One of the newer dwarves, Goodkind's books - thick novels with neat-o paintings on them - at first look to be just another romp through a poorly researched or realised Medieval Age, but they are quite the opposite. They contain graphic sexual deviation, as well as explicit sado-masochism. Certainly not written for children.
Wizard's First Rule: Book 1
Literary Quality: 
Christian Morality: Offensive
Age Appropriateness: Inappropriate
Years ago, I picked up Wizard's First Rule and read it. I stopped towards the very end for one very good reason: Goodkind had so laced his story with sado-masochism, pedophilia, gratuitous sex, and graphic pornographic torture that I couldn't bear to finish the last hundred pages or so. It was like being mentally raped. And this was my impression back in my quasi-Wiccan high school years! Hence, when I was writing this website, I put the warning to parents and to folks who like their brains unsoiled to Keep away from this series entirely!!!
Too harsh? Perhaps. Or at least the flamers who infiltrated my guestbook and webboard would have me think so. (I've left the guestbook entries up, BTW. They're very telling.) So, I was convinced to re-review. To take a further look into Goodkind's world. What I have discovered barely modifies my original opinion: It is a far, far better thing to keep away from this series entirely!
Let me 'splain.
WFR follows the typical "epic fantasy" path: humble woodsman (here named Richard Cypher) is torn away by a feisty woman (Kahlan) who turns out to be not ONLY a Queen, but also the Mother Confessor. She is accompanied by a man named Zedd, who is old, wise and also feisty - and is therefore naturally a Wizard. After Richard is torn away from his home - after his father is gruesomely killed and Richard suffers little character development or his brother gropes his girl and Richard suffers little character development - we journey around the Obligatory Map wherein very little character develops. Oh, we fight Bad Guys and Bad Queens with Spoiled, Sado-Masochistic Daughters, we meet the Mud People and Kahlan agonizes over not being able to have sex with Richard for fear she'll lose her powers...then does so anyway and doesn't lose her powers (effectively)...and nothing particularly much happens.
Meanwhile, over in the Dark Lord's (here named Darken Rahl...oy) camp, we've got some heady homosexual pedophilia going on that requires not only much petting but the severing of the young boy's genitilia which is then consumed by Darken Rahl. Oh, and Darken's also got the Mord Sith (where's Darth Vader when you need him?) who are basically a group of dominatrix whose sole purpose is to torture Richard for approximately SEVENTY PAGES. And I'm not talking a little whacking over the knees, I'm talking seriously sick pornographic S&M here a la the infamous Marquis de Sade. Recently skimming a mere twenty pages of this stuff made me ill.
(Incidently, it's not only the Evil Overlord and His Minions who participate in such gruesomeness - the Good Guys do as well. Kahlan chops off a man's privates and makes him eat them; Zedd makes an entire platoon's privates disappear. But it's All Right if the Good Guys are Doing It. Oy.)
Curiously, once Richard kills the bad guy, mercy kills his Dominatrix, and Saves The World, he's suffering NO emotional backlash whatsoever. Urg? In fact, he's quite ready to go on to books two and three and four and...wherein the same plot happens again and again and again....
"But why can't I read it?" some of you may inquire. I'm not saying you can't. Please keep in mind this is a compilation of reviews. I have no power to make you read or put down a book. But I can try to guide you if you are concerned about what you're reading. "I understand that," you reply. "Well, then, wouldn't the book still be worthy if I just skip those parts? After all, they only make up about a third of the book." Weeeeell, you could, except that Terry Goodkind is no Guy Gavriel Kay. To put it bluntly, Goodkind is a horrible author. His narrative simply stinks. His character development is non-existant. His worldbuilding is sloppy. His dialogue is painful. The most praise I can lavish on his text is that it's absolutely mediocre. But life is short? Why read mediocre intersperced with NC-17 sex and gore when you can read another author? Why waste your time? Why pollute your mind?
His third book, Blood of the Fold (
, Dangerous, Adult) is slightly better in terms of the sex and gore...except that almost nothing happens plotwise. This is astounding since the series is not finished yet and no one knows when it will be....
Thus it is that even after re-reviewing, I cannot in good conscience recommend Goodkind's works to anyone. If you're looking for High Fantasy look elsewhere. Others have recommended George Martin over Goodkind. Mr. Martin is currently in line-up for review.
Please take a look at
Thank you.
