Wizard's First Rule

Sword of Truth, Book 1

By: Terry Goodkind

Narrated by: Sam Tsoutsouvas

Length: 34 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

The masterpiece that started Terry Goodkind's New York Times bestselling epic Sword of Truth

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help...and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.

In a dark age it takes courage to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the best of their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love would destroy them - for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare not say.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, 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.

Wizard's First Rule is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.

Epic edge: listen to more in the Sword of Truth series.

©1994 by Terry Goodkind. (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Wonderfully creative, seamless, and stirring." ( Kirkus Review)

Great narration.

I can't remember when I first read Wizard's First Rule, but it was the only book in the series I'd ever touched until this month. I like the characters, to a point, but it's the world, setting, and overall idea of magic that intrigue me. Goodkind developed a fairly unique idea about what makes a wizard a wizard, and how the world reacts to those with such powers.

Anyway, the story itself is okay. It's a fun read, and this narrator has his own fun with it, too. I loved Scarlet's voice, and Princess Violet's. Zed was pretty good, too. The narrator definitely keeps the pace going, though even he seems to have trouble with Goodkind's often amateur writing. I hear the writing steadily improves, so I look forward to that later on.

Loved it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I loved every second of this book. It was fantasy for adults with just the right amount of magic, violence and passion. It took some unexpected turns and kept me interested the whole way through. I can't wait to hear the next one!

what a wonderful book, from start to finish!

This book and the reader makes you feel like your sitting in their world. It is simply amazing and definitely a must to listen to. I am hooked.

This going to be a great series!

I can't wait to start book 2! This author does a great job at keeping you on your toes and never really knowing how something happens until the very end.

Great start to the series!

Great performance! Struggled with some parts dye to over explanation. For the most part though it was a fantastic story

Different Tastes, Still Good Story

SO I read this book awhile ago and decided that after getting into audio books BIG time, that I wanted to give this a "re-read". Mr. Tsoutsouvas is an interesting reader. He puts a lot of emotion into his reading and he has a very pleasant voice. The only complaint I have is that he chose a voice for one character that I absolutely thought was wrong. The Bone Woman has a *husky* voice, and she's described as pretty despite her age so what I imagined with those context clues given is that she's kind of an old fox kind of character with a slight maybe jamaican feel to it. I think that seems pretty understandable, but then he gives her the oldest most annoying crone voice I've ever heard so when she's supposed to be kinda flirtatious I was cringing so hard. For maybe another character fine, but for Adie? If that's what the author intended then I guess that's alright, but I think it wasn't. It was distracting but it's alright I give him a pass on it.

Terry Goodkind is a good author, and I say good because I think he has a few issues. I admire authors who, unlike me, can get right to the point of what they want to say while still painting a scene or enriching the story with action and dialogue. True word smiths. Honing their sentences to convey deep meanings in well chosen, selective words. Mr. Goodkind has a bit of a problem with being long winded (I guess there's no surprise why he's continued to write for so long haha) but he still makes interesting characters, wonderful dialogue and a very interesting story/world. While I think he lacks a little of the "magic" of brevity, I think he makes up for it in atmospheric emotional writing. He has a completely different tone that is unique to him. I think his 'ideas' are different too. Like his core concepts, what the characters push for, what they stand for. His writing is not necessarily perfect but it has a fantastical feel to it. It builds well. Some moments he really nails a weird emotion/vibe because of the strange scenarios he's made for his characters to be in. It's somehow refreshing, unique, somewhat iconic, and relatable at the same time. There are some things that I have to reference the Sword of Truth to tell people about and few times do I ever have anything I can equate it with. I don't know how many of these I will read but I still think this first book is a great book. It's definitely always going to be a part of my library.

Perfect except the voice of the dragon

Absolutely wonderful. The narrator was excellent and never took me out of the story - with one exception. His choice of accent for Scarlet the dragon put me in mind of the "dames" from old black & white gangster movies. It was rather jarring, and didn't fit the book's setting at all.
But all told, Scarlet's part was a minor one, and didn't severely detract from my enjoyment of the book.

Great book. Ok performance

Read the book years ago and enjoyed listening to it again. Only real downside was the MAE West -like accent the narrator used for the dragon. Overall enjoyable listen

Awesome LOVE story combined Fantasy💞

LOVED IT!! If you allow yourself to get caught up in a great story, this will bring out all your emotiins😏

Enjoyed Greatly

Good characters, story, and narration. Well worth the purchase and time. About to go looking if there are any others to continue the story.