Grasping for the Wind: Book Review: Phantom by Terry Goodkind

August 04, 2006

Book Review: Phantom by Terry Goodkind

I am currently in the middle of reading Terry Goodkind's book Phantom. I have been an avid reader since the beginning and would devour the 4,000 word books in the space of hours in some cases.

Although I know him to be a devotee of Ayn Rand and her rather whacky philosophy of Objectivism, I have enjoyed his attempts at celebrating individualism and destroying blind faith. I have at times thought that his antagonist Jagang and the Fellowship of Order to at times be Christianity, Islam, and/or Marxism. It is obvious that the protaganist, Richard, is coming up against all of the religious beliefs that have ever existed in the world and systematically proving how they are insuficient for expereincing life to its fullest. The individualism of the Richard character always triumphs intellectually over all other perceptions of life, both what comes before and after. The series is almost an apologetic in the style of C.S. Lewis. Goodkind brings on all comers and rapidly and logically destroys the worldviews.

Phantom has made it obvious that the worst of the worldview sinners is those people who have faith in something other than this life. Whether it be Islam, Christianity, or any other worldview that requires faith (except ancestor worship or animism as personified in the Mud People) then it is evil because it requires faith. It is evil because it calls for the denial of one's own desires in order to meet the desires of others. Of course, in the Sword of Truth series this is carried to its extreme in the Fellowship of Order.

It is fascinating to see how someone without faith in a Holy writ or much beyond this life and living for oneself views us. I do find it interesting the convolutions Goodkind must go through in order to show how must fight communally for the right to live as we please. In some cases, such as the right to fight back against an oppressor or those who harm us first I say Hurrah! But if one's own desires are the ultimate goal of this life how then can we ever desire to fight together in common cause.

This book is great simply because it asks the questions we must ask ourselves in this modern day and age. Why do Americans fight to preserve our freedoms when, in postmodernism, our greatest goal should only be to do what feels right to us at the time? Why is the faith of Islam so often destructive, and why has Christianity also been in its less than lustrous past?

I enjoy reading Goodkind, if only for the questions he makes me ask myself. Although I may not agree with his interpretation in the end, I at least better know why I believe what I do. And who would have thought it from a work of epic fantasy?

Posted by John on August 4, 2006 01:09 PM | Posted to Fantasy
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Just a caveat. I do not like his destruction of faith. I may have made it sound that way, but what I really find interesting is his perspective, not his lack of faith in faith.

Posted by: otter on August 4, 2006 02:00 PM

I like the books that Terry Goodkind writes because of the simple fact that I agree with him, to a sertain point.

The fellowship of Order probably stands for faith in a religion, allah or god, that doesn't really matter. But they aren't completely the same, every religion does something good, some more then others in sertain area's, the Fellowship of Order however does not, it simply downgrades life to a test, which no other religion does (to my knowing).

For example, Christianity says that if you live well in this life, you'll go to heaven, it doesn't say that you can't enjoy life, but tFoO (the fellowship of Order) does, thus it doesn't attack the religion itself, what it does question or even attack is the blind faith (it is blind, right?) these religions ask of you.

It is here that I want to aggree with him that religions are, in a way, bad. But due to my sence of logic and my view upon reality I can't do that, atleast not fully. The suppresion and muders in the name of a religion are BAD, there's no way that you can justify that in ANY way. But not everyone who has faith in God does this, some people who believe in God help other people, such as the poor, but then without neglecting themselves, their needs and disires.

When you do neglect them, and do not value life, THEN you are, in a way, a member of tFoO.

Having faith in something isn't bad, it's what you do with it, use it to get wealth and power, suppress people and murder them in the name of faith? OR you help people in the name of you religion, you help build houses, give love to those who don't get it, teach people math or how to read, when you choose the last option, a faith is good, if you coose the first option, you got a problem, a serious one...

Mister Goodkind sir, your the best, your books are written with such detail and with such a interesting thought beneath it that they'd make harry potter like the books you get in first grade, keep on working on the last and eleventh law please, i need to know how it ends! :D

Posted by: Lodewijk on January 9, 2007 02:22 PM

Lodewijk,

Your view of Chrsitainity is skewed. My particular belief is that I can do nothing to attain heaven myself. God alone in the person of Jesus can save me from hell. Some Chrsitian denominations and faiths do believe s you say, I don't deny that, but not everyone, and not those most faithful to the text of our Scriptures.

I also agree some religions are bad and/or do bad things. In fact, all religions have at one time or another. However, the faith itself was good, even if the sinful actions of the members of the religion do bad things.

I do believe that Christianity is the only way to heaven, but I will admit that religiousity and selfishness often give it and other religions a bad name.

Posted by: Otter on January 9, 2007 03:47 PM