First Truth (Truth, #1)

First Truth (Truth #1)

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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71  ·  rating details  ·  2,082 ratings  ·  169 reviews
Alissa doesn't believe in magic. Her father's stories about the Hold, a legendary fortress where human Keepers learn magic from the enigmatic Maters, are just that―stories. But her mother insists that Alissa has inherited her father's magical ability, and so she must go to the Hold―the only place her talents can be trained.

On her way, she crosses paths with Strell, a wand...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published May 28th 2002 by Ace Books
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Ducky
I'm not quite sure if this deserves three or four stars. I would've given this one five stars, but Strell got on my nerves with his incessant cheesy, romantic lines.

----

"Who," he breathed roughly, "will sing you to sleep when your rest is troubled?"

Clang!

"Who will tease you until you stamp your foot?" he sobbed, his unnoticed tears of frustration freezing on his cheek.

Clang!

"And who," he whispered fiercely, raising Alissa's staff high over his head. "Who will ever love you more than I?"

----

That...more
Chibineko
If you aren't already aware, Dawn Cook is the pen name of Kim Harrison, author of the Hollows series. It was because of this that I picked this book up in the first place. After all, I love the Hollows books & even though this isn't exactly my cup of tea, I figured that I'd enjoy this series.

First Truth follows the character of Alissa, a young woman who is forced to set out in search of a place she's only heard about in stories- the magical Hold of the Masters. She doesn't know where to go-...more
Sky
Best damned book about dragons ever... period. Some might argue that fact, but they haven't read this book. Or they're a guy and they prefer their dragons spitting fire.

I've never read a book that describes magic so thoroughly either. You start thinking you might actually be able to grasp how it's all done, and attempt some of it yourself.
Also, very real relationships throughout the series.
I can say this as well... it all ends very nicely, and is wrapped up beautifully.

I just didn't want the...more
Aer1th
Cover/Aussehen
Das Cover ist zugleich mystisch und sexy gestaltet, allerdings ist es auch irreführend, da die Frau scheinbar Alissa, unsere weibliche Protagonistin, darstellen soll, sie im Buch aber optisch ganz anders beschrieben wird.
Dennoch ist das Cover ansprechend und hat mich zum Kauf des Buches animiert.

Inhalt
Als Alissa beginnt immer rastloser zu werden und an den unmöglichsten Orten einzuschlafen, ahnt ihre Mutter bereits, dass die Zeit gekommen ist, ihre Tochter fortzuschicken. Doch Alis...more
Amanda
Alissa doesn't believe in magic. Even though her father has filled her head with stories of the Hold and Keepers, she was convinced that they were only stories. But when Alissa's mother throws her out of the home to find her destiny, Alissa finds that stories can be real. As Alissa journeys through the foothills and plains, she meets up with Strell, who helps her find the truth.

I was so disappointed in this series. As a big fan of Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series, I thought her debut YA fanta...more
Madame X
Like a number of other recent reviewers, I recently found out that Kim Harrison and Dawn Cook are one and the same, and decided I'd take a gander at this early fantasy series of hers. No, it's not the Hollows - it's not as expansive, as complex, or as exciting as the Hollows books are. To be frank, it's not great. But it's not bad, either, and it's kind of fascinating to see the germ of Kim Harrison's talent here - in flashes, to be sure.

First Truth is a small book, and it's even smaller than i...more
Jill Furedy
First off, I was really annoyed with the cover of this book...I am buying the original covers. Every time Alissa complained that her short straight hair was getting longer or Strell commented on it, I'd growl at the cover. And I hate that they made Talon glow, as that started me thinking...well something about Talon is magical. And I would have preferred they not give me that nudge.
As for the story, Alissa is fine...but not someone I really connected with for some reason. Some books I walk awa...more
Malin
Alissa has never been accepted by the people around her parents' foothills farm, as her mother is from the plains, and her father from the foothills. There is fierce rivalry and much prejudice between the tradesmen of the plains and the farmers of the foothills and intermarriage between the peoples is frowned upon, and the offspring of such unions are treated as outcasts.

Alissa's father has been missing since she was five, and now, at nearly twenty, her mother is sending her away, claiming she n...more
Elaine
I wasn't sure what to make of this book after reading all the Hollow's series and this book is so different. The writing style seems different and it was all just not what I've come to expect from Kim Harrison regardless if she was writing under a different name.

The story was rather complex and at times explained too much but it all seemed to flow and didn't really lose track or get boring, The information written was always relevent to the story at the time it took place. However I did find the...more
Kim
Honestly I wanted to read this book because it was written by Kim Harrison aka Dawn Cook. I have enjoyed her writing style so much that I wanted to give it a whirl.

