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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
So much better than I thought it would be! (I also thought it was from the 70s, and instead it was written in the early 90s XD)
I'm very happy that I saw Legend of the Seeker before reading the books, because I think I would have hated it for all the differences XD and it's a nice tv series, so yay.
Also, I now have to read everything else there is to read of this series ♥
I'm very happy that I saw Legend of the Seeker before reading the books, because I think I would have hated it for all the differences XD and it's a nice tv series, so yay.
Also, I now have to read everything else there is to read of this series ♥
I honestly don't understand all the awful ratings, I thought this book was WONDERFUL. The beginning takes a bit to puck up, but if you stay with it, you will be glad you did! Though I've never seen a heart hound, shadow people, or boundaries, I was able to imagine everything. The emotions were raw & I got so caught up in the characters mind sets that I could not put it down even through the despair!! I definitely recommend this book!
Couldn't finish. Not for me.
I couldn't get into the world. The author jumped a lot and skimmed over a lot of world building that could have explained so much. Instead the reader is expected to just "wait, it gets better" when it doesn't. Contradictory. Not satisfying. Even the bits that were supposed to be hooks for future secrets to be revealed didn't even seem like secrets. More like absences of plot. I wasn't intrigued enough to move past the third chapter.
I couldn't get into the world. The author jumped a lot and skimmed over a lot of world building that could have explained so much. Instead the reader is expected to just "wait, it gets better" when it doesn't. Contradictory. Not satisfying. Even the bits that were supposed to be hooks for future secrets to be revealed didn't even seem like secrets. More like absences of plot. I wasn't intrigued enough to move past the third chapter.
Very disappointing. The Sword of Truth series came highly recommended from a dear friend, but I couldn't bring myself to finish even this first book. (I gave it a fair shot -- I read past page 350 in hopes it would improve. No such luck.) This book was poorly written, with shallow characters and cliché tropes throughout. The author has a penchant for hyperbole, which I found grating. He was also rather redundant, making me wonder at several points if he even had a professional editor.
The idea behind the book isn't bad; I was sad to see the ideas so poorly executed.
The idea behind the book isn't bad; I was sad to see the ideas so poorly executed.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Excellent story. Complex, different than the normal tropes, hold's your interest.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
The only decent book in the series, but not bad in its own right.
Holy wow!!!! Yep I love this book and am so excited to read the next one. Filled with mystery, humor, romance, darkness, magic, and evil. It is a perfect mashup of so many things I love! Even though Zedd and Chase were my favorite characters, I liked Richard and Kahlan too. The repetition in their story line was a bit annoying, but not unbearable. The Wizards First Rule is so true and funny I couldn't help but laugh.
A pretty standard epic fantasy told largely from the everyman hero’s POV, while also oscillating through the perspectives of several more minor characters—including the villain. Wizards, dragons, spells, nebulous prophecies, a quest, a world divided by a mysterious barrier, a magical sword wielded by the chosen one… Plenty of accessible familiarity to be had.
The boundary between the magically-inclined and the magic-free portions of the world is failing, and nasty things are roaming where they don’t belong. Including the self-proclaimed (INCREDIBLY EVIL) ruler of the magical side of the world. The only chance to stop the world being destroyed, or humanity’s free will being removed, is for a grand old wizard to name a “Seeker”—one who will use the Sword of Truth to somehow make things right.
And what is the Wizard’s First Rule?
“People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.”
That’s it. Almost overly simplistic and straightforward. You don’t learn it until well past the halfway mark, but it turns out to be the most integral piece of the plot.
I waffled back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for much of the book. On the one hand, there was some compelling and memorable characterization, enmeshed with classic fantasy components. On the other hand… the worldbuilding seemed to throw down a lot of critical facts without anyone asking WHY things were the way they were. (Still don’t know much by way of origins—who made the pandora-like boxes that make up the main concern in this book—nor why they were created in the first place. The MC is told he must find one and thus keep the evil overlord from opening them. Yet, it doesn’t seem to occur to him to ask why all this is happening in the first place.)
Our hero, Richard, frequently swung like a pendulum between painfully naive to stunningly observant and insightful—sometimes in the same scene. Despite being a large young man, he’s a gentle soul with a carefully cultivated sense of honor and self-control. The book is essentially a long transition from him being a beta to an alpha male out of sheer necessity.
