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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I'm 100 pages into this and I just can't get behind it. The way he introduces characters is the laziest thing!
"oh look, a woman! i can tell from her eyes that she's smart like me!"
ridiculous.
"let's go see my kooky old mysterious friend!"
"sounds good! and while we walk, here's a story about a wizard who disappeared!"
"gosh, i wonder what happened to that wizard?! well, let's go see my friend who has never seemed like he's from around here."
COME ON. Do better.
"oh look, a woman! i can tell from her eyes that she's smart like me!"
ridiculous.
"let's go see my kooky old mysterious friend!"
"sounds good! and while we walk, here's a story about a wizard who disappeared!"
"gosh, i wonder what happened to that wizard?! well, let's go see my friend who has never seemed like he's from around here."
COME ON. Do better.
I'm gonna start this review by admitting that I really liked the Legend of the Seeker tv show (guilty pleasure). I didn't in the slightest, like this book.
I found it in my bookshelf and I don't even know how my kid self could read it as some parts were pretty disturbing and not age appropriate. It was therefore not in English, but either the translator thinks the audience is dumb, or the writer has the worst way to write I've ever seen. Everything felt so naive, yet so sexualised. The story was not too far from the show so I already knew a lot of it, but the part with the Mord-Sith was awful to read and so freaking long. The rape attempt and p*dophilia mentions were also too much and I really felt uneasy reading it.
I'm just giving it two stars because of my fondness for the characters from the show (dark-haired Darkhen Rahl is everything).
I found it in my bookshelf and I don't even know how my kid self could read it as some parts were pretty disturbing and not age appropriate. It was therefore not in English, but either the translator thinks the audience is dumb, or the writer has the worst way to write I've ever seen. Everything felt so naive, yet so sexualised. The story was not too far from the show so I already knew a lot of it, but the part with the Mord-Sith was awful to read and so freaking long. The rape attempt and p*dophilia mentions were also too much and I really felt uneasy reading it.
I'm just giving it two stars because of my fondness for the characters from the show (dark-haired Darkhen Rahl is everything).
In 30 Jahren Leseerfahrung habe ich zwei Dinge gelernt: 1. Gib dem Buch eine faire Chance; und 2. Es gibt nichts Langweiligeres als perfekte Charaktere.
Nachdem ich "Das Erste Gesetz der Magie" zwei Jahre lang zu 1/3 gelesen herumliegen hatte, habe ich ihm dann doch noch eine Chance gegen, denn für gewöhnlich lese ich auch durchschnittliche Bücher gerne zu Ende.
Doch jetzt, auf Seite 470, kann ich nicht mehr. Es ist nicht richtig schlecht, aber es ist eine Fantasy, die heutzutage einfach überholt ist (wenn nicht schon immer). Wenn ein einfacher Bub plötzlich zu einem "Helden" ernannt wird, macht ihn das nicht automatisch zu einem furchtbar intelligenten und gerissenen Mann, der genau weiß was er tut. Aber genau das passiert hier, und es ist mir einige Male sauer aufgestoßen. Held Richard durchschaut alles, vergibt alles, manipuliert erfolgreich jeden. Selbst wenn er zu scheitern scheint, biegt er es recht schnell wieder hin. Und von der "Lovestory" darin möchte ich gar nicht anfangen ...
Ich habe in meinem Leben wirklich nur sehr sehr wenige Bücher abgebrochen, aber vielleicht bin ich auch anspruchsvoller geworden. Für durchschnittliche Fantasy bin ich einfach nicht bereit, mich durch 1.000 Seiten zu quälen ...
Wer Freude an etwas oberflächlicher Fantasy hat, ist hier sicherlich trotzdem richtig, denn die Geschichte drum-herum ist tatsächlich ganz nett. Nur werden Geschichten nun mal von Charakteren getragen, und zumindest für meinen Anspruch reichte es nicht aus.
Nachdem ich "Das Erste Gesetz der Magie" zwei Jahre lang zu 1/3 gelesen herumliegen hatte, habe ich ihm dann doch noch eine Chance gegen, denn für gewöhnlich lese ich auch durchschnittliche Bücher gerne zu Ende.
Doch jetzt, auf Seite 470, kann ich nicht mehr. Es ist nicht richtig schlecht, aber es ist eine Fantasy, die heutzutage einfach überholt ist (wenn nicht schon immer). Wenn ein einfacher Bub plötzlich zu einem "Helden" ernannt wird, macht ihn das nicht automatisch zu einem furchtbar intelligenten und gerissenen Mann, der genau weiß was er tut. Aber genau das passiert hier, und es ist mir einige Male sauer aufgestoßen. Held Richard durchschaut alles, vergibt alles, manipuliert erfolgreich jeden. Selbst wenn er zu scheitern scheint, biegt er es recht schnell wieder hin. Und von der "Lovestory" darin möchte ich gar nicht anfangen ...
Ich habe in meinem Leben wirklich nur sehr sehr wenige Bücher abgebrochen, aber vielleicht bin ich auch anspruchsvoller geworden. Für durchschnittliche Fantasy bin ich einfach nicht bereit, mich durch 1.000 Seiten zu quälen ...
