Sword of Truth Series Wrapup

It seems like its been forever since I’ve read the Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind, but it was actually only just a couple of weeks. During the last couple of videos, which publishes a short time after I finished each accompanying book, I made mention that I wanted to do a wrap up of the series.

The idea initially was to do a brief summary of each book in the series. After giving this much though, I decided against it and instead want to simply take a look at the series as a whole. I think this is probably the best way to avoid spoilers and ruin the fun of reading for anyone that is interested in picking up the books for themselves. Ultimately, I would have had to inform you of how each book was revolved to make sense of the book after it, which in mind mind would have spoiled the ending of each book.

The Story

The Sword of Truth series starts off with a woods guide, Richard Cypher, stumbling onto a woman walking along a road leading to Hartland. When Richard sees this woman, he notices a small group of men following her. These men are staying far enough away from the woman so that she does not notice them. With the impression that the men are planning on attacking, Richard races through the woods to catch the woman at a side trail and lead her to safety.

Once Richard is able to get the woman away, he learns that her name is Kahlan and that she is on a very important quest which she can’t go into detail about. The two decide that they should speak with Richard’s dear friend Zedd, as he is likely the most able to help her.

As the story develops, Richard learns that there is a prophecy written that places him in a very powerful position. Richard is then named the Seeker of Truth and ventures out into the world to defeat Darken Rahl. Along the way Richard and Kahlan fall in love and struggle with instructions that they can not be together.

After Darken Rahl is defeated, Richard learns that he was in-fact one of many bastard sons to Darken Rahl and that he is now the new Master Rahl of D’hara. With his father dead, Richard faces a far more powerful enemy and enters into a long struggle to bring peace and freedom to the world.

Along the way, several obstacles present themselves and Richard must face them to continue on. These obstacles are presented in books three through eight. Books nine through eleven take us into the Chainfire trilogy which deals with the disappearance of Kahlan.

My Thoughts

The Sword of Truth Series was my very first experience into the fantasy book genre. I can’t get enough in the form of fantasy television, and as a result, several people recommended that I pick up Wizards First Rule to get me through the off-season of Legend of the Seeker. Once I started reading, I was quickly hooked and found it difficult to put the books down.

Each book was easy to follow and didn’t spend too much time developing the world that the story was placed in. The characters were like-able, for the most part, and made learning about them fun and interesting. The use of magic was not over the top and believable limitations were put into place.

It was becoming a little tiresome to read the same author for twelve books straight (Debt of Bones included). In the end I was a little sad that the story came to a close, but at the same time I was happy to be able to move onto something new.

My biggest gripe with the series was the constant reminders of events in previous books. While some things made sense to re-tell, many seemed pointless. It was as if we could have possibly forgotten who Richard was and the title he carried. In some instances I felt like I was re-reading the same paragraphs over and over again.

The only other thing to bother me was the constant talk of rape. While I can certainly see something such as rape being common in this world Terry Goodkind created, I was becoming numb to it. The first time was shocking and made an incredible impact on the the story, each and every time after that seemed unnecessary and didn’t do a whole lot to make the world seem any more brutal.

While the series had its ups and downs, I was happy to have read it. I enjoyed all but two books and found it difficult to pry myself away from reading even those books. There seems to be a huge fan following as well a huge crowd that dislikes the series with a passion. If you are well versed in the fantasy genre, the Sword of Truth series may be too simple for you. If you are new to the genre, like I am, you should consider checking it out.

The Books

• Debt of Bones (prequel to the series)
• Wizards First Rule
• Stone of Tears
• Blood of the Fold
• Temple of the Winds
• Soul of the Fire
• Faith of the Fallen
• The Pillars or Creation
• Naked Empire
• Chainfire
• Phantom
• Confessor