Single-minded Terry Goodkind

(Thanks for pointing me to this thread, Brian. I've only recently discovered the wonderful world of Terry Goodkind the Man, and I am fascinated by the creature)
SDNess said:
I picked up WFR at the library a couple of days ago. I don't have time to read it now, but I just wanted to look through it. I found it interesting that he uses regular English names like Richard, George, etc. and that the dialogue is also in plain English.
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Interestingly enough, Goodkind seems to think he is a genius when it comes to naming characters. In the above-mentioned chat a reader notes his characters names; Goodkind responds, "[font=&quot]Thank you for noticing that I put a lot of thought into my characters' names.."

Ummm, Zedd? Richard?

Whatever.

One of the things that struck me most in the handful of interviews I browsed was that Goodkind seems to have, well, anger for people who don't enjoy his novels the way he thinks they should be enjoyed. He scolds people for not reading them properly. If people say he overstates the level of the 'depper meanings' in his stories or suggest he's not doing anything all that unique, he suggests they are not smart enough to read his books.

Quite some time ago I grabbed the first few of these from the SF Book Club. I now regret doing so, because I may have put some money in his pocket.

But what jumps out at me most is the man's sheer arrogance, his petty attempts to distance himself from the genre that is making him money - 'Oh, these aren't silly little fantasy books, folks, they're important books on philosophy, and the degree to which he has convinced himself of his own importance.

He says that publishers want more books like his but can't find them because "[/font][font=&quot]copying innovation is an impossibility."

Maybe my favorite quote, and the most telling, is this one:

"[/font][font=&quot]What I have done with my work has irrevocably changed the face of fantasy. In so doing I've raised the standards. I have not only injected thought into a tired empty genre, but, more importantly, I've transcended it showing what more it can be-and is so doing spread my readership to completely new groups who don’t like and wont ready typical fantasy."

It's difficult to imagine the nature of the plant he is smoking.


[/font]
 
Maybe this is where some authors go wrong: In NOT throwing temper tantrums and denigrating anyone who doesn't like their books. It seems to work so well for Ann Rice and Terry Goodkind.

But then there are the Ray Feists and the Tad Williamses. I've seen both speak at conventions, seen them interact with fans. No one could say that either one was lacking in confidence, but they exude warmth and geniality.
 
I read books because of the great stories, not because of what the author says and does outside of the fictional story world. So yes Goodkind sounds like a pompous ass, but I've read many of his other interviews and comments where he isn't so arrogant (although usually is, haha). But nevertheless, I've read all but 1 of this series (which was a prequel involving Zedd) and for the most part have really enjoyed them. Check out my review on Chainfire if you're worried the series is still going downhill, because to me Goodkind seems to be pulling things back together.
 
Reading this reminds me of the "Afterword" in the last Dark Tower book by Stephen King, where he insults his fans, and then warns us all not to visit him. Really put a sour taste on the whole series for me.
 
Goodkind is an A-Grade arrogant fool. like someone else said, i unfortunately had read the first 6 books before i found out what he was really like. i'm the sort of person who needs closure so i'm going to keep reading until the end, much as it irks me to do so.

the first thing that really annoys me that he's constantly bashing on fantasy. although he has toned that down a bit these days, the things that i've read in interviews are appalling. he goes on about how his publishers categorised his work as fantasy just because there was a red dragon appearing briefly at the end of Wizards First Rule. notice the title. Wizard. notice the main characters - strapping hero with magic sword, hot magic babe, old white haired mentor wizard, evil guy bent on ruling the world. good god, it's revolutionary! oh hold on, my mistake, that's text book fantasy if ever i saw it! that's what got me really disliking the guy. i can't stand people with god complexes... (for example the moderators on the Goodkind site's forum.. but that's a whole other discussion!!)

