as exciting as watching paint dry.

Needless to say, those other 3 books that I never read were traded in at the local used book store. Honestly, I think writers (and publishers) go for these over-inflated epic fantasies because they know readers will continue to buy them no matter how awful they are because they have already invested so much time and money that they won't give up.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A senseless childish unenjoyable book
Review: I hope I like the other Goodkind books I've purchased. This one is a poor children's story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow. Wow. Work of Genius!!
Review: I have waited a long time, wanting to write a review to do this book justice. I am relatively new to the fantasy scene, having read maybe 7 or 8 fantasy books before this one fell from the heavens into my hands. But I have been an all-around reader for as long as I can remember, and this is definately one of the top three books I have ever read, if not the best.

Where do I start? The characters are incredibly amazing, well-developed (if a bit cliche, but all Swords & Sorcery is, lets not get into that); you find yourself marveling at their nobility and human shortcomings at the same time. Yes, they are too close to perfection to be realistic. But umm, look at the genre title carefully for a moment. "Fantasy." Hmm. Somewhat antonymic of Reality, don't you think? Anything goes in a fantasy book, and I'd never want it any other way. Richard Cypher is a resourceful, strong-willed, young protagonist. As many characters in the story repeat: "You are a rare person, Richard Cypher." Kahlan Amnell, holding a secret inside which could shatter the first friendship she has ever had, is strong, passionate and noble, of birth and spirit. Zedd is just Zedd. He's the comical relief and sly wit of the novel.

The storyline is full of action and a beautiful, tense romance between souls (you'll understand what I mean almost as soon as you start reading). Plots weave into and out of each other in magical patterns. Speaking of magic, Goodkind (the dude's a genius in my opinion) develops it in awesome models and explanations, supporting the imagination with the "how's" of magic as well as the usual "why" this wizard or that wizard conjured magic.

There's also a twisting theme of psychological, moral, and philosophical issues, not force-fed but smoothed into the core fantasy, leaving you wondering: "what would I have done?" in restrospect. Rather than mire the pure fantasy plot, this engages the mind in a mature, reflective fashion.

If you haven't already decided to buy this, I have one more comment. I chose to read this book over my favorite shows on TV. I chose this book over the internet. Over music. Over schoolwork. It was like a tempting chocolate cake sitting on my bedside table, I couldn't leave it alone, I kept coming back. The 700 something pages FLEW by. Read it. Really.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Mediocre at best
Review: I wanted to like this book (after 7 books, it HAS to be good, right?), but it's just not very good. Wizard's First Rule is very definitely a "first book" with a haphazard and pretty senseless plot, transparent characters, awkward "philosophy", and bad prose.

Others have mentioned the lack of world-building and history. If some say that "it's all about the characters", let me tell you that the author does not seem to share that. The book is made up of caricatures ("the white-haired cantankerous wizard", "the adventurous and unsure youth who will save the day", "the mysterious and beautiful woman", "the evil wizard who enjoys being evil") which get dull after a while.

I also have a BIG problem with the pacing in the book. Structured in a HIGHLY episodic form, you don't get any sense of urgency (except sometimes between episodes). You feel as if this story was constructed via an RPG model where you just want to get from A to B and then do all the stuff you need to do at B, then on to C. Not even the countryside has any character, unless we get to "a scene".

The pseudo-philosophy and cheesy writing also get in the way. Beginning when Rich & Kahlan have their "I'm your friend"-"I've never had a friend" discussion when they first meet, the book is interspaced with a pretty clumsy moral struggle (for example, would Richard kill Kahlan if needed to? Would he kill the wizard? Sigh).

I'm not saying it's all bad (although I can't find anything original or exciting in this book), and I plan on seeing if Goodkind gets any better in the next book (I've hit a dry spell in sci-fi/fantasy & have nothing better to read). Hopefully he does.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Beginning of a Great Fantasy Saga
Review: Wizard's First Rule was a recommendation by one of best friends. He had read a great more than me over a longer span of time. When stumbling into the bookstore after a disappointing fantasy movie, I told him to show me a good fantasy novel - Wizard's First Rule. From the beginning fifty pages, I was drawn in by Goodkind's fresh writing style including great descriptions, realistic dialogue, and a fascinating storyline. Although it is a long book, Wizard's First Rule went extremely quickly for me. I finished reading it in less than a week.

Goodkind's first novel is a shining star in the middle of a recently trashy fantasy genre. The characters are all likeable, and in fact extremely unique. Magic and other concepts are different enough where its not quite the same as seen or read in other movies or texts.

If there was a fantasy novel I had to recommend, it would be Wizard's First Rule. It is an attractive story that has very few boring spots. Goodkind is a great writer that doesn't let the reader's interest dwindle. He is relatively concise but descriptive and originally imaginative.


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