Terry Goodkind

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

The masterpiece that started The New York Times bestselling epic Sword of Truth In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help . . . and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. In a dark age it takes courage to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the best of their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love would destroy them--for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare not say. In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword--to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed . . . or that their time has run out. This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.

Wizard's First Rule

Michael Springer

This is a fun book. It is somewhat standard Hero Vs. Nearly Omnipotent Badguy stuff, but the world Goodkind creates is unique enough to keep things from being too predictable. I enjoyed the ride, and if you enjoy fantasy, it's worth reading.

Wizard's first rule

Alyssa 

this book was EPIC! couldn't ask for more in a fantasy book! the Mord-Sith were frightening and completely ruthless. and RIchard's transformation into a hero was fantastic! complete surprise at the end at the revelation of Zedd as Richard's grandfather and Darken Rahl as his father! :O

Maria Banning

Found this treasure in hardcover quite some time ago for $4.95 on a bargain table at Walmart. I was captivated by the original cover art. I read the jacket and said, "why not." I was quickly sucked into the world of Richard and Kahlan. Opposite worlds divided by a magical barrier. Magic, romance, an impossible quest, fierce enemies, and entertaining loathsome and lovable characters you route for to win or die!! When one book ended, the next began like you never stopped reading (sometimes for many months!!!) I highly recommend this book to all readers who love to read epic fantasy novels, you won't be disappointed!!

Sabetha Danes

Looking at the story as a whole, it was an okay read. Predictable, yet satisfying. 

The writing is very low, read like a middle grade book, definitely has that first book air to it. This took me out of the story many times during the first half of the book. Once I got to the 60% mark it picked up in action and plot. 

I really hate the trope of "lack of communication" so that was seriously infuriating through out the book. Zedd's short comings as a wizard also drove me crazy, but I guess that was to sell the "everyone has faults" theme. While Richard was a whine, and came off as around 16 years old, he did have a nice growth arc by the end. Though when too many of the cast have the exact same self-deprecation arc it is rather lack luster in delivery. 

The ending wrapped everything up nicely, tied up all of the threads that were opened, with a string pulling me to want to go forward onto the next book. Not sure if I will continue on but had to see what the fuss was about with this author. 

There are a lot of commonalities between this book and those that clearly inspired him, and it is very much a product of it's time in terms of social commentary.

Deep in the upper Ven Forest, close to the Boundry, woodsman Richard Cypher is intent on tracking down his father's killers. Richard has no idea of how far his quest will take him from home, nor that his world, his very beliefs, are about to be shattered... Kahlan Amnell, tormented by treachery and loss, is being hunted, pursued remorselessly by a bloodthirsty tyrant's assassins. A monstrous evil is about to be unleashed upon the world and she knows her one hope of halting it is to find the last great Wizard... Together, Richard and Kahlan have a destiny that will not be denied, a destiny that will embroil them in a war three-millennia past... a war that is about to re-ignite with world-devouring violence.

Zoë Schaefer

What's that smell, you say? Oh, just my eyes melting into my skull. Y'know, I really tried with this one. I went into it knowing little other than mayhaps a bit of plagiarism, that Terry doesn't write "fantasy," and that Wheel of Time fans abhor this book with every ounce of their being. Now, I haven't read The Wheel of Time (sorry Daniel Greene), I try to take little of the author into consideration while reading (unless it's a memoir), and I've read things that have been deemed as plagiarised but are more an homage to their inspirations. I was like, hey! Maybe this'll be a new Eragon for me? Maybe not the best book going, but fun, clever, maybe a tad emotional at times. 

So. Not that at all. Spoilers under the cut if you feel like you'd like a taste of that eye-melting:

(view spoiler)[ First of all, I want to apologize to Terry for his childhood. Whatever happened to you to make you write about the content you wrote, I'm sorry. Like I wrote above, I don't usually tie authors to their work when I read. Normally the connections happen after, if I do a bit of research or continue their works. With this book, I could feel the misogyny, power-issues, brother-issues, father-issues, sex-issues (need I continue?) seep through the pages. 