Wer Freude an etwas oberflächlicher Fantasy hat, ist hier sicherlich trotzdem richtig, denn die Geschichte drum-herum ist tatsächlich ganz nett. Nur werden Geschichten nun mal von Charakteren getragen, und zumindest für meinen Anspruch reichte es nicht aus.
http://fantastiskfiktion.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/wizards-first-rule/
Basic, libertarian non-sense. Filled with orientalist tropes and a heavy dose of both misogyny and homophobia.
I've read this book twice - first time probably 5 years ago and second time a few months ago. So I'm trying to get off of what I still remember. I never got to finish the entire series, but I'm making sure that I will go through each and every one of them for real now! :D
I got into these books because of the show 'Legend of the Seeker'. The tv series was genius. Too bad it was cancelled after two seasons, but I can still get my dosage from the books. :)
I love how Richard and Kahlan are equally strong characters. They are natural born leaders and just perfect for each other!
Terry Goodkind has gift for writing. He is good at building up the plot and characters. He surprises you and makes you feel like...WHOA this is getting really good! I'm definitely sucked into Sword of Truth world.
One thing I love is that there are several references to real world politics and religion that go on in these books. The similarities are uncanny, but I'm not surprised at all if Terry Goodkind is one of those aware individuals. So he is expressing his beliefs through his fictional writing. I'm not sure how many readers will pick up on these references, but he and I resonate on the same wavelength, so I certainly get it!
I need to start the second book asap, because there are a dozen more books to go!
I got into these books because of the show 'Legend of the Seeker'. The tv series was genius. Too bad it was cancelled after two seasons, but I can still get my dosage from the books. :)
I love how Richard and Kahlan are equally strong characters. They are natural born leaders and just perfect for each other!
Terry Goodkind has gift for writing. He is good at building up the plot and characters. He surprises you and makes you feel like...WHOA this is getting really good! I'm definitely sucked into Sword of Truth world.
One thing I love is that there are several references to real world politics and religion that go on in these books. The similarities are uncanny, but I'm not surprised at all if Terry Goodkind is one of those aware individuals. So he is expressing his beliefs through his fictional writing. I'm not sure how many readers will pick up on these references, but he and I resonate on the same wavelength, so I certainly get it!
I need to start the second book asap, because there are a dozen more books to go!
I'm in the early stages of the book; only reading it because I wanted to see the source material for Legend of the Seeker.
Overall, this book kept my interest. It added a few new twists to the fantasy genre, as opposed to keeping with tropes. It did drag a bit in certain places, but what 800+ page book doesn't drag occasionally? I would definitely recommend this book. The characters, overall plot and writing style outshine any negatives I found whilst reading.
I'm kind of surprised by all the hate this book gets. Everyone appears to be calling it formulaic (which I agree with, but a lot of fantasy novels are about going on a quest), that [a:Terry Goodkind|3441|Terry Goodkind|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1209913798p2/3441.jpg] is a bland author (he's not spectacular, but he's not outright awful, either), and he doesn't stand up to other, older/greater fantasy authors (one will always be better than another).
I really liked it. It's very dense, I will say that, and I felt the world building was taking forever to get through. It did drag in the beginning, and it wasn't until about the last third or so that I really got into it. That's when the story started, for me. They were all split up and the action started to occur. But the beginning? While it was necessary, I wish Goodkind would have found another way to do it. A lot of his world building, and even a lot of scenes, could have been scrapped completely or re-formatted so it only took a page or two. Goodkind does love his superfluous descriptions.
But the rest of the novel tickled me in just the right way. Sure, Richard's journey is angsty, and painful, but Goodkind gets it right. Richard suffers from Stockholm Syndrome, in the worst way. Do I sympathise for the Mord-Sith? Sure, and I think Goodkind wanted you to, but they're still presented as terrible, awful women. While Goodkind does appear to favour the black and white world of Good vs Evil (and did Darken Rahl have any redeeming features whatsoever?), the Mord-Sith are one of those groups that appear to be slightly grey.
Little note: Yes, many women in this book are raped or threatened to be raped. But I still think the women in this book are empowered and are strong, female characters. I think the whole rape scenes are there to further show the distinction between the 'Good' characters and the 'Bad' characters.
I really liked it. It's very dense, I will say that, and I felt the world building was taking forever to get through. It did drag in the beginning, and it wasn't until about the last third or so that I really got into it. That's when the story started, for me. They were all split up and the action started to occur. But the beginning? While it was necessary, I wish Goodkind would have found another way to do it. A lot of his world building, and even a lot of scenes, could have been scrapped completely or re-formatted so it only took a page or two. Goodkind does love his superfluous descriptions.
But the rest of the novel tickled me in just the right way. Sure, Richard's journey is angsty, and painful, but Goodkind gets it right. Richard suffers from Stockholm Syndrome, in the worst way. Do I sympathise for the Mord-Sith? Sure, and I think Goodkind wanted you to, but they're still presented as terrible, awful women. While Goodkind does appear to favour the black and white world of Good vs Evil (and did Darken Rahl have any redeeming features whatsoever?), the Mord-Sith are one of those groups that appear to be slightly grey.
Little note: Yes, many women in this book are raped or threatened to be raped. But I still think the women in this book are empowered and are strong, female characters. I think the whole rape scenes are there to further show the distinction between the 'Good' characters and the 'Bad' characters.
I can't believe what a terrible job they did adapting this for TV...