Terry Goodkind and the Sword of Truth novels

[Rasheta Ardashir]

I think the books started out well and up till book three it was actually fairly interesting although book two was a bit much for me. Book one and three were good though. I really enjoyed Goodkind's use of the dragon Scarlet in the first book. Course I really like dragons in general so that probably helped. *laughs* (Course this is a case of him introducing a character and then never seeing them again. She was in books one and two and that was it. *shakes head*)

 

Anyway after book three the entire series just dragged, I couldn't get into the characters and just wanted most of them to die. It seemed to be taking forever for Richard to actually do what he wanted to do back in book three...which if I remember correctly was destroy Jagang. (sp) I did like Nathan the ancestor of Richard and the Mord Sith...well mostly on the Mord Sith, Cara annoys me no end for some reason. LOL I had no idea what I think book eight was supposed to be about you didn't hear about Richard and the others till the last I think three chapters of the book. It was totally off the wall and made me stop reading the books entirely. I didn't read them and WOT right after each other so I am not sure about the connection to the Wheel books.

 

I agree with Majsju that fame doesn't equal quality and I just don't think Goodkind has the quality.

[Werthead]

Evil chicken? Really?  Tell me more.

 

Werthead - who's a worse writer: Terry Goodkind or Robert Newcomb?

 

Goodkind, as he's still publishing. Newcombe at least bombed and was dropped by his publisher, so his work can no longer infest bookshelves the world over.

 

(Newcombe has a lucrative day job so he's not going hungry as a result of the failure of his fantasy writing career, which isn't something I'd wish on anyone)

[RaZeR]

Britney Spears is a very famous artist, and one of modern pop musics superstars. Does that mean we should start put her on the same level as Beatles, Dylan, Morrissey etc?

 

Fame does not guarantee quality, and goofkind, together with dan brown are the ultimate evidence of this, as they have no qualities whatsoever as writers.

 

 

This quote here says it all. Terry Goodkind did one thing right, he stumbled upon an engaging idea, made a big wave with it and rode it all the way to shore.

 

He was JUST OK enough as a writer to be able to hide that after the original idea, he couldn't back it up.

 

 

How many times is Richard gonna 'sit and think' about a dastardly, death-to-all type of problem, be completely unsure of what to do, then, when all hope is lost, all of a sudden stand up and exclaim "Ive got it!" And go save the day. It seems that happened once per book at least.

 

And after book 2, It was Richard and Co. running for their damn lives at every turn. There is never any real victory, just barely getting away by the skins of their heinies.

 

And when the 'good' guys are backed into the LAST free country, in the LAST fortress, with millions of enemy soldiers camped on their doorstep.......How does it resolve?

 

 

Let the big bad guy in and rely on a misinterpretation(which makes a HUGE amount of the plot turn into fallacy) to bring him down.

 

 

And, having every innocent bystander get raped and/or brutally murdered, lost its impact, say after the 6th time.

[Jackehehe]

(long time lurker, first time poster)

 

I knew there was a widespread dislike towards TG and his books, but I couldn't quite have imagined it was this dire. I read the SOT series before hearing or reading anything about them and I already then agreed with most of the points stated here. However, like I said, I think some of the "hate" towards TG is a bit exaggerated. Granted, I've never read any other books that felt more "cheesy" except for maybe Wolves of the Calla with all the dishes being used as weapons :-X. The whole "evil chicken" thing is beyond hilarious. But honestly, the first book was really really good in my opinion and could easily be read as a stand-alone novel. I also thought Faith of the Fallen was fantastic and I appreciate how TG manage to convey his philosophical views in fiction-litterature. I read the whole series and admittably the books are a bit inconsistent, with some parts being cringe-worthy even for the most open-minded of people but I don't think this overshadowes the series

[chill]

(long time lurker, first time poster)

 

