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trangmar's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kylieelyse's review against another edition
3.0
Sigh.
I loved Terry Goodkind's SOT series (With the exception of Pillars of Creation).
I also loved First Confessor.
I was excited when I found out that Terry Goodkind was going to continue on with Richard and Kahlan's story but Omen Machine just did not do it for me.
Im not for a second going to act like I didnt fly through this book and completely devour it.
It had been around 8 months since I had last read anything from him and I was craving it.
However, I found this story to be completely pointless to Richard and Kahlan's story as a whole.
I felt that none of it was relevant to anything and was just an excuse to write another book.
I however am extremely excited for the second book The Third Kingdom to come out (just a couple more days!) because it has fantastic ratings.
I am not even going to rate this book badly because im hoping that the content will some how be pertinent after I read the next one.
I would still recommend Terry Goodkind to anyone and everyone. He is a fantastic author.
I loved Terry Goodkind's SOT series (With the exception of Pillars of Creation).
I also loved First Confessor.
I was excited when I found out that Terry Goodkind was going to continue on with Richard and Kahlan's story but Omen Machine just did not do it for me.
Im not for a second going to act like I didnt fly through this book and completely devour it.
It had been around 8 months since I had last read anything from him and I was craving it.
However, I found this story to be completely pointless to Richard and Kahlan's story as a whole.
I felt that none of it was relevant to anything and was just an excuse to write another book.
I however am extremely excited for the second book The Third Kingdom to come out (just a couple more days!) because it has fantastic ratings.
I am not even going to rate this book badly because im hoping that the content will some how be pertinent after I read the next one.
I would still recommend Terry Goodkind to anyone and everyone. He is a fantastic author.
capincus's review against another edition
2.0
The plot was decent but it seems like Goodkind forgot how to write sometime between Chainfire and The Omen Machine. There was about 150-200 pages of story in the book and another 300 pages of repetition. He repeated sentences, words, concepts. There was one point where he described a wall made out of vines and thorns in a paragraph for three pages worth of paragraphs. Unfortunately, it looks like you have to read this to continue on with the series, but maybe this is the time to give up on Goodkind.
hayamaakito's review against another edition
4.0
I would actually give this book a 4.5. It seems to escape the preaching that many of Goodkind's later books are rightfully accused of, while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the characters' beliefs and core values. I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of the Sword of Truth series, though it's hard to speak to new readers as I am a longtime fan of the original books. It does begin a brand new arc, however, and I do not believe too much would be lost in translation.
The book picks up immediately after the events of Confessor, which is something I hadn't expected when I first heard about this new series. This is probably my biggest beef with this book. My personal feelings about the main characters, Richard and Kahlan, never being allowed even a day of happiness can be put aside, since I realize this is realistic and the lack of threat and tension would make for a boring story. However, I feel that the introduction of a new threat immediately after the occurrences of Confessor, without getting into spoiler territory, is a plot hole that is not resolved or even addressed in this book.
Those issues aside, I feel that the pacing of the story is in keeping with some of the better books of the Sword of Truth series. The book is full of action and excitement, with even many of the long conversations balanced between prose, mystery, and revelation enough to keep any reader rapt. The character development, at least that of the main character, is probably the best in all of the books so far, finally confronting Richard with events that truly shake his convictions. Those who felt that Richard was far too infallible in the original series will certainly enjoy this aspect.
In summary, this book is worthy as a successor to the Sword of Truth series, and fans of which will enjoy it. For new readers, I would still recommend it since it is a new story arc and it's not really necessary to know the previous material. I am hoping that the further books address the only real issue I have with this book, but even if not, it is worth reading for any fan of epic fantasy.
The book picks up immediately after the events of Confessor, which is something I hadn't expected when I first heard about this new series. This is probably my biggest beef with this book. My personal feelings about the main characters, Richard and Kahlan, never being allowed even a day of happiness can be put aside, since I realize this is realistic and the lack of threat and tension would make for a boring story. However, I feel that the introduction of a new threat immediately after the occurrences of Confessor, without getting into spoiler territory, is a plot hole that is not resolved or even addressed in this book.
