User Reviews

Like most who read the Sword of Truth books I eagerly awaited seeing what the series treatment would make of it. But you have to keep in mind that no film/series/miniseries is ever exactly the same as its source material.

When the first episode began, I scratched my head as to why Dennee (Kahlan's adoptive sister) was A. alive, and B. riding with Kahlan to find Richard, as the book starts with her having already been killed. But it was interesting to see someone else's vision of the story I'd all but lived (as books tend to do that), and what the people in it looked like.

It became a bit of a novelty at first; to see the changes, the visualisation of worlds, peoples, and situations (nevermind swords and magic *wink* *wink*). And while some things bugged me; Kahlan being pronounced Kaylan, as the 'H' in her name would flatten the 'A' so that it sounded like the 'A' in "apple", rather than the 'A' in "sway" - other things did make me smile and take note, as it was interesting to see characters reference people and places and things that readers of the book would know intimately (it was kind of a wink to us who had stayed with it all this time).

WHAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER IS THIS: what has been created on screen is not the books, but rather one interpretation of them. It feels like I'm peering into another dimension that runs parallel to the books, where the characters in both had roughly the same starting point but are making their way down the road at a different pace, and stopping to see different sights.

In all honesty, you cannot with the mindset: "This had better be just like the books or else".

Personally, I really enjoyed the story of the books, but I'm also enjoying the series as it comes out, and I find myself checking for when the next episode is on.

The story in itself is timeless because a lot of the themes are ones that have been with us forever, and I feel a lot of the same spirit exists in the series as in the books.

What's been done has been done to bring it to a larger audience (and in some cases a younger one), and while it sometimes gets to me that the fights are done like the movie "300", or that a wounded enemy will fall down and have no wound whatsoever when he hits the ground, the series was never intended to be the books. To have tried to make it exactly so would have been foolish as not only are the mediums so different, but the audiences as well.

Any reader who picks up Wizard's First Rule is probably already a fantasy reader, where as people can and probably will enjoy the series as a more light thing than sitting down to read a novel.

So the facts are this: The books are so well known because they are THAT good for what they do, but the series is also top notch by a fantasy series standard (nevermind a Disney standard - as Disney standard its far more intelligent and grown up than you'd expect). The series, like the books, will not suit everyone, so its time to stop protesting its existence because it isn't exactly what you may have read. Those who watch it as they're first introduction to the Sword of Truth world will get a kick out of it for the same reasons we all did reading the books.

So if you haven't seen it, give it a go, but don't expect it to be the books. And if you're just interested in a fantasy TV series or a fun series for the family or for whatever reason, you'll probably have a blast.

Seriously, I wish it had been around when I was a kid, it would have slotted right in next to Thundercats and Dungeons & Dragons, and I would have been well-pleased.

The fact is, if Terry Goodkind can still remain a driving force behind the writing of the series, and remain happy with what's going out, why can't you? WE may have visited the world, but its creator had to live in it, and breath in and out with every creature in that world, feeling every inch of that reality. It would have been the hardest thing for him to let go of, but if he's still as happy as he is with what his baby is growing up to be... maybe it deserves a little pause for thought.

Like many of the people who appear to be frustrated by the television series, I have read all of the books several times.

However, unlike these people, I really appreciate the series for what it is. In order to make 22 episodes for a television series, it is likely that changes had to be made. Does it really matter that Darken Rahl uses catapults to attack the barrier? Not really. The story is about the people and the value judgments that they use to go about their lives. In a way, I actually enjoy the deviations from the textual source, because it allows me to experience, to some extent, the sense of the unknown that a fresh viewer would experience.

There are times when the limited budget shows through, but aside from these minor glitches (the reason for a 9 instead of a 10), I genuinely enjoyed watching the show.

So far, the trailer is almost perfect. Zedd is way too tall, but still a good choice. Casting the physical parts over the personality is always a mistake, and comes off too Disney-like in the end. The age of the guy playing Darken Rahl would concern me most of all, but only because he appears too young to be the age of Richard's father.

