Terry Lee Goodkind (January 11, 1948September 17, 2020) was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines (2009), which has ties to his fantasy series. The Sword of Truth series sold 25 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages. Additionally, it was adapted into a television series called Legend of the Seeker. Legend of the Seeker premiered on November 1, 2008, and ran for two seasons; the television series finished in May 2010.
Goodkind was a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of objectivism, and his home town was Omaha, Nebraska. Due to his dyslexia, he showed limited interest in academic studies and did not pursue formal education beyond high school.
Goodkind's dyslexia initially dissuaded him from any interest in writing. Before starting his career as a writer, Goodkind built cabinets and violins, and was a marine and wildlife artist,
Career
Goodkind's started working on his first book, Wizard's First Rule, in 1993. It was auctioned to a group of three publishers in 1994 and sold for a record price of $275,000. He subsequently published 16 other novels and one novella. All of his books, with the exceptions of Stone of Tears and Wizard's First Rule, have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. His books Chainfire debuted at #3, in January 2005; Phantom at #1, in August 2006; and Confessor at #2, in November, 2007.
Some of Goodkind's political views have provoked controversy,