Rating: 
Summary: An excellent read
Review: Right away an astute reader will pick up on the similarities between Mr. Goodkind's work(s) and those of the esteemed Messiers Jordan and Tolkien. I can think of no better company to be in. Of course practically every fantasy writer owes a substantial debt to Mr. Tolkien, but Mr. Goodkind pays better homage than most. The similarity to Mr. Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series is also noticable, although I find Mr. Goodkind's work significantly more intellectually challenging. Regardless, I am a huge fan of both series.
For those of you who are starting this series, I have read all of the books in this series and I find this one the second LEAST enjoyable, yet I still rate it a five-star. That is the extent of my appreciation for this excellent series. Mr. Goodkind - HURRY UP!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great "new" series
Review: Although this book is seven years old, it was a new, and very welcome, find for me. This story has the massive scope of the great books of the genre, not just within the book itself, but in the future potential of the rest of the series (which I cannot wait to read). This book is 2-3 time the length of most novels, but it never lags, or loses your interest. The conclusion has much that you will have already anticipated by the time you get there, but there are still enough surprises to keep you well satisfied.
Rating:
Summary: A fully engrossing read
Review: What can I say? This book was awesome! I had a hard time putting it down and doing what I was supposed to be doing. I read it on recommendation, and feel like I should pledge my eternal love to the person who recommended it. It has all a person could want in it. Plot twists, villains, love, pain- and it's just so cool, it's hard to put into words. I can hardly wait to read the next one, and I have a feeling my grades will suffer for it.
Rating:
Summary: Unparallel imagination
Review: I have read hundreds of fantasy books ranging from the utterly silly and boring to the edge of your seat exciting. Terry Goodkind has surpassed all my expectations. The first two books in the "Sword of truth" series can be considered benchmark for all other authors. I have read all his books in his series 4 times. Each time I get a something out of it. I would recommend Terry Goodkind's series to anyone looking to escape our reality and desiring one of magic and wonder and romance. For those who don't care for the romance there's enough bloodshed and sword play to make the most unromantic person keep reading.
Rating:
Summary: God Send
Review: This book is a god send to veteran readers of fantasy searching for a new and inventive series.I embarked upon this epic journey (now six books long and still growing)after reading all the current installments of Robert Jordan's seris,The Wheel Of Time and like Robert Jordan,Terry Goodkind offers a tale of massive scope while being a much easier world to enter.It starts simply;an uncomplicated young woodsguide,Richard Cypher living in quiet Westland with his grandfather is ambling through the forest-a favorite hobby-and is yet to discover that he is a very important man indeed.Although Goodkind makes use of this classic fantasy opener-young boy from country dicovers he is the man who will save the world,or not-where he takes this simple begining is far from unoriginal and his intricatly created world of magic is quite insightful.If you havent read this book yet,you have a wonderful lesson still to discover:Wizards First Rule.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth it in the long run
Review: This was a rough one. When he wrote Book One in this series, Terry Goodkind obviously hadn't figured out how to write yet. It's painful. It really is. I found him describing all the wrong things in detail, and leaving out the important information...for instance, I know what color hair and eyes the characters have, but what do they LOOK like? Very formulaic, rather immature, right-out-of-a-writing-class style.But it gets significantly better as both the book and the series continue. Dialogue becomes more believable. Characters become more interesting. Plot lines *definitely* improve. Although I couldn't shake the feeling that the series was written for someone younger than me (an idea not supported by the sometimes-mature content), I also couldn't put it down. Go figure.
Rating:
Summary: Unique themes - Great adult escapism
Review: You can alwasy tell a unique book when you get very strong and differing opinions. I've read quite a bit of fantasy books starting with my first novel, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" at age 9 and totalling well over 400 books in the genre. I have had to occasionally force myself to finish books or been unable to get through bad ones. I found that I could not put Terry Goodkind's down. I read the first 5 books in 2 weeks (at a heavy cost of sleep and spousal nagging). The unique modern themes including some adult topics and modern political parallels were fun and engaging. While I wouldn't give these to my 10 year old, but I would highly recommend them to an adult that enjoys a good bit of fantasy escapism.