I am hoping the acting resumes of these actors are as accurate as they are promising. If they are, we should be in for some better acting than the Hercules/Xena shows everyone is comparing this to.

I expect that Sam's personal resources and connections for producing a show in New Zealand and Australia will enhance his ability to bring the books to life. As a fan of the book series himself, I am sure he intends to do it justice. If anything, his success with the Spiderman movies will give him more leverage for selling the show at a higher price than he did with Hercules and Xena. With a better budget and more experience with special effects, I am hopeful that the production value will be what is needed.

I agree that the series would be more entertaining on HBO, but would not want to relive the nightmare schedule of The Soprano's again. If we can't see Kahlan and Richard bumping uglies, I suppose the story can survive. (sigh) ;) As for the gore factor, well that can be done pretty well in most cases. There are 2 scenes I can think of off-hand that would be a bit rough for TV, but the rest fall within the limits of existing shows if you focus on the story and not on the details of a single passage. See the Terminator series for gruesome scenes, when they skin a terminator it is pretty rough. Since it is integral to the story, it still works without getting to be a horror show. I expect some of that in this series as well.

The bottom line is that some changes have to be made for it to work as a TV series. If it was done just like the book, it would be one big narrative. Now if they had Bruce Campbell doing the voice over, it could work for a while (wink) but not for a full run. Converting inner thoughts to visual cues for the audience will take quite a bit of cutting and pasting, so do not go into this thinking it should be just like the book. Think the movie version of comic books. The heart is still there, even if the story has to change slightly to make it work in another medium. That said, Kahlan's power appears to me to be exactly what it is described as in the book. Perhaps a bit more staggering to the men around her, but there is a concussive nature to the power being used if I recall it correctly. As to any concerns it was more powerful than it should have been (the concussion that is), you should consider the need to visually portray the effect of it that the book may have descibed merely as a sensation. Again, that pesky medium difference.

Frankly, I like that we are getting 22 episodes, at approx 40 mins each, for a total of 14.67 hours just for season 1. Imagine trying to stuff this series into a couple of 2 hour movies? This gives the proper attention to the parts that are needed. Whether the entire series will be given its due dilligence will be evident when we see how long it takes to kill off Darken.

Now if you will excuse me, I have a box of Orden to track down....

Warning this will contain a few spoilers!!!!!! First off, I'd like to start by announcing to all the people complaining about the show.

THEY CHANGED THE NAME SO THAT IT DIDN'T HAVE TO BE ACCURATE TO THE BOOKS!!!! And for people with comments like, "Obviously nobody working on the show has ever read the book." THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOKS IS WORKING ON THE TELEVISION SHOW WITH THEM.

Also, for some errors on "inconsistancies."

1. Right off the bat, Richard knows that Kahlan is a confessor, and what that entails.

--No... when watching the first episode, Zedd tells him that she is Kahlan, a confessor.

2. Zedd quite apparently is not Richard's grandfather, and they have never met before.

--Again, no. In the first episode he calls Zedd, "THAT crazy old man!?" and if you actually watch the show, a couple of episodes in, Kahlan is like, "So are you going to tell him?" and Zedd is like, "No, I don't want him knowing yet, that I am his grandfather until, and only if, we find his mother."

Anyways, putting all that aside. Don't listen to people complaining about how off it is from the books. It's not meant to be the books. And you just need to enjoy the show, for that. The show. It's it's own thing people. And I think it is a wonderfully action-packed, fun tale for people of all ages to enjoy. The acting is not bad at all, and I got sucked in straight from the first episode. So please, don't bash this series, just because your disappointed, or you heard that it sucks. Watch it, and judge for yourself.

Having read the entire series from Goodkind, and anticipating the first showing, I nearly missed the premier tonight.

Glad I didn't! After a slow start, the plot picked up when we met Zed and the borders were breached. Once Richard and Kahlan met, the producers began to move along a bit faster, without sacrificing too much detail.

