Wizards First Rule by Terry Goodkind

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Submitted by James Williams 
(Aug 17, 2001)

I believe this book to be one of the finest prequels to any series that I have ever read. Within the first book, story lines and characters are laid out in a simplistic and straight forward way - and why not, since things are only going to get MORE COMPLEX!!! The fact that some elements of the story are predictable is the very reason for it being so good. Every great story must have some form of predictability, if not, the reader cannot fully relate to the subject nor appreciate it as REALISTIC. I mean come on, life is predictable when viewed from afar. So whilst I believe a good story must be predictable in some ways, the great stories must twist the unpredictable elements into the tapestry. It is the blend of simplicity and complexity that defines the worth of story. And Wizards First Rule does this very very skillfully; Terry Goodkind takes it a step further by providing the predictable elements and the simplicity, then adding complexities into the tale to create unpredictabilities; e.g. the prophecy themes - no-one could EVER claim to predict the outcomes that occur in relation to the prophecies - especially regarding that demon Jagang. Rock on Mr. Goodkind!!!

To start, I would like to say that I have read a fair amount of fantasy novels, but I'm no expert. This is a hard book to review, because I had many mixed emotions about it. After the first 100 pages or so, I was convinced this was one of the worst books I had ever read. I felt the characters were thin, the settings and descriptions were lacking and the dialogue was childish and predictable. After finishing the book, I still believe all those things. Only near the very end did I begin to care about the characters and what would happen next. The last 1/4 of the book is better than the beginning, which redeems the book somewhat, so as not to be a complete waste. Overall I would not recommend this book to anyone, despite some of its good qualities (fast pace, semi-interesting plot). There are many better books out there.

This book along with the rest of the series is great because it is the next big thing for the fantasy genre after Tolkien. The detail and truth of these books is amazing. They leave nothing out and describe some of the horrid events in detail so that nothing is left out, each book reinvents the last with detail and vision that will blow you away in a whirl of magic! Any Fantasy junky would say that these books are truly amazing! If you get the chance to read them all then do it, you won't regret it!

I'm only in grade 10 and I thought this book is awesome. It has everything action, suspense, humor, and mainly adventure. I generally don't read that many books and I'm slow at reading but I flew threw this book in three weeks because I enjoyed reading it and that's what a good book is all about.

Wizard's First Rule is by far one of the most original books written in the Fantasy genre. The key to a good fantasy or even science fiction in general is good exposition, and Terry Goodkind is a master in this scope. That he uses a simple and easy to understand language is not something to see as a fault, but instead a positive point. No, I am not an idiot that can't read sophisticated literature, but I am a professor of literature at MIT. Oh, and if any of you cricizing lackwitts wants to compare brainpans... I have an IQ of 170 and have scored perfect scores on the ACT, SAT, and the SAT literature exams, I also have a P.H.D. in literature. Through his use of easy to read material he is able to appeal to a wider(and better) variety of readers. And(which you can use to start a sentence even though your highschool education taught you differently... along with ain't... if you are trying to emphasize a point) not only is this book considered great by Robert Jordan and Raymond E. Feist, but it and the rest of the series is ranked four out of the top ten fantasy series. I also strongly recommend works by Angus Wells, Raymond E. Feist, Robin Hobb, Goerge R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Kristen Britain, and The Harry Potter books which are going to draw a great many young people into fantasy and in turn cause it to grow.