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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Read this when I was in primary school I think? Maybe early high school? Re-reading it, I really was not prepared for the amount of uh. Weird things. I’m reading it thinking like did this all go over my head the first time round? Did I even know what was going on like damn. Anyway it deserves some applause for being the series with like the only straight ship I shipped back then.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have to admit that I read this almost a decade ago and it was one of the first "adult" fantasy books I had read. I liked the first book in the series fine, the second one a little less, the third one less than that, and so on until I just gave up on the fifth book. If I were to re-read Wizard's First Rule again today, I'd probably give it a lower score, but for now, my rose-tinted nostalgia glasses tell me that I liked the book when I read it.
I read this, or well, the Dutch version almost 10 years ago. I got up to the third book of the series before I gave up in both frustration and annoyance. That said.. while I'm tempted to rate this as 1 star, I believe it should be around the 1.5 or 2. There is a lot wrong and missing, and prose was lacking, the story is filled with hardly any originality
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
When I read Wizard's First Rule during my teens I gave it 5 stars. In the years since, I've noted enough conflicting reviews to feel a revisit was warranted. Once begun, I quickly realised I would have to retract my previous opinion. At first I thought, yes it blatantly copies from other fantasy novels - with similarities too numerous for me to bother listing - but I can forgive all of the 'recycling' if a good yarn is being spun. After all, most fantasy is derivative to some degree. Sadly, that is hardly the worst of the flaws in WFR.
In terms of style, the novel reads like a children's book, yet the subject matter is often very adult. Its a jarring dichotomy, that is never resolved and so, by the end of the book, you have to concede that this is due to a lack of skill on Goodkind's part rather than a deliberate stylistic choice.
I found I was totting up a depressingly long list of criticisms as I read. The central love story was forced and wasn't developed during the story but simply EXISTED, fully formed from the start (Nice to meet you, I love you madly). Much of the dialogue was lacking in polish, or cringeworthy, or saccharine. Assumptions and inconsistencies along the way served to highlight how sloppily rendered the characters were. The plot was full of convenient coincidences, which sometimes annoyed.
Yet, somehow, I still found things to enjoy.
Certainly I am nonplussed as to what I originally found to praise quite so highly; perhaps I simply forgave the poor writing in deference to the simple, straightforward, good vs evil plot. Whatever the case, its harder to overlook the negatives now. However, I must emphasise, its not a BAD novel; it has a certain economy to it that drives the plot ever forwards, and for all the plot contrivances the story cuts a tidy path to its fizzing conclusion. The Mord-Sith element adds a different flavour to the story in the third act. The characters fulfil their archetypes. One or two scenes even rise above the rest of the book with flashes of quality. So not a 5 star book, more a mediocre 3, bringing with it the sad realisation that, once upon a time, I was far too easily pleased.
In terms of style, the novel reads like a children's book, yet the subject matter is often very adult. Its a jarring dichotomy, that is never resolved and so, by the end of the book, you have to concede that this is due to a lack of skill on Goodkind's part rather than a deliberate stylistic choice.
I found I was totting up a depressingly long list of criticisms as I read. The central love story was forced and wasn't developed during the story but simply EXISTED, fully formed from the start (Nice to meet you, I love you madly). Much of the dialogue was lacking in polish, or cringeworthy, or saccharine. Assumptions and inconsistencies along the way served to highlight how sloppily rendered the characters were. The plot was full of convenient coincidences, which sometimes annoyed.
Yet, somehow, I still found things to enjoy.
Certainly I am nonplussed as to what I originally found to praise quite so highly; perhaps I simply forgave the poor writing in deference to the simple, straightforward, good vs evil plot. Whatever the case, its harder to overlook the negatives now. However, I must emphasise, its not a BAD novel; it has a certain economy to it that drives the plot ever forwards, and for all the plot contrivances the story cuts a tidy path to its fizzing conclusion. The Mord-Sith element adds a different flavour to the story in the third act. The characters fulfil their archetypes. One or two scenes even rise above the rest of the book with flashes of quality. So not a 5 star book, more a mediocre 3, bringing with it the sad realisation that, once upon a time, I was far too easily pleased.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Sexual assault, Torture
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
It's not high brow literature, it's the fantasy novel equivalent of a cheesy 80s action movie.
The characters aren't deep, the plot isn't thick, did I enjoy reading it over the course of a weekend, yeh.
The people who say this is an awful book are the same people who'd probably say marvel films are trash cinema, it's not top tier but it's enjoyable.
The characters aren't deep, the plot isn't thick, did I enjoy reading it over the course of a weekend, yeh.
The people who say this is an awful book are the same people who'd probably say marvel films are trash cinema, it's not top tier but it's enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Torture
Minor: Child abuse, Child death