Friday, December 31, 2010

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

I have finished it. Just this morning. My expectations were high--I'd even watched most of the TV series: Legend of the Seeker (which I enjoyed up until the point of taking a hiatus, and went back to it, the scales removed from my eyes, and I saw it for what it was). Why can't producers stick to the story as it is? It would be SOOO much better.

Well. I initially enjoyed the journey Terry Goodkind sent me on--always running from evil with never a moment to breathe, magic of all kinds threatening to kill off the persevering Richard Cypher; the exotically beautiful Kahlan that, for a reason we find out much later, he can not be with (or, consequently, live without. I'm a sucker for love stories); the eccentric and witty Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander, Wizard of the First Order. And I was right there, ready to enjoy the rest of the series until we met the terrible, violent, sadistic in ways I would never have imagined, Mord-Sith.

From that particular phase of torture and beyond, I was...lost. While I understand what Goodkind's doing, it reminded me of why I generally prefer YA Fantasy--the moral dilemma's aren't as 'ugly' and 'disturbing' as adult fantasy can be. That being said, I enjoyed this book, the journey, and his creativity, but his representation of 'evil'--which earns every bit of the word--is just not the kind I enjoy reading about. Maybe some day I'll read more of this series, but for now, I'm still worn out from enduring Richard's gruesome torture.

Next up...Crime and Punishment!

2 comments:

  1. No, don't read more of them! I actually loved Wizard's First Rule, but the next two are horrible. That's where I stopped.
    However, I will say that part of what made them horrible is the blatant theft of story elements from The Wheel of Time series (also, do not read). The Mord-Sith are pulled right of Wheel, and that torture scene is almost exactly the same as one from Wheel, also.

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