Book: Wizard's First Rule
I FINALLY finished reading "Wizard's First Rule", aka the 1st Seeker book, and duuuude! It's AWESOME! Oh my... I don't even know where to begin.
Let's start with the obvious: it's a lot different from the TV show. And by "different" I mean it's COMPLETELY different! It's not like book!Potter-movie!Potter different, NO! The TV show and the book have 2 completely different stories. The only thing they have in common are the character names, the places and the boxes of Orden, because everything else is different.
I understand now why book!fans are so vocal on their dislike of the events of the series, because, truthfully, the book is 10x more awesome. I still love the show, though, that much hasn't changed. It's like the story in the show is an AU version of what happens in the books (a very awesome AU, of course *wink wink*, but AU nonetheless).
So I strongly suggest that those who loved series 1 of Legend of the Seeker read "Wizard's First Rule. You'll love it!
Of course... Well, it's a lengthy book. About 600 pages. It's big! However, it goes by really fast, or at least it did for me. It's not like in Fellowship of the Ring where they spend half the book walking, singing, eating and sleeping (sometimes not in that particular order, though!), no, things actually HAPPEN (I love LOTR, but the first book got really boring at times). And when they talk, they discuss things you really want to know! Or at least I did, little things, like why Kahlan has long hair and what it means in the Midlands. By the way, I loved the little insights I got from reading the book, like why the frell it's called the Book of Counted Shadows (also, you understand exactly why they need the freaking book, when in the TV show it doesn't seem that important) and what exactly a Confessor is. That was nice.
As for the characters, well, lets go one by one:
RICHARD
I like book!Richard. I love book!Richard. Unlike TV!Richard, book!Richard was not completely dumb and bratty when the story started. Actually, in the book you understand WHY he's the Seeker. Because that's exactly what he is! Truth be told, season-2!Richard is a lot more like the book version than he was in season 1, only he's still more bratty. But anyway...
I LOVED the way Richard defeated Darken Rahl! That was awesome! I always thought Rahl had been killed a bit too easily in the series. The book did not disappoint in the least and neither did Richard. I won't spoil for those who haven't read it and still want to, but honestly... it's awesome!
Another thing I really liked was the way Richard had to learn to control the Sword of Truth throughout the book. You know what happened with him during "Fury"? Well, it's like he had to face that each time he held the sword. It's like the sword had a life of its own, which I just thought was really cool. =)
KAHLAN
Honestly? I like TV!Kahlan more than book!Kahlan.
TV!Kahlan fights awesomely in slow-mo fights while book!Kahlan just curls up in a corner and cries because she's afraid to use her power in front of Richard (who takes about 3/4 of the book to find out what she is, which is frustrating, I'll admit). However, when Kahlan turned all Confessor-like in the book it was... well, scary. I finally understood why everyone fears Confessors. They're SCARY! And I'm not even talking about the Con Dar, that's a whole other issue. Although it's pretty much how it happened in the series... only more evil.
ZEDD
I. Love. ZEDD!!!!!!!
OH MY! I already thought he was great in the TV show, but he completely owns the book! The Zedd v. Gar bit is still one of my favorites, but it's not the only one. Oh... I don't even know where to begin with Zedd, he's just... Great! He's all Dumbledore-like sometimes, which just had me squeeing so hard.
CHASE AND RACHEL
Chase actually had a part to play! HURRAH! I love him with Rachel, that was really sweet. :) I hope Rachel shows up in future books (I've already started Stone of Tears, so I already know she's in it), I can't wait to see the bad-ass girl she'll become. :)
DENNA
Ooooh Denna... It's hard to explain book!Denna... I think, out of all of them, she was the one that the show got right the most... I mean, if we take into account the fact that she had only 1 episode in the series, when she had about 5 chapters (or more, I can't remember) in the book, of course.
And then, comparing the two... it's weird 'cause she's a lot tougher and evil in the book, but at the same time, it's like she's more compassionate as well. She's a curious character, this Denna.
