Sword of Truth Series Wrapup

Terry Goodkind - Sword of Truth Series

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

Walt

Hi There, My name is Walt White and as the name of this blog suggests, I am a Pennsylvania resident. In addition to having numerous hobbies that I discuss on my blog - I’m also the father of three little girls and a pitbull.

11 thoughts on “Sword of Truth Series Wrapup

  1. Have you tried any of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time? I used to read those and they were quite the story (made me think of Tolkein). I will have to give this series a try one day (I have about 300 books on my ‘to read’ list right now).

  2. Linus,
    No, I haven;t tried any of the Wheel of Time books. They were recommended to me but I wanted to get into a series that was complete and didn’t want to get stuck waiting for a new book to be released.

    The Wheel of Time should be coming to a conclusion in the next couple of years. As I understand it, Brandon Sanderson is set to finish the series due to the passing of Robert Jordan.

    Brandon’s first book has been published and I believe there are two more before the series is concluded.

    -Walt

  3. Hi Walt, I think you did very well to read the whole series in one go, I pretty much read them as they came out and even then I struggled to finish the last few books. Once again, I have really enjoyed your series of videos as you have read these books. Hope you carry on with the fantasy genre as I think it doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Personally I think some of the greatest writing in the last 25 years has come from the science fiction/fantasy genre. Take care.

  4. Nice wrap up! I wish they would quit stretching the books out into so many volumes! I think most of the huge series like this one could benefit from cutting down the number of books by 1/4 or even 1/2!

    I cant wait to give them a read, even though it seems they do draw them out too much.

    Mike

    Cant wait to see what you read next!

    Oh, I also hear the Wheel of Time series is really good, but like you, I want to wait till it is done before reading them.

  5. A well aged Cuban,
    Thanks for the kind words, glad you enjoyed the series. I’ve actually got another review and finished finished and ready to be published (in a day or so). This was a single novel entitled Villains by Necessity by Eve Forward.

    I’m in the process of reading The Belgariad by David Eddings. I have the first book finished, Pawn of Prophecy, and am working on the second, Queen of Sorcery, now.

    The genre has been a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to expanding my horizons on the fantasy genre.

    -Walt

  6. Mike,
    I’ve heard alot of good things about The Wheel of Time. I’m looking forward to checking it out just as soon as Brandon Sanderson finishes it up (I hear he does an excellent job with his first offering).

    -Walt

  7. darn i just finished the series… have you read any books that were similar to SOT? because im looking for something else to read.

      1. i appreciate the suggestion, i will definitely give them a read.

        i enjoy your book reviews, thanks for creating them.

  8. After watching the TV show (Legend of the Seeker), a friend of mine recommended me the books. I’m just half way through the first one (Mud People chapter) and absolutely love it. It’s kind of sad how much different the TV show is.

    1. Alfred,
      The first season wasn’t bad, but the second season got away from the books in a big way. It varied so much that I lost interest in it and stopped watching all together.

      Because it is a big series, you’ll find that some books are better than others. The first book is one of my favorites.

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts