Rating: 
Summary: Different, yet truly engaging
Review: My mother bought the book at a garage sale and gave it to me, since she knows I like sci-fi and fantasy books. Ive had the book for serveral years, but never read it. Im not sure if I never picked it up because I had never heard of the author - or just to spite my mother. It sat on a bookshelf collecting dust. One day, due to boredom, I decided to read it.I have grown a bit cynical after years of readng more or less the same plot: a nobody rises to defeat an all-powerful enemy. I truly wish for some originality in these books, but that is a different story. Once started I was engrossed. Goodkind has a different style of writing than others I have read. There were many times when I _had_ to keep reading to find out what happens next, and a few times where I was bored, where the story stagnated. Overall, the book was excellent. I came to Amazon to purchase the next book. I was overwhelmed, there were 5 sequels. And the first book was not short. I looked at reviews for the second book, and was surprised to see a large mix. So I decided to write this one. I will get the second book... We will go from there.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but not quite excellent
Review: I confess to be one of those insanely bored people that picks the biggest book off the shelf just so it will take forever to get through it. Despite its imposing size, this one didn't take that long, because the plot is absolutely riveting. Some parts of it were transparent (such as Zedd's true occupation), but most of it was a surprise. The way Goodkind tied it all together at the end was particularly fascinating. He didn't leave any ends unraveled, and the novel as a whole was very satisfying. I'm now reading the sequel to it. This is one of those books, however, that come very close to perfect but don't quite make it there. It's a pity, because for the lack of a few minor points, it could have been. The script somehow lacks flow, with a few too many too-short sentences that make you stop at periods too often. Conversation is rather lackluster and flat, oftentimes unrealistic. It would also have been nice if the story didn't center so specifically on Richard and Kahlan, as well. The other characters in the novel are poorly developed compared to them, and are often left out for huge tracts in the plot progression. Despite the petty failings, I was highly impressed by this novel. Definitely recommendable for anyone who enjoys fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing!
Review: I couldn't put this book down! The plot is absolutely amazing and the ending left me at the edge of my seat. Stylistically the book is pretty simple, and it didn't leave me with the feeling I was reading great literature, and while the characters were interesting they weren't the most well-developed characters I've ever met. But none of that really matters because the sheer unpredictability of this book really got me hooked.
Rating: 
Summary: Imaginative, Good read
Review: I was afraid that this would be a 200-page book stretched across 800 pages, but was pleasantly surprised to find a well-paced plot with enough imagination and action to keep keep it going until the very last page.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent - hard to put down.
Review: Of late, I get skeptical with multiple volume sagas, but Wizard's First Rule (WFR) has a lot going for it. First of all, the characters are unpretentiously realistic. Throughout the book, despite their respective gifts, the protagonists retain their essential human traits of jealously and insecurity, refreshing counterpoints to their undoubted merits. These are no infallible superbeings, thank God. The downside to their abilities too is spelled out clearly as Terry Goodkind (TG) brings out the cost to them of exercising their powers. For that matter, the villain, wicked as he is, is not pure unalloyed evil either. Clearly, TG deals in many shades of grey, and not pure black and white. Secondly, TG has introduced some interestingly novel concepts like the magic of the Confessors, the Mord-Sith. A number of reviews have protested the graphic violence and sexual assault depicted but I must disagree. Yes, the depictions are gory and make your stomach twist, but their integrity to the story line is beyond question. It is only as you continue past the first volume that you realize how important to the saga these harsh scenes are. For all that, there are flaws aplenty. Some of TG's concepts are almost insultingly silly like classifying magic as Additive and Subtractive (I suppose he was trying to avoid the hackneyed white vs. black or good vs. evil, but this is a pathetic substitute) or short tailed gars being smart because they count their blood flies (Puhleeze!). Also the absence of a prologue is unsettling and the quality of the maps is terrible. Why do fantasy authors never realize that a reader needs maps to picture a new world? Figuring the geographic location of the characters from the maps provided is a task for the very gifted indeed. First time readers would do well to first read "Debt of Bones", a short story by TG, set prior to the events of WFR, (which can be found in "Legends : Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy" edited by Robert Silverberg) as this provides some context for the saga. All in all, a very good beginning and a must for fantasy fans. Be warned, this book is insidiously hypnotic. Once you start reading, you will find it very difficult to stop!
