This special bundled package includes one hardcover copy each of all 5 books in Terry Goodkind's bestselling Sword of Truth series. The books Wizard's First Rule Stone of Tears Blood of the Fold Temple of the Winds Soul of the Fire
Terry Lee Goodkind was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines (2009), which has ties to his fantasy series. The Sword of Truth series sold 25 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages. Additionally, it was adapted into a television series called Legend of the Seeker, which premiered on November 1, 2008, and ran for two seasons, ending in May 2010. Goodkind was a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of Objectivism, and made references to Rand's ideas and novels in his works.
The first two books in this series were great, as was Faith of the Fallen, book six. Books 3-5 were mediocre in plot and impact, and everything after Faith of the Fallen, books 7-end, were absolutely horrendous, and showed just what a terrible thing it can be for someone to take Ayn Rand too seriously. While Faith of the Fallen is a pretty blatant ripoff of The Fountainhead, at least Goodkind let the characters figure things out on their own, instead of forcing them into situations where they can act "objectively." Subsequent books in the series, all the way to the end, were such poor examples of what publishable writing should be, that I will never in good conscience recommend them to another living person. Except maybe some future enemy of mine, whose writing career I wish to ruin with the influence of this horrible series (books 7-end, I mean). It is one thing to use some philosophy to influence and shape characters. It is quite another to force characters into situations which "prove" that said philosophy is correct. Goodkinds despicable monologues from his main character, Richard, are the sort of thing that belong in bad philosophy books, not fiction. It strange, but I think Goodkind is one of the few writers I have ever read who has progressively gotten worse at his craft as he has progressed through his career. It's also unbelievable that his work has been so successful. I could understand it if the caliber of the work had remained at the level that it was in books 1, 2, and 6. But the work of everything after that, for all intents, should've buried his career. It's possible, now that the series is finally, thankfully over, that it has.
Well, I'm nearly finished with the 11th book of the series, 'Confessor' and have very much enjoyed it. Though sometimes Terry is a bit over the top preaching his characters motives so you understand why they have to do what they do. (Almost beating you over the head at some points....) However, that only happens ocassionaly, and you can move on with the wonderful descriptions and good dialog.
The 'Wizards First Rule' is a great book to start with.
Also, the Legend of the Seeker show is now on the CW network, and while I've only watched the first 2 part opener, it was entertaining and kept rather close to the story. I'll be interested to see how it turns out-
I WAS REALLY SHELTERED AND WASN'T ALLOWED TO READ ANYTHING EXPLICIT, SO THE FIRST SEX THING I EVER READ IN A BOOK WAS WHEN MY FRIEND'S BOYFRIEND LENT ME WIZARD'S FIRST RULE. THERE I WAS ROLLING ALONG THROUGH ALL THE FANTASTY SHIT AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, TORTURE PORN. LOL TERRY GOODKIND D:
LOL THOSE BOOKS. YOU CAN SEE GOODKIND'S FETISH FROM SPACE AND HOW MUCH HE HATES HOW MUCH HE'S INTO IT.
HE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR MY LOVE OF WHUMP.
BOOKS I HATE THE MOST:
1. TERRY GOODKIND'S SWORD OF TRUTH SERIES 2. THOMAS HARDY'S TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES 3. THOMAS MORE'S UTOPIA
Loved these books. Recommend to anyone. There are a couple key points that if you are like me make apart of your life can change your outlook on life and how you want to.
Wizard's First Rule I really enjoyed reading this book. The TV series known as Legend of the Seeker got me to read the books they were based upon. I really enjoyed the TV show. It very exiting. I started reading this book. It was so good I never wanted to put it down, and continue it later. The author created many characters. A lot of these characters you don't hear about in other series. This series has it's own spice to it. Kahlan and sworn to protect the life of Richard Cypher the seeker. He may be more than seeker when Zedd thinks Richard might possibly be a wizard of the first order. I found this book to be very intriguing. Cypher is an interesting character. He wants nothing to do with magic, but it is a strong possibility he is a wizard. Darken Rahl is crazy man. He is just pure evil. People believe he is there to bring peace but that is law. It is selfish and cruel when he attacks to allies to make them stay with them. This book is very strange. It is one of the best epics I have ever read. The author is very creative with his characters. This author puts the darkest things out there in this book. Some parts of the book make you afraid. Denna seems all bad at the beginning. She falls in love with Richard. I admire Denna in a way. She won't let him die. She protects him the worst pain he can possibly experience. But she in return hurts him too. She seems cruel at the beginning, but once you know her history you begin to sympathize with her. I keep thinking while Richard is with Denna she will become to not want to hurt him anymore. The wizard Zedd only believes using his powers for good. Zedd is smart and wise. When Darken Rahl tries to trap him he can't, because Kahlan touches Zedd. Her powers don't work on wizards. I like how Richard uses the first rule against Darken Rahl when he tries to gain all the powers from the boxes of Orden. One part is unclear. I don;t understand how Darken Rahl got the box Rachel had. The only way I could think of is she gave to Chase, and then Chase gave it to Micheal, who then passes it to Darken Rahl.
