Sword of Truth

Wizard's First Rule: Sword of Truth: Book 01

by Terry Goodkind. 

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 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 best 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 say.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls 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.

Stone of Tears: Sword of Truth: Book 02

by Terry Goodkind. 

In Wizard's First Rule, Richard Cypher's world was turned upside down. 

Once a simple woods guide, Richard was forced to become the Seeker of Truth, to save the world from the vile dominion of Darken Rahl, the most viciously savage and powerful wizard the world had ever seen. He was joined on this epic quest by his beloved Kahlan, the only survivor among the Confessors, who brought a powerful but benevolent justice to the land before Rahl's evil scourge. Richard and Kahlan must face Rahl and the Keeper's terrible minions. But first, Richard must endure the ministrations of the Sisters of Light, or die from the pain of magic that is his birthright and his curse. 

While Richard undertakes the arduous journey to the forbidden city of the Sisters, Kahlan must embark upon a long and dangerous mission to Aydindril, citadel of the old wizards, where she hopes to find Zedd and the help only he can lend to their desperate cause. War, suffering, torture, and deceit lie in their paths, and nothing will save them from a destiny of violent death, unless their courage and faith are joined with luck and they find the elusive, Stone of Tears.

Blood of the Fold: Sword of Truth: Book 03

by Terry Goodkind. 

After escaping from the Palace of Prophets, Richard comes to terms with his true identity as a War Wizard. But when he brings down the barrier between the Old and New Worlds, the Imperial Order suddenly poses a threat to the the freedom of all humankind. As the Imperial Order sends delegations and armies into the New World, Richard’s only chance to stop the invasion is to claim his heritage as the new Lord Rahl and ruler of D’Hara. 

 But convincing the D’Harans of his legitimacy won’t be easy. Meanwhile, a powerful enemy is on the trail of Richard’s love, Kahlan Amnell. And when the spell Richard cast to protect her is broken, he must martial his newfound authority—and the armies that come with it—to save her life.

Temple of the Winds: Sword of Truth: Book 04

by Terry Goodkind. 

Everything Richard Rahl has learned will be for naught as the ruthless Emperor Jagang returns with his vast legions...heralded by a mystical plague that kills innocents in the thousands.

Richard must now challenge the undefeatable: the magic that thwarts magic, sealed away for three thousand years in the Temple of Winds.

Prodded by prophecy, shadowed by betrayal, to complete his mission Richard must accept the Truth and find a way to pay the price the winds demand...before he and the world both perish.

Soul of the Fire: Sword of Truth: Book 05

by Terry Goodkind. 

Richard Rahl has travelled far from his roots as a simple woods guide. Emperor of the D'Haran Empire, war wizard, the Seeker of Truth—none of these roles mean as much to him as his newest: husband to his beloved Kahlan Amnell, Mother Confessor of the Midlands.

But their wedding is the key that unlocks a spell sealed away long ago in a faraway country. Now a deadly power pours forth that threatens to turn the world into a lifeless waste.

Separated from the Sword of Truth and stripped of their magic, Richard and Kahlan must journey across the Midlands to discover a dark secret from the past and a trap that could tear them apart forever. For their fate has become inextricably entwined with that of the Midlands—and there's no place so dangerous as a world without magic...

Faith of the Fallen: Sword of Truth: Book 06

by Terry Goodkind. 

As his beloved Kahlan lies close to death, Richard Rahl, who distrusts prophecy more than anyone, is confronted by a compelling vision - one that bears a terrible price. It would mean taking Kahlan away to safety while abandoning his people to a grim fate.

As savage hordes stand poised to invade their homeland, Richard and Kahlan's devotion, not only to each other but to their cause and their duty, is imperilled in the descending fury of war. Amid the turmoil, Nicci, a woman from Richard's past, haunted by her memory of him, makes a fateful decision. Despite Nicci's hunger to understand the source of Richard's indomitable will, her burning passion to destroy him commits her to the unthinkable.

The Pillars of Creation: Sword of Truth: Book 07

by Terry Goodkind. 

Tormented her entire life by inhuman voices, a young woman named Jennsen seeks to end her intolerable agony. She at last discovers a way to silence the voices. For everyone else, the torment is about to begin.

