Review: The Law of Nines, by Terry Goodkind

(review of The Omen Machine is now up)

The Law of Nines (2009), by Terry Goodkind, is a blatant continuation of the Sword of Truth series, where the philosophy, plot, and action are copied quasi-verbatim from the pervious installments. The clipped prose, shorter sentences, and more abundant dialogue are a definite change for Mr. Goodkind, but the ideological sermons - of which there are admittedly fewer - abound nonetheless. Save yourselves the money, get a black marker, and blot out all the scenes involving magic in Wizard’s First Rule, and you will essentially have the same book.

The Setup

On his 27th birthday, the age at which his mother had a psychotic break, Alex, a painter, mysteriously inherits a large swath of wilderness and meets the beautiful Jax, who claims she is from another world. Drawn into the clutches of an ancient prophecy, the Law of Nines, Alex is left to struggle with the revelation that he is the descendant of Lord Rahl, and fated to save a parallel world where magic is real. The adventure is set in a distant future from the Sword of Truth series, where earth is apparently the world to which Richard banished the followers of the Order, and where technology has replace magic.

Armed with a Glock, some spontaneously acquired fighting skills, and a remarkably familiar understanding of good and evil, Alex must confront both the truth and implications of his heritage, as well as an army of goons in his quest to save earth from the machinations of an evil villain. Rife with factual and ideological references to the Sword of Truth series, The Law of Nines reads more like a rehashed summary of Wizard's First Rule, torture included, than an original fantasy – sorry, thriller.

My Take in Brief

Reading The Law of Nines after faithfully following the Sword of Truth series, I cannot shake the feeling that Mr. Goodkind has somehow violated a code of ethics that forbids authors from recycling their work. The number of parallels between the two works is so staggering that I would honestly be surprised if some scenes were not deliberately plagiarized. That said, a simple, honest foreword warning readers to expect a very similar Goodkind would have gone a long way towards appeasing my criticism of the book. Instead, the dust-jacket disingenuously expounds:

In an electrifying new direction, he brings all his skills to bear on the most exciting and stunningly original thriller of the year.

To a certain extent, my criticism is overstated, having read the book as someone with intimate knowledge of the Sword of Truth. Brian, on the official Terry Goodkind forums, offers some wise words spoken by Mr. Goodkind during a private gathering in Vegas last month:

I'll reiterate what Terry said at the gathering: he said that The Law Of Nines is Alex and Jax's story. It is not Richard and Kahlan's or Zedd's. As such, it really doesn't matter at all where Jax is from - that's not the point of the story. The only reason Jax comes from Sword of Truth land is because Terry wanted to pay tribute to his fans, who would understand the dozens of inside jokes that relate the story's text to Terry's previous work. There is enjoyment in that, in being on the inside of the joke, such as when Alex checks to make sure that his Glock is clear in its holster or how Alex has gray eyes. Those are fun little details.

To be fair, I did get a chuckle out of Alex checking his holster, but drawing a dagger across his forearm before battle went a little too far for my tastes; the joke seemed to be on me for buying the hardcover. Generally, I was left expecting Richard Rahl to pop out from a magical time vortex and give Alex some cryptic insight into the future - and for that matter, the past as well.

The thriller tone of The Law of Nines seems attributable to ruthless editing rather than any significant shift in Goodkind's style. However, the short sentences, direct dialogue, and marked reduction in descriptive verbosity do tend to set a rather exciting pace, capturing the right mix of mystery and adventure that is characteristic of the thriller genre. What the novel lacks in depth it makes up for with a strong mix of no-holds-barred action, intriguing characters, and a captivatingly twisted take on torture. While the ending leaves one slightly confused, it also strongly hints at a sequel; whether Terry intends a return to Sword of Truth land is doubtful given his recent comments, but I guarantee you will be asking yourself the question when you finish the Law of Nines.

Resources

In conjunction with the Law of Nines release, Terry launched a new website that boasts some pretty creative flash functionality. What I found most interesting, though, is an article in which he expounds on his worldview and its relationship to his writing:

I am an Objectivist. Let me say right here, though, that my books are not intended to explain, advance, or promote Objectivism. My intent with my novels is simply to tell a good story. My Objectivist beliefs, however, guide what I think is a good story and how I tell it, just as every writer, whether they realize it or not, is guided by their philosophy.

There is also a neat clip of a scene from The Law of Nines which, to be fair, was pretty well done. Sadly, the vanishing blood is more a metaphor for what should be in the novel but isn't - magic - than a convincing and innovative plot twist. The novel's quick hop off of the Times Bestseller list and the generally poor reviews (try Elitist Book Reviews for a particularly rough critique) say to me that Terry is going to have to work a bit harder at convincing mainstream America that he writes thrillers now, and not urban fantasy sequels to high fantasy.