The Sword of Truth

The first book, Wizard's First Rule, takes place in the New World, some twenty or so years after two magical boundaries were raised to separate Westland, the Midlands, and D'Hara. The story deals with the growth of the D'Haran Empire under its leader, Darken Rahl, as he invades the Midlands, taking over its territories while seeking to gain control of an ancient power over life called the Boxes of Orden. The book begins a few weeks after the murder of Richard's father. Richard encounters a young woman by the name of Kahlan Amnell, who is a Confessor and has come from the Midlands in search of the "Old One" Wizard. He discovers that his best friend and mentor, Zeddicus Zu'l "Zedd" Zorander, is the wizard whom she seeks. Furthermore, he finds himself appointed and accepting the role of the Seeker of Truth and wielding the Sword of Truth. The sword is said to work through perception, it will cut through anything thought of as an enemy; with any doubt the sword will stop mid-air, inches from the target. The Sword also instills and amplifies great anger and rage thereby giving the one wielding it added strength, agility and conviction. Richard, Kahlan and Zedd journey to the Midlands in search of the last Box of Orden that Rahl needs to acquire before he can use the magic of Orden. Along the way, Richard and Kahlan fall in love. The first book concludes with Richard killing Rahl by tricking him into making a mistake, and the revelation of Richard's true parentage.

The series continues with Stone of Tears, which immediately follows the events that occurred in Wizard's First Rule. Unbeknownst to Richard, the opening of the boxes of Orden has torn the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead, allowing minions of the Keeper of the Underworld to come forth. Richard and Kahlan return to the Mud People (whom Richard and Kahlan befriend and defend in Wizard's First Rule) and decide to marry. However, before they can, they are separated when Richard is captured by the Sisters of the Light; they are women from the Old World, and they train men who can use magic to become wizards. Richard is taken to the Old World, while Kahlan goes to Aydindril to find Zedd for help. On the way, she witnesses the beginning of the Imperial Order's invasion into the New World. Upon reaching Aydindril, she discovers that her people have been corrupted by the Order; she is subsequently sentenced to death. Meanwhile, at the Palace of the Prophets (the Sisters' home in the Old World), Richard learns more about magic, prophecies, and his identity. He escapes the Palace and returns to D'Hara to stop the Keeper from devouring the world of the living. The novel ends with Richard discovering that Kahlan is safe outside Aydindril with her identity shielded by Zedd, and Kahlan being reassured that Richard has returned to the New World.

Richard's plan to reunite with Kahlan is delayed by the arrival of the Mriswith and the advancement of Jagang's army into the New World in the third novel, Blood of the Fold. Having accepted his identity as a war wizard – and the gifted son of Darken Rahl – Richard decides to rule D'Hara and take command of the D'Haran army to seize control of the Midlands, which has weakened with Kahlan's absence as the Mother Confessor. Kahlan is captured on her way back to Aydindril, along with the sorceress Adie, by the Blood of the Fold. The Blood of the Fold are being tricked by Emperor Jagang, the leader of the Imperial Order, to do his bidding. After realizing that the Blood of the Fold have taken Kahlan and Adie to the Palace of the Prophets, Richard travels to the Old World to rescue them. He takes this opportunity to destroy the Palace, preventing Jagang from using the treasures it holds. While Verna, the new Prelate, leads the Sisters of the Light and their students to join the D'Haran army, Richard and Kahlan return to Aydindril and defeat the Mriswiths, as well as the Blood of the Fold.

The fourth novel, Temple of the Winds, tells of the struggles Richard, Kahlan and their friends face as they attempt to stop a plague released by a Sister of the Dark under Jagang's control and to prevent Jagang from seizing important items that will help him win the war. As Nathan Rahl retrieves books from Jagang under a tentative deal struck between them, he sends Zedd and Ann to destroy the prophecies found within the Jocopo Treasure. As foretold by prophecy regarding the plague, Kahlan betrays Richard in order for him to gain admittance into the Temple of the Winds, where he can then stop the plague. When Richard eventually returns, they forgive each other for their actions. However, the price of Richard's return includes that he has to leave with the plague. With Nathan and Cara's help, Kahlan is able to cure Richard of his plague. The plot concludes with Richard and Kahlan's wedding at the Mud People's village, where they are reunited with Zedd and Ann.

