[Gleb]

My favorite series no doubt whatsoever. Has anyone else read it? Its relatively popular so I was surprized there was no forum on it. I'm up to the Temple of the Winds. Opinions anyone? I recommend this series to anyone who loves fiction-action books with a hint of romance. I love the way Terry Goodkind describes the character's emotions and the character and relationship developments are excellent.

[Ally]

I just finished reading Wizard's First Rule last night and I started Stone of Tears this morning. I'm disappointed that you beat me to making a topic about it.

I'm at the part right after Kahlan tells Richard to prove that he loves her by putting on the collar. He's riding with the Sister to the Palace and she is telling him that he didn't really see Darken Rahl's spirit, etc.

So... I am going to go read some more. I'm a fast reader so I will probably finish it tonight. I need to go to the library and get the third one.

[Gleb]

You'll love Gratch.

[Ally]

AHHHH I just finished Blood of the Fold and I am about to start Temple of the Winds. Also, Gratch is probably my favorite character, after Zedd.

[BartimaeusTrilogyFan]

I enjoyed the first book, but tisn't a favorite. Probably because my Uncle gave it to me and I hate him . . .

But I did love Zedd, I must admit.

They made a TV show out of these books. "Legend of the Seeker," tis on the CW.

Link

Watched an episode. Meh.

Back to the books, I only read The Sword of Truth, enjoyed most of it. Good books, as far as I could tell. But still, not a favorite for me.

[Ally]

I'm really sad that there aren't more fans of this series. I am so disappointed that I didn't find it until after I heard about the show. I'm reading Soul of the Fire now, and I'm almost done with it.

[Mackdaddy]

Afff is awful series towards the end. The author starts having long winded tangents about Communism and the storyline is predicatable. Still good char development and gotta love the sword atleast.

[Anduriel]

I finished this series a couple of years ago, and it's still one of the best I've read. I liked the first few books more than the rest, but there are some great moments later on.

Also, Gratch is probably my favorite character, after Zedd.

This. Gratch is awesome.

[China Oolong]

I enjoyed the first book, but tisn't a favorite. Probably because my Uncle gave it to me and I hate him . . .

But I did love Zedd, I must admit.

They made a TV show out of these books. "Legend of the Seeker," tis on the CW.

Link

Watched an episode. Meh.

Back to the books, I only read The Sword of Truth, enjoyed most of it. Good books, as far as I could tell. But still, not a favorite for me.

I've seen some of the TV show....it was okay. I really want to read the books. Asked someone about them and he said it was like 16+...but then again he's really conservative and he doesn't know what I've read. Heheh. Does anyone know if they'd be OK for me?

[AHEM]

Ah! I was just looking for a topic like this. I have quite a bit to say about this series.

I've read all eleven books of the SoT series. Some of them(Wizard's First Rule, Stone of Tears, Pillars of Creation) were just plain awesome. Some of them(Temple of the Winds, Phantom) were pretty good. Some of them(Faith of the Fallen, Chainfire, Confessor) were kind of boring and preachy. Some of them(Blood of the Fold, Soul of the Fire, Naked Empire) were so boring and pointless I wonder what got into Goodkind's head when he decided to write them. The series kind of declined towards the end, I think, when the author decided to focus on his philosophy and bash the reader over the head with it rather than creating fantasy plots. When he did, it seemed like he rehashed the same ideas: Uber evil dark lord threatens world, only Richard and his sword can save it, Kahlan is separated from Richard while he undergoes a horrible ordeal.

Looking critically at the characters, I have to conclude that Inheritance is almost as similar to SoT as it is to Star Wars/Lord of the Rings. Firstly, some of the names are similar, mostly in connection to the SoT book Stone of Tears:

Sloan: In Inheritance, it is the first name of a butcher. In Stone of Tears, it is the last name of a Midlands officer.

Kelton: In Inheritance, it is the name of a grumpy old smith who finished Horst's training. In Stone of Tears, it is a country in the Midlands that specializes in smithing swords.

