A while ago, I reviewed Wizard’s First Rule and later decided to read the whole series by Terry Goodkind. While there were some good points to it, I have no hesitation in saying that the latter half was predominantly bad. Now that all eleven books are over, I can pronounce my judgment. Unlike the Wheel of Time, I’m going to start with the bad since it stands out so much. In case you’re wondering why I went through and read eleven books, it’s because once you read the first 4 books, you have to know what happens!
Note: No specific spoilers here, but only a general commentary on the series.
The Ugly – Repetitive Sword of Truth Themes
Several things bug me about this series. One of them is that each book makes use of the same themes over and over again. For example, Terry Goodkind seems to be completely obsessed with people getting captured. In the course of the series, every single good guy has been rendered helpless in the hands of the enemy at least once, and many of them more than once. Each book contains people getting captured and then escaping. I’ve lost count of how many times the main protagonist (Richard) has been rendered helpless by someone or the other.
Also, Richard is somehow or the other deliberately crippled in each of the books. Either he gets debilitating headaches, or he’s prevented from using his gift (or forbidden from doing so), or he’s losing his magic or whatever. As a result, we never get to see him at his full potential as a war wizard.
And what’s with everyone being tired? I mean does no one sleep in the books? Whenever we see Richard, we hear about how he hasn’t slept well for weeks – or any of the main protagonists for that matter (Zedd is the only exception. He’s my favorite character). Another means by which Goodkind incapacitates his heroes. They’re always hungry or tired.
The next huge issue is the love story between Richard and Kahlan. Ok they’re in love. We GET IT! They behave like lovestruck teenagers. Whenever Kahlan isn’t present, Richard loses all capacity for thought and the world can go to hell. It’s sick. He doesn’t behave like an adult, but some moonstruck juvenile. Kahlan is a little (just about) better. At least she can operate cogently without Richard being around. Every book in the Sword of Truth series has to have at least one mandatory separation of Richard and Kahlan. Every single book. The two are so boring together that Goodkind is forced to pry them apart and thus provide the motivation for Richard to get off his butt and do something. Sometimes it seems that it’s the only thing that works.
Richard is supposed to be the most powerful wizard in 3,000 years and a war wizard to boot, and even at the end of the book, he still doesn’t know how to use his powers. Time and time again he gets an opportunity to learn about them from his Grandfather Zedd who’s the First Wizard of the land, and each time he throws away the opportunity – and for what? Yep – that’s right. To spend time with Kahlan. He doesn’t care that if he doesn’t learn, his gift will kill him. He just wants to be alone with Kahlan. But then hey! If he learns how to use his powers, he can actually ward off the threat from every Tom Dick and Harry who captures him! And we can’t have that can we? How will he get the motivation to rejoin Kahlan then hmm?
Just once in the series, he gets his wet dream. Kahlan is injured and she recuperates with him in a forest where it’s just the two of them. If it wasn’t for a nice evil sorceress who stole Richard away, he’d still be cuddling with her in his wooden shack in isolation. A pathetic hero to say the least.
I’ve saved the worst for the last. After the fifth book or so Richard who’s supposed to be the Seeker of Truth, mutates into the Preacher of Truth. Pages and pages (and pages) of the books are devoted to long winded black and white monologues by Richard who suddenly gets a Christ complex. The funniest part is that after dozens of pages of monologue, his listeners instead of going to sleep or throwing a rotten egg at him, stroke their chins and say “Y’know? I wish I had thought of that!” As if you can change a person’s entire nature by just boring them to death. I mean who talks like that? Goodkind tries to stuff his sickeningly righteous Ayn Rand bullshit down the throats of his readers over and over again. And then he does it again for good measure. Richard, who’s originally a nice sort of guy becomes this holier than thou – Oh I’m so wise and all knowing – jerk.
One final aspect of the entire series. What’s up with Richard losing his sword all the time? I mean I know that Goodkind has to do his usual thing of incapacitating his hero again and again, but why even bother to link the sword to Richard if just about anyone can take it and use it? Richard is separated from his sword over and over again (and Zedd even castigates him for it) – makes him seem careless you know what I mean?
Also, the whole Sisters of the Light concept was a knockoff of Robert Jordan’s Aes Sedai – complete with Sisters of the Dark resembling the Black Ajah.
The villains in the books also seem to be blessed with good luck. Somehow, the main evil guy (Jagang) repeatedly gets his hand on the rarest books in existence when they’ve been sitting right under the noses of the good guys all along. I mean his luck is simply unbelievable. All the books have a theme where things are going really really bad for the good guys and then in the last 100 pages or so, Richard the Preacher of Truth saves everyone with some jiggery pokery.
The Good
There are several really nice interesting characters in the book. They provide a refreshing break from the two main boring ones. Zedd, the First Wizard and Richard’s grandfather is the most entertaining, powerful and nicest old man in the series. Adie, the blind sorceress is an excellent complement. Nathan the powerful 1000 year old prophet is also a commanding character, but he doesn’t get much onscreen time unfortunately.