i had the displeasure of attending a Goodkind Objectivist Youth Rally... i mean, meet and greet. my biggest regret is that i was so close to him, i really should have just punched him in the face. would have made me feel infinitely better!! personally i think he made a fool of himself, but everyone else thought he was just awesome.
he actually said things like, "the thing about fantasy, although i don't read fantasy, is blah blah blah" and i'm like can he not even see how stupid that comment was? how can he think to comment on how all fantasy is crap when he's just admitted he doesn't even read it? i can't remember exactly what he said about the genre, but it was like what he said in the snippets Brian posted. that annoyed me. and also, a few days ago i noticed a book which he had done a reccomendation for. yep, a fantasy book. whether he actually read it or whether he just let them use his name, that was a dumb move.

another stupid thing he said was that he never revises his work, what we read is the original first draft. he doesn't need to revise because he gets it right the first time. that was so dopey. whether it's true or not, it makes him look like an idiot in my eyes.

lol, i could go on forever about what a spaz this guy is, but i think forever would take me over the post size limit, so i'd better stop...
 
jenna said:
another stupid thing he said was that he never revises his work, what we read is the original first draft. he doesn't need to revise because he gets it right the first time.
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So I IMed this to a friend with whom I often discuss books and with whom I have recently discussed our shared loathing of Terry Goodkind. His response?

"no wonder, you can TELL it is his first draft"
 
:)
I agree with Bohica. Terry Goodkind's first two books in the Sword of Truth series are excellent. His creation of the character of the Mother Confessor is brilliant, however, after the first two the books level off and the last two books of the series are no better than mediocre. And contary to the author's arrogant assertion that his books are more than fantasy they are not, unless you think that his neo-fascist philosophizing quakifies as something special. Goodkind is worth a read, but don't take his naive elitist political musings too seriously.
 
Terry Goodkind I think believes his audience is a little slow.Ever notice that 3/4 of each book is spent explaing events that happened in the previous books.Quite frankly now that I think of it Robert Jordan is this way as well.No wonder they are so boring you end up rereading each book whether you want to or need to.Chances are nobody picks up the series halfway through so quit using old information as filler.I've snored my way through both of these series.Are they ever going to end!!
 
MIDNIGHT said:
I've snored my way through both of these series.Are they ever going to end!!
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Interesting question. I am wondering actually how many people started off as huge fans and are now just completely disappointed.
 
Brian when you doing the interview? LOL He might check out the site before he starts it...that could be disastrous.
 
It seems that our respected administrator is awfully quiet this weekend. I wonder if he is off interviewing the volatile Mr. Goodkind -- and if so, (and even considering that the interview is an electronic one) whether he's likely to survive that highly combustible task.

One certainly hopes so, anyway.
 
We'll have to wait and see I suppose.

I used to enjoy Goodkinds books, but after reading about the man I have to sya the phrase 'tit' seems to fit him nicely.
 
I tried to start Wizard First Rule, but it turned out to be one of those books I had to stick back on the shelf with "maybe I'll read this later." It was just so poorly executed. Girl comes out of no where, they instantly LIKE each other, and the whole thing felt horribly written as if he had no idea what he was going to do. -_-+ (First chapter... not even able to finish that much)

I like things to develop from point a to point b...

(Btw, whoever mentioned that thing about the gay villian who likes kids... wouldn't raping Kahan be against his sexual orientation?????!) Talk about making characters jump to puppet strings... I wonder if it was Goodkind's only way to "punish" his own characters for not being "all that."
 
Urgh. Terry Goodkind. I was lukewarm on his books until I heard him speak at a book signing recently. "Piece of Work" comes to mind. Very full of himself - I got tired of hearing him go on about how ultra-intelligent and successful he was, and how moronic everyone else was. It made me wonder what kind of self-esteem issues are plaguing him. Anyway, after hearing his mean spirited tirade against the rest of the Fantasy community, I decided to no longer put money in his demonic, Hitler-esque pockets.

If only the man would show some humility and grace - he'd actually be tolerable as a person and a writer.
 
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lol, i totally agree. i couldn't believe the things i heard come out of the mans mouth! i thought i'd be able to finish up the series, because i wanted to see how it ended, but as i started reading Chainfire i realised i just didn't give a damn anymore, and my hatred for the author just stopped me from getting any enjoyment out of the extremely slow moving story.
i just moved house and the book didn't even come with me (i got up to about page 150 i think) last i heard the cat was sleeping on it at my sisters place.
 
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