Terry Goodkind’s: Wizard’s First Rule

This week I finally got to sit down and devour a book that a friend loaned to me: Terry Goodkind’s Wizard’s First Rule, the first book of The Sword of Truth. The plot is fairly traditional, at least at first glance. An unassuming hero is subjected to the tragic death of his father, after which his world comes crashing down, introducing magic, and the dangers associated with it, to an unsuspecting region of the world. Decades prior, a great wizard stopped the spread of war with a spell that raised two boundaries, one between the dark land of D’harra and the prosperous land of Midland, and one separating Midland from the Westlands. Richard Cypher, our hero, meets young Kahlan, a woman tasked with finding the Seeker, one chosen by the grand wizard to stop the spread of war once again. If this evil remains unchecked, then the entire world will be placed under the rule of an unspeakably evil man, who will have gained the powers of a god.

If you think this all sounds typically fantasy, then don’t worry: Goodkind makes the story seem familiar and fresh. It is also noteworthy that this book started many of the common themes and elements of high fantasy literature. The characterization is top-notch, and each character is truly believable. Nobody is perfect in Wizard’s First Rule, and the characters’ faults are realistic. If somebody does something utterly idiotic, then it only seems that way from a third person perspective. I frequently found myself feeling the same way as the characters and identifying with their failures, as well as triumphs. The story moves at an impressive pace, yet rarely sees any time skips: in other words, a lot happens, but the main goal is still far from being reached. Since I love long series’ this is perfect for me, as I get plenty of action with a significantly more in the works. I can easily recommend Wizard’s First Rule to lovers of fantasy, and especially to those who enjoy dynamic character growth, vibrant worlds, and excellently imagined writing. If you don’t have an open mind to fantasy, I can’t recommend this, obviously, nor can I recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t want to delve into a long story. For everyone else, I hope you are as enraptured by this book as I am.