Terry Goodkind passed away on Thursday, and wow, this one stings. We don't talk about it a lot here, but most sci-fi fans I know read at least a little fantasy (and sometimes a lot). The genres are intimately connected in so many ways.

As a teenager, I read Terry Brooks and Weis/Hickman. As an adult, I fell in love with Sara Douglass, Elizabeth Haydon, Guy Gavriel Kay - and Terry Goodkind. My husband introduced me to Wizard's First Rule, and we eagerly read every book that followed, side by side, racing each other to the end.

The Sword of Truth series is a masterclass in what you can do with a story, given the time and space to tell it your way. It greatly influenced my understanding of how writing could and should be done. Wizard's First Rule all the way through Confessor? Damn near perfection.

We've lost a great storyteller. We're all lesser for it, but his books will live on forever. Godspeed, sir.

From his Facebook page: “This morning, Thursday, September 17th, we lost Terry Goodkind. It is a great loss. An unimaginable loss. It is impossible to put into few words just how amazing of a man, a husband, a writer, a friend, and a human, Terry Goodkind truly was. He is already desperately missed. We are forever grateful for him having shared his life’s work with all of us, as he was always grateful to be held in our hearts.

“To exist in this vast universe for a speck of time is the great gift of life. It is our only life. The universe will go on, indifferent to our brief existence, but while we are here, we touch not just part of that vastness, but also the lives around us. Life is the gift each of us has been given. Each life is our own and no one else's. It is precious beyond all counting. It is the greatest value we can have. Cherish it for what it truly is . . . Your life is yours alone. Rise up and live it.” - Terry Goodkind

We love you, Terry.”

Originally posted on Facebook.