The Sword of Truth
is an epic series of novels set in a medieval fantasy world where the entire fabric of nature rests on the existance of magic. The basic plot is moderately formulaic, "Woodcutter blah blah Good Wizards blah blah Elves blah blah Swords of Truth blah blah Quest blah blah Princesses blah blah Evil Wizards" as one reviewer put it. The story itself however has a certain hard edge to it which draws the reader along almost in spite of himself.
From the modest beginnings of a humble woodsman's sudden plunge into a world of intrigue and adventure that he thinks himself unfit for, to his rescuing of his (previously unknown) half sister's soul from the clutches of the keeper of the underworld - The author Terry Goodkind leads us through a veritable gauntlet of murder, betrayal, terror, bestial cruelty, tender cruelty, mercy killing and rape.
The Series has now stretched to an impressive seventh book. There is also a corollary volume called Debt of Bones - previously released in an anthology of Fantasy short stories called Legends. The books are:
The newest volume of The Sword of Truth, Naked Empire, is to be released in 2003. | 
