Everything written by Terry Goodkind

As of a few days ago, I've read every work published by author Terry Goodkind (I just checked to make sure). I think I started reading my first book by him in 2013, but I really cannot remember anymore. In my previous entry, I noted that I have a hard time motivating myself to actually type up detailed reviews of the books that I've read, even when there's so much I want to say. That's never been more true than it is with Terry Goodkind. That's why, as far as I can remember, there were no previous posts here even mentioning him. I kept thinking, "I'll wait until I'm caught up on all of his books, then write one giant post detailing all of my thoughts." Well, that's not this post, and it's now out of the question.

By now, if I were to seriously try to write about everything I find interesting in these books, it'd easily surpass 100 blog posts. I find these books absolutely fascinating, and to some extent, I'm wondering if some of the notions I have about some aspects of the books are thoughts no one else has ever had. That might seem naive or overly bold on my part, but these stories are sufficiently well-written, sufficiently detailed, and sufficiently strange that I find myself pondering them a lot, the themes and characters and implications nagging at my mind, especially right after finishing a book. But when I look at what others say about them, the commentary seems superficial. People who like the books seem to fall into one of the following camps...

• Fantasy genre readers who are looking for something that presents a different take on fantasy, something novel, falling outside what are seen as hackneyed tropes of the genre. They're willing to overlook the preachy nature of much of the latter books in the series, or they find it an interesting change of pace from typical fantasy fare.
• People who embrace the values and messages presented in the series. Actually, that's pretty much limited to those that buy into the "objectivist" Ayn Rand school of philosophy and politics. Actually, that might be limited to Terry Goodkind himself. I'm exaggerating a bit, but most objectivists seem to be rather picky about their own evaluations of things, and even if they're broadly sympathetic to Goodkind's ideas, they probably find something in the series to set them off. Still, it would seem that Terry Goodkind surely has some objectivist fans.
• Me.

And people who are critical of the books seem to fall into one of these camps...

• Fantasy readers who found the shift from the more subtle, detail-driven narratives of the early books to the increase in objectivist preaching a turn-off. They might have interpreted Goodkind as falling into the trap of diminishing returns in sequel-writing.
• Readers who are picky about some non-philosophical issue in the books, such as the tendency to repeatedly deliver information from earlier books, or the intense descriptions of violence and gore, or the lengthy monologues.
• People who take issue with Terry Goodkind pushing objectivism in his books.

I'm sure there's some overlap in those categories, and I'm sure there is some more nuance, as I can only evaluate what I see others saying.

Well, I've already said it, but I find Goodkind's work fascinating. He's written 17 books. I've read them all and intend to reread them all. I also intend to buy the ones I don't already own (which is still most of them, at this time). Some day, there will be more posts here about these books. I just need the time and the energy. And I need to collect my thoughts. It's been a wild ride.