‘Wizard’s First Rule’ is the start of an epic series of novels that completely staggers the reader with a number of unexpected twists and turns to keep you enthralled for hours upon hours at a time.

The series revolves around Richard Cypher, a woods guide who has grown up in Westland, a country completely isolated from the rest of the world by the boundary. Once a range of mountains, it was transformed by a master wizard into a place where the realms of death and life meet to stop people both leaving and, more importantly, to stop people coming in. Richard’s adventure begins when he is in the heartland forest and he stumbles across a ‘damsel in distress’ who is being hunted down by a quad (assassins in groups of 4). After helping this mysterious person, he discovers that she and the quad are both from across the boundary that is about to fail.

Terry Goodkind is a master in creating illusions that trick the reader into assuming that, like a lot of other books, the main character is invincible with little to no danger expected. He then crushes you with a wave of despair and misery absolutely guaranteed to shock you with the sheer horror of the events – events that are designed to keep you on your toes and awake well into the night.

This book is definitely not for the faint hearted – be prepared for the unexpected because it will happen. Another great benefit of the series is that out of the 13 books in the series, the majority of them can be read as stand alones. Definitely something I would recommend to my friends, although it can sometimes be a bit slow to read at times. Hang on because it will only get better.

– review by Jack E.

NB Image of author Terry Goodkind. Visit his web site to see what else he is writing in 2009. http://www.terrygoodkind.com/index-highres.html