Directly following Temple of the Winds, Soul of the Fire revolves around Richard and Kahlan dealing with the threat of all magic's disappearance and the leaders of Anderith, who are considering surrendering to the Imperial Order whilst they have a weapon of mass destruction called the Dominie Dirtch in their possession. Richard and Kahlan discover that a terrible magic known as the "Chimes" has been released and is draining magic from the world, causing magic to fail and creatures of magic to die. They head to Anderith, a land in the Midlands which they believe is connected to the Chimes. Moreover, as Jagang's army marches towards Anderith, Richard attempts to save the people of Anderith by urging them to join the D'Haran Empire but fails. Meanwhile, Ann attempts to save the Sisters of the Light under Jagang's control but is betrayed by them and is captured instead. She escapes with the help of her former student, who is a Sister of the Dark. The novel ends with Richard banishing the Chimes and deciding to return to Westland, where he will help Kahlan recover from injuries sustained in Anderith and wait until the people of the New World prove to him that they truly want freedom.

The next volume in the series, Faith of the Fallen, chronicles more than one and a half years of the characters' lives. Nicci, a Sister of the Dark and a follower of the Imperial Order, captures Richard and forces him to travel with her to the Old World by using a magical spell that allows her to control Kahlan's life. Prevented from following Richard, Kahlan and Cara rejoin the D'Haran army in the Midlands. Kahlan assumes control of the army and stalls Jagang's army from capturing Aydindril, the seat of power in the Midlands. When Kahlan finally sees that she cannot stop Jagang's army from seizing control of the Midlands, she travels to the Old World with Cara in search of Richard. Meanwhile, in the Old World capital of Altur'Rang, Richard has begun changing the outlooks people have, including Nicci's, on their lives and the beliefs they have of the Imperial Order through his determination and will to live. The people of Altur'Rang rebel against and free themselves from the Order. Repenting, Nicci removes the spell from Kahlan and joins Richard and Kahlan in their fight against the Order.

While continuing on from Faith of the Fallen, The Pillars of Creation differs from the other novels in the series in that its protagonists are not Richard and Kahlan, but new characters by the names of Jennsen Rahl and Oba Rahl, who are Richard's half siblings. Both are unaware that they are pristinely ungifted and immune to magic. Jennsen, who has spent most of her life hiding from the Lord Rahl (originally Darken Rahl), meets an Imperial Order spy named Sebastian, who fuels her hatred of the new Lord Rahl (Richard) by convincing her of the Order's beliefs in equality. She joins Jagang and his army as they launch an attack on the Confessor's Palace in Aydindril. After their defeat, Jennsen strikes a deal with the Keeper to surrender herself in exchange for Richard's death. Meanwhile, Oba follows the bidding of the Keeper, who is using him in his plan to enter the world of the living. In the novel's climax, Jennsen realizes the truth by seeing through the lies of the Imperial Order and chooses to help Richard in his quest against Jagang.

In the eighth novel, Naked Empire, Richard and Kahlan are interrupted from their journey home to the New World to help free the Bandakar Empire, deep in the Old World, from the Imperial Order. They learn that the people of Bandakar are pristinely ungifted like Jennsen and Oba, and have been overrun by the Order because they have shunned all forms of violence, refusing to fight for their own lives. Richard eventually convinces them to rise up and cast the Imperial Order, led by a cruel and merciless Slide, from their mountain homeland. In the process, Richard learns to restore his gift, which had failed because he did not have enough faith in himself and his abilities. Meanwhile, the Wizard's Keep in Aydindril is infiltrated by men captured from Bandakar. The novel ends with Zedd and Chase reclaiming the Keep, and the defeat of the Imperial Order's army in Bandakar.

Three novels of the series, Chainfire, Phantom, and Confessor, were written as a trilogy called the Chainfire Trilogy, which brings the story arc concerning Jagang's invasion to an end. After recovering from an injury, Richard wakes up to find Kahlan missing and that no one remembers she existed. Richard discovers that the Sisters of the Dark kidnapped Kahlan and cast the Chainfire spell that erases everyone's memories of Kahlan and Kahlan's memories of herself. However, Richard's mind was protected from the spell by the Sword of Truth. The Sisters use Kahlan to steal the boxes of Orden in the People's Palace in D'Hara, which they intend to use to unleash their master, the Keeper of the Underworld, into the world of the living. Unbeknownst to the Sisters, Jagang still has access into their minds, and has learned much from their journey and of their plans. Meanwhile, Richard, under an alias, is captured by the Imperial Order, who are making their way to the People's Palace in D'Hara. Kahlan, who has also been captured by Jagang, sees Richard and although she does not remember him, she feels encouraged to fight on and remember her past. After Richard and Kahlan escape from Jagang, they return to the People's Palace, where Richard defeats the Sisters of the Dark and Jagang. To remove the Chainfire spell, Richard must use the magic of Orden. With that power, he not only restores Kahlan's memories and others' memories of her, he also creates an identical world or parallel universe to the one they're living in to which he banishes all of the people from the old world who are unable to see the benefit of individuality and prosperity. Jennsen and the people of Bandakar, the "pillars of creation", (the pristinely ungifted) decide to also go into this new, magicless world. (If they stayed and bred in Richard's world, magic would eventually die out.) Richard then closes the gateway seemingly forever and separates the worlds. The series ends with the marriage of Cara and General Meiffert, and Richard's declaration that the traditional D'Haran devotions are no longer necessary, because everyone's life is their own to live.

