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Sam Raimi Slices Into A TV Version Of Terry Goodkind’s SWORD OF TRUTH Books!!

Published at:  Jan 29, 2008 2:44:47 AM CST

I am – Hercules!!




“Hercules”/”Xena” producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert are returning to the fantasy syndication market with the weekly series “Wizard’s First Rule,” based on Terry Goodkind’s “The Sword of Truth” books .

From The Hollywood Reporter:

"Sword" follows the extraordinary transformation of woodsman Richard Cypher into a magical leader who joins with a mysterious woman to stop a bloodthirsty tyrant.


Find all of the Reporter’s reporting on the matter here.




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    Readers Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 2:14:26 AM CST

    Whoa this is big news

    by jimmy_009

    Can't wait. Would also love a Drizzt animated series a la Batman.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 2:23:29 AM CST

    Will the lead woman get raped every other chapter?

    by sg7

    ...cause that's what happens in the book....and it gets old real real fast. Goodkind is a one ntrick pony, he shoulda quit while he was ahead.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 2:44:12 AM CST

    This should be interesting .....

    by aloy

    as long as we're talking a serious budget. Herc and Zena were ok for the day but I want to see this done right.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 3:46:08 AM CST

    No way

    by volfan8404

    I can't believe that they can make this a network show and still stay somewhat faithful to the book. It's an extremely violent series not to mention, like SG7 said, that the female characters find themselves getting gangraped every other chapter. HBO might be able to pull it off. I just can't see this translating to a good network series.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 3:48:28 AM CST

    The most overlooked fantasy stories...

    by leadmagnet

    ...that would be perfect in serial format is the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories. Sam should go for them instead. Humour, kick arse action, and great characters!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 5:22:53 AM CST

    Finally.

    by dragulf

    They had been in talks for years. A bit gloomy till the last few pages of the 12th (and final) book. At least Goodkind finished his series. *Glares at James Oliver Rigney, Jr., aka Robert Jordan*

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 5:34:23 AM CST

    @LeadMagnet

    by dingbatty

    Darkhorse Comics has the rights to the Leiber stuff, and announced they are in development.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 6:11:18 AM CST

    @Dingbatty

    by leadmagnet

    I hope that is true. I have been hanging for a Lankmar show since I first saw Hercules and realised it was shite.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 6:28:41 AM CST

    They really should do a Wheel of Time series.

    by fawst

    And fuck you, Dragulf, the man dictated the final book in WoT on his death bed. Show at least SOME respect.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 6:58:40 AM CST

    Hope it's not a he's the choosen one from destiny crap

    by dazzler69

    I hate that overdone theme.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 7:19:17 AM CST

    A Song of Ice and Fire

    by abin sur

    THAT'S what I'm waiting on. George R.R. Martin said on his website that things are moving forward, but they're still looking for investors. Guess HBO can't pay for the whole thing by themselves.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 8:15:12 AM CST

    Terrible idea

    by thewiseman

    Not only does it feature women being raped, as mentioned above, but also young boys are raped by a character in the 1st book. It also has a lot to do with prophecies, and i fookin hate that. why, oh why, did i read the first 6 books of the series i will never know

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 8:28:35 AM CST

    Overrated Fantasy Series

    by mandamas

    These books are cheesy at best. These would do best on Sci-Fi with a Mansquito type budget.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 8:33:11 AM CST

    the books are fooking crap

    by wyrdy the gerbil

    so the series can only be better..

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 8:48:32 AM CST

    but is it about female empowerment?

    by punto

    I'm only interested in syndicated fantasy if it's about female empowerment.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 9:02:25 AM CST

    @Dragulf

    by icantbelieveiregistered

    You do know that Robert Jordan died last fall right? And that Brandon Sanderson is finishing the last book (with the blessing and help of RJ's wife/editor)? It's due to hit the bookstores Fal 2009.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 9:05:06 AM CST

    All People Are Stupid

    by icantbelieveiregistered

    All people are stupid, according to Tairey Badkind (except him, of course and those who worship him as Aryn Rand's successor).

    I have no interest in Tairy Badkind's book being translaed onto any size screen. The first book was average run of the mill, though the author claims he doesn't write fantasy. Because, you know, fantasy is just made up storeis with dragons, magic, and woodsmen becoming supreme beings. Wait a minute....

