[Shiara]

I think I've read some, if not all, of Wizard's First Rule. I can't be sure, as my brain has this helpful habit of jettisoning any information it deems useless. Unfortunately it gets 'useless' mixed up with 'uninteresting' sometimes, which is not so good for work stuff

[Cause]

My memory of these books is not great but I too read up till the book when he becomes a marble sculptor in the old empire. I actually only read any of the books because I heard how bad they were and my curiosity was peaked. It then allowed me to understand the parodies which are golden. Still how I made it too book six or seven is beyond me, though I do remember being very curious to know if Nicci (I think that was her name) would rape Richard. The straw man arguments against communism were also fantastic.

Had I paid for any of the books I would have quit sooner.

[McLovin]

I read WFR, didn't hate it, so thought let's read the next.

SOT I read, didn't like, gave up on the series.

Got BOTF for a birthday prez a couple yrs later. Well, fuck it, maybe it gets better, so I read it. It didn't.

Some years later, was stuck in an airport, nothing to read. Airport bookstore has TOTW. Well, fuck it, maybe it's worthwhile, so I bought it out of sheer boredom. It wasn't.

Then, more years later, got the fifth book as a present (can't remember from whom or what occasion). Oh hell, here we go again. But maybe, just maybe, it gets better. Nope.

Have not touched the series since.

[King Bear]

McLovin, on 16 May 2011 - 05:29 PM, said:

Got BOTF for a birthday prez a couple yrs later. Well, fuck it, maybe it gets better, so I read it. It didn't.

Then, more years later, got the fifth book as a present (can't remember from whom or what occasion). Oh hell, here we go again. But maybe, just maybe, it gets better. Nope.

Now we know what to get you for your birthday

[rhulad]

Read WFR, didn't really like it and never picked up the next.

[Una]

I managed to finish Wizard's First Rule, but didn't see any reason to read any further.

I distinctly remember getting into a heated argument with my friend in high school about this one. She argued it was brilliant and SOOOO romantic. I argued it decent in some places, but that there were too many cringe-worthy devices to really call it good. I thought the ending was one of the dumbest things I had ever read. "She can't wipe his brain because Confessor's powers work by making the victim LOVE her and he already LOVES her too much? WTF? That's not romantic. That's cheesy and cheap."

[Aptorian]

Actually, I thought that confessor stuff in the series was interesting, just poorly utilised and ultimately wasted (like everything else good in those books).

I always wanted to see a scene where Kahlan was taking over more and more "evil" soldiers as she moved on the battlefield creating her own army of murderous zealots flowing around her cutting through everything with the fervour of lovers possessed.

In my own writing I've made up heralds of the Goddess of Love that work exactly like that, they radiate love and ecstasy that pounds mortals like waves, making them enthralled. It's like a seething mass of rutting and weeping mad people rolling towards you.

This post has been edited by Battle Plaptypus: 17 May 2011 - 07:10 AM

[Kanese S's]

Yeah, it was irritating to me that there was this cool Confessor stuff that never really got used as well as I thought it could have been. Could have done a lot more with that.

[Cause]

Confessor remain the most frightening and troubling idea I have ever come across.

[Paran]

Read 'em all. Read the first 6 multiple times, but when Jensen and her goat showed up I knew he was really taking the piss. Agree with Abyss and others that it wasn't all crap, but when he just gave up on the magic elements in favour of philosophical "magic" it was just amateur Rand all over. In book 5, despite the chicken chimes, I really appreciated the Ander idea of there being a higher level of magic, more art than science. Never explored in further, never got the war wizard fireball, answers on the dragons, Gratch, etc. The repetitive BS was ridiculous in the later books, but that doesn't detract from the interesting ideas in the first few books. Confessors, Mord Siths, Slides, Slyphs, Dreamwalkers... all good stuff. There was a lot of potential in the old world and using old relics to discover what the old life was like. Teh wizards rules were interesting too, but the requirement for adult style aesop's fables was a bit tedious. From Jensen (book 7) onwards the whole thing was pretty rubbish, but I needed to see how it ended, and even then it was a complete waste.

C'est la vie, apparently.

[D'iversify]

Battle Plaptypus, on 17 May 2011 - 07:09 AM, said:

In my own writing I've made up heralds of the Goddess of Love that work exactly like that, they radiate love and ecstasy that pounds mortals like waves, making them enthralled. It's like a seething mass of rutting and weeping mad people rolling towards you.

Like the end of Shivers minus the turd-leech parasite things?

