The Ultimate Fantasy Series Ranking

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Terry Goodkind

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-08-06

Terry Goodkind, born Terry Lee Goodkind on January 11, 1948, in Omaha, Nebraska, died on September 17, 2020, in Boulder City, Nevada, at age 72. Dyslexic and largely uninterested in formal academics, he did not pursue education beyond high school, instead working as a cabinet and violin builder and later as a marine and wildlife artist, selling paintings through galleries before turning to fiction. He began writing his debut novel, Wizard's First Rule, in 1993, and in 1994 publishers engaged in an auction for the manuscript that resulted in a then-record $275,000 advance. That novel launched The Sword of Truth, an epic fantasy series that grew to eighteen novels and one novella, ultimately selling 25 million copies worldwide and being translated into more than twenty languages; it was adapted into the television series Legend of the Seeker (2008–2010). He also wrote the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines (2009). Most of his books reached The New York Times Best Seller list, with Phantom debuting at number one in August 2006. Goodkind was strongly influenced by Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism, which he wove throughout the moral and political themes of his fantasy fiction.

Universe(s)

Sword of Truth

  • Core Canon books: 15
  • Current rank: #375 in the official ranking
  • Weighted average: 4.01
  • Award recognitions: 4 finalist mention, 1 nomination

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