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 9:32:39 AM CST

    We'll See

    by smallerdemon

    He was also slated to direct The Wee Free Men as well, but that's gone *poof* out of his lineup of stuff. Raimi seems to get drawn into being interested enough in stuff that he says he's going to do it and then he gets involved in something else for longer than he probably thinks (Spiderman 3, for example) it will take.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 10:15:30 AM CST

    The Many Colored Land

    by rumpel tumskin

    Now that is the book I would like to see as a mini series.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 10:49:22 AM CST

    That book was a huge disappointment.

    by v'shael

    Had heard great things about it, but man, that was a drag.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 10:51:24 AM CST

    Where's the Lost TB?

    by commiepinko

    And I second Abin Sur. Where's the Song of Ice and Fire HBO show?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 10:51:39 AM CST

    Oh, and Robert Jordan may be dead

    by v'shael

    but if he'd stopped writing excessive pointless shit into his novels a few years ago, he might have finished Wheel of Time while he was still alive.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 11:53:59 AM CST

    Terry Goodkind sucks my balls

    by fat lenny

    I never understood why people read his crap. I got about halfway through the first book and just couldn't take it anymore. I would much rather reread A Song of Ice and Fire for my fantasy fix... hell, I'd rather reread the longwinded, often boring Wheel of Time books.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 12:14:50 PM CST

    Goodkind Sucks

    by itchy

    Seriously. He's absolutely intolerable. I've read just about every fantasy series since Tolkien, and his is the only one I have ever literally tossed in the trash halfway through the second book. I kept waiting for the books to improve given all the "fans" he has - they don't.

    All I can imagine is that he spends 4 hours per day on Amazon posting reviews of his own books, because there's no way that many people can like that crap.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 12:42:16 PM CST

    Rotten News

    by 2leggedfreak

    Goodkind preaches simplistic nonsense with one dimensional characters and the whole thing feels like it was written by a six year old.

    And then , just when you think it might be something for yuor kids to read instead of you, a piece of arbitrary nastiness is thrown in.

    Unbelievably poor, but this guy does have an audience out there who lap up his nonsense.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 1:07:11 PM CST

    Herc and Xena was an OK start.

    by rakafraker

    I hope that Raimi doesn't cheese it up as much as he did with Herc and Xena. They had potential to be great shows (if you could get past Herc's American accent and pop culture references). If he plays it much more straight this time, I'm confident it'll work.Sam, I'm still waiting for Evil Dead IV-VI, man! So, don't get too busy while Bruce gets too old! (Sorry, Mr. Campbell)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 1:17:59 PM CST

    YES!!!

    by spikebad666

    Finally! A return to the hour-long saturday afternoon fantasy series. I can't wait for it to premier. Hope Joseph LoDuca does the music for this series as well.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 3:35:20 PM CST

    Funniest thing about Goodkind

    by sick fixx

    is the fact that he swears he's never read Tolkien or Jordan. Does he think we're that stupid because Atlas Shrugged isn't everybody's favorite book??? The character Samuel is a cardboard cutout of Gollum! And the hierarchies of priestesses who use white and black magic? Can we say White and Black Ajah?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 6:13:08 PM CST

    blahblahblah

    by digitalbeachwar

    oh well... not like there is anything better to watch, anywho.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 6:26:25 PM CST

    But these books aren't any good...

    by mr willi

    The Sword of Truth series is about as bargain-basement as you get when it comes to fantasy. There isn't an original idea in them, and the fantasy world is very generic and not very detailed. Like others have said, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser or Conan would make better TV given the episodic nature of the tales (and I mean Conan in his original incarnation, not as portrayed in the lousy 90s TV series). The Elric books also would be great and offer a lot of story possibilities, given the character often crosses to parallel worlds. A Song of Ice and Fire is really too epic for the small screen, and I'm convinced Martin is going to die before he finishes the series. Outside of Martin there isn't much to choose from when it comes to fantasy these days -- every author tries to be Tolkien, who wasn't much of a writer himself. Robert Jordan wasn't a great writer, but his books would provide a nice setting for a TV series. China Melville's works would make for great TV. Just don't give us any Terry "I'm a hack" Brooks or shitty D&D novels.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 6:33:03 PM CST

    then again...