To make the character section short: Kahlan is a carebear, Zedd is a more annoying Gandalf, Darken Rahl is Darth Vader, Chase is a meaner Aragorn, and Demmin Nass is an excuse to have child rape and discussions of child rape present 100% more than it's necessary. Richard (still can't get over that the main character is named Dick) is just the most basic, angry, emo MC I've read in a long time.

The plot was at best a fetch-quest and at worst a gore novel mixed with gratuitous amounts of torture. The ending was lack-luster and wasn't even a real ending because we know Darken Rahl isn't actually gone. The same story could have been told with 30% of the actual book. The technical aspects of the writing and pacing of the book was some of the worst I've ever laid eyes on (eg: Richard starts laughing and joking around a paragraph after he sentenced his own brother to die when he's supposed to be a compassionate character). The whole thing took me a month to get through and ended up putting me in a reading slump.

So, unless torture, rape, child abuse, weird BDSM mistress-pet dynamics, excessive gore, and a hell of a slog to get through is up your alley, then, by all means, give this a go. If not, be prepared to wash your eyes out with bleach.  (hide spoiler)]

Nat Welch

This book is horrible. While it has some interesting ideas, the writing is terrible, and most of the plot is turn after turn of macguffins and clichés.

Heather

DNF @10%
It is too boring for me to invest 30h of audiobook.
The protagonist are so bland, the plot is predictable, and the writting style is not good enough.

Zach Spencer

The story overall was interesting, but the telling of which didn't impress me compared to other epic fantasy stories. The first third of the book was hard to push through, but it became more enticing as I went.
I've heard that the rest of the series becomes better as you continue, or of greater quality than this novel, but I am unsure if I will continue or not. Was torn between giving this a 2 or 3 stars, but the magic systems presented and described won me over.

Jessica Nottingham

I've pretty much given up on writing "real" (read: semi-coherent) reviews of books that I don't have a commitment to review. It's easier to just tell you all the random thoughts running through my head, and my pure elation at having found a new Fantasy series that actually captured my attention. I really missed being so absorbed in a new world, that nothing else existed outside of it. I'm just head over heels in love with Richard, Kahlan, and Zed.
 
Wizard's First Rule is lush. It's vividly written, with that perfect amount of description, that never falls over the line into obnoxious. Terry Goodkind's writing quickly pulled me into the world that he wove for me. The line in the sand, between the magic free Westland and the magic riddled Midlands, made me giddy with excitement. If there's one thing I know, a place with no magic that borders its exact opposite, always ends in some kind of war. I hoped for a deliciously evil villain, and I wasn't disappointed.
 
Which brings me to characters, who impressed me just as much as the plot itself. I fell hard for Richard, and his chivalrous personality. Let's be honest, I have a soft spot in my heart for perpetual "good guys". The ones who might have to make some hard decisions sometimes, but never lose their inner spark. That's Richard, plain and simple. Kahlan had to grow on me a bit, mostly because she's shrouded in mystery for a fair bit of the beginning of this story. As the story progressed though, and I understood her better, I started to fall for her too. By the end of the book, my heart bled for these two. Kahlan and Richard forever, and I don't care who knows it.
 
I could go on and on about the other amazing characters, especially that deliciously evil villain. I could wax poetic about how Goodkind has mastered the art of the grey area. He manages to write characters who aren't fully evil, or fully good, but somewhere in between. It makes for a much more interesting story. Wich prompts me to warn you that there are a fair amount of torture scenes in a portion of this book. They're important to the story, but also tough to read.
 
Anyway, If I wrote about all of that though, this review would end up as long as this book. It's testament to how much I loved this that I listened to 36 hours of this story on audio, without blinking an eye. I was actually sad when it was over. Book two has been borrowed, and is in my possession! Let's hope it's as good as the first.

Adam

In high school, my sister sent me Wizards First Rule as a Christmas gift. Sadly, I never did get around to reading it back then, missing out on a great fantasy world. This is the first in over a dozen books in Goodkinds Sword of Truth which was also made into a TV series: The Legend of the Seeker. The confessors were the most interesting part for me -- women who can touch a person and control them for the rest of the their lives. The wizards of this story seemed all powerful and not powerful at once, which left me confused on their abilities.

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

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