#Terry goodkind sword of truth series series

Having spent most of his life in the woods, Richard knew all the plants-if not by name, by sight.

Goodkind hasnвЂ™t given us a significant plot hook yet. It sounds like Richard was casually walking through the woods and noticed it because it looked strange. Second paragraph down, and the vine still isnвЂ™t important. In fact, вЂњfog of despairвЂќ might be too melodramatic for any mention at all. The thick hair is a little out of viewpoint (would Richard really think about how thick his hair was at that moment?) and the fog of despair is too dramatic for such a passing mention. Then he awkwardly tells us Richard has thick hair and has been in a fog of despair. Now we know who the viewpoint character is, though itвЂ™s a little odd that Goodkind waits until the second sentence to give readers his name, using a pronoun in the first sentence instead. The oaks, being the last to surrender to the season, still stoically wore their dark green costs. With nights getting colder, it wouldnвЂ™t be long before their cousins down in the Hartland Woods joined them. The maples of the upper Ven Forest were already tinged with crimson, proudly showing off their new mantle in the light breeze. Richard combed his fingers through his thick hair as his mind lifted out of the fog of despair, coming into focus upon seeing the vine. It was the smell that first had caught his attention, a smell like the decomposition of something that had been wholly unsavory even in life. Goodkind imbues these plants with personality the sap even has its own drool! But while this provides a vivid picture with some conflict built in, we still donвЂ™t know why these plants matter to the viewpoint character, or even who the viewpoint character is. Pods stuck out from the vine here and there along its length, almost seeming to look warily about for witnesses. Sap drooled down the wounded bark, and dry limbs slumped, making it look as if the tree were trying to voice a moan into the cool, damp morning air. Dusky variegated leaves hunkered against a stem that wound in a stranglehold around the smooth trunk of a balsam fir. It would have been worth making this sentence longer to hint how this vine is important. Compare this to Battlefield EarthвЂ™s opening: вЂњMan is an endangered species.вЂќ Now thatвЂ™s a line with important implications. While it provokes curiosity as to how the vine is odd-looking, it doesnвЂ™t matter much. ThatвЂ™s not a terrible opening sentence, but itвЂ™s not great either. LetвЂ™s hope he didnвЂ™t make the sword quite so literal. ThatвЂ™s a little on the nose, donвЂ™t you think? But Goodkind probably didnвЂ™t draw that himself. Inside the book is a small illustration of a sword, with the word вЂњTruthвЂќ written on the hilt. I think she knows it too, thatвЂ™s why sheвЂ™s still standing there. On the cover, a guy beckons to a woman wearing a dress that is clearly impractical for a walk in such a scenic location.

ItвЂ™s massive, bigger than any other paperback I own.

#Terry goodkind sword of truth series series

WizardвЂ™s First Rule is the first book in The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.