I've always thougth The Sword of Truth was consistently one of the most overated series in fantasy. I just replied to a similar thread on another forum, so here it is:
Regarding sales, and best seller charts, I simply don't use that to gauge how good any writer is, regardless of what genre they write. Neither
Goodkind nor the aforementioned
Jordan, come near my top 200 works in fantasy (my preferences), most of which they vastly outsell. IMHO Goodkind's first novel,
Wizard's First Rule was promising, but none since have been above average in quality, and a couple (
Pillars of Creation, and
Blood of the Fold) were among the worst works of fiction I have ever read. His most recent work,
Chainfire, shows
Goodkind's unwillingness to deviate from his derivative nature within the series. Richard and Kahlan seperated, mindless philosophy coming out of nowhere, fromevery character no matter what their background is makes the dialogue unbelivable. People don't talk like that. How many times can you introduce a Lost continent to prolong a story? The most amusing aspect is that
Goodkind believes he is a groundbreaking writer and those who don't like his work aren't intellectuals (read any of his interviews). This notion is absurd, there are tons of epic fantasy writers writing much more "headier" works,
Martin, and
Bakker to name a couple, not to mention the tons of post-modern writers who make
Goodkind look like he is writing dialogue for coloring books.
IMHO
The Sword of Truth is among the most overated series in fantasy history, but that's just me.
Oh and his personality? Apparently he is also a comedian:
Read
THIS
Here is just one excerpt:
"
What you are seeing with my novels is something unique. They are not like all the other fantasy books. A tiny group of fantasy fans happens to like things the way they are and only wants more of the same. These few do not under any circumstances; want anything to change or anything that requires thought. They want everything to stay static and simplistic. For these reasons (and others), these people do not like what I write and they never will. They even hate that my books exist, that I write things that dare to uplift and inspire.
Rather than simply reading and enjoying the many books available that they like, they spend their time railing against the one author who is different.
What I have done with my work has irrevocably changed the face of fantasy. In so doing I've raised the standards. I have not only injected thought into a tired empty genre, but, more importantly, I've transcended it showing what more it can be-and is so doing spread my readership to completely new groups who don’t like and wont ready typical fantasy. Agents and editors are screaming for more books like mine.
They can’t find any-for 3 reasons. One, copying innovation is an impossibility. Two, individually cannot be copied. They don’t grasp the essence of my work. What they end up with are authors who imitate some of the nonessential elements unique to my books, believing they must be the secret to success, much as my publishers at first believe that it was the red dragon that defined my work.
Why are editors trying to get more books like mine? Because any one of my backlist sells more copies in a month than most fantasy authors' books sell in their entire run. NAKED EMPIRE has been on the NY Times list for two months now. Far more importantly, I break genre lines and draw my ever growing sales from the much larger pool of general fiction readers who embrace my books" -
Terry Goodkind
LOL! I don't find his work to be above average at best, what is he talking about?
