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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Needs way more complexity..., 31 Dec 2008
I was a bit conflicted by this book. Here's why:
Some people have said they liked the lack of overly verbose description. Personally i thought there was so minimal description in this book it became too fast paced and annoying. Other books which attempt to involve the reader in a 'world' have a sense of distance between locations. In Wizards first Rule, the characters seem to move between locations in record time, with little time given to description. This warps the readers sense of distance and time, and makes the 'world' seem rather sparse. Good for some, but not for me.
There also are virtually zero sub-plots. Some will like this but its not my cup of tea. If you like WOT for example, which has more sub-plots thank you can poke a stick at (some might say too many!) this could prove to be a bit distracting. Compared to WOT it all seems rather sparse and simplistic... then again the SOT and WOT series are apples and oranges in so many ways that maybe it's an unfair comparison.
Also, I found that whenever the characters encountered some seemingly impossible problem or hinderence to their adventure, it would in due course miraculously resolve itself. This was very annoying - the Author does not take time to develop the plot or characters, and instead relies on cliched solutions which tend to suddenly materialise out of thin air (in almost all cases).
The book has been described as 'Adult' and it certainly contains some pretty vivid adult content. It would have been great as a really dark forboding tale, but tends to swing between vivid adult content and truly cheesey and childish sounding dialogue. The swings are too extreme that it becomes a bit unbelievable - especially since the author rarely explains anything in detail. I've heard in other reviews that future books improve in this area. I really hope so.
On the plus side, for what its worth the main plot is quite good and has a lot of potential. It is a readable, entertaining book, and is the first of the series so there is much room for improvement. The author picks up towards the end with a couple of quite well written chapters also - hopefully meaning the series gets better with age. If he could make the world, characters and plot more complex it would be a great series.
I still think I'll probably give the next one a go to see if any improvement has been made. From the reviews, it is clear that there is a love-hate thing going on with this series. If you havent read the wheel of time, read that first, otherwise give this a go.
edit: On Seeing many other reviews of the rest of this series, it seems that the lazy, simplistic writing style remains and gets much worse - so as far as i'm concerned I won't be bothering with the rest of the series now. If you are after a 'world building' series containing complex characters and a detailed, original world, then i think there are many other better options out there.
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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent, fast-paced, adult fantasy, 12 Dec 2003
Simply awesome....This series has quite simply raised my expectations for all future reads of the fantasy genre. The first book I picked up was 'Faith of the Fallen' (6th in the Series), which lasted a matter of days, and left me compelled to hunt down the first book in the series, namely 'Wizard's First Rule'. Several aspects of Goodkind's writing in this series makes his books stand out from other examples of the genre. Stylistically, his portrayal of both the characters and the world in which they exist is achieved without becoming bogged down in overly-verbose description. The result is a fast-moving story that fights off tiredness at times of night when other books would fail to keep the reader from drifting into sleep.
The series must also be complimented for offering a welcome flavour of adult fantasy, and readers should be aware of the somewhat explicit nature of the content in terms of both sex and violence. However, as an adult reader I found the candidity and realism within which Goodkind address aspects of human behaviour as throughly refreshing. As a result he achieves strong character development and subsequent reader empathy.
The characters themselves, while bearing typically heroic traits, also have their flaws, which definitely add to the range of reader emotions which their actions are capable of provoking. There are inevitably ocaasions where the reader is caught reflecting with admiration upon one of the protagonist's latest amazing feats, but there is also scope for becoming both angry and frustrated with the characters in situations when the trappings of their human nature manage to get the better of them, leading them to make questionable decisions. Other reviewers have commented on the similarities between the Sword of Truth series and some of Robert Jordan's work. Admittedly, I am not in a position to comment on this as I have only just started 'The Eye of the World' recently. However, what I can say is how impressed I have been in particular with the depth and clarity with which Goodkind addresses the role of magic within his fantasy world. Instead of presenting the reader with a basic, stock-in-trade approach, Goodkind delivers his portrayal of magic with an engaging intricacy, and at least in my opinion also a considerable degree of originality; although Jordan fans may choose to direct some of this credit elsewhere. Goodkind has also been criticised for his tendency to 'preach', on both a social and political level, throughout the course of his story-telling. However, this issue is definitely a question of taste. Personally speaking, I actually found myself revelling in the ways in which these books enouraged me to think about aspects of human nature and society in general. As an author, Goodkind is clearly a man who spends a considerable amount of time reflecting upon the world as we know it outside of his storytelling, and as a result offers some interesting insights. In summary, I am struck in writing this review by the fact that I could literally carry on all day; an obvious reflection on the impact that the 'Sword of Truth' series has had on me. The series, although perhaps past its best by the time you reach 'Pillars of Creation' (Book 7) has certainly provided me with a trully spellbinding reading experience. It offers stimuli to the reader on so many different levels that even those who are not fans of the fantasy genre have the potential to find it incredibly enjoyable. Speaking personally, I have never read a more rewarding series of books, within the fantasy or indeed any other genre, and would urge anyone to give them a go.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Good, the Bad and the Unnecessarily perverse, 25 Sep 2005
The good: The first 300 pages. Careful and sensitive location and environment descriptions, primarily in the woodland areas. It's worth also mentioning the spine-chilling chapter where Richard & Kahlan are in the middle of the boundary crossing, which is written brilliantly - It'll make your hair stand on end! At this point I thought I was in for a cracking read. The bad: Almost the whole of the rest of the book, starting with the mind-numbing stay with the mud-people. The uninteresting sections of this book go on for just far too long. The last 100 pages descend into soap-operatic farce, with almost any improbable scenario being made up in a rush to get to the excedingly disappointing climax. The Unnecessarily perverse: I do not want to read 75 repetitive pages detailing torture and horrendous cruelty if it does little in terms of developing the plot. I do not want to read descriptions of children being raped, molested and killed, even if it does help develop the plot. I understand the need for mature content, but this type of subject matter pops up far too often to make reading this book an enjoyable experience for any decent person. I was ready to love this book after I read some great sequences near the beginning - to be fair there are some original ideas, and Goodkind's writing style has a soft sensitive warmth at times that I haven't come across elsewhere. However, ultimately as time wore on it wasn't enough to stop my mind wandering, and when the end arrived I found myself breathing an apathetic sigh of relief.
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by Terry Goodkind
by Terry Goodkind
by Terry Goodkind
