Terry Lee Goodkind (January 11, 1948September 17, 2020) was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series ''

The Sword of Truth ''The Sword of Truth'' is a series of 21 sword and sorcery novels and six novellas written by Terry Goodkind. The books follow the protagonists Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell, Nicci, Cara, and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander on their quest to defeat oppres ...

'' as well as the contemporary suspense novel '' The Law of Nines'' (2009), which has ties to his fantasy series. ''The Sword of Truth'' series sold 25 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages. Additionally, it was adapted into a television series called ''

Legend of the Seeker ''Legend of the Seeker'' is an American television series created by Sam Raimi, based on the fantasy novel series ''The Sword of Truth'' by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series fo ...

. Legend of the Seeker'' premiered on November 1, 2008 and ran for two seasons; the television series finished in May 2010. Goodkind was a proponent of

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...

's philosophical approach of

Objectivism Objectivism is a philosophical system named and developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive a ...

, and made references to Rand's ideas and novels in his works.

Early life

Goodkind was born in 1948, and his home town was

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. Because he had

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

, he found little interest in school; therefore, he had no formal education beyond high school. Goodkind's dyslexia initially dissuaded him from any interest in writing. Before starting his career as a writer, Goodkind built cabinets and violins, and was a marine and wildlife artist, selling his paintings in galleries.

Career

Goodkind's started working on his first book, '' Wizard's First Rule'', in 1993. It was auctioned to a group of three publishers in 1994 and sold for a record price of $275,000. He subsequently published 16 other novels and one

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

. All of his books, with the exceptions of '' Stone of Tears'' and ''Wizard's First Rule'', have appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. His books '' Chainfire'' debuted at #3, in January 2005; ''

Phantom Phantom, phantoms, or the phantom may refer to: * Spirit (metaphysics), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phanto ...

'' at #1, in August 2006; and ''

Confessor In a number of Christian traditions, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, a confessor is a priest who hears the confessions of penitents and pronounces absolution. History During the Diocletianic Persecut ...

'' at #2, in November, 2007. Some of Goodkind's political views have provoked controversy, notably the dedication to his novel ''The Pillars of Creation'' (2001):

Don D'Ammassa Donald Eugene D'Ammassa (born April 24, 1946) is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror critic and author.ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

no previous experience writing fiction but who could turn out one large epic adventure after another".

Robert Eaglestone Robert Eaglestone (born 1968) is a British literary critic and theorist. He is Professor of Contemporary Literature and Thought in the Department of English at Royal Holloway, University of London. He works on contemporary literature, literary ...

described his books as a "depressing read" due to the series' overarching cynicism, with a weakness being that the heroic characters are only likable in comparison with utterly murderous villains. In June 2008, Goodkind signed a contract to publish three mainstream novels with G.P. Putnam's Sons/

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

. The first of these novels, titled '' The Law of Nines'', was released August 18, 2009. In April 2010, Goodkind signed a contract to publish three more novels with

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

, the first of which revisited the world and characters of the Sword of Truth series.

published the first new novel, ''The Omen Machine'', on August 16, 2011. Goodkind

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

the second new novel, ''The First Confessor: the Legend of Magda Searus'', on July 2, 2012; the book was ranked #28 on the Kindle bestseller list by the next morning.

released the sequel to ''the Omen Machine'', ''The Third Kingdom'', on August 20, 2013, and the third novel, ''Severed Souls'', which continues where ''The Third Kingdom'' ended, on August 5, 2014. In 2017, a new novel in Sword of Truth Series was released, titled "Death's Mistress". In 2019, Goodkind's continuation of the Sword of Truth series was announced, titled "The Scribbly Man".

Genre and influences

Goodkind perceived his novels to be more than just traditional fantasy because of their focus on philosophical and human themes. Goodkind believed that using the fantasy genre allowed him to better tell his stories and better convey the human themes and emotions he desired to share with readers. On real-world inspiration behind the characters of Richard and Kahlan, Goodkind had this to say: "There were no such people. I created them both. I wanted them to be the kind of people I look up to." Goodkind was influenced by the work of

and Objectivist philosophy. Writing about the series in

The Atlas Society The Atlas Society (TAS) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian- ...

newsletter, Willam Perry states that Goodkind's "characters, plots, and themes...are clearly and directly influenced by Rand's work, and the book's heroes occasionally invoke Objectivist principles". Perry notes the Objectivist themes become most obvious in '' Faith of the Fallen'', which made the novel controversial among Goodkind's fan base; moreover, the novel contains several scenes that echo the plots of Rand's books ''

The Fountainhead ''The Fountainhead'' is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect who battles against conventional standards and refuses to com ...

'' (1943) and ''

Atlas Shrugged ''Atlas Shrugged'' is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. It is her longest novel, the fourth and final one published during her lifetime, and the one she considered her ''magnum opus'' in the realm of fiction writing. She described the theme of ''Atlas ...

'' (1957).

Personal life and death

In 1983, Goodkind moved with his wife to a house he built in Maine. In 1993 they built a house on the forested

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; ) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the List of islands of the United States by area, 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in th ...

off the coast of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

where he wrote his first book, Wizard's First Rule. Later, they made their home on the coast of

Lake Las Vegas Lake Las Vegas is a reservoir in Henderson, Nevada with a developed area around it. The area is sometimes referred to as the ''Lake Las Vegas Resort''. It is being developed by 5 companies including Lake at Las Vegas Joint Venture LLC. The a ...

, Nevada, their primary residence. Goodkind competed in various forms of amateur and semi-professional auto racing, and drove a

Radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

SR8 SM-500 race car for his own Rahl Racing team. Goodkind died on September 17, 2020, at his home in

Boulder City, Nevada Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ...

. The cause of death was not released. Terry is survived by his wife Jeri.

Published works

The Sword of Truth

* Arc 1: Darken Rahl * Arc 2: Imperial Order * Arc 3: Pristinely Ungifted * Arc 4: Chainfire * Arc 5: The Darklands

The Nicci Chronicles

#''Death's Mistress'' (2017) #'' Shroud of Eternity'' (2018) #''Siege of Stone'' (2018) #''Heart of Black Ice'' (2020)

The Children of D'Hara

#'' The Scribbly Man'' (2019) #'' Hateful Things'' (2019) #'' Wasteland'' (2019) #'' Witch's Oath'' (2020) #'' Into Darkness'' (2020) #'' The Children of D'Hara'' (2021) (omnibus of the 5 books)

Angela Constantine / Jack Raines

*''Nest (same world as Angela, but not Angela)'' (2016) *''Trouble's Child'' (2018) *''The Girl in the Moon'' (2018) *''Crazy Wanda'' (2018)

Modern standalone

*'' The Law of Nines'' (2009) *''The Sky People'' (2019)

In other media

On July 24, 2006, it was announced that the Sword of Truth book series would be adapted as a television mini-series produced by

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...

and Joshua Donen. The series was ultimately dubbed ''

'', in order to differentiate it from the novels and allow an episodic format of self-contained stories that moved beyond the first book. Raimi, Robert Tapert, Ken Biller, and Ned Nalle served as executive producers for the series, distributed by

ABC Studios ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio's ...

. The first episode aired in syndication on November 1, 2008, and the show lasted for two seasons until its cancellation in May 2010.

References

External links

* *
Interview about the political aspects of the ''Sword of Truth'' series
on freetalklive.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodkind, Terry 1948 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American male novelists American writers with disabilities Objectivists People from Mount Desert Island Writers from Omaha, Nebraska Writers with dyslexia