Rating:
Summary: A surprisingly good, emotionally affecting story
Review: I noticed that most reviewers rated this book with either 1 or 5 stars. I guess if a reader cannot connect with a story's characters, the reading experience can be a torturously boring waste of time. But if you can connect and empathize with a book's characters (as I think most reviewers did), the reading can be a wonderful, thought-provoking experience. I completely lost myself in this book, its world, and its characters. I thought the characters were very real and I experienced all of their emotions (dread, despair, hopelessness, longing, sadness, rage, as well as love, triumph, delight, hope, wonder, etc.). On that basis I gave the book a 5-star rating. Some authors spend a lot of time providing long history lessons for their fictional world. Terry Goodkind avoids this by creating a protagonist (Richard) who knows very little about his world of magic. So we learn about it at the same time he does. We see his world through his eyes and only get information as we (and Richard) need it. I like this approach. I also liked Richard's approach to solving problems through logic, reasoning, and deduction (as Zedd advises: think about the solution, not about how impossible the problem is). Also, every every plot twist, side plot, prophecy, etc. is well thought out by Goodkind. It is interesting how much of the lessons in this book (and series) can be applied to real life. It has forever affected the way I think about life, people, etc. Some reviewers have complained about the book's cynical tone, excessive violence, etc. Let's face it: human nature can really stink! Our world is not a cheery place. Read any newspaper. Our natural human tendency is to act in our own self-interest, and usually to the possible detriment of others. And we always believe we are justified in our actions. In this regard, the book is honest and doesn't pretend otherwise. We all harbor some darkness in our hearts. We may not always act on it, but its there nonetheless. I also noticed that most positive reviews are short, praising, and strangely, anonymous. But a lot of the negative reviews are lengthy analytical dissertations, and philosophical discussions of the book's themes. And these reviewers don't mind telling you exactly who they are. But I suppose it makes sense. If you're going to take the time and trouble to create a comprehensive thesis on why you hate Terry Goodkind and/or his material, you're sure as hell going to sign your work. One reviewer was so disgusted with this book, he decided he is going to write his own. I guess this aspiring writer plans to demonstrate to Mr. Goodkind the proper way to write a fantasy novel. Good luck. Everyone thinks they can be a successful author, but writing a book is MUCH harder than it seems. Anyway, Terry Goodkind has done a marvelous job with this book and the whole series, and I look forward to the next installation. In case you can't tell, I just can't stop talking about this book. Read it. I'm sure you'll be touched in some way by it, just as I was.
Rating: 
Summary: To heck with it....
Review: To heck with it...I'm going to write a fantasy novel. I sure as heck thought one had to be better than this. Don't get me wrong- i was looking for some "chewing gum for the mind", and got it- compelling in its simplicity. A quick read, for all its length.
A couple of neat little things- i didn't think the additive/subtractive magic angle was any less hackneyed than most "good" fantasy. Comparisons to Jordan are irrelevant- I enjoyed the first 6 or so WOT books (and read the rest), and Jordan rips off just as freely and sometimes more shamelessly- but Jordan at least has panache... Goodkind has a few really fresh ideas, but they are amateurishly played out in the Fantasy Novel Equivalent of those towns in old Westerns with nothing behind the storefronts. Places, people, and history are provided only to place arbitrary obstacles in the path of the plot. No depth.
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The casual use of the rape of children in "Wizard's First Rule" is unacceptable. Hundreds of instances of child molestation are alluded to in this book, some more directly than others. The main villain in this area certainly gets his just desserts, but this whole theme is just trashy writing. The frequency and ubiquity of rape in this novel goes beyond plot/theme/character development and goes straight toward a revealing look at Terry Goodkind himself.
I actually thought that the S&M Mord Sith(yes, a dart-board name if i ever heard one) sequence was pretty original and well thought out, at first. It did go on a bit long- i would have forgiven the length, however, if the payoff had been a bit more lucid. However, it totally came out of the blue- no mention of the Mord Sith or their HUGE part in the villain's plan until Denna shows up to take Richard away. Seemed almost like an excerpt from another book, shivved and shimmed to meet the needs of the current plot. Unfortunately, the current plot features repeated and extended prurient violence. Is Goodkind justifying these acts by having Richard see the good in his S&M experience? probably not consciously, at least I hope not. The context kills the spark of the whole sequence and reduces it to vacant, morbid self-gratification.
I have read other, more horrific scenes in better books. The violence in THIS book, especially against children, is far out of proportion to the needs of the plot.
NOTE TO OTHER REVIEWERS: Please refer to RAPE as RAPE, not SEX. You are unintentionally misleading your readers.
Goodkind's gift is to be able to churn out 800 page novels that actually move fairly quickly- but, to have covered so little ground while dwelling on his base fantasies is unforgivable.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tremulous Hold
Review: Reading through the reviews it's quite obvious that people either loved this book or hated it with a passion. Truthfully I can't see how one could be on one side or the other. The story was well placed, with a plot slightly generic but quite readable. The sex scenes were a little over the top, but then again that is a matter of opinion. The main problem I had with the story was Goodkind's writing style. The sentances were chopped, short, and lacking description, especially when it came to dialoge. The dialoge was amazingly repetitive and several times things came up to quickly and to obviously to hide the juvenile technique Goodkind used when his characters talked. Still, its something you can get used to, and when you have the storyline is, as I've allready mentioned, pretty good. I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone looking for a writer of Tolkien's quality. It doesn't hold a candle to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series or Margret Wise and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance books, but it is a fairly good book for someone looking to kill a little time.
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