Twisted Kingdom

Completion Date: July 2007
Pages: 848
Publication Year: 1995
Purchased in 2007
Book One in The Sword of Truth Series

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help…and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.

In a dark age when it takes courage to live, and more than mere courage to challenge those who hold dominion, Richard and Kahlan must take up that challenge or become the next victims. Beyond awaits a bewitching land where even the beat of their hearts could betray them. Yet, Richard fears nothing so much as what secrets his sword might reveal about his own soul. Falling in love would destroy them - for reasons Richard can't imagine and Kahlan dare not tell him.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan cals upon Richard to reach beyond his sword - to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed…or that their time has run out.

This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.

I had heard about this series for years, but I always have so many series on the go that I do not have a chance to read all the other series that I want to read. I probably could if I was one of those people that could read a lot of books by the same author in a row, and I used to do that when I was younger, but now I like variety. So, it takes me a while to read series. This one came out 12 years ago, and I only now finished book one. The new book comes out in November. It would be wonderful if I could have all the other books read by the time the new one comes out in paperback next year.

Anyways, I loved this book. I plan to move on to the next book very soon because I think I have encountered a new favourite author to enjoy. The two main characters in this book meet by chance, Kahlan Amnell is searching for a hero and Richard Cypher is feeling a little lost following the brutal murder of his beloved father. Kahlan is in trouble, the world she represents is in trouble, and in Richard she finds the person that will lead the world into a new era. He just does not know that yet. Richard has lived in a sheltered world where magic does not exist and the citizens live in peace. Kahlan comes from a place where magic is the norm and a violent dictator is changing life as she knows it. The only thing that separates these two worlds is a magical wall that is beginning to fail, letting the evil of Kahlan's world into Richard's and changing the life that he has always known.

There was nothing about this book that I did not really like, there were scenes that surprised me and at the time I wondered if they were necessary, but as the novel progressed they made sense to me and I sw them in a different light. That's right, there were surprises! Sometimes books follow the same pattern to such a degree that you might not know exactly what is going to happen, but when it happens you are not surprised. Surprising things happened in this book. Kahlan is worldly and is used to a life that Richard does not even understand. She is scared to reveal just who she is to Richard because she has spent her whole life being feared and hated. Richard is very naive, and he can be annoying from time to time, but it is not his fault. He has been thrown into a very different world and his life is very different now than the one that he has always known. He does very brilliant things, though, so I am sure that his character will really grow during the course of this series.

A fantastic first book to a trilogy. I look forward to the next book. There is a lot more that could be said, it was a over 800 page book, but I will leave it for anyone interested to explore.