The end

Tonight I finished the 12th and final book of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. I've got to say, I was afraid of being disappointed by his conclusion. A couple of books ago, my lovely girlfriend Lauren revealed to me that there were people that thought TG dropped the ball on the last two or three books. Up to that point, I had enjoyed the saga and upon hearing what she said I contemplated taking my own life. When somebody tells you the author apparently decided to shit all over the 8,000+ page series you're 80% done with, it sucks, trust me.

Confessor, the grand finale for the series, I think lived up to its potential. I think, aside from what Lauren told me, my fear of epic fail series conclusions was actually sired by Stephen King. Anybody who read the Gunslinger series knows what I'm talking about. SK did unthinkably ridiculous things throughout and at the end of that series. For anybody interested in reading the Gunslinger books, I won't reveal what the author did mostly because I still think of those seven books as -for lack of a better term- fucking awesome. Despite the fact that King punctuated what can arguably be summed up as his life's work with a gaffe of epic proportions, I earnestly recommend that anybody who enjoys western and/or fantasy novels should read it.

Back on topic. After overcoming the trust issues I have with the potential awesomeness of a long book series, I tore through the last 3 Sword of Truth books and stand before you a happy man. If anything, I feel the author may have rushed the conclusion. I felt the influence of the author seeking his conclusion present in shorter chapters and less drawn out conflicts. At the end of those 8,655 pages I find myself partially sympathetic. Apparently the guy was dyslexic (serious), so kudos to him for his success.

As a series, The Sword of Truth was pretty awesome. If you like fantasy and books that are around 700 pages long, Terry Goodkind made something worth your time here. Perhaps as a disclaimer, I should have pointed out that this is the only pure fantasy series I've read besides Lord of The Rings. I don't think Gunslinger counts because the main character, Roland, carries a six-shooter instead of a sword/wand/otherwise apparent magical powers. Fantasy genre leg-humpers have probably already stopped reading this by now because apparently TG stole ideas from Robert Jordan and made them shittier, but whatever. I can neither confirm nor deny since I've yet to read any RJ. Sword of Truth was entertaining and I'm glad I put my time into it.

-Colin