    by mr willi

    This is from the people who cursed us with Hercules and Xena. They can have Goodkind... I would hate to see them destroy more reputable works.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 6:52:05 PM CST

    Thomas Covenant...

    by mr willi

    ... isn't a bad choice, although I wonder how the viewing public would react to a child-raping leper as the main protagonist.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 7:00:42 PM CST

    Ice & Fire is the superior series of the three

    by sick fixx

    Ice & Fire is more mature than Wheel of Time with the endless spanking, braid tugging and battles of the sexes. Ice & Fire is also more realistic than the Sword of Truth with everyone stopping to listen to Richard's monologues about the 'nobility of man' when they could be using that time to take him by surprise because he's running his mouth. I don't relish the fact that Jordan is gone, and I do think Dragulf was out of line or just plain ignorant making a remark like that. But Wheel of Time is a deeply, deeply, deeply flawed series. I doubt it will be remembered in fifty years the way LOTR is today. Martin writes real characters, real situations, real politics, even the supernatural in his books seem to have the ring of truth. But any fantasy novel that would have a system of magic in which you wave your hand and some invisible force field shit throws someone against the wall, freezes them in place or traps their mouth shut is insulting even to comic book storytelling.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 8:30:58 PM CST

    Ugh... Sword of Truth...

    by happyfat73

    Is a fucking woefully written Fantasy series. Every book ends with Richard pulling some previously-unknown magic trick out of his arse that does exactly what he needs it to do to defeat the baddies.
    Personally, I want to see a TV series based on Stephen Donaldson's Gap series... now THAT would be some dark stuff.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 9:12:42 PM CST

    Mr. Willi I have to say...

    by commiepinko

    ...I'd much rather see China Mieville's weird visions on the big screen. And while Ice and Fire may be big, the story is all about the characters and the only way to service them all in depth would be 20hr seasons not 2-3 hour movies. You should try the Price of Nothing series (if you haven't already) by R Scott Bakker. Though too much of the narrative is internal for it to work on screen, I think.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 9:47:33 PM CST

    What about a Fraggle Rock series! Yeah!

    by stormwatcher

    I love me them Fraggles, living in the catacombs, eating erect a sets and taking advice from trash heaps. That stuff is the stuff! Wheel of Time never ends, I just found out from you guys that he is dead and I hafta say: Does this mean it ends? Cuz I sure as shit hope so. How about Dark Tower!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 11:10:39 PM CST

    The books ....

    by allykatd

    I thought started out okay, but reminded me a lot of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. But I though what the heck, the heroic fantasy sub-genre revisits and recycles a lot of ideas/plots. The first three books I thought were fine, and then either his editor got sick of Goodkind's verbal diarhea or up and quick because editing the books were just too mind numbing because o' man, the books really headed downhill. Long winded boring stretches of long boring treks and asides. Just crap writing. I've kept reading them because I can speed read through one in a few hours and still get the main gist of the story. It's not a far stretch to believe that the TV series may be better than its source material.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 29, 2008 11:14:29 PM CST

    I just realized something...

    by allykatd

    I bet the Sword of Truth was first realized as a trilogy and because they sold well, Goodkind was compelled by DAW (?) or whoever the publisher is to keep writing and the 4th book was when things really started stinking... although some people here thought it stunk before then, fair enough. Personally for some decent fantasy, I've been enjoying the Dresden Files books, the sci-fi channel series did it no kind justice. Try Carol Berg's "Blood and Flesh" and "Breath and Bone" books.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 1:44:32 AM CST

    The first book was decent.

    by pops freshemeyer

    Wasn't the greatest thing I've ever read, but it didn't have faggy hobbits, or dwarves and elves. And it wasn't written by Anne McCaffery or Mercedes Lackey. Was alright for what it was. But it's no Song of Ice and Fire (which is slowly becoming no Song of Ice and Fire itself). I'll wait for HBO to air that. Though a Black Company series on cable would be kind of spiffy...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 3:59:52 AM CST

