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Submitted by The Pyro 
(Dec 22, 2005)

For years my brother had been trying to get me into this series, I never bit. I always had something else, something better to read. Finally, I could deney it no longer, and I picked up "Wizards First Rule". Now, about a year or so later, I've read them all, and await the second book to the ending "Chainfire" Trilogy, that is ending of the entire series. Anyway, these books are awesome, and I would suggest them to any reader. The books seem to have a simple organization(horrid peril, good guys start to win, bad guys start to win, happyISH ending). Thats the way it all happened that is UNTIL Chainfire. Now it just breath taking peril, saddness, and frustration, and oh so much action. The kind of action where you can't tear your eyes from the page through out the entire book. Just as a warning, you will get into these books if you have an open mind, and WHEN you do, you will lose sleep because all you'll do is read, read, pick up next book, read, read, read. These books make you think, about everything, most of which is life. You will love them.

The Pyro

It's hard for me to sum up my thoughts on the Sword of Truth series. When I initally picked it up and started reading, I found that the style of it's writing just didn't seem to mesh with my tastes in terms of style. I thought that many of the names just didn't fit with the feel of the story. In short, I was fairly sure that I would end up not overly caring for the story.

However, that was all before Richard ended up crossing over into the Midlands. After he'd passed through that first magical curtain, the story suddenly seemed to become deeper and more meaningful. I found myself beginning to take stock in the fates of the characters. I think that this series is one of those cases where it should have been ended with the first book.

I did enjoy the next several in the series, but gradually it seemed like the series had shot itself in the foot. Richard and Kahlan's happy ending had come at the end of the first book! So it seemed like every single book that followed had to find a way in which to separate them so that they had to fight for each other all over again.

If only they hadn't had their happy wonderful realization of love in that first book, I feel that things could have been kept fresher. For the rest of the series, there is no more excitement, despite some serious BDSM undertones present in concepts such as the Mord-Sith and even the Sisters of the Light/Dark. Even this would be bearable, because I still felt like the books were rewarding in a sense, until Soul of Fire came along. With Soul of Fire, I first encountered a book that I just could not struggle through. Eventually I simply gave up on finishing it.

Faith of the Fallen was somewhat better, although Goodkind's preachiness kicked into gear. I don't mind political and philosophical messages within stories, but that is when they are subtly incorporated. Goodkind treats his views like a 2 by 4 and beats his readers over the head with it. Thinly-veiled would be an understatement when you read Faith of the Fallen and realize just how horrible and evil communists are along with everyone who follow them.

From this point onward, his villains and protagonist become caricatures. Jagang is the evil of all evils, and Richard is the only man with any semblance of inteligence. It hurts the credibility of the story when characters become that flat. And while sidestories and new characters can sometimes breathe new life into a story, the complete divergence of Pillars of Creation simply turned me off from the story completely. No matter how well told the narration was, as a Sword of Truth novel, I was expecting a story pertaining to Richard and friends, instead of only having a small portion involving them at the ends.

The Sword of Truth series began with some very good concepts, but it's slowly been sinking into another one of those series that seems as though it will never end. Maybe it's conclusion with bring back life to the story, but I'm starting to doubt that possibility.

I must say that the Sword of Truth series is my absolute favorite set of books. I've read many books, and all though I'm not big on the technicalities, I love and understand all the little intricacies that make these books so worth while. Terry Goodkind manages to fit many aspects of human life and strongly shows his opinion through the way his characters act. The plots are beautifully wrought and masterfully used. This set of books is even better (at least to me) than the entire Lord of The Rings trilogy (plus its many add-ons) or any of my favorite King Arthur books.

I find it a remarkable series. I find the ideals represented in it to be ones that we all should uphold, as well as the ideology and philosophy contained within its pages to be well thought out and easily understood. My only problem with the series is he seems to create new problems one after the other. I must say though that his works are a masterpiece. I was astounded by how real his world seemed, how easy it is to identify with his characters, and how you find yourself caring and even loving the people within his novels. Goodkind does a wonderful job of creating people, not static characters. You find yourself joyful at the prospect of Richard and Kahlan being married, and sad when she is hurt. The reason for this is because Goodkind's skill at creating believeable characters is, in my opinion, unmatched. To top off such wonderful skills already named, Goodkind has created a form of magic all his own that one can understand and believe. It is not some, "where it comes from I don't know but we can use it," form of magic often found, but a very well thought out form of it. I would like to congradulate Mr. Goodkind on a job well done.

I think that Terry Goodkind has hit on a fantastic wolrd to explore. His Sword of Truth Series has been a great exotic adventure for his readers. He starts with a guy with no thoughts in government and throws him into a position of leadership. There are many twists and turns that threatens to destroy his world in which he wants nothing more than to live in peace. Mr. Goodkind has done a great job, and I cant wait to see what he has in store for us next.