Richard's character is just naive enough to be believable, but not too young to carry the part for the next in the sequence. Not too sure about Kahlan, yet, but there is promise.

The gar was done pretty well, for a CGI.

It's a great surprise to see who they cast as Zed. I had to wait until nearly halfway through the episode before I began to buy into seeing the Gyro Captain as a wizard! My only big disappointment is the actor playing Darken Rahl. Slimy; yes, Evil; without a doubt. But not nearly malevolent and vicious enough to meet my expectations.

Sorry, but the final scene is a bit of a cliché', but I guess they had to find a way to end it. Good enough to want to see the next installment!

At first, when I saw the previews for the show, I was very unhappy about the actor playing Richard. After watching the first two episodes, I am no longer displeased. Despite the lack of height, he is very ideal for Richard. The jawline, the hair, the muscles, everything fits very nicely. Plus, Richard doesn't start out huge like Chase, he grows within the first few books. I was pleased with the show, and I was concerned at first. The storyline is a little different, but some of the important parts are there.

My biggest problem with the show is the beginning storyline. I was beyond upset that the show has Richard being estranged to Zedd. ZEDD IS Who taught him ABOUT HERBS AND THE FOREST!!! The books reference Zedd's teachings way too much to have cut that out. George Cypher was a huge part of Richards life, but Zedd balanced out his raising as well. A lot of how Richard thinks and acts is because of Zedd.

The whole mother twist was okay, I'll live with that, but they should never have taken away Zedd and Richard's past.

Kahlan and Darken's hair was another tiny problem. She is supposed to have very long, brown, wavy hair; while he is supposed to have pale blond, shoulder-length straight hair. Those actor's hair color is way too dark for Kahlan and Darken. But, it definitely isn't a deal breaker for the show.

I really liked the show, I'm already addicted in watching my all-time favorite book series on t.v. It's few changes, besides the one involving Zedd, are acceptable because we have been waiting so long for this show and these books are beyond fantastic. WATCH THE SHOW!!! I WANT IT TO KEEP GOING!!!

I was incredibly excited when I heard that they were making a TV production of sword of truth because I thought Terry Goodkind's series is awesome. The book happened to pop in my mind and I decided to check Goodkind's site to see if any new books were coming out (related or unrelated to SoT). I found out about the show yesterday (it probably been out for a year) and went to bed thinking, "im going to wake up tomorrow and catch up on every episode"...that's how stoked I was. And I was incredibly disappointed.

This show does the books a great disservice. I expected that there would be differences because whenever there is an adaptation, there are going to be differences...but this was just...horrible. I turned it off and tried to just view it as a new show, unrelated to the book...and I just could not. While the actors do a good job of doing what they can...the TV version of the story is a crappy humpty dumpty of the book.

I watched the first 4 episodes...then I skipped to the episode with Denna and I am just horrified at what the producers are going to do to this story. At max, I give this series 2 seasons and its a real shame...if the producers stuck more to the cannon, they'd have a show that wouldn't seem like a star wars, eragon, lord of the rings rip off and have a show that would be come a TV legend and be as beloved and highly appreciated as Terry Goodkind's books.

They are "garbaging" up a series from the beginning that had so much potential before they got their hands on it. I really wish Goodkind would've held unto the rights because the TV show is so upsetting.

I will not be watching this show ever again and would prefer to just re-read the book series and wait for better producers to come along to make a good adaptation.

If you've never read the books, you will probably find this show entertaining (it'd be nostalgic of hercules or xena pre-crapification). If you've read the books and are a fan...I ABSOLUTELY recommend you STAY AWAY from this show because it will be torture. In the shows defense...they casted a few of the roles very well (Kahlan, Zedd, and Denna) and not to belittle the actor who plays Richard or his ability as an actor, but he just doesn't fit the role of Richard...its like casting Denzel Washington to play James Bond...good actor but he wouldn't fit the part (the actor who plays his older brother or darken rahl would've been better in the role of richard).