The Wizard's First Rule is the name of the first book in the series Sword of Truth. In total, the series includes 11 novels and the story-prequel “Debts of the Ancestors”, which, although it describes the beginning of the whole story, was published only in 1998, four years after the readers first met the main characters. The fantastic world, which was created by Terry Goodkind, has actually become the life work of this American writer. It can be compared with Stephen King. Not according to the author’s style or even to the genre, but according to the obsession with one world and the same characters. For Stephen King, this resulted in a series of works "The Dark Tower", in which he somehow mentioned all of his most notable novels. And Terry Goodkind created four series of books dedicated to the same world. And I want to note that it turned out very well for him, in any case, the multimillion army of fans thinks so.
"The first rule of the wizard" is an exciting science fiction novel designed for the widest readership. Therefore, it is not surprising that this work was filmed. And the first thing the fans wanted to know was how carefully the scriptwriters reacted to the book “The First Rule of the Wizard”. The film, shot on some famous work, often does not receive the approval of fans, due to the fact that during the adaptation, the plot is often quite freely interpreted, characters are removed or added. But in this particular case, it seems, everyone was satisfied: the creators of the picture, and the fans, and other viewers who did not even hear about Terry Goodkind.
But in this case, the question arises of which is better: to watch a movie or read the book "The first rule of the wizard"? The series entitled "Legend of the Seeker" received 8-9 points out of 10 according to the audience and good reviews from critics. The play of the actors is very convincing - Craig Horner perfectly reincarnated as young Richard, and Bridget Regan definitely succeeded the role of Confessor Kahlan. The battle scenes, marvelous landscapes and castles look impressive. In general, the film turned out to be very, very good, but there is a significant minus: there is nothing truly enchanting and exciting. That is, the viewer is watching with interest the adventures of the heroes, but at the same time, the heart never freezes in anticipation of something unexpected.
The book "The first rule of the wizard" leaves a completely different impression. The work does not capture from the first pages - the plot develops quite smoothly and calmly. But from some point on, the reader understands that he simply cannot tear himself away from the book until he reads it to the end. And it will take a long time to read - depending on the font in the novel, from about 600 to 1000 pages of text. But there is a minus: in general, the work is heavier and darker than the film, and in some places the book makes you seriously think.
So, we can conclude: it is best to read the book "The first rule of the wizard", and then watch the series "Legend of the Seeker." Or vice versa. In fact, the novel and the film turned out to be completely different, and each of them deserves attention.