In addition to the novels, Goodkind wrote a short story titled Debt of Bones for the 1998 anthology Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg. It was published as a stand-alone novella in 2001. The story takes place in The Sword of Truth universe and is set a few decades before the events in the main series, focusing on how and why the boundaries that separated Westland, the Midlands, and D'Hara in "Wizard's First Rule" were created.

Set millennia prior to the main Sword of Truth series, The First Confessor: The Legend of Magda Searus was initially released on July 15, 2012, as an e-book, then in print July 2015. The First Confessor covers a wide variety of information including the Wizards War, the creation of the Sword of Truth, confessors, and information about the damage done to magic with the Temple of the Winds. Terry Goodkind's website claims "The First Confessor is the foundation of the Sword of Truth series. This is the beginning of the grand adventure."

On April 2, 2010, a video went up on Terry Goodkind's official site and YouTube channel promoting a new Richard and Kahlan novel that was released on August 16, 2011.[4][5][6][7][8] The Omen Machine takes place immediately after Confessor—beginning on the night of the wedding of General Benjamin Meiffert and the Mord'Sith Cara, the event of which concludes the last novel in the Sword of Truth series—when a mysterious machine is found underground and begins to give predictions, most of which are seemingly benign, but Zedd believes the machine must be destroyed until a prediction is given that scares him to death; a prediction which, if true, will tear apart Richard and Kahlan's life as they know it.

Published on August 20, 2013, The Third Kingdom is the second novel in Goodkind's new series about Richard and Kahlan. Following an attack by the mysterious half people in the Dark Lands, Richard and Kahlan find themselves abandoned by their friends. After being saved by the people from Stroyza, Richard heads out on a quest to save his friends and meets the sinister Bishop Hannis Arc.

The third novel in the new Richard and Kahlan series, Severed Souls, was published on August 5, 2014. Following the events in the previous two books, Richard must find a way to cure Kahlan and himself from the Hedge Maid's stain of death. Meanwhile, Hannis Arc and Emperor Sulachan march towards the heart of D'Hara.

Warheart[9] is the fourth entry in the new Richard and Kahlan series, published November 17, 2015.

Taking place after the events of the four Richard & Kahlan novels, Goodkind has released a new series which follows further exploits of former Sister of the Dark, Nicci, & former prophet, Nathan Rahl.

Released January 24, 2017. It is the first entry in the Nicci Chronicles series and the 18th novel, chronologically, in the Sword of Truth universe. Following the events of Warheart, Nicci decided to take her leave of Richard and Kahlan for a time. For whatever reason, Nathan Rahl chooses to accompany her. She goes on a mission to the Dark Lands to visit the witch, Red, who sends them off chasing a vague prophecy that she will save the world, which takens them across the known world & deep into a forgotten, unmapped region south of the Old World and the D'haran Empire, known as the Phantom Coast. Before leaving, Nicci saves a young sailor named Bannon, who grew up in a place called Chiriya Island, and he joins them on their quest, learning a lot of wisdom from both Nathan and Nicci. Nathan begins to lose control of his magic, an effect of the fact that prophecy has been allegedly eradicated. Together, they cross the Phantom Coast, fight off the dangerous, Viking-like Norukai & vicious sea monsters, stop a mad judge who froze an entire population with a cursed necklace, meet the last dragon left in the Old World & discover an ancient archive of arcane magic guarded over by a group of less-than-cautious scholars as they try to seek out a mysterious realm called Kol Adair & unravel the mystery of Red foretelling. It is followed by Shroud of Eternity. [10]