Unfortunately, I never quite formed an attachment to Kahlan (Richard’s mysteriously powerful forbidden love interest.) Something about her lacked dimension, particularly on an emotional level. And her insistence on keeping the secret of her powers from Richard drug on far too long. Her self-consciousness results in him She crosses over from forgivable into foolish long before she finally divulges her true nature.
I mean… the entire world is at stake here, lady! >.>
My least favorite element would have to be the BDSM torture montage. It doesn’t appear until 2/3rds of the way in, but it went on for a good while longer than I was willing to endure. So, I’ll admit some skimming did happen. Because I’m not a quitter. >.> (Although, I wonder often if that’s more of a flaw in me than an asset…)
My favorite part would have to be Richard’s interactions with the Dragon. I’d hazard to say that the movie Shrek pulled direct inspiration from this book—both in terms of description and personality. (The main difference being, the one in the movie couldn’t speak.) It seriously redeemed a lot of the story for me.
If Terry Goodkind were taking requests, I would ask for about 500% more dragon.
Content note: Male rape is noted but only implied, and muddied by sadomasochism. A female assault and near-rape is fairly intense in its descriptive detail. And there’s a very graphically depicted scene of child murder and mutilation combined with perverse sexual elements—which very nearly made me put the book down. (If you can’t stomach works that utilize terrible things done to children for shock value, I’d strongly recommend backing away from this one.)
The end twist left me largely satisfied. I only half guessed what was coming, yet the sharp turn it took made complete and fitting sense.
The boundary between the magically-inclined and the magic-free portions of the world is failing, and nasty things are roaming where they don’t belong. Including the self-proclaimed (INCREDIBLY EVIL) ruler of the magical side of the world. The only chance to stop the world being destroyed, or humanity’s free will being removed, is for a grand old wizard to name a “Seeker”—one who will use the Sword of Truth to somehow make things right.
And what is the Wizard’s First Rule?
“People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.”
That’s it. Almost overly simplistic and straightforward. You don’t learn it until well past the halfway mark, but it turns out to be the most integral piece of the plot.
I waffled back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for much of the book. On the one hand, there was some compelling and memorable characterization, enmeshed with classic fantasy components. On the other hand… the worldbuilding seemed to throw down a lot of critical facts without anyone asking WHY things were the way they were. (Still don’t know much by way of origins—who made the pandora-like boxes that make up the main concern in this book—nor why they were created in the first place. The MC is told he must find one and thus keep the evil overlord from opening them. Yet, it doesn’t seem to occur to him to ask why all this is happening in the first place.)
Our hero, Richard, frequently swung like a pendulum between painfully naive to stunningly observant and insightful—sometimes in the same scene. Despite being a large young man, he’s a gentle soul with a carefully cultivated sense of honor and self-control. The book is essentially a long transition from him being a beta to an alpha male out of sheer necessity.
Unfortunately, I never quite formed an attachment to Kahlan (Richard’s mysteriously powerful forbidden love interest.) Something about her lacked dimension, particularly on an emotional level. And her insistence on keeping the secret of her powers from Richard drug on far too long. Her self-consciousness results in him
Spoiler
needlessly killing someone she could have easily handled. And in a separate incident, nearly gets them both killed because she doesn’t want him to see what she is capable of.I mean… the entire world is at stake here, lady! >.>
My least favorite element would have to be the BDSM torture montage. It doesn’t appear until 2/3rds of the way in, but it went on for a good while longer than I was willing to endure. So, I’ll admit some skimming did happen. Because I’m not a quitter. >.> (Although, I wonder often if that’s more of a flaw in me than an asset…)
My favorite part would have to be Richard’s interactions with the Dragon. I’d hazard to say that the movie Shrek pulled direct inspiration from this book—both in terms of description and personality. (The main difference being, the one in the movie couldn’t speak.) It seriously redeemed a lot of the story for me.
If Terry Goodkind were taking requests, I would ask for about 500% more dragon.
Content note: Male rape is noted but only implied, and muddied by sadomasochism. A female assault and near-rape is fairly intense in its descriptive detail. And there’s a very graphically depicted scene of child murder and mutilation combined with perverse sexual elements—which very nearly made me put the book down. (If you can’t stomach works that utilize terrible things done to children for shock value, I’d strongly recommend backing away from this one.)
The end twist left me largely satisfied. I only half guessed what was coming, yet the sharp turn it took made complete and fitting sense.