Also, she falls in love with Richard (and in a way, he falls for her too), which is just heartbreaking.
DARKEN RAHL
Ha! If you think Rahl is evil in the TV show, THINK AGAIN!
My oh my, this is a guy who murders children to gain free tickets through the Underworld. Actually, it's worse than that, he's so manipulative he actually gets the children to willingly give their lives to help him, which is quite a feat considering he kidnaps them from their parents and buries them in sand up to their necks.
He's an awesome villain! I really liked his evilness.
I can't say the same for Demmin Nass, though, that one I truly, truly hated. He really deserved what he got from Kahlan.
BROPHY AND SCARLET
WHERE ARE BROPHY AND SCARLET IN THE SERIES, TPTB???? THE SERIES NEEDS BROPHY AND SCARLET!!!
One thing that surprised me quite a bit with the book was that it's not afraid to "go there"... if you know what I mean. For instance, the D'Haran quad are a lot violent with Kahlan and the Mord-Sith are a lot more "sexual" in the book than in the series. Of course that doesn't mean that there's like a bunch of pornographic scenes, no. But a lot is implied and some scenes get pretty far (Lets just say now I know why Richard/Kahlan 'shippers who read the book are so obsessed with the Mud People and the Spirit House), which caught me by surprise, but at the same time made the whole thing a lot more believable (OF COURSE something would happen between Denna and Richard while she kept him... come on!).
Like I mentioned before, the ending is fantastic! I love the way they defeat Rahl and the Richard/Kahlan shipper in me wished that it had happened that way in the series. ♥
OH! And as for Mr Goodkind's writing, I loved his style and the way he described the actions and the places, I could really see everything happening clearly in my mind. Never once I wondered where they were or how they got there, but at the same time it's not like he spent 3 paragraphs describing a tree, which would get really boring after a while.
If the story stays interesting (which so far it has), I can easily see myself reading the whole Sword of Truth series with a smile on my face.
to sum up: I love the show, but the book is awesome. :)
NOW ON TO BOOK 2... which I've already started. ♥
Let's start with the obvious: it's a lot different from the TV show. And by "different" I mean it's COMPLETELY different! It's not like book!Potter-movie!Potter different, NO! The TV show and the book have 2 completely different stories. The only thing they have in common are the character names, the places and the boxes of Orden, because everything else is different.
I understand now why book!fans are so vocal on their dislike of the events of the series, because, truthfully, the book is 10x more awesome. I still love the show, though, that much hasn't changed. It's like the story in the show is an AU version of what happens in the books (a very awesome AU, of course *wink wink*, but AU nonetheless).
So I strongly suggest that those who loved series 1 of Legend of the Seeker read "Wizard's First Rule. You'll love it!
Of course... Well, it's a lengthy book. About 600 pages. It's big! However, it goes by really fast, or at least it did for me. It's not like in Fellowship of the Ring where they spend half the book walking, singing, eating and sleeping (sometimes not in that particular order, though!), no, things actually HAPPEN (I love LOTR, but the first book got really boring at times). And when they talk, they discuss things you really want to know! Or at least I did, little things, like why Kahlan has long hair and what it means in the Midlands. By the way, I loved the little insights I got from reading the book, like why the frell it's called the Book of Counted Shadows (also, you understand exactly why they need the freaking book, when in the TV show it doesn't seem that important) and what exactly a Confessor is. That was nice.
As for the characters, well, lets go one by one:
RICHARD
I like book!Richard. I love book!Richard. Unlike TV!Richard, book!Richard was not completely dumb and bratty when the story started. Actually, in the book you understand WHY he's the Seeker. Because that's exactly what he is! Truth be told, season-2!Richard is a lot more like the book version than he was in season 1, only he's still more bratty. But anyway...
I LOVED the way Richard defeated Darken Rahl! That was awesome! I always thought Rahl had been killed a bit too easily in the series. The book did not disappoint in the least and neither did Richard. I won't spoil for those who haven't read it and still want to, but honestly... it's awesome!