Rating: 
Summary: Raw, powerful, and simplistic: a deadly combination
Review: I am fascinated by long series, especially if they are fantasy. More volumes equals more pages to flesh out your fantasy world and make it seem more real. Naturally, I couldn't afford to pass up Wizard's First Rule, the first book in the (so far) eight-book-long Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Some decades ago, magical barriers were erected to divide the three lands: one land contained for its evil warlord's foul deeds; one fenced to keep away all magic so its inhabitants can lead happy lives; and the Midlands, where magic runs rampant. But the boundaries are weakening as a new evil boils in D'Hara, one that has the chance to enslave (or exterminate) all mankind if not defeated by the first day of winter. In Wizard's First Rule everyone seems to have a love life, no matter how perverted. In fact, Goodkind seems to enjoy dropping little clues and one-liners alluding to what happens behind the scenes, as if he is trying to mask whatever flaws his writing might have with shock value. And his writing IS flawed. Goodkind cannot do narrative. His dialogues are terse and to-the-point, but his narratives are simply simplistic. Sequences of sentences that start with the same words, restate each other, and devalue the characters teem in these pages. Nevertheless, no matter how flawed, Goodkind's writing is obscenely powerful. The characters are rather very flat, and, like the earlier reviewers suggested, seem totally incapable of performing their tasks. Goodkind overstates their traits. When Richard is in doubt about something, he is plagued with doubt. Here, characters aren't just depressed: they're suicidal. If there are no action sequences for a couple of pages straight, you might be tempted to toss the book across the room. Nevertheless, Goodkind is to be applauded for his moderately original world and mildly varied selection of characters. Although magic Is handled in the most generic way possible: wizards, spellbooks, evil beasts to be summoned. A fun read. Very interested if the rest of the books pick up in quality.
Rating: 
Summary: Everything a great fantasy should NOT be
Review: I have probably read worse books than Wizard's First Rule. Most of the TSR fantasies not written by Weis, Hickman, or Salvatore are probably worse than Wizard's First Rule. However, those books don't really purport to be anything other than what they are, which are tie-ins to game products. This novel purports to be epic fantasy on a par with Tolkien, Martin, etc. Well, it's not. This book is abominable. Where to start? How about the dialogue. You may read 100 fantasies and not find one with more trite, banal, soap-opera, melodramatic nonsense. Further, the language comes straight from the late 20th century. It sounds absolutely like nothing you would expect in a fantasy world. Next, let's look at the worldbuilding. I'm not going to tell you I could write a better novel than Goodkind; if I could, I would. However, give me a weekend and I could design a better world. There is no history of interest in his "world". It is completely generic, dull, and probably was constructed in about 15 minutes. Now, let's go to writing itself. Suffice it to say Goodkind is no John Steinbeck. True, most fantasy writers aren't. Still, read George Martin or Guy Gavriel Kay, then go back to Goodkind and you will see a great difference. The villian is laughable. 'Nuff said about that. The plot is not too horrible although it is derivative as can be imagined. Wizard's First Rule might actually make a pretty good movie, although that is not necessarily a compliment. Finally, when reading a novel set in a fantasy world, I don't exactly need the right-wing fanatic author shoving his beliefs down my throat. I can handle that if I'm reading Clancy, but fantasy is an inappropriate forum for this, and I would say regardless of the type of politics involved.
Rating:
Summary: Wizard's First Rule
Review: I must say that this is one of the better fantisy books that i have read. The only reason that I this book did not receive the fifth star is because Goodkind showed a lack of imagination by stealing the basic plot from The Lord of The Rings. Lets take someone who just wants to be left alone and make them the hero of the story. Richard -> Bilbo Show what happens to someone if the magic is not used correctly. Samaul -> Smegal AKA Golum For gods sake Goodkind even made Samaul look and speak like Smegal.
Rating:
Summary: A good read, but not as meaty
Review: as Robert Jordan. Or maybe I'm just jaded because I love the Wheel of Time series so much. But then again, it is Goodkind's first novel, so i can't be too harsh. First I'm going to say what I loved about the book. The story, taken for what it is, is a good story. It was fun read and I look forward to reading the other books in the series. Goodkind is great at making a villain you can truly hate. The most vile and unspeakably evil manifestation in the world. then he actually can throw you for a loop by making sympathize with him in a way. His villain has a silver tongue and is skilled at making himself sound not all that bad. Now my dislikes. The story was over too quick and it moved too fast. Liek I said before, maybe I'm jaded, but everyone that was important was conviently too close to each other right off the bat. You saw it coming from a mile away. Goodkind was good at writing one thing, then alluding back to it later that allowed you to figure out what was coming or who was behind what... but sometimes the characters just seemed too stupid to live and couldn't see what was obvious. Especially since the foreshadowing happened not 20 pages earlier. Some characters took certain traits to the extreme... too trusting, too kind hearted, etc. They were a bit like card-board cutouts. I was expecting them to go most of the way through the book and have the main character named the seeker at the end, but instead it happens in the first couple chapters. An Richard, again, sometimes seems too stupid to live with some of the decisions he makes. The characters often make illogical decisions that leave you scratching your head. And they don't make any more sense later. But in on all accounts it was a good read int he Fantasy genre. A worthy entry into the ranks of Jordan and Modesitt, Jr.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: This book is intrigueing and brings you into Terry Goodkind's world immersing you in a tale of betrayal, pain, sacrifice, love, and goodness. When you start the first page you wonder what is going on, but the next page you become part of a world which is absolutely magnificent. I happily await the sequel to 'Faith of the Fallen'.
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