(445 ratings) Submit Your Own Review More reviews by author A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Submitted by night_time888@hotmail.com 
(Nov 30, 2003)

It had been some night in the middle of summer when I found this book. My older brother had tons of fantasy books, and I picked this one up. I began to read it, and after the first couple of pages, I was drawn and hooked. Have been ever since. This story tells a lot about the characters, while keeping Kahlan's secret. It was like I could feel what Richard felt while she explained the helplessness of it all. It was a great book. I loved all the characters, and they were developed masterfully, and I can't wait to see what else will happen. I submitted this a little late, and I've read all the other books in this series, while working on the newest one out. I loved this one and if not for its captivating story, I would have missed all the other great books in this series.

I had heard a lot of good things about this book and this series in general. Upon completion, I don't know that I had ever involved myself in a bigger literary waste of time than reading this book.

I read a lot of literature, not all of it fantasy, and my feeling is that just because you write fantasy, doesn't mean you have any right to be worse a writer than anyone else who writes prose. Brilliant writers like Hemingway, Faulkner, and Joyce should still be a fantasy writer's inspiration, as Tolkien or Lovecraft are because they are lessons in wonderful writing.

Goodkind does not write as though he'd ever read any good prose. His characters are shallow, and the situations they get themselves into are so outlandish that they're hard to believe, even for a fantasy world.

Perhaps if you are 14 and wish to receive some exposure to the world of the fantasy epic than this book would suffice, but I still personally wouldn't recommend it.

Just because a writer is creating a fantasy world doesn't mean they're allowed to go against everything that we consider human nature.

The way I see it, a good book is a good book, regardless of what genre it's written in. Likewise, a bad book is a bad book, regardless. I feel that books like 'A Game of Thrones' and 'The Fellowship of the Ring' stand as high as 'Ulysses' or 'Grapes of Wrath'.

Likewise, I feel as though books like 'Wizard's First Rule' and indeed every other book in th SoT series, falls so low that I dare not compare it to anything else in my mind, for fear of insulting only a mildly-bad writer.

I do not read trashy romance novels when I can experience the genius of Kerouac or Kesey, and I won't waste my time with what I consider abhorrable fantasy novels when I could read Martin or Lovecraft.

If I can prevent one person from reading this series, then I'll feel as though I've done a good deed. Please take heed and find something else to occupy your time with. There is so much brilliant literature out there, fantasy or not, that to waste your time reading this trash would only be wasting a part of your life that could have been spent reading and learning something so much better....

As a full time college student during the day and bartender at night, I rarely have time to indulge in anything extra than what I have to do. A close friend of mine recommended this book to me. It took months of him nagging me to read it until I eventually did. BOY, AM I GLAD I DID!!!

This book has everything. Everything!!! It's clear to the point where you don't have to read each sentence over twice to get the hidden meaning, yet mysterious enough that it keeps you guessing. The characters come to life in a way that I have never seen. You get to know the characters deeply and begin to care for them as if they are your own family. The battle scenes keep you on the ege of your seat and the revenge factor in this book is satisfying and uplifting.

Overall, I would have to say that this may be the best book I have ever read. The plot and general story layout is complex and well thought. My only complaints are the 80+ page sequence at the end of the book and the portrayal of a certain character. Those two flaws, however, are minor and don't take anything away from the overall wonderous experience of the book. A++

I didn't like it. I found the characters frustrating. The plot seemed like a vehicle for the setting, politics and magic, rather than the other way around. Sure, there are some neat ideas, but they are executed badly. I REALLY didn't like the way the author projected our modern sexual quirks and obsessions onto the characters. Again, it seems like he has some ideas he wants to get out, and it isn't important how well he does it.

I should first start by saying that I'm no huge fantasy buff or book reading fanatic to say the least. I think I can count the books I've read on two hands and a few toes.
I had no idea what this book was about. I did not even have a clue as to its genre, though I'm sure the word 'Wizard' in the title should've tipped me off. However, I feel that this book would have been fitting written in any genre and that its fantasy aspect only hightened its appeal to me because it allowed me to escape the realness of this world for just a bit. To me, this book is just about the age old psychological need of people needing people and the will of a human beings, which in this day and age is sadly lost. The fantasy 'fluff', for lack of better term, is implemented only to strengthen this point and of course the surreal is always appealing. Mr. Goodkind leaves much of the environmental setting and character descriptions, for the most part, up to imagination. While some may view this as vague and unbefitting of a fantasy book, I rather enjoyed it and saw it as leaving a door open to relating to the characters more. More than that, I saw it as an openning of showing the characters care for each other. Leaving the cast of characters small also helped to keep the emotions on a back and forth scale.
Of course this is just my opinion and I do have my bias towards the love aspects (as I'm sure some others will roll their eyes towards) because of personal reasons, however, isn't that why we read fantasy books and find our niche which we like? Isn't that why we read in general? Some may wish to be enraptured in the details of a whole new world, some may be more inclined to relations with the characters, catchy dialogue, etc. For whatever reason this book tells me that that at least one person out there can try to go deeper than just the labels of a genre. Even if Mr. Goodkind wasn't trying to appeal to the reader in that way, thats what I took away from it and it has certainly helped me with some self reflection. And though I am no fantasy book buff, I can say that taking that away from anything in life is definitely a plus.