I knew there was a widespread dislike towards TG and his books, but I couldn't quite have imagined it was this dire. I read the SOT series before hearing or reading anything about them and I already then agreed with most of the points stated here. However, like I said, I think some of the "hate" towards TG is a bit exaggerated. Granted, I've never read any other books that felt more "cheesy" except for maybe Wolves of the Calla with all the dishes being used as weapons :-X. The whole "evil chicken" thing is beyond hilarious. But honestly, the first book was really really good in my opinion and could easily be read as a stand-alone novel. I also thought Faith of the Fallen was fantastic and I appreciate how TG manage to convey his philosophical views in fiction-litterature. I read the whole series and admittably the books are a bit inconsistent, with some parts being cringe-worthy even for the most open-minded of people but I don't think this overshadowes the series

i read the whole series also and loved faith of the fallen, though the whole book is really Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead in richard-land.  there is way too much preach though and many of the secondary characters such as kahlan/jensen/whoever serve as nothing more than verbal punching bags for richard to bash on over and over again with his philosophy, which is just very unappealing.

 

for me, the highlights of the series occur in faith of the fallen and confessor, where there's a message about how the effect of everyday actions can change the world.  richard works as a commoner laborer, and his day-to-day efforts and work at his job serve as a role model and ripple effect to inspire the people to a revolution.  you don't need to be a king or have an angreal with enough power to nuke the planet to make a difference.  change is often achieved as a gradual process through small steps and the tireless efforts of joe schmoe

[Choedan Kal]

I read the first 500 pages of Wizards First Rule and I thought that it was very predicting in what was going to happen next but it just didn't grasp my attention like WoT...I need some input guys,

 

What should I read ?? ( I am a huge high fantasy/magic/socery guy )

 

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn?

Mistborn?

Malazan Boof of the Fallen?

Runelords?

Annals of the Chosen?

Shannara?

The Dragonvarld Trilogy?

[Barmacral]

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn?

Mistborn?

Malazan Boof of the Fallen?

 

All of the above, in backwards order. I didn't really enjoy Sword of Shannara that much, and didn't read any other books in the series, and I don't know the other two at all.

[Kadere]

What should I read ?? ( I am a huge high fantasy/magic/socery guy )

 

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn?

Mistborn?

Malazan Boo[k] of the Fallen?

 

All of those, in pretty much any order. I've just finished Gardens of the Moon and while it's a little tough to get into, if you give it about 100-150 pages you'll be in it enough to go on. M,S,and T I found a little cliche for the first book and a half but it's still really good and the third book is a masterpiece. Mistborn is also really good and I think the best thing Brandon's done outside of TGS.

[The Mirker]

I read the first 500 pages of Wizards First Rule and I thought that it was very predicting in what was going to happen next but it just didn't grasp my attention like WoT...I need some input guys,

 

What should I read ?? ( I am a huge high fantasy/magic/socery guy )

 

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn?

Mistborn?

Malazan Boof of the Fallen?

Runelords?

Annals of the Chosen?

Shannara?

The Dragonvarld Trilogy?

Go with Malazan, definitely.

 

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is good.

 

Sword of Shannara was pretty good, but could only get through 1/2 of the Elfstones.

 

As to Goodkind, not only is he preachy, but as writers invariably write something of themselves into their characters, it is helpful if who they are is at least interesting/attractive. Sadly, Goodkind, as I take him to be Richard, is all powerful, solves all problems, has all the women after him, many w/ a distinct S&M fetishist flavor(not that there's anything wrong with that, I simply do not want that kind of insight into the man's 'fantasy' life). In short, he is boring, yet for some reason I made my way through the first 4 in the series. Not sure why,

[Choedan Kal]

So Malazan Book of the Fallen and Mistborn seem to be the input I'm getting on what I should start reading while I unfortunately wait of ToM. Just interested, but none of you have read Annals of the Chosen or Runelords? I was looking up fantasy books on Tor Fantasy's website and I found some intriguing books that I wanted to read. Annals of the Chosen seems like it would be a great read, along with the Runelords.

 

While I was reading the wikipedia website for Malazan Book of the Fallen, I didn't really grasp too much magic. Not saying that it wouldn't be a good read, but that's what I'm kind of looking for.

 

A Song of Ice and Fire??

[Barmacral]

A song of ice and fire by George RR Martin. Really good series.

[OptimusPrime]

Im going to risk some serious attacks and be honest about something.

 

Richard Rahls swordfighting scenes, in my opinion, are way better than Rands.