With winter descending and the paralyzing dread of an army of annihilation occupying their homeland, Richard Rahl and his wife Kahlan must venture deep into a strange and desolate land. Their quest turns to terror when they find themselves the helpless prey of a tireless hunter.

Meanwhile, Jennsen finds herself drawn into the centre of a struggle for conquest and revenge. Worse yet, she finds her will seized by forces more abhorrent than anything she ever envisioned. Only then does she come to realize that the voices were real.

Staggered by loss and increasingly isolated, Richard and Kahlan must stop the relentless, unearthly threat which has come out of the darkest night of the human soul. To do so, Richard will be called upon to face the demons stalking among the Pillars of Creation.

Chainfire: Sword of Truth: Book 09

by Terry Goodkind. 

After being gravely injured in battle, Richard awakes to discover Kahlan missing. 

To his disbelief, no one remembers the woman he is frantically trying to find. Worse, no one believes that she really exists, or that he was ever married. 

Alone as never before, he must find the woman he loves more than life itself....if she is even still alive. If she was ever even real.

Phantom: Sword of Truth: Book 10

by Terry Goodkind. 

On the day she awoke remembering nothing but her name, Kahlan Amnell became the most dangerous woman alive. For everyone else, that was the day that the world began to end.

As her husband, Richard, desperately searches for his beloved, whom only he remembers, he knows that if she doesn't soon discover who she really is, she will unwittingly become the instrument that will unleash annihilation. But Kahlan learns that if she ever were to unlock the truth of her lost identity, then evil itself would finally possess her, body and soul.

If she is to survive in a murky world of deception and betrayal, where life is not only cheap but fleeting, Kahlan must find out why she is such a central figure in the war-torn world swirling around her. What she uncovers are secrets darker than she could ever have imagined.

Faith of the Fallen: Sword of Truth: Book 06

by Terry Goodkind. 

Weary of bloodletting and the incessant infighting and intriguing of his allies, Richard realizes that he can't defeat the Imperial Order by military might alone.

Instead, he will embark on a course of action that will leave his people feeling betrayed and vulnerable, and which will take both him and Kahlan away from the protection of the D'Haran armies.

But he has little choice. Richard, who distrusts prophecy more than anyone, has had a vision. A vision he is compelled to follow, a vision that will separate him from Kahlan, a vision that will take him deep into the Old World and into the heart of the Imperial Order.

The Pillars of Creation: Sword of Truth: Book 07

by Terry Goodkind. 

Jennsen has spent her short life running. Hunted by D'Haran assassins and tormented by an inhuman voice that demands surrender and obedience, she will do anything to silence the voice and escape her pursuers. Driven into the arms of the Imperial Order, she will make a pact with darkness that will threaten the world.

With the Imperial Order now at the gates of the Confessor's Palace, Richard and Khalan will be forced to travel deep into the Old World, to the Pillars of Creation, where an ancient enemy of mankind awaits its vengeance and final conquest.

Debt of Bones: Sword of Truth: Book 0.5

by Terry Goodkind. 

With her husband and daughter held captive by the D'Haran army, Abby has come to the Wizard's Keep to plead for their lives. Carrying her mother's bones, she intends to cash in a 'debt of bones' - a life debt - that the First Wizard Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander owes her family. But for Zedd, who commands power most men can only imagine, granting Abby's request would mean forsaking his sacred duty. With the storm of a final battle about to break, both Abby and Zedd are caught in a desperate fight to save the life of an innocent, but neither can escape the shadow of an ancient betrayal...

The world - for Zedd, for Abby, for everyone - will never again be the same.

Set towards the end of the First D'Haran War, DEBT OF BONES is an ingenious and essential addition to SWORD OF TRUTH series, that allows a glimpse of the world four decades before WIZARD'S FIRST RULE opens.

Naked Empire: Sword of Truth: Book 08

by Terry Goodkind. 

Time is running out. The Imperial Order has D'Hara under siege, Wizard's Keep is threatened, and Richard Rahl has been poisoned.

There is an antidote, but it comes at a high price. Richard has been poisoned by an agent of the Bandakar, a people protected from the ravages of the Imperial Order by an ancient magical barrier... until the war Richard unleashed destroyed it. The price they demand is salvation from annihilation.

