Sword of Truth, Legend of the Seeker, Book One, Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind

Damsel in distress rescued by Woods guide. That would have been the newspaper headlines had there been newspapers in this book.

And so starts the first book, Wizards First Rule, in the Terry Goodkind Sword of Truth series. The woods guide in question is Richard Cypher, the damsel Kahlan Amnell, the Mother Confessor.

Kahlan has come through a magic barrier to search for a wizard whose name she does not know, but later learns to be Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander.

These are the three main protagonists of the series, aided by a host of supporting characters. The characters are well developed and give a good insight into the nature of the characters, their strengths and weaknesses, foibles etc.

So Wizards First Rule starts with the rescue of Kahlan by Richard Cypher, a woods guide in Westland ,and his first meeting with a person from the Midlands, the land on the other side of the barrier, a place of magic - Westland has no magic!

Richard soon learns about Darken Rahl, who is trying to kill Kahlan and they are soon attacked again by monsters out of legend, at least to Richard Cypher, and only Kahlan's knowledge about these monsters saves them.

The history of the lands of D'hara, the land on the other side of the Midlands is told, and the current quest of the Lord of D'hara to subjugate the Midlands.

Kahlan's quest is to find a wizard to help stop D'hara, by naming a seeker, a warrior to wield the Sword of Truth and oppose D'hara. During this time Richard is bitten by a poisonous vine, and whilst unconscious and being healed by Zedd thinks back to a time when Richard's father made him memorise a book - which his father then destroyed. Richard had realised that he had seen magic at that time as when the book was destroyed various magical streams came out of it.

While Richard is unconscious Zedd learns from Kahlan that the Boxes of Orden had been awakened; boxes that grant the person who opens the correct box power over all the people of the world. Zedd reveals himself to Kahlan as the wizard, and also to Richard, and names Richard Cypher the seeker and gives him the Sword of Truth, which Zedd has been protecting.

Zedd briefly teaches Richard about the sword and they then set out for the magical barrier, to cross it and go back to the Midlands to help Kahlan. Zedd was also originally from the Midlands. Of course nothing is that easy and there are many obstacles put in their way. They are helped by Richard's friend Chase, a boundary warden, whose job is to keep people away from the boundary, as it is quite dangerous.

Along the way Kahlan and Richard develop feelings for each other, but they cannot love, because of Kahlan's power as a confessor - confessor's destroy the people they love due to their magic. So how can this be overcome? There is a way - but you have to read Wizards First Rule to find out.

Chase as a character appears frequently in the series and he is, in this book, instrumental in their finding a sorceress who can help them get through the magical barrier. The said sorceress also is important to the rest of the books in the series.

Once through the barrier, Richard and Kahlan, without Zedd, meet the Mud people whose help they must enlist. These Mud people are also important to the rest of the series and in this book they tell how Darken Rahl, the ruler of the D'harans, can be killed.

The rest of the book is about the quest to get to Darken Rahl; the unexpected help they get, the sacrifices of many to help them, whether known or unknown to Kahlan and Richard. The prophecies of a witch woman, also an integral character to later books, Zedd meeting up with them again, and then Richard's capture by the Mord Sith Denna and Richard's torture, physical and mental at her hands to break him to her will in Lord Rahl's palace, take up a significant amount of the narrative. Indeed, the torture at teh hands of the Mord Sith is integral to Richard's development.

Richard manages to eventually escape the clutches of Denna using both his compassion and a magical feature of the Sword of Truth that he has learned to control. But he has to get back into the palace to kill Darken Rahl and befriend a magical beast to help him.

Rahl needs Richard's help with the boxes of Orden and Richard doesn't want to help him and so uses the Wizards First Rule to aid in the defeat of Darken Rahl. Note that there is wizard's rule in every book of the series.

Wizards First Rule: People can be made to believe any lie because they want to believe it is true, or because they are afraid it is true.

Summary of Sword of Truth Legend of the Seeker Book 2 Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind.

UK readers can buy the Sword of Truth books here.