This is a great book a lot of actions chracters are great as well ( )

It is always curious to see fantasy authors who don't consider themselves to be fantasy authors. Case-in-point: Terry Goodkind. The former landscape painter said in an interview that he wasn't writing fantasy, but 're-inventing the novel'. It always drives me to wonder whether he has read any fantasy. Goodkind doesn't reinvent the novel; he doesn't even reinvent the fantasy novel, but he does twist the knobs and get a little more steam out of it.

Michael Moorcock critiqued Tolkien as a false Tory romantic, which is rather apt considering that the love story takes place almost entirely in absentia (prompting Peter Jackson to infuse some extra loving with that hot, elven, psychic dream sequence).

Most fantasy authors rectify this by having the girl come along for the journey. Goodkind likes to keep the separation for much of the story as our hero tries to seek her out across a continent (though she is often just in the next room! Oh! What a tragic coincidence! Actually, after the first time it's just an annoying and painfully artificial way to try to make the story more exciting while keeping the characters apart).

However, the other half of the time, the hero finds the girl and transfixes her on his mighty sword. No, really. I'm not sure why these authors always end up feeling as if they have to dump their sex fetish issues at this particular juncture: "Huh, I secretly dig BDSM. Maybe I should confide my fantasies in a book for mass publication".

I cannot think of a single female character in the entire series who isn't either raped or threatened with rape. If you want to give me an example of one, remember: I'm counting magical psychic blowjob rape as rape. I wish I never had the opportunity to qualify a statement with 'don't forget the psychic blowjob rape'.

I don't mind actual BDSM literature, but I'd rather have my own reaction to it than be told "isn't it totally dirty and wrong!? (but still super sexy, right?)"

Goodkind's book is cookie-cutter genre fantasy, but it's not badly done, and if you like people narrowly missing one another, bondage, masochism, rape, and dragons, it's pretty good. The series also dies on arrival part-way through, so prepare for disappointment. ( )

very very good book,i mean wow just a very good story line and everything!!!!!!!!

Verbose and clichéd, but not as bad as Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novels. ( )

Pre09:
I give this *book* a full rating. The series died for me pretty quickly.
Characters: Unforgetable.
Plot: Solid in this one. Defeat the bad guy, but have logical troubles on the way.
Style: So epic and personal at the same time. ( )