Fantasy book review
I just finished Wizard's First Rule, the first book in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I ordered this book via Paperback Swap because I started watching the extremely cheesy and addictive Legend of the Seeker series on TV last semester. While I give the book a solid C+, I have to give Goodkind an A for effort. It's clear that he really put his whole heart into this book and he had a good sense of what he wanted to write, and if he had been able to achieve what he was so clearly aiming for, I think the book would have been incredible. Unfortunately, Goodkind lacked the skill to fully realize the rich world he envisioned. Character development occurs almost exclusively through brute force; Richard's journey towards becoming a hero occurs in bursts, instead of naturally and gradually. This would be fine if character development were strongly correlated with major plot events, but this is not the case. The editing could have been a lot tighter as well. I was frequently thrown out of the rhythm of the narrative by stuff that just didn't need to be there. For instance, at a couple points in the novel Goodkind injects completely out of place and very unsubtle anti-communism messages. I'm fine with political and social commentary in my fiction, but if you're going to suggest one ideology is bad, at least suggest some other, "better" alternative, and commit to the message, don't just toss it in there a couple of times for the hell of it only to abandon it in the last chapter. Some parts of the book really dragged on; Denna's hardcore BDSM fest was actually the only part of the book that offered convincing character development, but it was just waaaaaaay too many pages describing, over and over in language with little variation, all the ways Denna completely beat the shit out of Richard. I wasn't squicked by the sexual sadism, but I found myself getting frustrated every time Richard would fuck something up and have to be "punished" for hours, because that meant I would have to read about it for another 20 pages. Finally, I get it, rape is a weapon of war. But rape is mentioned or described frequently and is used as a plot device (in uncomfortable detail), which detracted from the fun of reading the story.
Overall, I only sort of liked the book. I'll read on though, because I expect Goodkind's writing will improve with each installment, and I think the universe he created is promising. If you like the TV show, be warned that the show and this book have almost nothing in common.
Overall, I only sort of liked the book. I'll read on though, because I expect Goodkind's writing will improve with each installment, and I think the universe he created is promising. If you like the TV show, be warned that the show and this book have almost nothing in common.