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| == Influences and themes == | == Influences and themes == | ||
| ''See also ].'' | |||
| Terry Goodkind has been largely influenced by the books of ] and is a strong supporter of her works and of ]. While he admits to writing in the fantasy genre, he perceives his novels to be more than just traditional fantasy due to their focus on philosophical and human themes<ref></ref>. | Terry Goodkind has been largely influenced by the books of ] and is a strong supporter of her works and of ]. While he admits to writing in the fantasy genre, he perceives his novels to be more than just traditional fantasy due to their focus on philosophical and human themes<ref></ref>. | ||
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| Goodkind's '']'' series is generally considered a ] series by both readers and critics alike. The ] it has been nominated for or won are all fantasy-related, and since the series contains all the standard fantasy elements such as ], a more or less medieval level of technology, and fictional countries, it has been marketed as a fantasy series. | |||
| - | |||
| - In an online chat<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prophets-inc.com/the_author/ipc.html|title=Interviews and Chats}}</ref> with fans, Goodkind aserts: "I am a novelist; I am not, in the essential sense of the word, a fantasy author. To define me as a fantasy writer is to misunderstand the context of my books by misidentifying their fundamentals...The books I write are about human problems....the human dimension is the only part that matters....the characters are the defining difference in my books." | |||
| - | |||
| - While Goodkind does not view himself as a fantasy author, per se, he does admit that his series is sold as fantasy for marketing reasons. In a 2003 interview, Goodkind explained that using the fantasy genre allowed him to better tell his stories and better convey the human themes and emotions which he desires to share with the reader. He said that he "like writing in the fantasy world because it allows to illustrate things in new and unique ways in really different kinds of stories." <ref name ="Scifi"/> | |||
| - | |||
| - Goodkind states that it was never his intention to market his books in the fantasy genre, but that this was done due to business considerations. He has explained 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, but his books are still sold in the fantasy section of bookstores and classified as fantasy by on-line vendors <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link_3/102-3719407-6018566?ie=UTF8&node=16190|title=Fantasy Fiction at Amazon.com}}</ref>. | |||
| - Regardless of the genre of his novels, Goodkind's main goal in writing is to inspire. 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."<sup title="The text in the vicinity of this tag needs citation." class="noprint">[]]</sup> | |||
| == Published works == | == Published works == | ||
Revision as of 03:49, 1 October 2006
| Terry Goodkind | |
|---|---|
| Terry Goodkind with his wife Jeri, Aug 2006 at Barnes & Noble in Las VegasTerry Goodkind with his wife Jeri, Aug 2006 at Barnes & Noble in Las Vegas | |
| Born | 1948 Omaha, Nebraska |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Genre | epic fantasy |
| Website | |
| http://www.terrygoodkind.com/ http://www.terrygoodkind.net | |
Terry Goodkind (born 1948) is a contemporary American writer and author of the best-selling epic fantasy series, The Sword of Truth, which according to his publisher TOR in an August, 2006 press release has more than 10 million copies in print and been translated into 20 different languages.
Biography
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, a cause of constant frustration while he was in high school. He later dropped out of college, and has worked as a carpenter, a violin maker, and a restorer of rare and exotic artifacts and antiques. Prior to starting his career as a writer Goodkind was best known for his realistic marine and wildlife paintings. 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 built a second home in the desert southwest where he now spends the majority of his time.
Career
Goodkind published his first book, Wizard's First Rule in August 1994, fulfilling his lifelong dream of being a novelist. He has subsequently published numerous others, to great commercial success. Wizard's First Rule sold at auction for more than six times the record price ever paid for a first fantasy novel, a record that still holds to this day. With a first print run of sixty thousand copies (three to five thousand is the norm) it has become an international bestseller.
All of Goodkind's books, with the exceptions of Stone of Tears and Wizard's First Rule, have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. Of his latest novels, Chainfire debuted at #3 with Phantom debuting at the #1 spot in August 2006 on the NYT Best Seller List.
Influences and themes
Terry Goodkind has been largely influenced by the books of Ayn Rand and is a strong supporter of her works and of Objectivist philosophy. While he admits to writing in the fantasy genre, he perceives his novels to be more than just traditional fantasy due to their focus on philosophical and human themes.
Goodkind's Sword of Truth series is generally considered a fantasy series by both readers and critics alike. The awards it has been nominated for or won are all fantasy-related, and since the series contains all the standard fantasy elements such as magic, a more or less medieval level of technology, and fictional countries, it has been marketed as a fantasy series. - - In an online chat with fans, Goodkind aserts: "I am a novelist; I am not, in the essential sense of the word, a fantasy author. To define me as a fantasy writer is to misunderstand the context of my books by misidentifying their fundamentals...The books I write are about human problems....the human dimension is the only part that matters....the characters are the defining difference in my books." - - While Goodkind does not view himself as a fantasy author, per se, he does admit that his series is sold as fantasy for marketing reasons. In a 2003 interview, Goodkind explained that using the fantasy genre allowed him to better tell his stories and better convey the human themes and emotions which he desires to share with the reader. He said that he "like writing in the fantasy world because it allows to illustrate things in new and unique ways in really different kinds of stories." - - Goodkind states that it was never his intention to market his books in the fantasy genre, but that this was done due to business considerations. He has explained 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, but his books are still sold in the fantasy section of bookstores and classified as fantasy by on-line vendors .
- Regardless of the genre of his novels, Goodkind's main goal in writing is to inspire. 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."
Published works
Goodkind's novels include:
- Wizard's First Rule (1994)
- Stone of Tears (1995)
- Blood of the Fold (1996)
- Temple of the Winds (1997)
- Soul of the Fire (1999)
- Faith of the Fallen (2000)
- The Pillars of Creation (2002)
- Naked Empire (2003)
- Chainfire (2005)
- Phantom (2006)
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.
Other media
In August, 2006, it was announced that the Sword of Truth series would be produced as a mini-series. According to the press release, Sam Raimi, the director of Spider-Man and his partner Joshua Dohen would produce the mini-series. .
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)
2006 - Prometheus Award - Chainfire (Finalist)
References
- ^ Press release regarding the production of a Sword of Truth Mini-series
- Careers previous to becoming a bestselling author
- "Terry Goodkind Bio at terrygoodkind.com".
- "Lynn Flewelling Interview".
- "Hawes' archive of New York Times bestsellers from 1994-2005".
- "Hawes' archive of New York Times bestsellers - Week of January 23, 2005".
- "Hawes' archive of New York Times bestsellers - Week of January 23, 2005" (PDF).
- Interview with Terry Goodkind at a Virginia book signing
- "Interviews and Chats".
- Cite error: The named reference
Scifiwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - "Fantasy Fiction at Amazon.com".
External links
- http://www.terrygoodkind.com - official Terry Goodkind website
- http://www.terrygoodkind.net - unofficial Terry Goodkind website (endorsed by Terry Goodkind)
- Terry Goodkind at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- "'Spider-Man' director buys rights to Goodkind series", The Book Standard, July 24, 2006. Retrieved on September 4, 2006.
| The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind | |
|---|---|
| Original novels |
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| Richard and Kahlan series |
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| The Nicci Chronicles series |
|
| The Children of D'Hara series |
|
| Additional novels | |
| Novella |
|
| Related material | |