With the shadow of death looming, his powers fading and Bandakar crumbling before the Imperial Order, Richard must lead a desperate people to victory.

Chainfire: Sword of Truth: Book 09

by Terry Goodkind. 

Kahlan is missing. Worse than that - she's vanished, from the world, from memory, from the books of prophecy.

After being gravely injured in battle, Richard awakes to discover Kahlan has vanished... from the world, from memory and from the books of prophecy. To his disbelief, no one remembers the woman he is frantically trying to find - they refuse to believe she is anything more than a delusion born of his injuries.

Alone as never before, believed mad, stalked by a nightmare beast conjured by the Sisters of the Dark, Richard sets out to find the woman he loves more than life itself...

If she is still alive.

If she was ever real.

Phantom: Sword of Truth: Book 10

by Terry Goodkind. 

On the day she awoke remembering nothing but her name, Kahlan Amnell became the most dangerous woman alive. For everyone else, that was the day that the world began to unravel.

While Richard searches for his beloved, Emperor Jagang and the Imperial Order are on the verge of subjugating all humankind and the powerful magic that once flowed across the realm has been tainted, corrupting everything it touches.

Richard fears that if he can't find Kahlan soon, she will unwittingly become the instrument of the world's annihilation, but Kahlan has learned that the price of unlocking her lost identity will be to consign her body and soul to evil.

Confessor: Sword of Truth: Book 11

by Terry Goodkind. 

The world is descending into darkness: the Imperial Order have breached the catacombs of the People's Palace, Richard and Kahlan are held captive and magic itself is mortally tainted. The few still free are powerless to stop the coming dawn of a savage new world.

Richard faces the guilt of knowing that he must let it happen. Alone, he must bear the weight of a sin he dare not confess to the one person he loves... and has lost.

When next the sun rises, the world will be forever changed.

The First Confessor: Sword of Truth: Prequel

by Terry Goodkind. 

The world is descending, inexorably, towards war.

So why has First Wizard Baraccus, leader of the New World, lover of life, thrown himself from the walls of the Wizard's Keep, falling thousands of feet to his death? His wife, Magda Searus, cannot understand why her husband would abandon her and his people at such a profoundly dangerous time. And then she finds a note left by Baraccus, urging her to seek the truth.

What she uncovers, no one is willing to believe.

The coming war is going far worse than anyone had anticipated, and the consequences of defeat will be far more terrifying than they could have imagined. Alone, ungifted, it is up to Magda Searus to make history and change the future.

The Third Kingdom: Sword of Truth: Book 13

by Terry Goodkind. 

The bloodthirsty Jit is dead, and against all odds, Richard and Kahlan have survived. But a new menace has attacked them in the Dark Lands. Infected with the essence of death itself, robbed of his power as a war wizard, Richard must race against time to uncover and stop the infernal conspiracy assembling itself behind the wall far to the north. His friends and allies are already captives of this fell combination, and Kahlan, also touched by death's power, will die completely if Richard fails.

Bereft of magic, Richard has only his sword, his wits, his capacity for insight – and an extraordinary companion, the young Samantha, a healer just coming into her powers.

Compelling, fast-moving, and intense, The Third Kingdom is a powerful tale that welcomes new readers to Terry Goodkind's world, while opening up new vistas of worldbuilding for longtime readers of the adventures of Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell.

Severed Souls: Sword of Truth: Book 14

by Terry Goodkind. 

From the far reaches of the D'Haran Empire, Bishop Hannis Arc and the ancient Emperor Sulachan lead a vast horde of Shun-Tuk and other depraved "half-people" into the Empire's heart, raising an army of the dead in order to threaten the world of the living. 

Meanwhile, far from home, Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell must defend themselves and their followers from a series of terrifying threats, despite a magical sickness that depletes their strength and which, if not cured, will take their lives…sooner rather than later.

Warheart: Sword of Truth: Book 15

by Terry Goodkind. 

All is lost. 

Evil will soon consume the D'Haran Empire. Richard Rahl lies on his funeral bier. It is the end of everything.

Except what isn't lost is Kahlan Amnell. Following an inner prompting beyond all reason, the last Confessor will wager everything on a final desperate gambit, and in so doing, she will change the world forever.