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 Reviewed by: The Rev 12th Feb 2002 
 


Wizard's First Rule

Terry Goodkind
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Terry Goodkind hasn’t been around as long as some of the fantasy writers who are currently churning out long-winded, seemingly neverending series; Harry Turtledove’s alternate-history alien-invasion World War II series’ first book has been in print longer than most of Goodkind’s whole catalogue. But, as J. R. R. Tolkein and Greg Bear have shown us, you don’t have to be established to come up with a really whiz-bang first novel. Wizard’s First Rule is, most decidedly, a whiz-bang first novel.

The action opens with unassuming woodland guide Richard Cypher trying to dig up a few clues as to the means and motive of his father’s recent death. While in the process, he spots four men menacing a woman, goes to her aid, and unleashes the chain of events that have taken us seven eight-hundred-plus-page books and counting to unravel. Make no mistake, when you crack the cover on the first Sword of Truth novel, you’re committing yourself to a whole lot of reading. Sword of Truth is longer than Mission Earth, longer than Necroscope, longer than Michael Moorcock’s presently-in-progress series. Think of a series containing a whole lot of big, thick books. Sword of Truth is longer. It’ll probably reach Encyclopedia Britannica proportions before long.

The good news is, of course, that Wizard’s First Rule is a whole lot more readable than Britannica (in order, even). He’s got more of an eye for the readable than Moorcock, and is more restrained than Lumley. Goodkind doesn’t skimp on the character development, has an excellent eye for description and detail, and presents it all in such a way that, when you’ve finished the first book, you wonder how it is you managed to get through eight hundred twenty pages quite as fast as you did. (In other words, by the second one before you start the first, because you’re not going to want to take enough of a break to run to the store and get it. Trust me, I know—my copy of Stone of Tears is still in the mail.) With such a large canvas on which to paint, Goodkind takes the luxury of building up the minor characters; one of my most common complaints with genre fiction is the surfeit of cardboard characters who are set up just to be killed, or what have you. When Goodkind sets a character up to be killed, you know everything from what the character had for breakfast to his psychological makeup to his favorite color. It’s a refreshing change from the majority of fantasy novels. And it doesn’t slow the book down, because even the minor characters are contributing in some way to the plot.

This stands out, even at a time when fantasy seems to be at a high point in the public consciousness. George R. R. Martin and Philip Pullman may be getting more press and more awards than Terry Goodkind, but Wizard’s First Rule stands easily with A Game of Thrones or The Golden Compass as the beginning to an excellent series.



See also
Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind reviewed by The Rev
Chainfire by Terry Goodkind reviewed by The Rev
Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind reviewed by The Rev
Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind reviewed by The Rev
Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind reviewed by Bonnie
Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind reviewed by The Rev
Temple of the Winds by Terry Goodkind reviewed by The Rev
The Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind reviewed by Bonnie
The Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind reviewed by The Rev
Dead Lines by Greg Bear reviewed by Bonnie
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin reviewed by The Rev
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin reviewed by The Rev
A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin reviewed by Ee Lin
A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin reviewed by The Rev
A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin reviewed by Fanoula
Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin reviewed by The Rev
Count Brass by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
Firing the Cathedral by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
Kane of Old Mars by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
London Bone by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Blood Red Game by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Champion of Garathorm by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Chronicles of Corum by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Ice Schooner by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Jewel in the Skull by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Mad God's Amulet by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Quest for Tanelorn by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Runestaff by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Skrayling Tree by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
The Sword of the Dawn by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Swords Trilogy by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Vanishing Tower by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Weird of the White Wolf by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman reviewed by The Rev
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman reviewed by Ee Lin
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman reviewed by The Rev
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman reviewed by Ann M.
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman reviewed by The Rev