    Conan wouldn't make a good tv series

    by sick fixx

    Because it's already been tried. The closest anyone has ever come to representing accurately Howard's vision was the original Conan the Barbarian movie. Since then, nothing has gotten it right, not Conan the Adventurer, not the series with Ralf Moeller where Conan had a merry band of fellow adventurers, not the cartoon with the talking bird. NOTHING!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 4:02:23 AM CST

    Robert Jordan's WoT series

    by dragulf

    is a great way to stretch 3 or 4, a maximum 6 books into 12 err oops 11 ... It's my opinion, if you don't agree, that's fine. The last Sword of Truth books were stretched to make $$ sure, look at the similar covers.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 6:07:23 AM CST

    Sick Fixx

    by mr willi

    That series you're talking about didn't have any respect, or knowledge, of the source material. It tried to be a rip-off of the lousy Xena and Hercules series instead (which these two idiots making Sword of Truth gave us). A good series can be done that sticks to the material -- for an example, look at the Dark Horse Conan comics.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 10:17:45 AM CST

    I was hoping for an intelligent talkback, my mistake

    by stereotypical evil archer

    Somewhere there is an intelligent conversation about fantasy literature (maybe thats a fantasy).

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 1:11:24 PM CST

    did anyone think the last book was a ripoff?

    by brotherbradshaw

    (Unlike some of you, apparently) I thoroughly enjoyed the first 10 books. I was very disappointed though with the last one. It really did feel like he ripped through it just to get it over with, and the ending was just over the top "they lived happily ever after". Perhaps he was just sick of the series, but it left a bad taste. Probably will think twice before picking up another book by him.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 1:15:18 PM CST

    ps - the violence

    by brotherbradshaw


    Those of you who pointed out the violence are quite right. How could it be faithful to the series without the rape and violence, especially the violence towards women? Every time I thought he'd gone about as far as he could go, he put his female characters through even worse things.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 1:27:00 PM CST

    Novels that should be movies

    by sick fixx

    House On the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson, Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay, Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock, Torture the Artist by Joey Goebel, Lucky Wander Boy by D.B. Weiss, The Planiverse by A.K. Dewdney, Time Camera by Terence Lee, Amerika by Franz Kafka, In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan, The White Dominican by Gustav Meyrink

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 1:48:15 PM CST

    The Toy Collector by James Gunn,

    by sick fixx

    The Bear Comes Home by Rafi Zabor, The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker, The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (with the events in Gunslinger compressed into the first twenty five minutes), The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks, Game Players of Titan by Philip K. Dick, The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, Junky by William S. Burroughs, Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz, Demonic Congress by Aishling Morgan, The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati, Not To Mention Camels by R.A. Lafferty, Zorba the Greek by Nikola Kazantzakis (again). I urge everyone to read all these books I've mentioned. Isn't it refreshing to know that there are actually books out there that you won't see on someone's condensed, mainstream Amazon reading lists?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 1:54:32 PM CST

    Magic Kingdom for sale- Terry Brooks.

    by hamtaro hentai

    And another vote for Thomas Covenant. Goodkind is a hack. He's the L. Ron Hubbard of fantasy.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 2:34:06 PM CST

    Goodkind's novels don't particularly stand out, except one

    by sick fixx

    Faith of the Fallen is his one work I would consider a perennial classic. It really is a transcendent piece of art. Everything else is just rape and Ayn Rand worship.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 5:02:28 PM CST

    Re: Jordan...

    by sg7

    ...yeah, most fans are aware that he died. And condolences to his family. We are also aware that the series derailed pretty heavily around the book where all that happens is some shawls get knitted for 1000 fucking pages. All the women in his books were either dainty flower door mats or man hating rug munchers. The men were either total door mats or misogynistic wankers. There was no gray for Jordan and it got old real fast. I think I have the fiorst five or six books. I gave up after that. I concur on Martins Song of Fire and Ice: it is very good and very brutal. I hope he doesn;t die before he can finish it. He and old fat guy too. They tend to keel over.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 5:06:28 PM CST

    Re: drizzt

    by sg7

    We don't need a fucking D&D toesucker tv show. That is all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 7:09:15 PM CST

    I stopped reading Wizard's First Rule after three chapters

    by successor

    It was that boring and bad. I also quit reading _Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell_ after sixteen of the dullest pages ever written by anyone.