Another thing I really liked was the way Richard had to learn to control the Sword of Truth throughout the book. You know what happened with him during "Fury"? Well, it's like he had to face that each time he held the sword. It's like the sword had a life of its own, which I just thought was really cool. =)
KAHLAN
Honestly? I like TV!Kahlan more than book!Kahlan.
TV!Kahlan fights awesomely in slow-mo fights while book!Kahlan just curls up in a corner and cries because she's afraid to use her power in front of Richard (who takes about 3/4 of the book to find out what she is, which is frustrating, I'll admit). However, when Kahlan turned all Confessor-like in the book it was... well, scary. I finally understood why everyone fears Confessors. They're SCARY! And I'm not even talking about the Con Dar, that's a whole other issue. Although it's pretty much how it happened in the series... only more evil.
ZEDD
I. Love. ZEDD!!!!!!!
OH MY! I already thought he was great in the TV show, but he completely owns the book! The Zedd v. Gar bit is still one of my favorites, but it's not the only one. Oh... I don't even know where to begin with Zedd, he's just... Great! He's all Dumbledore-like sometimes, which just had me squeeing so hard.
CHASE AND RACHEL
Chase actually had a part to play! HURRAH! I love him with Rachel, that was really sweet. :) I hope Rachel shows up in future books (I've already started Stone of Tears, so I already know she's in it), I can't wait to see the bad-ass girl she'll become. :)
DENNA
Ooooh Denna... It's hard to explain book!Denna... I think, out of all of them, she was the one that the show got right the most... I mean, if we take into account the fact that she had only 1 episode in the series, when she had about 5 chapters (or more, I can't remember) in the book, of course.
And then, comparing the two... it's weird 'cause she's a lot tougher and evil in the book, but at the same time, it's like she's more compassionate as well. She's a curious character, this Denna.
Also, she falls in love with Richard (and in a way, he falls for her too), which is just heartbreaking.
DARKEN RAHL
Ha! If you think Rahl is evil in the TV show, THINK AGAIN!
My oh my, this is a guy who murders children to gain free tickets through the Underworld. Actually, it's worse than that, he's so manipulative he actually gets the children to willingly give their lives to help him, which is quite a feat considering he kidnaps them from their parents and buries them in sand up to their necks.
He's an awesome villain! I really liked his evilness.
I can't say the same for Demmin Nass, though, that one I truly, truly hated. He really deserved what he got from Kahlan.
BROPHY AND SCARLET
WHERE ARE BROPHY AND SCARLET IN THE SERIES, TPTB???? THE SERIES NEEDS BROPHY AND SCARLET!!!
One thing that surprised me quite a bit with the book was that it's not afraid to "go there"... if you know what I mean. For instance, the D'Haran quad are a lot violent with Kahlan and the Mord-Sith are a lot more "sexual" in the book than in the series. Of course that doesn't mean that there's like a bunch of pornographic scenes, no. But a lot is implied and some scenes get pretty far (Lets just say now I know why Richard/Kahlan 'shippers who read the book are so obsessed with the Mud People and the Spirit House), which caught me by surprise, but at the same time made the whole thing a lot more believable (OF COURSE something would happen between Denna and Richard while she kept him... come on!).
Like I mentioned before, the ending is fantastic! I love the way they defeat Rahl and the Richard/Kahlan shipper in me wished that it had happened that way in the series. ♥
OH! And as for Mr Goodkind's writing, I loved his style and the way he described the actions and the places, I could really see everything happening clearly in my mind. Never once I wondered where they were or how they got there, but at the same time it's not like he spent 3 paragraphs describing a tree, which would get really boring after a while.
If the story stays interesting (which so far it has), I can easily see myself reading the whole Sword of Truth series with a smile on my face.
to sum up: I love the show, but the book is awesome. :)
NOW ON TO BOOK 2... which I've already started. ♥