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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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:
No
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not the best book I've read. Rather predicable in parts, and the dialogue seemed forced at points. Interesting world premise though.
Probably one of the worst fantasy novels I've ever read
Увлекателна история, на места непредвидима, но като цяло не бих я класирала за фентъзи шедьовър. Ако е намесена магия, начинът, по който е представена е ключов момент за това колко ще ми хареса дадената книга. За жалост обаче, не бях особено впечатлена от концепцията на Тери Гуудкайнд (много ми харесва да пиша името му на кирилица). Все пак приключенският мотив и умелото изобразяване на емоциите на героите с думи ще ме накарат да прочета поне още една-две книжки от серията, пък знае ли човек, може да вземе тая магия и да ми стане интересна...
Misogyny. The only female character was originally presented as a strong character but quickly became the damsel in distress. I could only take so much. Everything else was there for a great book. Plot and characters were great. Very descriptive , great world building. But in every scene the female needed saving or was very emotional.
I first read this book when I was 13 years old. I was immediately hooked and worked my way through the rest of the series, following along as new books were released. I, like many, was disappointed with the quality of every book past 11, but those 11 remained some of my favorite fantasy books. They were, in many ways, what sparked my love for the genre.
I have re-read a few over the years, usually book 2, and this is the first time in a very long time that I've re-read the first one. Older and questionable amounts of wiser, I see a lot of issues where my young mind saw perfection. The writing here really isn't that great, and Kahlan is one of the weakest characters I've ever read. I adore her character, and I seem to recall this weakness changing throughout the rest of the books, but in this one... For someone who commands kings and queens, rules the Midlands, and who has seen so much horror and death in her life, she is astonishingly weak. She hides her face at every sign of danger or violence, she cries over just about everything, she wants to give up everything, all of her work and effort for the land she loves, for the sake of a man she only recently met.
I give her some room to act this way because everyone deserves to have and show their emotions, especially after finding a person who genuinely accepts and cares about them for who they are. I can't forgive all of it, though, because it seems like she constantly needs Richard to come to her rescue and protect her from the big bad world, and that is not how I picture a mother confessor.
I am not changing my rating, though, in deference to the young girl who hid beneath her covers night after night, devouring the pages until the early hours of the morning. For introducing me to a genre which fast became my favorite, for being the start to a series which has pulled me back into it repeatedly since my first read, for being such an influential part of my reading-history, it gets to keep its 5 stars.
RIP, good sir. Thank you for your stories.
I have re-read a few over the years, usually book 2, and this is the first time in a very long time that I've re-read the first one. Older and questionable amounts of wiser, I see a lot of issues where my young mind saw perfection. The writing here really isn't that great, and Kahlan is one of the weakest characters I've ever read. I adore her character, and I seem to recall this weakness changing throughout the rest of the books, but in this one... For someone who commands kings and queens, rules the Midlands, and who has seen so much horror and death in her life, she is astonishingly weak. She hides her face at every sign of danger or violence, she cries over just about everything, she wants to give up everything, all of her work and effort for the land she loves, for the sake of a man she only recently met.
I give her some room to act this way because everyone deserves to have and show their emotions, especially after finding a person who genuinely accepts and cares about them for who they are. I can't forgive all of it, though, because it seems like she constantly needs Richard to come to her rescue and protect her from the big bad world, and that is not how I picture a mother confessor.
I am not changing my rating, though, in deference to the young girl who hid beneath her covers night after night, devouring the pages until the early hours of the morning. For introducing me to a genre which fast became my favorite, for being the start to a series which has pulled me back into it repeatedly since my first read, for being such an influential part of my reading-history, it gets to keep its 5 stars.
RIP, good sir. Thank you for your stories.
I bought Terry Goodkin's Wizard's First Rule to pad out last summer's reading list. I read a handful of pages, but then tossed it up on my shelf in favor of other books. The opening chapters were the epitome of generic fantasy, and Goodkin's style felt stiff and predictable. Returning to it this summer, I found that while it's certainly packed with your typical fantasy tropes (boy finds wizard, wizard gives boy sword, boy saves world) there's a lot that isn't typical. The wizard in question is nicely eccentric, and there are a couple of unique characters scattered across the landscape.
The main villain in the book, Father Rahl, is a dictator who things he's got everyone's best interests at heart, and is perfectly willing to sacrifice those people to achieve the greater good. The fact that that good is twisted and sick never really crosses his mind: it's he who's the hero, it's he who's out to save the world. It's the sort of villain that fits the real world, and it's a good twist on the typical "evil overlord" we find in fantasy novels. The last quarter of the book has some difficult to read (as in, mentally painful) scenes involving sadomasochism. It turns out to be crucial to the character's understanding of the true nature of magic, but the fact that it works within the confines of the story doesn't make it any less disagreeable to read. I'm not sure if this sort of thing shows up in Goodkin's later Sword of Truth books, but if so I doubt I want to read them.
The main villain in the book, Father Rahl, is a dictator who things he's got everyone's best interests at heart, and is perfectly willing to sacrifice those people to achieve the greater good. The fact that that good is twisted and sick never really crosses his mind: it's he who's the hero, it's he who's out to save the world. It's the sort of villain that fits the real world, and it's a good twist on the typical "evil overlord" we find in fantasy novels. The last quarter of the book has some difficult to read (as in, mentally painful) scenes involving sadomasochism. It turns out to be crucial to the character's understanding of the true nature of magic, but the fact that it works within the confines of the story doesn't make it any less disagreeable to read. I'm not sure if this sort of thing shows up in Goodkin's later Sword of Truth books, but if so I doubt I want to read them.
Last read in December 2008... no wonder i forgot so many details! Still one of my favorites, but found some of the "suspense building" to be more "interest losing," like the conversation being super long...drawn...out, without getting to the point.