A review by 12obe12twalke12
Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense 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

3.5

To the point and fast paced adventure. The "chosen-one" explores his newfound powers while trying to save the world against all odds and also finds himself in a forbidden romance. All of these typical fantasy tropes fill a plot weaved together like gently interlocking riddles. Some outcomes are a little telegraphed while some are genuine surprises. There's also a pretty consistent internal logic to the magic, wildlife, and cultural elements. The world is compelling and characters find themselves in surprising circumstances despite certain cliches. A major theme is duality. Love vs hate. Anger vs forgiveness. Perception vs reality. A sizable amount of the dialogue is spent in consideration of these concepts. With a clear set of principles filtering through. I admit I'm sympathetic to most of what the book advocates. Unfortunately it all feels a bit contrived. I'd recommend it to young adults if it weren't for the drawn out and graphic abuse that dominate 3-4 chapters of the book. As a result it ends up straddling a blurred line between mature and immature audiences. I loved it when I first read it at 17 years old. The flaws are more apparent now that I'm 37. Still good overall.
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