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!

Review: The Sword of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

The Sword of Truth, by Terry Goodkind follows the trials and tribulation of Richard Cipher through countless adventures. This is one of my favorite series hands down. The general philosophical underpinnings of the Sword of Truth series do tend to scare me a bit but are ultimately justified in the context of the world the Mr. Goodkind created. Think of a world completely overtaken by an abysmal failure of pseudo communism in which the apparatchik rule all and mankind sullenly accepts its well deserved suffering. The only solution is brutal honesty with a good backing of military might, and Richard has more than enough to go around.

They recently spun off a televised mini-series from the first novel that moved me to tears, in a bad way. Maybe its because after reading the book there is no way, short of a three hour hollywood blockbuster (per episode), that you can capture the entirety of the story line. It really is well crafted and the plot twists escape you till the last minute.

Terry Goodkind is a master of delving deep into his characters' psyches and coming out with something that resonates with the reader. The most memorable part of the whole Sword of Truth series, in my opinion, is when Richard is capture by a Mord Sith, and tortured for months on end. Those were a twisted few chapters that made me think that Terry Goodkind should have switched to the Horror/Thriller genre.

The system of magic always seemed to lack something, but that's mostly because it isn't the main focus. Richard wields his power not through knowledge but through instinct and desire. The reader is left hanging, waiting for him to discover the actual technical knowledge that will allow him to defeat his enemies, but after ten books it turns out not to be needed. This is epic fantasy at its finest, with larger than life characters, arch villains, world shattering magic, and true love!

One thing which always nagged me was the preachiness factor of the books. It seemed every time Terry Goodkind was at a loss of substantive plot development he would fall back on the old chapter-long philosophical monologues. Did anyone else that read the series get this feeling? I know there is a lot of funny hate out there on other blogs for Mr. Goodking but I believe that a lot of it is undeserved.