But overall, this is a surprising and ambitious work of adult fantasy that richly rewards readers willing to ignore its size and shortcomings and give it a fair audience. (If you can`t imagine granting these indulgences, stay away.) At this point, there is plenty of reason to hope that Goodkind will get better and that his sword of truth will sharpen. And as a critic, it`s always nice to remember the first rule of the critic: just because many novels are in a certain genre doesn`t mean they all do. Chad Waller, you then proved that the first wizard`s rule applies to real life. Any criticism of this book is either completely wrong or sufficiently explained in the text. If you think that the answer to every problem or contradiction was simply “magic!”, then it is not Goodkind`s alleged lack of skill that is to blame, but YOUR intellect. Honestly, I don`t even think you`ve read the whole book. It seems like you hovered, scanned, and selected some things you personally didn`t agree with. Horrible critic and YOU are a terrible excuse for a critic. Another person on the internet who thinks it`s actually okay to report problems, but not to explain and defend their criticism with analytical facts. I could not help but notice that you do not give specific examples where the examiner got it wrong or where alleged errors in the text were explained.
Want to tell the world about a book you`ve read? Join the website and send us your review! Also, one might wonder how a charismatic leader with a not-so-subtle name like “Darken” could pull sand out of anyone`s sand. “Goodkind had no trouble selling his first book to a publisher. I am something like the exception that proves the rule,” he says. “I wanted to be represented by the best agent in the country and I wrote him a letter. He asked to see the book, and he liked it. He showed it to a number of publishers. Three of them had an auction. Ten weeks after writing The End, it sold for a record price ($275,000), the most money ever paid by a first-time author for a fantasy novel. I may seem harsh towards the end of this review. Honestly, Wizard`s First Rule is a good book. If you like fantasy, you`ll probably enjoy it.
If you like fantasy that serves as a vehicle for deeper topics, then you`ll probably read as much in this book as Goodkind wants – whether or not you disagree with his point of view is entirely up to you. It won`t change the fact that it`s not a great book – great books are good, whether you agree with their philosophy or not. Tags: Book ReviewsRichard RahlsSword of Truth: A Wizard`s First Rule ReviewTerry BadKindterry Goodkindtor Most of Wizard`s first rule is predictable if you`re familiar with the genre. In the first part of the book, combined with a terrible amount of dialogue, it is almost unbearable. Towards the end, however, it gets better. At this point, the exposure decreases and is replaced by a rather clumsy premonition. The first book is a solid and entertaining read. For me, however, the second book was an infusion of the first. The third was interesting again, and then there was the fourth, where the story got very disturbed and everyone was juggling silly balls. My biggest problem was that Goodkind obviously invented it as it progressed – it didn`t leave many stories or connections between books, but each book invented a whole new threat from scratch. It`s like a series of good news, bad news.
“Hooray, you defeated the villain” “Oh no, defeating the villain in this way doomed the world to failure” “But wait, we saved him again” “Oh no, my creative use of magic doomed me to failure” “Hooray, now I`m safe” “Oh no, it turns out we released another more evil magic” “We defeated the most evil magic” “Oh no, This allowed an evil empire to invade” and so on. Well, now I`m waiting for the OP`s review of Kushiel`s darts. I think he will say that the dynamic between the protagonist and Melisande is absolutely not erotic or fetishistic. In fact, I found much of the series in a charity store a few years ago, but I bought the first two only because of the good reputation. Finally, I came to read the first one and I was very pleasantly surprised. I can`t wait to read the second one, but I don`t think I`ll try my luck any further. Since Darken Rahl is invincible, the three are on a slightly different quest. There are these three magical MacGuffins that, when put together and opened in the right order, give the opener the power to dominate them all. Rahl has opened two of the boxes, starting this magical chain of events that won`t end until later this year. Richard, Kahlen and Zedd are searching for the third MacGruffin; Because if Rahl doesn`t have it, he`ll die on the last day of the year, because that`s how magic happens. To make matters worse, the book is designed in such a way that lengthy explanations follow just about anything remarkable. The only reason Zedd seems to be brought in is because he`s a walking encyclopedia of magical facts, so if something interesting happens, he`s here to tell us why.
“Plot hole? No. It`s not a plot hole, it`s magic! Explanations take a long time because Terry repeats himself regularly. The same sentiment could be said two or three times in a row, as if the reader was too stupid to understand a simple concept like “the characters were confused about what to do next” the first time. I will say that I liked the first 4 or 5 volumes of the series and I agree with your criticism. If you read on, I would be curious to know if you make it to the end. I feel like there are die-hard fans who love the show that most people leave. I don`t know if Goodkind has ever talked about his motivation, but it seemed to me that he didn`t want to end the series as long as it was selling. And it`s hard to blame the guy for that, but the plot was interrupted by the lack of a final imo. Anyway, but this review is only about Wizard`s first rule, which is standalone and can be read as standalone. I`m just trying to say with this review that I think this was an absolutely awesome book that I would recommend to any fantasy fan, regardless of the mediocre sequels. These first scenes are the most problematic. Goodkind takes forever to set all this up for us and explain in detail everything I sketched above.
I think it makes things too complicated. There are many things that are practically incomprehensible and confusing and that only become clear much, much later in the novel. (The more Goodkind asks Zedd to explain what a researcher is, the more confusing it becomes.) Then the scenes in which our heroes go in search of the last box of medals (Rahl has only two so far) drag on unnecessarily. All of this means that the first 250 pages or so are an endurance test of Jordanian proportions, and for a moment I shook my head in dismay that another gigantic successful VLFN series turned out to be another follow-up whine. But just on page 300, after Goodkind cleans up his entire setup, he unexpectedly jumps in and lets his characters do interesting things, unlike Jordan. Action accelerates, relationships develop significantly. Most importantly, the reader gets involved in the outcome, because unlike so many fantasy novelists, Goodkind isn`t afraid to send his characters through unspeakable hell after warming us up for them.
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