Released January 9, 2018. It is the second entry in the Nicci Chronicles series and is the 19th novel, chronologically, in the Sword of Truth universe. Picking up where Death's Mistress left off, Nicci, Nathan and Bannon find Kol Adair to be a mountain pass which leads to a field full of petrified soldiers and little else. Nathan recognizes some of the insignias, claiming them to be the army of a General Utros- a powerful military commander who served another would-be despot, Emperor Kurgan, 1500 years prior. He went off to conquer a mythical city called Ildakar & never returned. The following night, they are met by three strange young men who are out destroying the statues. The three men lead them into the city of Ildakar which, to hide from further military conquests, erected a magical barrier called the Shroud of Eternity, which pulls them out of time & traps them in a bubble. In recent years, the shroud has been failing, however. Nicci, Nathan & Bannon are introduced to Ildakar as official emmiseries of Lord Rahl & begin trying to forge an alliance. They find Ildakar to be a society ruled over by the gifted, who enjoy lavish lifestyles and enslave the non-gifted. Prior introduced characters Prelate Verna Sauventreen & General Zimmer also return. Having returned to Tanimura to lead an excavation of the Palace of the Prophets, they intercept messages sent by Nicci and Nathan from the Cliffwall Archive and decide to mount an expedition to find it and secure it for the D'haran Empire. It is followed by the third novel, Siege of Stone.[11]

Released December 31, 2018. It is the third entry in the Nicci Chronicles and is the 20th novel, chronologically, in the Sword of Truth universe. After a joining a slave uprising and overthrowing the leader of Ildakar, Sovrena Thora, Nicci, Nathan and Bannon begin work to put the city back together. Thora's husband, Commander Maxim, goes missing and, shortly thereafter, General Utros' army awakens. His army, still partly stone and quite difficult to kill, learns of all that has transpired and, in a sense of confusion and rage, renews their war on Ildakar in the name of an Emperor long dead. The Norukai King, Grieve, also begins planning an assault on Ildakar and the D'haran Empire, hoping to conquer the world. It is followed by the fourth novel, Heart of Black Ice. [12]

Released January 21, 2020. It is the fourth entry in the Nicci Chronicles and the 21st Novel, chronologically, in the Sword of Truth universe. After Nicci travels north in a new Sliph to warn the cities of the Old World of the impending attacks and Nathan and Bannon help lead a dedicated force to attack the armies of Utros and Grieve beyond city walls, the leadership of Ildakar betray them, re-erecting the Shroud of Eternity, disappearing from the world again and leaving them stranded. As the third Sliph, an emphatic supporter of old Emperor Sulachan, realizes that Nicci is her enemy, she decides to strand her alone in the ruins of the city of Orogang, former seat of Emperor Kurgan, somewhere in the mountains of the Phantom Coast. Bannon is captured and enslaved by the Norukai and, despite managing to link his forces with those of Prelate Verna and General Zimmer, Nathan's force of Ildakaran and D'haran soldiers, Sisters of the Light and Ildakaran Wizards and Morazeth, they are vastly outnumbered. Worse, with the unexpected demise of Commander Maxim, his spells fully wear off and Utros' forces return entirely to humanity. Whilst stone, they couldn't feel hunger, but now they are ravenous and desperate. Utros makes a devil's pact with Grieve to unite their forces and declare war on D'hara. This novel is meant to end the Ildakar arc of the Nicci Chronicles series, but may be followed by further novels in the future. [13]

In 2019, Terry Goodkind began to release a short series of five new novellas following the story of Richard & Kahlan after the events of Warheart. The first book, released April 4, 2019, is entitled The Scribbly Man: The Children of D'hara 1. The second, Hateful Things, will be released on July 22 of the same year, followed by Wasteland, Witch's Oath, and Into Darkness. These books run together, as a single story and, due to a point made in Heart of Black Ice, seem to run concurrently with some books of the Nicci Chronicles. In 2021, they will also be re-released as a single novel. At the end of Warheart, Richard promised Kahlan that their time would be the birth of a new Golden Age for their empire. But, a Wizard's promises always come true, and not always in the manner one might expect. The People's Palace is suddenly attacked by an amphibian race of beings from another dimension who call themselves the Glee. They wish to hunt man for sport and follow the commands of their queen, known only as the Golden Goddess. They can appear and disappear at will and possess humans at will and the only saving grace is that they are confused by and terrified of magic, the Golden Goddess referring to Richard as the "Shiny Man." If Richard and Kahlan's line is wiped from the earth, the Glee will no longer have anything to fear, so they believe. It is only then that Kahlan learns that she is pregnant with Richard Rahl's children-- a pair of fraternal twins. [14]

• The Law of Nines. Released August 18, 2009. This novel takes place in our world, apparently one thousand years after the events of the Sword of Truth novels. It was written immediately following Confessor. A descendant of Jennsen Rahl and Tom begins being harassed by warriors from the Sword of Truth universe and a sorceress named Jax comes to his aid as they try to understand what these new enemies want.[15]