The First Confessor

The Legend of Magda Searus

By: Terry Goodkind

Narrated by: Christina Traister

Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry Goodkind comes The First Confessor, the prequel to the Sword of Truth series.

In a time before legends had yet been born....

Married to the powerful leader of her people, safe among those gifted with great ability, Magda Searus is protected from a distant world descending into war. But when her husband, a man who loved life and loved her, unexpectedly commits suicide, she suddenly finds herself alone. Because she is ungifted herself, without her husband she no longer has standing among her people, and she finds herself isolated in a society that seems to be crumbling around her.

Despite her grief, she is driven to find the reasons behind why her husband would do such a thing - why he would abandon her and her people at such a profoundly dangerous time. Though she is not gifted, she begins to discover that there may be more to her husband's suicide than anyone knew. What she finds next, no one is willing to believe.

Without anyone to help her, she knows that she must embark on a mission to find a mysterious spiritist, if she even exists, so that she may speak with the dead. This quest may also be her last chance to unravel what is really behind the mysterious events befalling her people. What she discovers along the way is that the war is going far worse than she had known, and that the consequences of defeat will be more terrifying for her and her people than she could have imagined.

As mortal peril begins to close in around her, Magda learns that she is somehow the key to her people's salvation.

Journey with Magda Searus into her dark world, and learn how true legends are born.

©2012 Terry Goodkind (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Spells it out so even a dummy would get it

Would you listen to The First Confessor again? Why?

I liked it but there are some things I wish I didn't know and I won't spoil it for whoever is going to read it but i will say this...DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE ORIGINAL SWORD OF TRUTH SERIES!!! For 2 reasons.... 1 it will spoil the mystery and intrigue of the 14 books that come before it and 2 it will make no sense to you whatsoever. To me this is not a stand alone book. I think I would listen at least once more in case there are things I missed.

What did you like best about this story?

Magda's rebirth as a confessor

Which character – as performed by Christina Traister – was your favorite?

She is one of them

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanna listen to all my books in one sitting...however, who has an 8 - 36 hour block of time to do so?

Any additional comments?

Seriously, read this one...but read it last.

death by needless repetition

I was looking forward to this book with interest. Unfortunately I was quickly disappointed with the writing. It reads very much like a children's book. Things are restated to a maddening extent within the very same paragraph, and regularly throughout the book. Even the same phrases are beaten to death on a single page. I nearly quit listening and gave up, except that I wanted to know the back story to all that I'd read before. I actually did stop for an entire other book and partly switched back to it because I was on the road and couldn't download something else.

I'm shocked at the review ratings for this book. It's really substandard for this author, and just isn't good writing. It feels like it was never edited, or certainly never read aloud before going to print. The utter ridiculousness of how needlessly things are repeated can scarcely be explained, until you try to listen for yourself while not otherwise thoroughly distracted.

I hope this is not a sign of things to come for T.G.

Nice backstory.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. HOWEVER... I would strongly suggest reading/listening to the 10 Goodkind novels “Wizard’s First Rule” through “Confessor” BEFORE reading/listening to this one. This novel covers actions and parts of the story that would spoil the discovery process in the above mentioned series. This is a great companion stand alone novel the helps fill out the colorful story set in the magical world created by Goodkind much like the novella “Debt of Bones.”

The first confessor

The story itself begin very slowly, but the development of the characters was worth the wait.

This story began 1,000 years before Kahlan and Richard's adventures.

The Temple of the Winds has just been desecrated, strange things are happening within the Keep, who or what is trailing on Magda's heels as she tries to "Find Truth."

Follow through the eyes of the Lady Magda Searus, widow of the First Wizard Baraccus, as she discovers what has happened and what she will become. What will the future hold for her people?

Disappointing

Predictable with shallow characters prone to excessive preaching. Goodkind spends too much time belabor in the same ideas and too little time developing the plot.

Terry Not-So-GreatKind

Too bad his last name wasn't Goodwriter. So many extra words, no beauty in the telling. Like a rough draft, or a little kid telling a story.

Repetitive prose

I couldn't stick with it for some reason. it was very repetitive, as referred to in other reviews. The author seemed to say the same thing over and over again in different ways. I finally gave up listening and didn't finish the book, which is very unusual for me. Usually I will stick with even a not-so-good book once I make it as far as I did with this one.

Review

One of the best books in the series! Brings a lot of history to the rest of the books.

A favorite of this series.

I love this story especially after listening to the series up through Phantom. It ties so much of th ed first books and is s great segway to the rest of the series.

I loved it

this book started slow but picks up and fills in many questions. I suggest reading this book