Rahl has two of the boxes opened, starting this magical chain of events that wonвЂ™t end until the year is up. There are these three magical MacGuffins that when put together and opened in the correct order, give the opener the power to rule everyone. Since Darken Rahl is invincible, the three are on a slightly different quest. There are various troubles to overcome, but nothing particularly frightening or on par with raping children. They are both comically evil and contrast with the book so much it seems like they belong in a different novel.Д«ut once we go back to Richard, Kahlen, and Zedd, things go back to being normal.

His second in command is a cold-hearted killer who likes to molest children. He wants to take over the world because thatвЂ™s what evil villains do, and heвЂ™s invincible to boot! Now and then he murders children. Darken Rahl is evil for the sake of it, possessing multiple vendettas and daddy issues. IвЂ™ve never met a villain thatвЂ™s trying this hard to be evil, and the worst part is, itвЂ™s all played straight. I expected a fairly typical fantasy villain given how typical and by-the-books everything else had been thus far, but holy crap is Darken Rahl something else. Our expectations are firmly set.ДЄnd then they are shattered when Darken Rahl is introduced. Friendship and justice are the two motives that our heroes are operating under, and their quest will take Richard into places heвЂ™s never been. The book begins under the guise of a light-hearted young adult novel. You know heвЂ™s the bad guy because he has вЂњdarkвЂќ in his name. Then Richard is given a magical sword that can cut through anything and the group set out to kill the bad guy named Darken Rahl. Richard, who is supposed to be really smart and clever, never knew his best friend was a wizard, and so that conversation happens. HeвЂ™s quirky and knows everything! Of course, Zedd is the wizard in question because the only requirement Terry Goodkind had for this novel was that it would be exceedingly predictable. Kahlen is in search of a mysterious old wizard, and Richard suggests they visit his friend Zedd, a mysterious old hermit. Their first handful of conversations are grating and idiotic, the kind of mess youвЂ™d expect in a bottom-tier piece of fanfiction. SheвЂ™s afraid to open up to him (for she has a terrible secret), but thatвЂ™s okay as a true friend Richard will respect her privacy. The poor girl has gone all her life without one, so Richard volunteers to be her first real friend. The only way this could be more done to death is if our mysterious lady had amnesia.Д«ut while Kahlan doesnвЂ™t have amnesia, she does lack friends or any understanding of the concept. If you havenвЂ™t seen this story before, then you arenвЂ™t looking hard enough. After a bit of searching around for clues as to who killed his father, he stumbles upon a mysterious lady and winds up in a quest to save the world.

The book starts out with Richard Cypher, a hopelessly boring caricature, walking through the woods. ItвЂ™s an absolute mess of clichГ©s and bad ideas in a desperate need of editing. This depresses me in untold ways as WizardвЂ™s First Rule is the Twilight of fantasy novels, not in a вЂњterrible romanceвЂќ way, but in a вЂњterrible plot and charactersвЂќ way. Ten weeks after IвЂ™d written The End it sold for a record price ($275,000),вЂ™ the most money ever paid for a fantasy novel by a first time author.вЂќ He asked to see the book and he liked it. вЂI wanted to be represented by the best agent in the country and I wrote him a letter.

вЂIвЂ™m sort of the exception that proves the rule,вЂ™ he says. вЂњGoodkind had no trouble selling his first book to a publisher. I went to Wikipedia and looked up WizardвЂ™s First Rule after I read it on some mysterious whim.

Terry goodkind sword of truth gone