In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help. The basis for the television show, Legend of the Seeker. Galen that he had spent years revising and perfecting “Wizard’s First Rule” before sending off the manuscript for consideration.With brand-new art and handsome new packaging, Wizard's First Rule, the book that launched Terry Goodkind's fabulously popular Sword of Truth series is now available in a new trade paperback edition. Goodkind to throw himself intensely into a field of interest, whether it was woodworking, violin making or racecar driving, until he achieved a kind of mastery. In the mid-1980s, he and his wife, whom he met in 1971, moved to Mount Desert Island in Maine, where he spent nine years building their house. Goodkind attended art school but dropped out. He later dedicated one of his novels to the lone teacher who he said recognized his ability and encouraged his love of storytelling. As a child, he had undiagnosed dyslexia and would sneak away to the library to read at his own pace. His parents, Leo and Natalie (Ruggerio) Goodkind, ran a direct-mail business. Terry was unique in that field in delighting in controversy, delighting in stirring up verbal combat, delighting in stirring up criticism. And then there were people who literally despised him. In a phone interview, his literary agent, Russell Galen, said: “His fans were wrapped up in his work and Terry personally. He told an online audience on Reddit that he had “irrevocably changed the face of fantasy” and “injected thought into a tired, empty genre.” In 2008, the books were adapted by the director and producer Sam Raimi into a television series, “ Legend of the Seeker,” that aired for two seasons on ABC. Together, the “Sword of Truth” books have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. Goodkind’s series grew to include 17 books, several of them best sellers.

Kirkus Reviews called the novel, which became the first book in the “Sword of Truth” series, “a wonderfully creative, seamless and stirring epic fantasy debut.” But that book - the story of a heroic forest guide, Richard, who teams with a beautiful woman, Kahlan, to defeat an evil wizard, Darken Rahl - won legions of fans and earned positive reviews when it was published by Tor Books in 1994. Goodkind was a latecomer to writing: He spent years as a woodworker and wildlife artist before publishing his first novel, “Wizard’s First Rule,” when he was 45.

His wife, Jeri Goodkind, confirmed the death but did not specify a cause. Terry Goodkind, the author of the best-selling epic fantasy series “The Sword of Truth,” died on Sept.

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind