Genre: Epic FantasyDate Published: January 1994Number Of Pages/Listening Time: 836 pages/34 hoursSource: AudibleSynopsis: A legend begins.
In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, Richard Cypher encounters a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amenell, in his forest sanctuary. She seeks his help...and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.
In their darkest hour, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword--to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed...or that their time has run out.
This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.
My Rating:
★★★ and a 1/2
...For being interesting.
My Thoughts:
Once upon a time back in 2010, I watched the TV series "Legend Of The Seeker". I enjoyed it, and decided to try the book series.
The world-building blew me away when I first read this book. The storylines were action-packed, and I found myself chuckling out loud more than once. I instantly moved on to the sequel, and then continued on with the remainder of the series, but began to lose steam around book 5. By the start of book 8, I was ready to quit these books for a time.
....Thanks to the fact that a friend of mine just read the books and loved them, I became determined to read them again and make it to the latest installment. I don't know if I'll actually make it, but I'm certainly going to try!
So, what did I think of Wizard's First Rule this time around? Hmmmm, it wasn't quite as good as I remembered it, but still pretty good. The writing seemed very simple, and the love story didn't seem all that realistic (I'm not a fan of love-at-first-sight).
I also now realize that the Mord-Sith are in fact a fantasy version of women dominatrix (I was so blissfully ignorant before 50 Shades--I wish I still was), so now I can't decide whether I find this part of the book interesting and creative....or a bit weird and disturbing. I guess it's both.
On the plus side, a lot of the characters are fun to read about. Zed is a great character, and my favorite part of the story involved little Rachel. Chase was a lot of fun too.
Overall I have mixed feelings regarding this book. On the one hand, the story is still pretty creative, some of the characters are really lovable, and there's certainly a lot of non-stop action. It's a good fantasy novel. On the other hand, there are parts of the story that I'm trying to convince myself are good, but I'm not really all that persuaded. Clearly this is never going to be a favorite, but it's still worth a look if you enjoy fantasy that has some unique qualities.
The world-building blew me away when I first read this book. The storylines were action-packed, and I found myself chuckling out loud more than once. I instantly moved on to the sequel, and then continued on with the remainder of the series, but began to lose steam around book 5. By the start of book 8, I was ready to quit these books for a time.
....Thanks to the fact that a friend of mine just read the books and loved them, I became determined to read them again and make it to the latest installment. I don't know if I'll actually make it, but I'm certainly going to try!
So, what did I think of Wizard's First Rule this time around? Hmmmm, it wasn't quite as good as I remembered it, but still pretty good. The writing seemed very simple, and the love story didn't seem all that realistic (I'm not a fan of love-at-first-sight).
I also now realize that the Mord-Sith are in fact a fantasy version of women dominatrix (I was so blissfully ignorant before 50 Shades--I wish I still was), so now I can't decide whether I find this part of the book interesting and creative....or a bit weird and disturbing. I guess it's both.
On the plus side, a lot of the characters are fun to read about. Zed is a great character, and my favorite part of the story involved little Rachel. Chase was a lot of fun too.
Overall I have mixed feelings regarding this book. On the one hand, the story is still pretty creative, some of the characters are really lovable, and there's certainly a lot of non-stop action. It's a good fantasy novel. On the other hand, there are parts of the story that I'm trying to convince myself are good, but I'm not really all that persuaded. Clearly this is never going to be a favorite, but it's still worth a look if you enjoy fantasy that has some unique qualities.
This series was the first "adult" fantasy series I ever read and because of that this will always have a soft spot in my heart. I absolutely adore this book though I can see what you are talking about with the Mord Sith lol Similarly and sadly, the books too fall off. I did finish the series and felt a sense of completeness after I did; however, I did struggle to get through the later books. Books 9,10 and 11 could have honestly been one books but oh well.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a series I would really reread in its entirety but, on occasion, I do pick up this first book because it is what started my love of fantasy!
Sidenote: Legend of the Seeker was just horrible to me lol My boyfriend introduced me to it after I already read the series and I just couldn't help but be like "They have ruined my favorite series!"