04 August, 2009

Teaser: Law of Nines, by Terry Goodkind

Check out my review of The Law of Nines.

For those of you that are not hatters and managed to work your way through the whole Sword of Truth series, I salute you. Now, August 18th will mark the release of yet another series by Mr. Goodkind, the Law of Nines [US][UK], which has been tagged as a thriller, and set in the real world. However, having crawled through the handful of reviews out there (1, 2, 3) the first book admittedly borrows heavily form the world of the Sword of Truth, and some reviewers suggest that a return to that mythic world is possible, if not probable.

Mr. Goodkind's website, which is "unlike anything else on the internet", is indeed a nice change from your standard book promotion page. For example, left click and drag your mouse on the landing page to unearth a secret photo! While flash functionality is hardly unique, the website and forums are nice and deserve a quick gander. There is also a Myspace promotion through which you can win a copy of the Law of Nines--so for those of you with Myspace, go ahead and add all three of Mr. Goodkind's personas for a chance to win.

Will I read the Law of Nines? Undoubtedly. Having followed Richard's trials and tribulations in the Sword of Truth series, I am excited to see how Mr. Goodkind handles the pace of a 'thriller'. Now, whether or not this is just some clever cross-genre marketing ploy remains to be seen, but I will happily pay the price to find out. Oh, before I forget, there is also going to be a secret evening with Mr. Goodkind, location unknown, for fans of the series, which promises "a private meet-and-greet with Terry, a gift pack per attendee, live entertainment, and a special reading from the first chapter of Terry's new book". Let us hope they don't forget to reveal the location as the release date is quickly approaching, although from what I understand from the FAQ it might already be hidden behind some of the functionality on the website. If you find it, let me know!

6 comments:

ediFanoB said...

"The Sword of Truth" - German: "Das Schwert der Wahrheit" - is one of a few series where I read a series in German.
German publisher Blanvalet Taschenbuch Verlag started to release the German edition of "The Sword of Truth" without splitting the books!! And that's unusual. And the price is OK. 10 Euros = around 14.30 USD per book. So far 8 books have been released and I own them all. So far I read book one and liked it.
"Law of Nines" sounds interesting. There will some more time for me to decide whether I want this book or not. I only buy paperbacks.

Phil said...

Wizard's first rule was one of the first book I read in english aside from LOTR and I loved it. I liked the series at first but I have to admit I was disappointed by the last half of the series.

I finished it to mostly to know what happened and I'm not sure if I will pick up anymore of his stuff. I'll wait for your review.

I think that in the end, I didn't like the fact that he was slightly turning his back on fantasy but I was mostly let down by the way the story went and his choice of PoV for the last books...

ediFanoB said...

Hey Phil,

didn't know your blog A Fantasy Reader so far. Just added it to my google reader. Am I right that French is your first language? I'm just nosy. My first language is German. I think it is a big advantage when you can read, speak, listen, write in more than one language.

You are not alone with your opinion about "The Sword of Truth" series. I read several complaints about the second half of the series. But I'm determined to read the whole series...

Phil said...

You're right ediFanoB, my first language is french and it's really a nice asset!

But as for reading fantasy, I think you really have to read in english... french fantasy is not very developed for adults aside from translation...

Fantasy vocabulary sounds better in english than in french.

Do you feel it's the same in german?

ediFanoB said...

Phil, I totally agree with you. To read fantasy in English is a must.

In the meantime I read very seldom fantasy in German.

Do you know The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon?
It is one of the best best books I read in my life. The original book is in Spanish. It has been translated into more than 35 languages. So it is also available in German. I read the book in English and I have been blown away! After some time I read an excerpt in German and I have been heavily disappointed. The book doesn't work for me in German.
Now I have a rule: I read books from German authors in German. And the rest I read in English. And I can say it works for me.

Even it is not fantasy I highly recommend to read The Shadow of the Wind.

Phil said...

ediFanoB, I'm doing the same, if the book is written in french I'll read in french but otherwise it's always english.

I have read very good reviews about The Shadow of the Wind so I bought it a couple of months ago. Even though it's not my usual epic fantasy, it's on the top of my reading pile!