Jeffrey Greek’s Reviews > Wizard's First Rule > Status Update

1. Gratuitous sexual violence aside, the truly criminal thing about the Mord Sith segment is that it takes the already glacial pace of the plot and brings it to a complete effing standstill.
2. Were Terry Goodkind a person who I believed to possess a sense of humor, I might find Richard's use of Denna's braid as a focus to ease his pain to be a sly wink to Robert Jordan.

Goodkind really didn't do shades of gray, did he? Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had more nuance in its villains. Hell, so did Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, for that matter. And those were computer viruses.

Hey, Kahlan? Are you dead set on taking the dolt with anger issues to meet a tribe of people whose language he does not speak, and who are completely alien to him? How about taking a few minutes of the several days it'll take you to reach them getting him up to speed on their ways, customs, and beliefs? Just so Goodkind doesn't have to write yet another scene reinforcing what an obnoxious, violent asshole Richard is.

One thing that doesn't get commented on nearly enough is just how long it takes for anything to happen in this book. I'm 35% of the way through this doorstopper, and they have only just made it into the Midlands. Also, for those of you who might have heard bad things about Richard's behavior in later books: rest assured, he is a fully formed asshole from page one.