I am entering "Blood of the Fold" and of course when you are into a new book or series the themes seem to stand out in your own life, even though this is a book about... well... wizards and confessors and the underworld and... you get the picture.
Every book has a "rule" as there are technically 11 books in the series there are 11 wizard rules. Each play a pivotal role in the theme of each book and tie back into earlier books and later books (I am sure).
Since I am 2 books into the series there have been 2 rules divulged:
#1: People are stupid.
Excerpt from book: "People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People's heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool.
"People are stupid; they want to believe, so they do."
My thoughts: I am so guilty of this it isn't even funny. People see what they want to see. People believe what they want to believe. It might be seeing the good in someone and ignoring clear evidence that would contradict your conclusion about them. It might be someone telling you a lie, and you are so afraid that its true that you automatically believe its validity. But mostly people are stupid when it comes to emotional situations. It makes people blind to what is really occurring around them. I am as guilty of this as anyone else.
#2. The greatest harm can result from the best intentions.
Excerpt from book: "It sounds a paradox, but kindness and good intentions can be an insidious path to destruction. Sometimes doing what seems right is wrong, and can cause harm. The only counter to it is knowledge, wisdom, forethought, and understanding the First Rule. Even then, that is not always enough. [...] Violation can cause anything from discomfort, to disaster, to death."
My thoughts: I feel that these two rules as discussed above play into one another. You think you are doing something nice for someone and then it turns out to be to their detriment. I think in many ways this is mostly shown through "sugar coating" situations or feelings that need not be "sugar coated". Mostly "sugar coating" gives someone hope of something that will never come to pass which can be more hurtful in the long run than just hearing the cold hard truth.
These novels are wildly entertaining and I would recommend them to people who wouldn't normally be into the "fantasy" reading genre. I would say they are father down the rabbit hole than Harry Potter but more so on the level of Lord of the Rings (with regard to detail and maturity involved).
Happy Reading!
"We all can be only what we are, nothing more or less."
-Kahlan Amnell written by Terry Goodkind
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