Goodkind's writing improves as the book winds on, giving hope that the promised sequel will outclass this volume, but, for the most part, his prose is flat, his ideas hackneyed (Wizard's First Rule is, ``people are stupid''), his characters tediously moralistic and his plot without originality. Many of the best moments here come during encounters with secondary characters: Adie, a crotchety old woman who traffics in Underworld magic by using bones Rachel, an abused child who longs for her hair to be evenly trimmed and Mistress Denna, a sadist who tortures Richard. Stalwart Richard saves Kahlan and, along with a wizard named Zedd, sets out to foil the power-hungry designs of the evil Midlands tyrant Darken Rahl. After his father is killed for refusing to disclose that book's location, Richard is wandering in his beloved forest when he spies a beautiful woman, Kahlan, being stalked by several assassins who have pursued her from her magic-filled homeland of the Midlands. Now, enter Terry Goodkinds world, the world of the Sword of Truth. He is, at first unknown to himself, the ``Seeker,'' wielder of the Sword of Truth and the only possessor of the arcane knowledge contained in the powerful Book of Counted Shadows. Wizards First Rule Sword of Truth (Volume 1) Author: Terry Goodkind Read Excerpt About This Book Millions of readers the world over have been held spellbound by this valiant tale vividly told. Its hero, Richard Cypher, is no ordinary woodsman. Big, bland and conventional, Goodkind's first novel is an epic fantasy that doesn't conjure up much magic.
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