    For good fantasy, I'd recommend Replay by Ken Grimwood, Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock and Monument by Ian Graham.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 8:51:04 PM CST

    Goodkind is lame

    by succatash

    The first books were good but then came all that long dialogue that sounded like the Bush administration talking.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 9:03:12 PM CST

    In the first book

    by theoneofblood

    Kalhan makes a guy cut off his own nuts and eat them, then smashes his brains out with a mace. How exactly do they plan on showing that scene on tv?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 9:53:11 PM CST

    Goodkind

    by mattm2545

    is the definition of trite. They should do the black company or Steven Erikson

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 30, 2008 11:37:40 PM CST

    Guys, this is just the first book

    by dreamwriter

    People keep talking about women getting raped...yeah, that never happens in the first book. The book does talk about someone who was raped like 18 years ago, who never shows up in the story...but talking about rape is fine for TV. Same with the character who likes boys, the book never described any of that, and it wasn't even directly mentioned "what" he does with them. No, the problem scenes will be the ones near the end that deal with extreme torture. And I'm sure with a little talent they can edit those down just fine.

    As for A Song of Ice and Fire, I could never get into that series - it was way too political, too boring. I tried like three times to get to something interesting in the first book, never could make myself finish it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 31, 2008 12:18:38 AM CST

    Modern Fantasy

    by happyfat73

    It's hard to know what to get into with Modern Fantasy, these days. There is a definite sameness amongst it all.
    I'd echo the sentiments that Song of Ice and Fire is at the top of the heap with regards to modern fantasy, and I'd put Robin Hobb just below that. I loved the Liveship Traders.
    I think, though, that the fantasy with best TV crossover potential would definitely be Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 31, 2008 9:00:07 PM CST

    Good TV series books

    by prince_fufu

    Chronicles of Amber by Zelazney. You know it's true.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jan 31, 2008 9:48:13 PM CST

    Just do the Necroscope series

    by keogh

    As much as I liked all 3 of those series I found the NS mix of cold war/horror/fantasy more to my liking(4th time thru them). Although there is a movie planned I think it work would better as a series like on one of the Pay channels. More gore the better haha
    Now as far as SoT I gave up after Pillers so I dont really know if it would turn out well.SoIaF is pretty hard to keep track of(think LOST)and WoT would frankly bore ppl to death. But there needs to be a fantasy series out there imo doesnt matter which one. I'd watch it w/e it is

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 01, 2008 9:17:32 AM CST

    Dreamwriter

    by sick fixx

    Umm, Demmin Nass tells Kahlan to wiggle her bottom as he's about to rape her at the end. What the hell are you talking about?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 02, 2008 7:04:32 PM CST

    Chronicles of Amber

    by criticalbliss

    Hell yeah. I'm there. Great series with incredible visual potential.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 03, 2008 10:25:39 PM CST

    Truth

    by read-all-about-it

    First of all, contrary to popular rumor, women are not gang-raped every other chapter. Some nut who never actually read the books started that little rumor. There is a rape scene in the first book, but it's the male protagonist who is raped (after being tortured). But there is a lot of violence (against bother men and women) throughout the entire series. You just don't get the nuts coming out of the woodwork to bitch about violence against men - such as the scene where a child molester has his nuts cut off by the female lead right before she bashes his skull in.

    As for Martin, I read some of his cliched tripe. I couldn't get rid of the book quickly enough. There was a real stink-fest.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 03, 2008 10:34:07 PM CST

    Sick Fixx

    by read-all-about-it

    But she isn't raped. There is violence against men and women both in the story. A lot of it. But these are people who are living in a violent world. The only character raped during the course of the story is Richard when Denna takes him as her "mate".

    Where are the cries of "Oh, Goodkind has men raped every other chapter"?

    It's also important to note that Goodkind isn't advocating violence except that which is needed for self-defense and to deter aggression.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb 04, 2008 5:24:25 PM CST

    Because the bottom line is

    by sick fixx

    What Denna did was HOT! I pictured myself in Richard's position that entire portion of the novel. I'll say it again: HOT!

    Reply to Talkback

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