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juushikaTitle: Wizard's First Rule
Author: Terry Goodkind
Published: New York: Tor, 1995
Pages: 836
Total pages: 11400
Text number: 33
Read for: for my own enjoyment over winter break.
In brief:Wizard's First Rule is little more than the average adventure fantasy novel, but there's something addicting about the multiple but closely connected plotlines and something enduring about the characters and their relationships. As a result, this book doesn't break any new ground but it is an entertaining, fast, satisfying read. As a elitist English major, I'm accustomed to reading only the "best" books and analysing them to death;![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maiden117/Lyz's suggestions of lighter, easier, entertaining fair was a nice break from my usual books and responses to them.
Wizard's First Rule is the first in the Sword of Truth series but, for those like me who resent being dragged into a book series of this sort, it makes a fine stand-alone. The end of the book leaves plenty room for more, but it does it in the manner of the first Matrix film: there is completion and finality despite the open plot, making sequels desirable but not annoyingly necessary.
The book's strengths definitely lie in its plot and is characters. While the greater ideas of the book, and even it's lesser descriptions, aren't particularly remarkable or moving, the rest of the book remains interesting and realistic. There is one plot line that unites the entire novel, but that plot is split up between individual characters as they are split up and reunited during the course of it. The effect is just enough ongoing interest mixed with tasteful cliffhanger, keeping the reader interested but never annoyed. Perhaps more importantly, the characters are amusing, easy to identify with, and compelling. There is humor in this book, but it is driven by the characters rather than the narrator, making it more humorous and connecting it to individuals, rather than leaving it as a free-floating, out of place, independent entity. Characters are realistic (except for the magic abilities) with fairly normal desires and dreams, allowing the reader to project himself onto the book. Self-identification is key to reader interest, and Goodkind recognizes that. Finally, the element of magic creates situations with just enough risk, interest, and newness to make them compelling. Everything is a bit larger than life, the scale is grand, and the reader can't help but be interested in character's emotions, individual fates, or the overall storyline.
There is no doubt that this is not a "great novel" in so far as the canon goes, but that's no reason to ignore it. Wizard's First Rule is a manageable, entertaining, and well-written book. It is makes a good escape from work and reality, and the fact that it can be read alone contains it to a more manageable size. It enjoyed this book far more than I expected I would and, as I've said, was glad to have the chance to escape into it.
Author: Terry Goodkind
Published: New York: Tor, 1995
Pages: 836
Total pages: 11400
Text number: 33
Read for: for my own enjoyment over winter break.
In brief:Wizard's First Rule is little more than the average adventure fantasy novel, but there's something addicting about the multiple but closely connected plotlines and something enduring about the characters and their relationships. As a result, this book doesn't break any new ground but it is an entertaining, fast, satisfying read. As a elitist English major, I'm accustomed to reading only the "best" books and analysing them to death;
maiden117/Lyz's suggestions of lighter, easier, entertaining fair was a nice break from my usual books and responses to them.Wizard's First Rule is the first in the Sword of Truth series but, for those like me who resent being dragged into a book series of this sort, it makes a fine stand-alone. The end of the book leaves plenty room for more, but it does it in the manner of the first Matrix film: there is completion and finality despite the open plot, making sequels desirable but not annoyingly necessary.
The book's strengths definitely lie in its plot and is characters. While the greater ideas of the book, and even it's lesser descriptions, aren't particularly remarkable or moving, the rest of the book remains interesting and realistic. There is one plot line that unites the entire novel, but that plot is split up between individual characters as they are split up and reunited during the course of it. The effect is just enough ongoing interest mixed with tasteful cliffhanger, keeping the reader interested but never annoyed. Perhaps more importantly, the characters are amusing, easy to identify with, and compelling. There is humor in this book, but it is driven by the characters rather than the narrator, making it more humorous and connecting it to individuals, rather than leaving it as a free-floating, out of place, independent entity. Characters are realistic (except for the magic abilities) with fairly normal desires and dreams, allowing the reader to project himself onto the book. Self-identification is key to reader interest, and Goodkind recognizes that. Finally, the element of magic creates situations with just enough risk, interest, and newness to make them compelling. Everything is a bit larger than life, the scale is grand, and the reader can't help but be interested in character's emotions, individual fates, or the overall storyline.
There is no doubt that this is not a "great novel" in so far as the canon goes, but that's no reason to ignore it. Wizard's First Rule is a manageable, entertaining, and well-written book. It is makes a good escape from work and reality, and the fact that it can be read alone contains it to a more manageable size. It enjoyed this book far more than I expected I would and, as I've said, was glad to have the chance to escape into it.