Let me start off by saying, it's a good fluff book. A time filler when you have ran out of things to read. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. The SL is some what original, there is Kim's basic way of writing sexual tension (even tho there isn't even a profession of love in the book, let alone a...more
Guillaume Jay
Alissa est chassée par sa mère pour marcher sur les traces de son père et rejoindre la Forteresse pour devenir une magicienne.
En chemin, elle rencontre Strell, jeune troubadour, qui l'accompagne jusqu'à sa destination.
Bon, le coup du "on s'aime, mais on le dit pas et on le comprend pas", je l'ai vu exprimé de façon bien pire (je veux dire, j'ai lu la Belgariade, et j'ai tenu 6 volumes de Wheel of Time, j'ai donc acquis une certaine résistance). Mais après, je n'ai pas accroché : pas au style, pa...more
Raye
This series kept me inthralled.I don't wish to give anything away but I liked the fact the in certain aspects I could guess s what would happen next then she would blind side me later in the book.I'm also a fan when it comes to good verses evil and the good doesn't always win. ( not that I'm saying the good guys don't triumph) but it's a lot like life u can lose battle but win the war.that is seen through out the series. The good guys r human thus they can be over powered or forced by the bad gu...more
Scarlet
I thought this book was very predictable and convenient which is the kind of books I usually hate,but for some reason I enjoyed it more than I thought I would..the characters are quite believable, and I liked Strell a lot , I liked the way the book dealt with the racism issue especially how it made the characters more realistic, I was actually going to give 4 stars but thought it unfair for books that are much better that I gave 4...anyway I do not recommend the book for anyone who wants strong...more
Stefanie
Excellent start to a series. It definitely had a similar feel to Tamora Pierce's many awesome quartets. Which is actually very refreshing at least for me as I like a good series/trilogy/quartet etc. that has books that could also stand alone. First Truth was an awesome story that gave a clear ending, but by no means was thoroughly complete with all subplots tied up neatly at the end. Dawn Cook/Kim Harrison left just enough open ended that the story would continue in the next book and so on if on...more
Julie
I had completely forgotten about this book until I found it buried in one of my bookshelves gathering dust.

This book was written by Dawn Cook, otherwise known as Kim Harrison. Honestly, I adore it and I think it's almost superior to her Hallows books, which were by far my favorites until I stumbled upon this series. Within the last few years i'd almost given up on finding favorites in fantasy and was leaning far more towards the preternatural genre, but this has reminded of how much I love high...more
CJ - Secret Charm
Pretty good first book in the series the only bad thing is that it ends in such a way that you HAVE to read the second book immediately. Luckily for me I bought it.

Characters are good, a little childish at first but then begin to grow into themselves and their roles slowly. Alissa - who doesn't believe in magic but clearly has a latent power - and Strell - a musician who doesn't believe in magic until he meets her - are the two main characters.

They travel together and become friends...until one...more
Amanda
Like many others, I grabbed this book because I enjoy Kim Harrison's Hollows series. I knew there would be differences; that's a big reason why an author writes under different names. The tone is different, and gone is the rampant sex from the Hollows, but otherwise it's the high quality writing that I've come to expect.

Where Cook/Harrison excels is in her characters and their relationships with each other, and that does not change just because the cover has a different name. The world is detail...more
Nicole

Als ich das erste Buch gesehen hab fand ich das cover schon recht ansprechend und die beschreibung hat mich doch zum kauf ermutigt.
Ich finde es wurde alles sehr schön beschrieben ich kahm mir sehr hineinversetzt vor, finde auch das man es eigentlich nicht zur seite legen kann ich will immer weiterlesen egal wo man ist :D
Es steckt eine sehr schöne große geschichte dahinter, hat zwar auch eine große liebesgeschichte aber auch einen feind den es auszuhalten und zu überwinden gibt. Desweiteren eine...more
Yodamom
I am a big fan of Kim Harrison, she is one of my top 5 authors. I had to try her Dawn Cook books, I found it very enjoyable. It is an easy to read, fantasy. The two main characters are from opposite sides of the track in this world. Alissa is stubborn, powerful with latent magic and naive. Strell is humorous, musical and stubborn. Both distrust each other, and think less of the other because of where they are from. They are forced to combine their journeys after events tear their families apart...more
Clicque
Alissa ne croyait pas � la magie. Son p�re lui parlait d'une Forteresse l�gendaire, o� des Gardiens apprenaient la magie aupr�s de Ma�tres �nigmatiques... mais ce n'�taient que des histoires, rien de plus. Pourtant, maintenant que son p�re est mort, sa m�re est convaincue qu'Alissa a h�rit� de ses dons magiques, et qu'elle doit se rendre dans le seul lieu o� ses talents se r�v�leront : la myst�rieuse Forteresse ! Mais le voyage ne sera pas solitaire, car Alissa rencontre un musicien ambulant qui...more
Sabrina
Von dem Buch ,,Die erste Wahrheit" habe ich mir mehr erhofft.
Aber fangen wir erst einmal von vorne an.