Elda: In Inheritance, it is an elvish title(gender neutral) of great praise. In Stone of Tears, it is a feminine name used as an alias.

Nelda: In Inheritance, it is the name of Brom's mother. In Stone of Tears, it is the name of the mother of a murdered girl who was mentioned in passing.



Also, some of the characters have obvious parallels . . .(WARNING, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ALL BOOKS OF BOTH SERIES AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.)

Eragon = Richard.("Hello! I'm the hero of the epic. I got a magic sword from my wise old mentor, which I lose at one point. But that's OK, because I can become a master swordsman in less time than it takes most people to block. Later on, I learn how to use magic. I fancy myself an intelligent critical thinker, but most of the time I'm just dumb and strong. I like to ride dragons.")

Brom = Zedd.("I'm a wise old wizard, skilled in magic, who trains the hero. I have a bitter past with the bad guys, especially the No. 2 bad guy, and am secretly releated to the hero. I believe that logic and proper thinking are important, and I frequently scold people for not thinking properly. I have long white hair and sometimes a beard. Reading is a very important activity for me. Though I appear to be an ordinary old man, I'm really an ex-member of an old order that used magic, and I had to go into hiding after a terrible war with the bad guys, a war in which I lost someone very close to me.")

Arya = Kahlan.("I am the extremely hot heroine that the hero falls for, but I try to avoid encouraging him so he can concentrate on killing the dark lord for the moment. At first glance I appear to be human, but I'm really a member of a human-like society that has special magics. Oh yes, I have some very awesome magical skillz that come in handy when men try to sexually assault me, like when I'm being held captive or something.")

Murtagh = Jennsen Rahl.("Beware, hero! I am your meaner and morally gray half-sibling, the child of the No. 2 bad guy. I was originally neutral to the main conflict in the novels, but I met up with this nice fellow from an organization dedicated to overthrowing the established government of my homeland, so I traveled with him for a while, seemed to be about to join his organization(though I have some grievances against them because I think they're just a bunch of fanatical brutes) and even met with the leader of it. However, I eventually turned on them in the aftermath of an important confrontation and joined with the established government, which my father was once a very important member of. At one point, I am the ally of the hero, but at another, I am his worst enemy. Both my parents are dead. I was actually glad when my father died because he was an evil dude who didn't care for me at all, but my mother's death was very traumatic. Though it is plain to see that I am incredibly awesome, the author doesn't seem to like me very much and in later books my role shrinks to the point where AHEM in cursing and wishing that I was the main character, or at least had some more page time in the books. Red is my signature color and I carry an ornate knife. Though I possess a wide variety of talents, I spend most of my time running and hiding, at least until I'm caught. Since I've been on the run for so long, I developed very good foresting skills.

Galbatorix = Keeper.("I am the dark lord, one of the most important of the hero's enemies, and the cause of many of the dark events that happen in the series. I have many evil servants and monsters at my command, and powerful dark magic as well. However, the blasted hero keeps interfering and spoiling my plans. My enemies paint me as pure evil and insist that I'm wreaking havoc out of spite.")

Morzan = Darken Rahl.("I am the No. 2 bad guy. I serve the dark lord mentioned above, though I am dead before the end of the first book thanks to the good guys. I am a wizard of incredible talent, and I am very handsome besides. However, I am secretly proud and haughty, not to mention cruel. My greatest enemy is the wise old wizard described above. I have a red dragon that I ride, to go places faster and carry out my master's dark will. Because of my service to him, he lets my have great power and even taught me the secret of dark magics that few possess. At least one of my eyes is blue. At one point, I seduced a young, innocent girl for my own benefit. At one point, the hero is told that I am his father. His half-sibling is my offspring, though I don't care for that kid very much.")

Nasuada = Jagang.("I am the leader of a horde of poorly organized soldiers who want to rule the world, and I won't hesitate to make morally wrong decisions to prove that my philosophy is correct. My primary enemy is the established government of the land that I'm trying to invade. At one point, I met with Murtagh/Jennsen and took interest in them, but they turned out to be an enemy to my all-important cause, and I've been trying to capture them again since. I really don't like magic, since it gives some people unfair advantages and I can't cast spells myself. However, to bring about my goals, I often employ sorceresses and wizards.")