Picked up Books 1-4 second hand, deferred reading them whilst I had other series in line, heard Goodkind was a wazzock, thought 'Screw it' and sold them on Ebay. Needed the money anyway for Download tickets. haven't been interested since (this was 5+ years ago).

[yuna_anomander25]

King Bear, on 13 May 2011 - 05:17 AM, said:

Well this is Goodkind's Chicken of Doom

"Hissing, hackles lifting, the chicken's head rose. Kahlan pulled back. Its claws digging into stiff dead flesh, the chicken slowly turned to face her. It cocked its head, making its comb flop, its wattles sway. "Shoo," Kahlan heard herself whisper. There wasn't enough light, and besides, the side of its beak was covered with gore, so she couldn't tell if it had the dark spot, But she didn't need to see it. "Dear spirits, help me," she prayed under her breath. The bird let out a slow chicken cackle. It sounded like a chicken, but in her heart she knew it wasn't. In that instant, she completely understood the concept of a chicken that was not a chicken. This looked like a chicken, like most of the Mud People's chickens. But this was no chicken. This was evil manifest."
-- From Soul of Fire, Book Five of The Sword of Truth

And this is the real one

post-82-061531600 1287690944.jpg

sorry, excuses for other members, but i was lurking here before and read this thread, sorry for reviving this,

anyways, out of morbid curiosity and since i have read the 1st book WFR, that's as far as i have gotten to the series(just 1st half of the book) idk, something about his writing really didn't made any impact whatsoever for me,
i downloaded an e-book copy, book 5 soul of fire (thank goodness its free) and see for my self that qoute above, and i have to say, that gave me lots of lol, hehehe,

what is it about chickens that was not a chicken that gave him that stupid idea,

[Abyss]

Obviously he was abused by a chicken as a child.

[yuna_anomander25]

lol, shivers down my spine, that must really have been traumatic,

incidentally, i also checked the tv series legend of the seeker, a little different, i'm still on episode 1, need willpower to continue,
1 scene really gave me lols,

as Richard's "father" pushed him away to go talk with Zedd, he complains that Zedd was crazy i think what he said,
then saying "He talks with His Chickens"

this series really abounds with chickens, i must say,

[Rhand]

You can say what you want about Goodkind and this series, but the scene in the last book with Richard in that rugby game was friggin awesome.

Disclaimer: im half drunk when i wrote this.

[Mentalist]

I haven't read WFR. I doubt I ever will.
I have read a bunch of Goodkind-based debates on this forum, and the general impression is that SoT is entirely black or white, and pounds you over the head with the fact that Richard is always right"

Since one of the essential things in my fantasy is the necessity for at least shades of gray, I felt no desire to ever read SoT.

Also, we've had this debate before, and I don't want to start it up again, but I've seen the "princess kick" scene posted here and I disagree with Apt about its value.

[yuna_anomander25]

Mentalist, on 09 May 2012 - 04:32 PM, said:

I haven't read WFR. I doubt I ever will.
I have read a bunch of Goodkind-based debates on this forum, and the general impression is that SoT is entirely black or white, and pounds you over the head with the fact that Richard is always right"

Since one of the essential things in my fantasy is the necessity for at least shades of gray, I felt no desire to ever read SoT.

Also, we've had this debate before, and I don't want to start it up again, but I've seen the "princess kick" scene posted here and I disagree with Apt about its value.

i agree, for someone portrayed as morally good and self-righteously right, that kindly went overboard, i just found that on these forums and in others, claiming about that
child whom he kicked, i have never read that in my book, read only the 1st half,
i know sometimes characters have to decide something that is beyond their beliefs and feelings, like being forced to kill and everything,
but to claim that kicking someone, who is neither the true perpetuator(sp?) and who is also just a victim, if ever, is so morally just, i disagree,
i tend to agree that he only did that act, is because, when she has said something that she will do to kahlan, he went mad and just for that he delivered,

also agree about characters with shades of gray, no black or white,
also idk, i don't like stories now which focuses solely on 2-3 main characters, and those minor charaters that always get pushed aside,
maybe 1 of the reasons i really like malazan, even the other side is given screentime, so when you encounter them, you could still get to like them,
for example, i really like rhulad, mind you he is annoying when he was still innocent and unbloodied,
but when he got the sword (of truth? hehe) i got to like him, there is this tragedy within him, that i got to like,

[worry]

If you want shades of grey, an Objectivist is the last person you should ever seek out.

[yuna_anomander25]

agreed

[McLovin]

worrywort, on 10 May 2012 - 12:20 AM, said:

If you want shades of grey, an Objectivist is the last person you should ever seek out.

But if you want 50 Shades of Grey, seek out a bored housewife.