Das Buch lässt sich sehr gut lesen. Ich hatte überhaupt keine Schwierigkeiten mit dem Verständnis der erzählten Geschichte.
Die Umgebung konnte ich mir sehr gut vorstellen, auch die Atmosphäre in dem Buch griff quasi über mich.

Zu Anfang treffen wir auf drei Charaktere. Alissa, Strell und der Buntfalke Kralle. Zwischen Alissa und Strell solle sich eine Art Romantik und Liebe entwickeln. Aha.
H...more
Becky
I really enjoyed this authors style of writing. Very detailed, but keeps your interest. She doesn't describe the room to the smallest detail, however she will describe it while the characters walk around it/touch it/sense it. I read every word on every page.
Angie
Nov 26, 2007 Angie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: adults
Shelves: fantasy
This is a clean, interesting fantasy for adults. I liked the heroine and the strong men in this story. The story continues in three other books which are also good.
Lightreads
What Kim Harrison wrote before she was Kim Harrison: generic quest fantasy with cardboard worldbuilding and a paint-by-numbers romance. I was looking for something fluffy an stupid and I thought this might do it. Unfortunately, it was a bit fluffier and way stupider than anticipated.

The whole thing was not helped by Marguerite Gavin’s audio narration. She has this way of delivering dialogue with oversold! Quivering! Emotion! That did this book in particular no favors. I mean, a straight-faced sc...more
Megan
pretty good and not stereotypical fantasy; ordinary girl did find out she had special powers, but at least her adventures were not all about saving the world; the romance actually developed as characters lived and survived together for a long time; I really liked the unique world with masters/rakus manipulating human populations and people with varying degrees of magic based on genetics. My main dislike was that main character was a plot puppet - I can't stand when the main character is being a...more
Jill Swanson
I love, love, loved this book!
I found this at random while browsing the shelves in B&N.
It quickly became one I could not put down. I had to order the other three and did so before I even finished this one.

I am fascinated by the way magic is used and taught in this book.
They explain it with such detail.
It is clear a lot of thought went in to every spec of this magical society.
Not only did it have magic, but it was also the beginnings of a love story. However, the relationship between Strell...more
Alyssa
I read this book back in 2004 and then recently had a hankering to read it again. Interestingly, I had to ask my friends in California (whom I had previously borrowed it from) to graciously mail it out to me so I could enjoy it. I also read two subsequent books in the series and (to my relief) finally discovered that there is a last book that finishes the series. Although I tend to stay away from the bizarre temptation of fantasy fiction, I found myself genuinely enjoying the authentic character...more
Sonya
A few thoughts about this book:

The book ended abruptly – not a problem given the next book in the series is available.

The reader was told a lot of time was passing – but it didn’t “feel” like a lot of time was passing.

Detailed descriptions of domestic chores were too frequent and didn’t add anything to the story in my opinion.

Author spent a lot of time showing us the main characters falling in love – which was cute, but it did not advance the plot. I think the story suffered from the time spent...more
Sarah Searle
I'm a pretty big fan of slow-starting romantic fantasies (Sevenwaters series, for example), but the first half or two-thirds of the book started to bore me just a little. Not enough to make me stop reading, however, and the ending was a real page-turner. Overall, though it certainly has its faults, it got me sucked right into the series and now there's no looking back (be warned, this book isn't standalone –– the ending is a cliffhanger of sorts).

Also, the whole "bare feet are scandalous" thing...more
Estara
Feb 21, 2011 Estara marked it as dnf  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: ebook, read-in-2011
I gave it 123 pages, but I just don't like the voice. Strell and Alissa are too juvenile for me - I would have thought the way they grew up would have made them more mature.

You know, what I actually wanted to read was the story of Rema and Meson, Alissa's mom and dad, who we met in flashbacks and in person.

I liked what I saw of the worldbuilding and the customs, but with me characters keep me reading. These don't, at the moment anyway.

As Janicu said in her review here:
though Alissa and Strell se...more
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First Truth (Truth, #1)
Die erste Wahrheit (Die Bücher der Wahrheiten, #1)
Vérité première (Vérité, #1)
First Truth (Truth Series, Book 1)
First Truth  (Audio)

The Decoy Princess (Princess, #1) Hidden Truth (Truth, #2) Princess at Sea (Princess, #2) Lost Truth (Truth, #4) Forgotten Truth (Truth, #3)

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