Wizard’s First Rule

Series: Sword of Truth #1

Format: Kindle

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Richard Cypher’s decision to help a woman in the Upper Ven near the Boundary between the Midlands and Westlands creates more trouble than first appears. The woman, Kahlan Amnell, brings with her dark news from the other side of the Boundary: Darken Rahl, Ruler of D’Hara, has brought down the Boundary between D’Hara and the Midlands.

This menacing ruler continues his dead father’s quest for control by pressing war on the now vulnerable Midlands. Kahlan is attempting to find the great wizard who left the Midlands for the Magic-free Westlands due to the corruption of the government in his eyes, so as to have him name a Seeker of Truth. The great wizard turns out to be Zeddicus Zu’l Zorrander, Richard’s longtime friend, who then proceeds to name Richard the Seeker.

Review: Great book, not so “epic” fantasy. While I enjoyed this book, and will most likely pick up the next one in the series at some point, it did not live up to my expectations for the epic fantasy genre. With a book of this length, Goodkind should have been able to do way more. It seemed as though the plot was being made up as the book progressed. Although some parts were slightly shocking, most remained obvious as to what would happen. Also seemed kind of random at some points.

The book was still well written, moving from fun fantasy (wizard’s crazy eating habits) to dark fantasy (torture scenes) quickly. Reading this novel was fun as it was a little more lighthearted than many fantasy novels. I felt as if I was going along on this magical journey with the characters. Sadly, at some points it felt as if this journey would have no end. This book could definitely have 100 or more pages cut out of it, at no loss to the general storyline. Goodkind was trying to fit in a few too many of his ideas into a single novel.

I gave this book 4 stars because even with its faults, I still had a good time reading it. When I am looking for a light fantasy read, I will pick up the second book and see how Goodkind does in the continuation of his story. I suggest this book only to lovers of fantasy who have no problem breezing though a large book. If you are new to the fantasy genre this is not the place to start. I would suggest Brandon Sanderson, George R.R. Martin, or Michael J. Sullivan in that case.

If anyone has continued in this series, feel free to leave a comment as I would love to hear if the next books are worth the time.

This guest post was contributed by The Inexorable Nerd. Featuring both book and movie reviews, this blogger accepts Kindle files and hard copies.