Book #36.
The First Confessor, by Terry Goodkind. Unabridged
audio.
Goodkind’s “Sword of Truth” is my favorite fantasy series
ever. Since wrapping up that epic, he has done other stories in that world,
including prequel novels, like this one. In this world, the magic of Confessors
and The Seeker are among the most powerful, and this novel tells of how that
magic came to be. The author once referred to the book as “the foundation of
the Sword of Truth series” and “the beginning of the grand adventure.”
Magda Searus is the wife of the First Wizard, until her
husband mysteriously takes his own life. In trying to unravel the mystery of
why he would do such a thing, Magda finds herself powerless, and without
standing. Without the magical spark of the “gift,” she ends up in the middle of
a battle between powerful forces.
Terrible magical forces have been unleashed
across the midlands, including the dread Dreamwalkers.
In addition to the power and position of the Confessor, this
book introduces other aspects of Goodkind’s world. We meet Alric Rahl, a
powerful “maker,” who creates both theThe Sword of Truth and the protection of
the Lord Rahl from the Dreamwalkers in this book.
I am a sucker for good prequel stories. They can be tough to
pull off, balancing the need to tease the reader with what they already know
while also telling a story with tension in its own right. Goodkind does a good
job with that in this novel. It was a very satisfying read.
I listened to the audio version of the novel, and Christina Traister does a good job bringing
the story to life. This is the first Goodkind novel to feature a female as the
lead character, so having a female reader was a good choice.
