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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781250806666 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tor Trade |
| Publication date: | 11/18/2002 |
| Pages: | 736 |
| Sales rank: | 151,815 |
| Product dimensions: | 4.25(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.62(d) |
About the Author
Interviews
An Interview with Terry Goodkind
Q: You've said before that you enjoy creating new characters with great stories. Can you tell readers a little about Jennsen and how she becomes involved with the main characters, Richard Rahl, the woodsman-turned-warrior, and his wife Kahlan?
A: Ever since she was six years old, someone has been trying to kill Jennsen. Now, she is 20. He just found her.
These have always been stories of meaningful conflict, of people who have been torn from the familiar tapestry of their lives. More importantly, they're the stories of the struggles of heroic individuals trying to find truth and triumph over repression. How characters with nobility of human spirit, such as Richard and Kahlan, are tested, meet those challenges and face agonizing choices has always been my central theme.
The Pillars of Creation is the story of a young woman who must find a way to survive when her worst nightmare suddenly comes to life. Truth can be her only salvation. But with time running out, finding the truth is not going to be easy. The fate of many lives hinge on the choices she will make.
Q: What was the most challenging part of writing this book?
A: I wanted to write the story in a way that I don't think has been attempted before. The Pillars of Creation has a dual plot. By that, I mean that how the reader interprets the events in the story depends upon what they already know. Readers who have read my previous novels will see the plot unfold in a particular way, while new readers will see the events in an entirely different light. Both will see a logical progression of events but grasp their significance differently. I consciously intended the plot to be experienced from these two different perspectives in very different ways. Each group of readers will have very different sets of fears and hopes.
It was a real challenge to tell this story while keeping the plot for both kinds of readers equally compelling, and bringing both plot interpretations together in the end so that both readers -- old and new -- would find the ending equally logical and just as dramatic and satisfying. In this way, the story includes all readers.
Q: What do you think longtime Sword of Truth fans will find most surprising about this novel?
A: I seriously doubt that there will be very much about this novel that longtime fans won't find surprising. The mysteries involved are central to the novel.
It's important to point out that this is a book that requires no previous reading of the series. The reader's perception of the plot and interpretation of the meaning of each new discovery in the mystery is entirely dependent on whether or not they are familiar with the books in the series -- and that is by no means necessary. I wanted to make sure that fans of the series felt a special thrill with what they encounter, while new readers fell in love with a story that does not slight them for being new to my novels.
Q: I find it amazing that you've been able to release a new Sword of Truth novel -- all of which are well over 500 pages -- almost every year for the last seven years. How do you go about writing a book? Do you plan it all out first and then begin writing, or do you create a character and a rough story line and then let things unfold?
A: Just writing a book of 500 pages is not all that difficult. However, writing a novel that is a complete story in which every sentence contributes meaningfully to the advancement of the plot and the development of the characters, and which at the same time is philosophically integrated and consistent, is considerably more work. And that's what it is -- a lot of hard work. It's fascinating, fun and profoundly rewarding work, but it is work.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm extremely pleased to be able to announce that my publisher from the beginning, Tor Books, has contracted for the next three books in the series. Writing about these characters who have become so important not only to me, but to a great many other people, has been an immensely rewarding experience. Every time I finish a book, I can hardly wait to be writing the next one.