For me, the best concept was a set of scary guards called the Mord Sith. Fantastic addition. They really gave the entire series a breath of fresh air.
The villains were quite decent, though not as good as the one in Runelords (The villain called Darken Rahl however, was the match of Raj Ahten). I wish there were more good things to say about the books. I really do. After all, I spent a lot of time reading all eleven books. But I don’t feel sad that it’s over – unlike with the Wheel of Time series, or Runelords. I just feel relieved.
Insulting this books in that way is a crime u nerd! Go and get a life! Just because you don´t understand things as true love or the pein of beeing seperated from the ones you love or even ANYTHING. If Richard could use his full powers from one second to another, it would have meant the end of the books. Or do you think you also know that better????
Of course the books are not all perfect and sometimes have a long breath. But this bookseries is the most impressive i have ever read – and i read a lot.
Totally agree with the reviewer. Currently on book four and about ready to bag it. The first couple books were pretty good, but now the repetition and insipid main characters are really beginning to drive me nuts. The tortured middle-school-level romance between Richard and Kahlan is annoying. The stupidity and impotence of Richard is annoying. He and Kahlan seem to make one bad decision after another. The bad guys are the only ones who seem to have a coherent plan. The author spends endless pages just following the characters as they muddle through complication after complication spawned by their own mistakes and stupidity. He leaves main character threads hanging and doesn’t return to them for hundreds of pages, or he just drops the threads altogether. Anyone who makes a comment like “this is the most impressive series I’ve ever read” obviously doesn’t read the right books, because this stuff has been done much better by many others.
Don’t knock the reviewer…his job is to give an honest appraisal of the book(s) and I think this review did an accurate appraisal.
In reply to earlutt
The third book introduces the series. You’re missing out on some of the best reading if you stop at four.
I totally agree with the reviewer’s statements. I really thought the mord sith were underutilized, and I couldnt take it after “Temple of the Winds”. The first two books were very impressive though.
I agree with the reviewer, I like the first two the most but then after starting Soul of Fire the repetition of it all got to me. It was the same thing over and over again, and lost its originality.
Put simply I liked the series, not everything but enough. Whether or not anyone, including the writer of this review agrees with me is irrelevant. Just because something didn’t appeal to you doesn’t make it bad. And frankly to take the time to write something about a book you didn’t even like shows a serious lack of a positive things in your life, a pity. Maybe everyone will eventually stop caring what everyone thinks or is expected of them and enjoy art for what it is in itself and to each individual. =)
In reply to Trimack
Reading a book is a pretty time consuming enterprise. Instead of starting on one cold turkey, it’s quite reasonable to look at what other thought of it. Especially if you like the same books as the reviewer. In my opinion, the Sword of Truth series is pretty bad and I’ve given my reasons for thinking that way. You’re more than welcome to chip in with your own reasons for why you like it!
There are many criteria to judge a work of fiction by, but only one truly important one, and that is, does the reader want to keep reading?
I think it’s interesting to see such contradictory statements such as I didn’t like them, but I had to keep reading to see what happened.
In any case, that second statement speaks volumes more than any detailed literary analysis.
I really did enjoy the series, and loved the idea that was put behind it. im not a big reader exept for comic (mainly european and japanese) but Ive read harry potter and lord of the ring. But out of those three books ive read sword of truth was my favorit. I do know about wheel of time and do plan to read it after the series comes to a complete end this year.
But saying what i have to say, there is no reason for to disagree on what you have to say to be more fair i think you either held back, didnt notice some of the others, or didnt find it annoying.
and let me say this before im done, terry should have just ended the series with confessor, because if you found these were bad, wait until you star the book after called the “Omen machine”…. well some name like that.
I loved the series at first, but then Richard started getting the ego from hell, and he was so perfect that everyone just immediately saw how right he was in all things because of his awesome philosophy of life that solved everything and……
The main characters became mean-spirited, spoiled brats, and I realized towards the end that they were simply not really nice people. Simply too full of themselves for me as a reader to root for and empathize with.
By the time I dutifully hit the last book I was dragging myself through by sheer inertia, just to see what happened, and at that point I pretty much actively disliked both Richard and his cold blooded lady. They were simply selfish, self absorbed, and self satisfied, and I was glad the series was over. The follow on books? I bailed halfway through Omen machine. Enough was enough.
Blah blah blah blah said Richard.
In reply to Devon
I’m in awe that you even started the books after! I’m not going to let myself into that morass once again :) .
The series, is honestly, not that good. BUT, the most inportant thing, once opening the first book, you must read all of them. It is stupid, but amazing. You see, once reading the first 3, you are like “hey, great series!” and then you read the same bullshit 15 times. All I can say is, that it is worth it, currently reading the last. Not enjoying, just reading for the thrill of finnaly ending. 15 books. That’s morodor and back 5 times. With a side trip to hogwarts. Great series, shitty plot, 9/10 would waste 20k hours again.