Thorn = Gregory.("I am a big, nasty, red dragon who is on the "bad" side. I am more muscular than other dragons and I grow very quickly. The person who rides me is also on the bad side, and a powerful magic user who serves the Emperor. At the start of the books, I was in my egg, and being held hostage by the leader of the country I was in. I hatched later on, but went unseen for quite awhile until I returned to wreak havoc on the good side and ruin their war efforts. People think that I'm evil, but I'm really not. I've been forced to work for the bad side.")

Ra'zac = Mriswith.("We are nassssty monsters with a human ssshape and a hissss to our sssspeech. We ssserve the Emperor. We carry knivessss around to slasssh people up with, and we're pretty darn good as usssing them. We make excellent asssssssasssssins because we have special powers that make it impossible to detect ussss with magic. So, we ssssneak up on people and kill them before they even know that we're there, because we're very stealthy and good at going unsssseen. Teh strongessssst of our kind do not look like us at all, but are giant winged creaturesssss who resemble dragonssss. Thossss creaturesss lay eggssss that we hatch from. We are the enemiessss of the hero and try to take him out at one point. At another point, one of ussss stops and talkssss to him, and dropsss an important hint on how to progressss the story. The hero eventually killssssss us.")

(SPOILERS END HERE.)

I could go on and on about these parallels, but I think that I've posted quite enough material for now. What do all of you think?

This post has been edited by AHEM: 14 February 2009 - 09:41 PM

[BartimaeusTrilogyFan]

Sloan: In Inheritance, it is the first name of a butcher. In Stone of Tears, it is the last name of a Midlands officer.

Sloan is a name that has been around for generations, therefore, CP could have stoled it from anyone. See?

Plus, as a whole, the Inheritance is no where near as deep as the SoT books. Then again, almost anything is deeper than CP's "creation."

Anywho, I don't doubt CP may have taken things or ideas from the books. He has done it before; look at Star Wars, LOTR, or the Belgarid (ugh). Tis his way, I suppose.

Overalll, well done AHEM.

Oh and Brom's hair was silver, not white.

This post has been edited by BartimaeusTrilogyFan: 14 February 2009 - 12:05 AM

[AHEM]

Sloan is a name that has been around for generations, therefore, CP could have stoled it from anyone. See?

I never said that CP had stolen/copied anything from Terry Goodkind. I just said that the books were similar in some aspects. In fact, in some of the similarities I outlined, CP's portrayal of them came first. Gregory didn't appear until Confessor, which was published years after Eldest.

Oh and Brom's hair was silver, not white.

Yes, you are correct. It's pretty easy to confuse sometimes, especially when I'm comparing Brom to a personw with white hair. I've heard a few people online say that Brom's hair is white, and even when I know that it isn't, sometimes it sticks in my head.

[China Oolong]

Yes, you are correct. It's pretty easy to confuse sometimes, especially when I'm comparing Brom to a personw with white hair. I've heard a few people online say that Brom's hair is white, and even when I know that it isn't, sometimes it sticks in my head.

I don't think there's much difference >.>

[BartimaeusTrilogyFan]

There is to a difference.

And AHEM, it easy to get confused over details sometimes, yeah. HJow long did that take you to type out, by the way? O_o

[Falling]

Here’s my background knowledge of the series. I tried picking it up at one point, skipped around the pages for a bit, but generally was not impressed. I then did some reading about the author and series.

As a non-fan, I have some questions. I find the Legend of the Seeker tv series mildly amusing (give me my Hornblower and Sharpe series any day). And like any good book fans, I’ve heard complaints about its changes. I’m wondering does it actually follow the plot of the Wizard’s First Rule (ie first couple of chapters.) To me it seems that they are travelling, but not really getting anywhere. (Maybe the nature of a tv series that needs a side adventure every episode.) Are those side episodes in the books somewhere.