 

Yes, it is because Rand names the moves in his head as he does them. I do not like it. I understand why RJ does it, but I just find the style hard to visualize. It doesnt hamper Wheel of Time in my head very much at all, because in the same breath, Rand has ingrained all the forms in his head in an incredibly short time so overall the theme it sets is great. It signifies Rands dedication to being a weapon, and I love that about Rands character. I just find myself not that bothered about his swordfighting scenes very much, whereas in Sword of Truth I think they are excellent.

 

I can think of only a couple more good things about Sword of Truth really. Chase is a good character, and Gratch is the only thing that doesnt seem to have an equivalent in Wheel of Time.

[The Mirker]

Kal, there is definitely magic in the Malazan books, I'd highly recommend trying it.

 

Ice & Fire - excellent series, but less overt magic

 

The Runelords? I read the 1st book some years ago ... and was not particularly taken w/ it, but you might want to give it a try. You may see something in it that I did not.

[Choedan Kal]

Thanks for the input guys. It seems the two greatest fantasys outside of the WoT are ASoIaF and Malazan so i think I will give them a whirl while waiting for ToM

[Rufae]

I read the first 500 pages of Wizards First Rule and I thought that it was very predicting in what was going to happen next but it just didn't grasp my attention like WoT...I need some input guys,

 

What should I read ?? ( I am a huge high fantasy/magic/socery guy )

 

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn?

Mistborn?

Malazan Boof of the Fallen?

Runelords?

Annals of the Chosen?

Shannara?

The Dragonvarld Trilogy?

 

Throw Shannara into the bonfire of the mind. It is trash. I got 100 pages into it and could not go further. From what I read of other reviews, there is not much better beyond that.

 

Malazan is deep stuff and complicated but worth the read if you can keep your mind into it.

 

I just finished Mistborn and it was good. A very nice read and a satisfying ending.

 

You might try Tigana and I heard (from several published authors) that The Annubis Gates was a very book book.

[Mr Ares]

Thanks for the input guys. It seems the two greatest fantasys outside of the WoT are ASoIaF and Malazan so i think I will give them a whirl while waiting for ToM

No, the two greatest outside of WoT are A Song of Ice and Fire and Prince of Nothing. Malazan is big, it's epic, it has huge battles and enormous amounts of magic are used, but it's not in the same league as Bakker's Prince of Nothing.

[Werthead]

Thanks for the input guys. It seems the two greatest fantasys outside of the WoT are ASoIaF and Malazan so i think I will give them a whirl while waiting for ToM

No, the two greatest outside of WoT are A Song of Ice and Fire and Prince of Nothing. Malazan is big, it's epic, it has huge battles and enormous amounts of magic are used, but it's not in the same league as Bakker's Prince of Nothing.

 

The Prince of Nothing is a supreme work of modern fantasy, but it's also unrelentingly cold, harsh, bleak and astonishingly violent and overflowing with disturbing sexual acts. They are all justified in-text and the writing it amazing, but I can understand people not immediately rating it highly. You have to be in a certain mindset to get into it, say the same mindset that people use to watch Apocalypse Now or read American Psycho. I usually recommend that after Jordan people read GRRM and then Erikson (and then possibly Abercrombie) before tackling Bakker, as that's a good progression away from the 'safer' type of fantasy shown in WoT to the often uncomfortable Bakker, although out of all of them I think GRRM is the best writer and has struck the best balance between 'traditional' fantasy and the harder edge of the genre.

 

Bakker is fantastic, but not an easy read.

[battousai]

GRRM's work is excellent, and is loved by all. The only bad thing about picking up the series will be the wait between the books. I read MST by Tad Williams, and I agree with a previous post that it is a bit cliche, but overall as a whole, it is still an interesting read. I had heard about the Prince of Nothing series, but I didn't know it was known to be gritty...

 

Other series I've read include Mistborn and Elantris, which was basically to get to know Brandon Sanderson's work. I liked Elantris more than the Mistborn series, since to me it was a complete breath of fresh air, and the city of Elantris was a blast to read about. I found the Mistborn series to be okay, they were an enjoyable read, but I particularly didn't really like Elend as a character. However, it's still a good piece of original work. Also, I found the three books to be a speedy read, since they are reasonably sized.

