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pio_near's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Decent fantasy... more thrill-fantasy than world building, and while there is a decent magic system, much is glossed over. However, starting a spin-off series without reading the prime storyline may be the problem.
Decent fantasy... more thrill-fantasy than world building, and while there is a decent magic system, much is glossed over. However, starting a spin-off series without reading the prime storyline may be the problem.
chocodile28's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
dramxarama's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 to be precise. it was good if I'm honest but the pace of it was kinda off to me. the different "adventures" had too many similarities in some way. the book felt like a repetition of itself throughout and well that gave no real character development... and I don't know Nicci's pov weren't my favorites, they felt weird and also her physical descriptions throughout the book made me cringe a little to be honest.
but well, I still live this universe, the description of it, the magic and the people. maybe next will be better in terms of pacing and character development and Nicci's pov (I thought she was always speaking/thinking the same things)
and you know, it was the first of this new series/chronicles, so let's hope that's everything is set, sort of, and that the next one is better.
yeah so, overall, once used to it I read it faster, the first quarter of it was hard, after that I read it easier. i look forward for the second one anyway.
but well, I still live this universe, the description of it, the magic and the people. maybe next will be better in terms of pacing and character development and Nicci's pov (I thought she was always speaking/thinking the same things)
and you know, it was the first of this new series/chronicles, so let's hope that's everything is set, sort of, and that the next one is better.
yeah so, overall, once used to it I read it faster, the first quarter of it was hard, after that I read it easier. i look forward for the second one anyway.
simiray's review against another edition
5.0
I have always loved Nicci. Even when she captured Richard all those books ago and tried to turn him into a good little Imperial, there was something that drew me to her.
Goodkind always knows how to draw the emotion out of a person, and I am so glad that I have stuck with the Sword of Truth series for so long, it has wrought so many benefits.
I hope this means that Goodkind is not done with the magnificent characters I've grown to love over the last decade and a half of my life..I really hope that Richard and Kahlan come back in the later Nicci chronicles.
Goodkind always knows how to draw the emotion out of a person, and I am so glad that I have stuck with the Sword of Truth series for so long, it has wrought so many benefits.
I hope this means that Goodkind is not done with the magnificent characters I've grown to love over the last decade and a half of my life..I really hope that Richard and Kahlan come back in the later Nicci chronicles.
mariaeb06's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 actually.
The writing was good and i enjoyed the world and the magic of it immensely. however it was a rather slow book and i didn’t form any connections to the characters until the very end of the book, which made it quite difficult to motivate me to keep reading.
it felt too slow which can be common in first books of a series (even more when it’s a sequel), but there wasn’t any major flaw.
it just wasn’t what i was excepting.
The writing was good and i enjoyed the world and the magic of it immensely. however it was a rather slow book and i didn’t form any connections to the characters until the very end of the book, which made it quite difficult to motivate me to keep reading.
it felt too slow which can be common in first books of a series (even more when it’s a sequel), but there wasn’t any major flaw.
it just wasn’t what i was excepting.
iamkarla's review against another edition
1.0
Ugh. This was a traditional fantasy story and while they normally aren’t my jam, this one was very much not. The characters were as flat as a sheet of paper and the plot was as straight as an arrow. The author was so incredibly repetitive and so obviously an older white dude. The only descriptions he ever gave women was for how long their hair was, what color their eyes were, and how big their boobs were. That’s it. They were never described in any other way. And the part with the 3 acolyte “scholars”? No, just no.
weaselweader's review against another edition
3.0
“Death’s Mistress? We have no need of further death.”
Seventeen novels (depending on who’s counting)! That’s what it took for Richard Rahl to subdue the evil Emperor Jagang and, presumably bring peace and stability to the world. But all is not as it seems. When Nicci, former merciless Sister of the Dark whose blood lust earned her the title DEATH’S MISTRESS, sets out with Nathan Rahl to find new challenges and to spread the good news of Richard’s peaceful world order, she finds herself charged – not once, but twice!! - with the impossible task of saving the world. And Nathan, by the bye, having completely lost his powers of magic when prophesy vanished from the world, must find the hidden city, Kol Adair, in order to make himself whole again.
Battles, magic, life versus death, good versus evil, hate versus love, a sprinkling of lascivious nudity and love-making, lost languages, bigger and better villains, a traveling “fellowship” (Where have I heard that before?) – DEATH’S MISTRESS is pretty standard stuff as epic quest fantasy goes. It’s entertaining but, for my money, I’d say it was overwritten, overwrought, melodramatic and , while not derivative, it doesn’t exactly plow any new furrows either. Lifedrinker is the first nasty on the prowl for world domination - DEATH’S MISTRESS’s version of Sauron, Voldemort, Grindelwald, or She Who Must Be Obeyed (wait … maybe not that last one!). And the second ugly on Goodkind’s world horizon is to Lifedrinker as Saruman is to Tolkien’s Sauron.
Some solid editing and winnowing of the novel’s length would make it considerably more palatable. I’d probably have held out for just 1- or 2-stars but, being completely honest, there were some definitely entertaining moments. The conduct of the young girl, Thistle, in the final few chapters leading up to the climactic battle is genuinely heartwarming. Soooo … DEATH’S MISTRESS gets rounded up to 3-stars.
Recommended for those fans of THE SWORD OF TRUTH series who want to complete the story and absolutely NOT recommended for those who haven’t read it. The characters and the references to the past simply wouldn’t make any sense to you.
Paul Weiss
Seventeen novels (depending on who’s counting)! That’s what it took for Richard Rahl to subdue the evil Emperor Jagang and, presumably bring peace and stability to the world. But all is not as it seems. When Nicci, former merciless Sister of the Dark whose blood lust earned her the title DEATH’S MISTRESS, sets out with Nathan Rahl to find new challenges and to spread the good news of Richard’s peaceful world order, she finds herself charged – not once, but twice!! - with the impossible task of saving the world. And Nathan, by the bye, having completely lost his powers of magic when prophesy vanished from the world, must find the hidden city, Kol Adair, in order to make himself whole again.
Battles, magic, life versus death, good versus evil, hate versus love, a sprinkling of lascivious nudity and love-making, lost languages, bigger and better villains, a traveling “fellowship” (Where have I heard that before?) – DEATH’S MISTRESS is pretty standard stuff as epic quest fantasy goes. It’s entertaining but, for my money, I’d say it was overwritten, overwrought, melodramatic and , while not derivative, it doesn’t exactly plow any new furrows either. Lifedrinker is the first nasty on the prowl for world domination - DEATH’S MISTRESS’s version of Sauron, Voldemort, Grindelwald, or She Who Must Be Obeyed (wait … maybe not that last one!). And the second ugly on Goodkind’s world horizon is to Lifedrinker as Saruman is to Tolkien’s Sauron.
Some solid editing and winnowing of the novel’s length would make it considerably more palatable. I’d probably have held out for just 1- or 2-stars but, being completely honest, there were some definitely entertaining moments. The conduct of the young girl, Thistle, in the final few chapters leading up to the climactic battle is genuinely heartwarming. Soooo … DEATH’S MISTRESS gets rounded up to 3-stars.
Recommended for those fans of THE SWORD OF TRUTH series who want to complete the story and absolutely NOT recommended for those who haven’t read it. The characters and the references to the past simply wouldn’t make any sense to you.
Paul Weiss
robin142857's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5
carmony's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5