Terry Goodkind: A series of books about Richard and Kahlan. The series "Legend of the Seeker"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Which of us doesn't like to watch a couple of episodes of our favorite series after a hard day's work? Or spend time in company with your favorite book, read to holes? What is better, the movie or the book? You can only answer if you compare any particular work.

In 1983, Terry Goodkind moved to the wilderness in the mountains of Northeast America. And he spent his days there with his wife, spending most of his energy on building his own house. It was then that in his head, free from the thoughts and worries of the big city, the idea was born to write a book about Confessor Kahlan. More than 10 years passed, and finally in 1994 the first book of a large series about Kahlan and Richard was created and published. It was called Wizard's First Rule.

In 2008, ABS Studios presented the world with the series "Legend of the Seeker", based on the works of Terry Goodkind. And you can only partially compare them, since the series and books are noticeably different.

Sword of Truth book series

Terry Goodkind's Richard and Kahlan series has grown enormously over the years of the writer's work, and the end is not yet in sight.

The main part of the story consists of 11 novels: "The Wizard's First Rule" was published in 1994, "The Wizard's Last Rule, or Confessor" - in 2007. In 1998, Terry Goodkind wrote the backstory of "The Sword of Truth" - the story "The Debts of the Ancestors".

Then was written The Law of Nines (2009), which takes place in the same world as Sword of Truth, but centuries later. This novel was published in Russia in 2012

After it's time for sequels, Richard and Kahlan are once again struggling with the vicissitudes of fate. So far, 4 more novels have been written, which continue to develop the main series:

1. The Prediction Machine (2011).
2. Third Kingdom (2013).
3. Separated Souls (2014).
4. Heart of War (2015).

A separate series of novels dedicated to one of the minor characters called "Nikki Chronicles" was released:

1. "Lady Death" (2017).
2. Shroud of Eternity (2018).
3. Siege of Stone (2018)

Heroes of the series

The Richard Cypher and Kahlan book series is one of the most successful projects in the literary world. In many ways, this happened because readers fell in love with the book couple of main characters, and the secondary characters of the series are very entertaining. The main characters of the first partthe following:

• Richard Cypher - tracker, hunter, forest guide. He is also a new Seeker of Truth and has no idea about his destiny yet.
• Kahlen Amnell is a pupil of the Mother Confessor, in the future she herself takes her place. Possesses the ability to subjugate people and because of this gift is unable to touch Richard.
• Darken Rahl is the main villain, the lord of D'Hara, who dreams of capturing the Middle Earth.
• Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander is a wizard who protected Richard from childhood, and secretly kept the Sword of Truth from everyone.



• Michael Cypher is Richard's brother, who treats him with slight disdain, as he himself achieved the post of first Councilor of Westland.
• Shota is a witch.
• Chase is Cypher's longtime friend, tracker and border guard.
• Eddie is a witch who helps the heroes and heals Zedd.

The plot of the whole story is as follows: once upon a time there were two states - the Middle Earth and D'Hara. The Middle Lands is something like a confederation, where many peoples are united under a common government. D'Hara is a tyrannical state under the leadership of Rahl, who tried to seize neighboring lands. In response, the wizards erected a wall that divided the countries, along the way creating a third - Westland, an area without magic. But now the borders are crumbling, and the only one who can save everyone is the new Seeker of Truth.

Who should read the Sword of Truth book series

Books about the adventures of Richard and Kahlan can be rated a solid four, maybe evenwith a plus. Most fantasy fans like them, as they have everything you need for an exciting read: a dynamic plot, a pronounced love line with tragic notes and touching moments, an abundance of entertaining and characteristic characters, and other attributes of a great fantasy.

What prevented this series from turning from just good books into masterpieces? Many are scared off by the length of the series, and for some readers it is very important that the writer stops in time and clearly outlines the fate of the characters, best of all with a happy ending. The author is constantly developing the world, adding more and more new characters to it. In addition, it seems that Terry Goodkind does not like his main characters very much. If not, why is he bullying them like that? After all, the passions in the books boil such that no Brazilian TV series has ever dreamed of!

Series

The Legend of the Seeker series about Richard and Kahlan lasted only two seasons, 22 episodes each. It is based on the first two books in the series, The Wizard's First Rule and The Wizard's Second Rule, or The Stone of Tears. However, the events are so mixed up that it is useless to compare them with the book. The main characters and storylines were taken from a literary source.

The audience remembered it as entertaining, with beautiful shots (landscapes were filmed in New Zealand).

The relationship of lovers in the series

In the film, the audience was most interested in the love line of the main characters, all the tragedy of which was based on the fact thatKahlan can't touch Richard. And everyone, without exception, was arguing about which episode Kahlan and Richard would sleep in.

This happened in the 11th episode of the second season, in an episode called "Heart and Mind". It's about how Kahlan split into two people - one became a reasonable and strict Mother Confessor, the second - an ordinary girl, without abilities.

However, to preserve the intrigue, everything returned to its place by the end of the series. And Kahlan and Richard were able to become a couple only in the last episode of the season.

Reviews about the series

Funds were invested heavily in the film, but critics met it ambiguously. They admitted that the creators took all the best from Star Wars and Xena: Warrior Princess and immediately accused the film of stealing ideas. As for the audience, they met the series about Richard and Kahlan well, but without fanaticism. That is, they watched with pleasure everything that was filmed, but they do not want to continue. In fact, the film was rated a four, maybe with a plus.

So which is better, the book or the series? Their scores are about the same. So, if you want to drown headlong in an endless book series, then you should start reading The Sword of Truth. If you need a complete beautiful fantasy with a love story, then you can watch all 44 episodes of Legends of the Seeker. The episodes in the show are short and it won't take long to watch.