Stone of Tears Wow I really loved this book too. It is an awesome epic fantasy. This book is by far one of the darkest books I have ever read.More truth about the Boxes of Orden is revealed. Richard is forced into a collar and taken Palace of the Prophets by Sister Verna. While at the palace Richards finds out how to defeat the Keeper. This a long epic journey for Richard. He must accept who he is even though he may not like it. Kahlan Amnell in the meantime goes looking for Zedd in Aydindril. She becomes distracted and later learns she is not doing the right thing, when she hears Darken Rahl laugh. She soon realizes her true duty. Through many mistakes good still comes. I never read anything quite like this. This is very original. I really like how the author writes. He does such a great job with descriptions. This book is graphic. I do caution you if you read it. You will see stuff you don't like. I recommend that everyone should read this.
Blood of the Fold I really enjoyed this book. This one was not quite so dark as the others. Goodkind makes it very dark. I never seen books quite like these. My favorite part of the hole thing is the end. Oh-Yeah Richard and Crew totally kicked butt. The further I got into it, the more I had to read. I was hungry for more. I watched the TV show, which I was totally bummed about, but hey I will still watch it. Gratch makes like Gars. I do miss Darken Rahl though. He was a more interesting guy then the Dreamwalker. The characters are very complex. There are a ton of characters. I never got bored with this book. I didn't feel like I needed to scan the pages. I like how Goodkind creates this magic in the book. It is a lot different than what I have read. The emperor I'm not very fond of. Brogan I want to hit him so hard, and then send him to the underworld. The man gets on my nerves. Lunetta does too. Lunetta is very strange. Prelate Annalina I think id very rude, but with a good purpose. She uses everyone and puts any wizard she can find a collar. What is Ann's problem. She is a crazy woman. Nathan Rahl you don't really know so much about. You know he is a prophet and very loyal to the Prelate. I was quite impressed with Prelate Verna. She has changed so much since when she was first introduced in Stone of Tears. The plot is very detailed. A lot of stuff goes on.
Temple of the Winds I loved this book. This book is so dark. I like how Emperor Jagang is now getting into the picture. He is bad guy trying to exterminate magic. The man seems hypocritical because he uses magic himself. I dislike Nadine Brighton. I think she should get out of Richard's life. I really like the mord-sith. Cara is my favorite. I really like Kahlan too. Sometimes I wonder though about Nathan. Ann says how he is a dangerous man. It's interesting how he is on his own. Nathan does really great things while on his journey. Richard Rahl is forced to make hard decisions that even cost him his life and wife. The Sliph is an interesting character. Though she also creates a problem. The constant battles fought are very exciting. I like how there are a bunch of characters. The author does a great job without getting people lost. I like how he makes references to the previous books in the series.
Soul of the Fire Another great book. I really love this one. Though I do get very tired of the people of Anderith. A lot of things unravel in this part of the midlands. Richard learns many lessons while he is there. In all the books I have faith in Richard. I think it's pretty amazing how Du Chaillu and Kahlan get along. Kahlan ecen trusts her with a big secret. I never thought until the end of the book how Richard may get rid of the chimes. I thought Zedd was gone. It was great to see him come back. I was really unhappy though what happened to Kahlan at the end. There is so much action and suspense. This is my favorite fantasy series.
If you are up for a good fantasy novel this series is amazing. The books are really long so they seem kind of intimidating but you at least need to read the first one. They do have some intense parts so this is definitely and adult age book but I couldn't stop reading them. The first and fourth books were my favorite. It is an eleven book series. After reading the first four I felt like I needed a break for awhile to try something different. But I plan to read more of them eventually. I love fantasy novels.
There's like 8 books and they're all very long. In each book the author seems to get carried away with certain phrases or words that are just weird. The writing is simple, with short sentences and trivial thoughts. But the overall story is great. Essentially freedom/responsibility vs socialism. The protagonist is constantly in danger and behind until the very end, making it a bit of a downer to read the 1st time through.
I'm not exactly sure how to rate these books. I guess as far as entertainment value, they'd get 5 stars. I certainly couldn't stop myself from reading them once I started. But as far as literary value, it is probably more like 1 star. The "philosophizing" in later novels is just awful. God-awful. It's like Rush Limbaugh decided to write fanstasy. And the constant empahasis on rape gets really annoying after a while. So I guess I'll settle on 3 stars.
While I'm not usually a fan of this genre, I adored these books. Every one of them transported me straight into the story and I lost myself in them. I loved the way Terry Goodkind slowly yet quickly (I know that makes no sense, but it will once you read the series)built upon the original story in book after book -- and these books aren't small.
I started reading this because I'm working my way through the NPR 100 best fantasy and sci fi books, but early in the first chapter I realized I was rereading it. Not only had I purged the name of the book from my memory, my husband and I refer to it as "that weird book with the pain-stick torture sex". So nope, not rereading it.
I love the whole series, but I know it isn't entirely because of the amazing quality, it is party because I just got attached to the characters. I think Laura did a perfect job reviewing each book, but I'm way too lazy. If you love your character driven fantasy, you'll love it I'm sure.
Started out really good, then it became more of a soap opera in a fantasy setting. Breaking up the two main characters started to get old after the 3rd book. Good fantasy series though with an interesting world.
The only complaint I have about these books is the 10 page rants the author will go on that tend to be very very repetitive. The stories are fantastic though.