Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind is a contemporary American writer, author of the Sword of Truth fantasy novels, which, according to Mr. Goodkind's agent, have as of February 16, 2005, sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.

Published Works

Goodkind's novels include:

In addition, Goodkind wrote a short story titled Debt of Bones for the 1998 anthology Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg. The novel takes place in the Sword of Truth universe and is set a few decades before the events in the main series. In 2001, the story was published as a stand-alone novella.

Career

Terry Goodkind has been called one of the most phenomenally successful new fantasy writers of the 1990s^{[Citing sources ]}, an international bestseller. According to his web site, terrygoodkind.com, he is driven to excel in whatever he turns his attention to doing. Goodkind was born in 1948 and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where he also attended schooling in art and Catholic Catechism Instruction.

Goodkind learned early in his life that he suffered from dyslexia. The illness was a constant cause of frustration while he was in high school. He dropped out of college, and has worked as a carpenter, a violinmaker, and a restorer of rare and exotic artifacts and antiques; Goodkind considers himself an artist first and foremost. In 1993, during the construction of his home on the forested Mount Desert Island off the coast of Maine with his wife Jeri, he began to write his first novel, Wizard's First Rule, and his writing career was launched with its publication in 1994. In addition to his home in Maine, Goodkind and his wife have created a second home in the desert southwest where he now spends the majority of his time.

Influence

Terry Goodkind has been largely influenced by the books of Ayn Rand and is a strong supporter of her works and of the Objectivist Philosophy Movement. Some claim that his interpretations and beliefs in her works increasingly pervade the narrative and themes of later books in the series, calling them too "preachy". Goodkind, however, denies this, claiming the beliefs and moral messages were there from the beginning. To these critics and others, Goodkind had the following response: "Their goal is not to enjoy life, but to destroy that which is good... These people hate what is good because it is good... They even hate that my books exist, that I write things that dare to uplift and inspire."

Fantasy Author or Novelist?

In an online chat with fans, Goodkind stated, "I am a novelist; I am not, in the essential sense, a fantasy author. To define me as a fantasy writer is to misunderstand the context of my books by misidentifying their fundamentals... My books are novels that deal in important human themes involving the faculty of reason. I tell these stories through heroic characters." Goodkind supported his claims by stating that his novels dealt primarily with human thought and emotion. According to Goodkind, "What I have done with my work has irrevocably changed the face of fantasy," which he described as a "tired empty genre."

Goodkind went on to explain that it was never his intention to market his books in the fantasy genre, but that this was done due to business considerations. He also went on to explain that his books were further classified as fantasy due to their cover art, among other things. Goodkind has since replaced the cover art for a number of his novels.

Goodkind says, "I believe in writing books that inspire and uplift people. The purpose of a good novel is to provide the reader with an example of values realized….People don't want to be told that they're miserable, wretched, destructive, evil creatures. The typical person isn't interested in reading that. They want to read books about other people they can look up to, people that inspire them, people who make them feel that life is worth living."

Awards and Nominations

1995 - British Fantasy Award, Icarus (Newcomer) (Nomination)

1995 - Wizard's First Rule Locus Poll Award, Best First Novel (Place: 7) 1996 - Stone of Tears Locus Poll Award, Best Fantasy Novel (Place: 15)

1996 - Stone of Tears SFBC Award, The Science Fiction Book Club's Book of the Year Award (Nomination)

1997 - Blood of the Fold Locus Poll Award, Best Fantasy Novel (Place: 18)

1999 - Locus Poll Award, Best SF/Fantasy Author of the 90's (Place: 49)

2004 - Prometheus Award - Naked Empire (Place: 4)

References

External links

The Official Terry Goodkind website
^* - Endorsed by Terry Goodkind, here you can find various topic of discussions about the Sword of Truth Series, current comments from Terry Goodkind himself, as well as up to the moment information.