 

Right now I'm reading The First Law Trilogy by Abercrombie (currently on the last book), and I've already read ASoIaF, so I guess I'm fairly prepared for Bakker's work. The Malazan series is my next stop, and I'm guessing that's going to keep me busy for at least a year, since I barely get time to read anymore. Really the most popular ones aside from WoT are ASoIaF and the Malazan series. Those are mentioned most of the time. Interestingly enough, my hardcover copy of TGS is still sitting on my shelf! I'm waiting until the Christmas holidays, so I can have time off from university to read it straight through. With constant assignments and interruptions, I can't bare to pause for long sessions between the book. It's so tough to stay away from spoilers...

.

.

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And now to TG. I only read the first book WFR, and I thought it was okay...just okay...The thing is, after WFR, I just had no motivation or curiosity to go beyond the first book. The story just didn't sit well with me to continue with the series.

[Werthead]

As presented here, the Sword of Truth drinking game. Excellent stuff:

 

In keeping with the ancient tradition of using alcohol to relieve pain, make the obtuse clear, and the insane seem logical, I present the Sword of Truth Drinking Game! The rules are quite simple.

 

Take a drink \~/ every time:

 

    * One of the “heroes” does something morally heinous;

    * Make it a double if the “hero” also speechifies about how morally superior he is;

    * One of the “heroes” demonstrates hypocrisy;

    * One of the “heroes” speechifies;

    * Make it a double if he speechifies when he should be fighting;

    * Or if he is explaining how decent people should live their lives;

    * A hero acts out of petty spitefulness towards a supposed ally

    * A bad guy does something grotesquely sadistic for no good reason;

    * A character acts in a stupid way so the hero can look better by comparison;

    * A strawman political argument is made;

    * Something is excessively sexual for no good reason;

    * The hero's unreliable magic does exactly what the plot requires;

    * One of the heroes is described in flowery prose;

    * Something magical is introduced and never referred to again;

    * The hero instinctively “knows” something he logically should not;

    * Something blindingly stupid happens.

 

Added as of Book 2: Stone of Tears

 

    * Zedd says or does something that's supposed to be funny and it's not.

    * Casanova Zedd makes an appearance.

    * There's excessive or pointless angsting.

    * Something is unintentionally ironic.

    * Cliches are used in place of characterization or description.

    * Richard or Kahlan demonstrate Mary Sue/Marty Stu traits.

    * It is obvious that Terry Goodkind did no research whatsoever on a given subject.

 

Ready? Let's start killing our livers!

[Majsju]

One small problem with that drinking game, you have to actually read the damn "book".

[Mr Ares]

You'd have to read some of it. I'm not sure most people could survive the whole way through without alcohol poisoning.

[NetSlider]

he is not an author but a Xerox. 'nough said.

[shinerfan]

You'd have to read some of it. I'm not sure most people could survive the whole way through without alcohol poisoning.

 

This reminds me of the old Don Henley song "There Ain't Enough Whiskey in Texas". BTW, you've convinced me to check out the "Prince of Nothing series". <scratches head> You're not Scott Bakker are you?

[Anoxanmore]

Alright... so.

 

I read the entire TG series, including that little small book that was supposed to be like New Spring.

 

I will say this, the first book WFR, I personally thought was neat and everything was nice and good for a fantasy series, yes there are a few very gruesome scenes, and to be honest I was rooting for Deanna at the end of that chapter, I actually did cry when Richard did what he did.  (Can we post spoliers for that book here?)

 

The rest were horrible, minus Faith of the Fallen, where I was rooting for Nicci (mostly because we have the same name, yeah biased). I also rooted for her through out the entire book, only to be disappointed greatly by Confessor.

 

A Song of Ice and Fire, I must say I really don't like this series, not because of poor writing, although there are times.  It just doesn't sit well with me, I can't pinpoint it but it doesn't.

 

I do love the Mistborn and Elantris, both of those were great and fresh.

 

Of course, like everyone here or they should, WoT is the greatest. :)

[Verbal32]

he is not an author but a Xerox. 'nough said.

 

Really?  Explain how Goodkind is a "Xerox" please, and of whom.