David L. Craddock

Terry Goodkind, most renowned for his Sword of Truth series, died on September 17. His widow shared news of his passing with the New York Times on October 2; I just read the obituary today.

This comes as a punch to the gut and leaves me with mixed emotions. As a reader, I came to the Sword of Truth novels nearly 25 years ago, after blazing through the Wheel of Time books available at the time. Jordan, Eddings, and Goodkind formed my introduction to fantasy literature, and I got to do a lengthy interview with Mr. Goodkind over the phone following the publication of what was, at the time, the final Sword of Truth book. My heart goes out to those who loved Mr. Goodkind.

Now for the mixed emotions: the more I learned about how he treated others, the more I distanced myself from his books. Setting aside that and the troubling philosophy espoused in his novels, Mr. Goodkind left an indelible mark on the sci-fi/fantasy genre, even if, for many, that mark serves as an example of what not to do.