The amazing fantasy world of The Sword of Truth

Fantasy is without doubt my favourite genre of literature. I know it is the same for many.

The way I think about it, all book genres have an element of fantasy to them as their characters find themselves in extraordinary situations that exceed everyday reality.

Still, fantasy goes beyond.

It literally creates whole new realities of complex heroes, iron faith, exotic lands and glaring magic based on our myths and folklore.

Rich fictional worlds with novel creatures, nature and laws, that sometimes - somehow - feel more real than our own.

There are lots of fantasy books and series out there, but only a few ones that we consider as masterpieces. What differentiates these chosen ones from the vast mass is just a few simple concepts that make the whole difference.

• They have extraordinary characters with worthy missions - I cannot highlight enough how really extraordinary and worthy they must be.
• Their worlds are supernatural, yet extremely logical and realistic - and yes, they come with a world map!
• They get transposed into movies or tv series - typically multi-million productions from one of the major studios.

Many of you have images from The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Chronicles of Narnia, maybe The Witcher or even Eragon, in your mind.

Not as many from The Sword of Truth.

My mission: to change that!

The Sword of Truth

This epic fantasy series started in 1994 when Tor Books discovered and published the book Wizard's First Rule and, 16 books after, it has since become a critically acclaimed masterpiece with numerous #1 New York Times bestsellers.

While it has undoubtedly conquered not only the heart of the critics but also that of many fans with more than 26 million books sold in over 20 languages, somehow the series has not yet found the same cult level in pop culture as the previously mentioned titles.

Which is a great gift to the world as it means that - much to my envy - many of you will still get to experience the awe and magic of entering this amazing world for the first time!

What I love the most about this fantasy world are the characters that live in it.

While it is common for books to have a very interesting main character and maybe an equally solid secondary character, they all too often lack interesting side characters which can make the story hollow and one-sided.

The Sword of Truth does not fall into this trap. You'll find yourself wanting and getting to focus not only on the adventures of Richard and Kahlan, respectively our Seeker and Mother Confessor, but also on those of the wizard Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander, the boundary warden Chase and the Mord-Sith Cara to mention a few.

"Once lucky, twice confident, and thrice dead." - Zedd

These characters are not black and white, and the lines between good and bad masterfully intertwine in them.

Terry Goodkind was a master in designing characters with complex personalities and, then, ruthlessly positioning them in impossible situations. As all characters face their fears and demons within complex challenges, as the reader we see the best and worst of our own human psyche coming to life.

"I begged her to release me, she would not. I was forced to kill her." - Richard

The story itself is a complex mosaic of events located in distant locations, years and scopes, yet all perfectly fitting together.

The Sword of Truth succeeds where so many other have failed: it keeps timelines clear. Four words that sound so simple, yet are so complex to achieve together.

"The last time I saw one of the boxes of Orden, it was open, and it was sucking my bastard father into the underworld."- Richard

No confusion here.

Finally, all characters believe with all their heart and courage in their own mission.

Strong devotion and resolution are fundamental in life to obtain what we want. The characters in these books, both good and evil, have strong passions, stronger desires and the strongest wills.

This is true for the author too, whose language, opinions and beliefs, transpire sometimes rather intensely throughout the story. In fact, he was well-known for candidly enjoying stirring up controversy*!

This means that you will find yourself doubting what is right and wrong a lot as you go through the pages of the books.

What you'll know for sure: these are no ordinary actions and actors.

"My cat eats mice. Does that make him bad? I don't think so, and the cat doesn't think so, but I would bet the mice have a different opinion." — Zedd

═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══

While there is only one way to find out if you too agree that The Sword of Truth is the best fantasy world ever created - you guessed it, time to read it! , I can add one fun fact and one suggestion to finally tease your curiosity.

Firstly, the fun fact (which is also, maybe, a tiny tiny spoiler).

It is no coincidence for book #1 to be titled Wizard's First Rule. Indeed a common thread of all, or to be precise 14 out of 17, books in the series is to dive into one of the Wizard's Rules, the magical principles that allow wizards like Zedd to manipulate the world around them. The first rule: People are stupid. What a way to begin!

Lastly, a suggestion (which is also, maybe, a tiny tiny attention test).

You may remember that all great fantasy worlds receive their cinematographic transpositions. The Sword of Truth is no exception with Disney–ABC releasing its tv series counterpart Legend of the Seeker in the late 2000s. If you are a fan of '90s fantasy tv series such as Hercules or Xena, you do not want to miss it!

* Read more about the late author in this memorial article by the New York Times and at terrygoodkind.com