History Literature / SwordOfTruth

* ''Debt Of Bones'' (1998)

The TV adaptation, called ''LegendOfTheSeeker'', has its own page.

* NobodyHereButUsChickens: As mentioned above, the harbingers of doom first appear as a chicken.

* GoodIsNotNice: Kahlan in the [[UnstoppableRage Con Dar]]. Richard, pretty much any time from the second book on, [[SarcasmMode thank you Sisters of the Light]]. [[spoiler: Nicci]] after joining the good guys, though she was never very nice to start, ([[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman except to look at]]). Neither Zedd nor the Prelate have issues with lying and manipulating innocent people. Cara is... well, a Mord-Sith.

* LetsGetDangerous: Richard Rahl signifies himself getting dangerous with the phrase, "bringer of death." Similarly, when Nicci is going to get dangerous, she slips into the personal of "Death's Mistress."

* EarthAllAlong: An interesting example. [[spoiler: Their world isn't our world, however it was directly responsible for the creation it.]]

* AttemptedRape: Happens a lot of times to Kahlan, but no one ever succeeds, though in ''Faith of the Fallen'' [[spoiler: Nicci, desiring vengeance on Richard and Kahlan, links herself to Kahlan through a maternity spell, then allows a thug to brutalize her (Nicci), forcing Kahlan to feel ever sensation.]]

* MarySue: Richard is not just good, but perceived, at least by Goodkind, as damn near perfect. Richard, and often by extension Kahlan or Zedd, as they always seem to agree with him, is always shown as being above reproach, no matter what he does, or how it is perceived by those around him. If a formerly "good" character starts disagreeing with Richard, this is the beginning of that character's FaceHeelTurn. That is because Richard is a picture of all that is holy and good in the world, and can never be allowed to be wrong. If he kills someone, that person deserved to die. If a country refuses to join Richard's D'Haran Empire, that country is evil, even if they were only "evil" by virtue of opposing Richard.

* HairOfGold: D'Harans in general starting in the second book.

The two first books, ''Wizard's First Rule'' and ''Stone of Tears'', are fairly standard fantasy fare, complete with dragons, an evil wizard out to rule the world, the discovery that he [[TheManBehindTheMan wasn't working for his own sake]], a potentially world-ending plot, a magic sword, a wise old wizard, a mysterious woman with strange powers, and a [[AuthorAppeal gratuitous S&M sequence]]. For a long time some people thought Goodkind was ripping off [[TheWheelOfTime Robert Jordan]], as his stories contained many things that had exact counterparts in Jordan's novels. From the third book on, things get slightly less derivative, with the introduction of a new BigBad and increasing focus on Richard's struggles as a leader. By the fourth book the plot is still pretty standard but at least going under its own power.

->''Men behind Richard hit the line of evil's guardians with unrestrained violence. [[StrawCharacter People armed only with their hatred for moral clarity]] fell bloodied, terribly injured, and dead. The line of people collapsed before the merciless charge. Some of the people, screaming their contempt, used their fists to attack Richard's men. They were met with swift and deadly steel.''
-->-- Excerpt from ''Naked Empire''.

* WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis: A major reason for the plot of ''Stone of Tears'', and therefore the rest of the series, is that the Box of Orden that Darken Rahl opened was left open, because neither Richard nor Zedd knew how to close it properly, and worried that just slamming it shut might make things even worse; Richard even says he's glad that Zedd didn't do so in a well-meaning attempt to fix things. Then, in the final book, after [[spoiler:the Sisters of the Dark open the wrong box, and are killed just like Rahl]], Richard, having realized how the boxes ''really'' work, just puts the lid right back on with no ill effects.

* BlueEyes: Common among pure-blooded D'Harans. Nicci also has blue eyes.

In addition to these books, Terry Goodkind has written two other novels. ''The Law of Nines'' serves as a sequel of sorts to the main series and features an entirely new cast of characters. ''The Omen Machine'', billed as "A Richard and Kahlan Novel", takes place immediately after ''Confessor'', but is not connected to the [[MythArc Myth Arcs]] of the previous series.

** Inverted: the only princess to play a prominent role in the series, Violet, is a CompleteMonster-in-training.

* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler:Richard]] kills his father, [[spoiler:Darken Rahl]]. Similarly, his half brother Oba Rahl kills his mother with a shovel. In both these cases, however, the injured parties were [[CompleteMonster evil]], [[AbusiveParents abusive]] douchebags and clearly deserved it, and in the former case, [[spoiler:neither even knew they were related until the deed was done]].

* ''The First Confessor''(2012)

* "The First Confesor" (2012)

* BequethedPower: Each Sister of Light, if she fails to convince a person with the gift to come train with them, passes her life force to another, so that when the second one (or third one) attempts, she has stronger MindControl powers to add to her arguments.

* ArtisticLicenseEconmics: The StrawCharacter communist bureaucracy that stifles the people of the Imperial Order, as depicted in detail in ''Faith of the Fallen'', is so ridiculous that it should by all rights have caused the Empire to die out before the protagonist even became aware of its existence. However, Nicci visits her home town (which was an early place under control of the Imperial Order) and finds nothing but abandoned ruins. It is also explicitly stated that almost all the Old World was conquered within Richard's lifetime, and entirely thanks to Jagang, who is really the only thing holding it all together.