Those issues aside, I feel that the pacing of the story is in keeping with some of the better books of the Sword of Truth series. The book is full of action and excitement, with even many of the long conversations balanced between prose, mystery, and revelation enough to keep any reader rapt. The character development, at least that of the main character, is probably the best in all of the books so far, finally confronting Richard with events that truly shake his convictions. Those who felt that Richard was far too infallible in the original series will certainly enjoy this aspect.
In summary, this book is worthy as a successor to the Sword of Truth series, and fans of which will enjoy it. For new readers, I would still recommend it since it is a new story arc and it's not really necessary to know the previous material. I am hoping that the further books address the only real issue I have with this book, but even if not, it is worth reading for any fan of epic fantasy.
mnyberg's review against another edition
3.0
Average at best. At least good enough to continue with the series. I am a big fan of the first 11 novels, but Goodkind really dumbed down the characters and made Richard into kind of a wuss in this continuation. I also hope the writing improves. "I need to do something, and fast" Kind of lame.
Also, the first 11 books were kind of gritty and rated R. This is PG13.
Also, the first 11 books were kind of gritty and rated R. This is PG13.
edgyirishcupcake's review against another edition
3.0
Better than most of the books in the series. Still wildly predictable and redundant. Can't wait to finish this series and read something that is thought provoking and interesting again.
sarina_langer's review against another edition
3.0
The Omen Machine begins a new plot line after the last one finished in Confessor, and it comes with some creepy new crawlers to boot! There's something unsettling about the idea of shadows watching you sleep and potentially tearing you to shreds at any given moment.
As the blurb above states, a machine is unearthed (literally, it was hidden and buried pretty well) which spits out omens. Unlike the prophecies which have been a big part of the previous books, these omens are very specific and come true within a short period of time. The most interesting factor for me was that the machine seems to be alive, in a sense, and is replying directly to Richard which implies that maybe the machine is more than a, well, machine. Not all questions were answered in this book and I'm dying to find out more in the next book. Dying, I tell you!!
The plot I loved, and the possibilities for the next book in the series have me excited to start reading, but I felt like the writing itself had taken a step back, as had the characters themselves. Has Zedd - or any of them, for that matter - always been so slow to grasp simple concepts? Why do we need to spend several pages discussing the obvious? Why did Richard have to explain to Zedd how a Confessor's power works? The man knows! Maker, he's known for longer than Richard but for some reason it had to be explained to him. So I don't know what happened but the characters were smarter before. I'm sure they were. There were also some unnecessary repetitions, but overall there were so few that it didn't ruin anything too much. It just put a damper on things here and there.
Don't get me wrong, though, it was a good book with a great plot and I'm not about to stop reading my way through this series now. It was a great read which I devoured, but it does feel like he could have done better and has done better in the past.
Then again, the man has written 17 books in this series. They can't all be as awesome as the first, and given that this is only the second I had any issues with I can't really complain. Even with its faults it was still amazing.
As the blurb above states, a machine is unearthed (literally, it was hidden and buried pretty well) which spits out omens. Unlike the prophecies which have been a big part of the previous books, these omens are very specific and come true within a short period of time. The most interesting factor for me was that the machine seems to be alive, in a sense, and is replying directly to Richard which implies that maybe the machine is more than a, well, machine. Not all questions were answered in this book and I'm dying to find out more in the next book. Dying, I tell you!!
The plot I loved, and the possibilities for the next book in the series have me excited to start reading, but I felt like the writing itself had taken a step back, as had the characters themselves. Has Zedd - or any of them, for that matter - always been so slow to grasp simple concepts? Why do we need to spend several pages discussing the obvious? Why did Richard have to explain to Zedd how a Confessor's power works? The man knows! Maker, he's known for longer than Richard but for some reason it had to be explained to him. So I don't know what happened but the characters were smarter before. I'm sure they were. There were also some unnecessary repetitions, but overall there were so few that it didn't ruin anything too much. It just put a damper on things here and there.
Don't get me wrong, though, it was a good book with a great plot and I'm not about to stop reading my way through this series now. It was a great read which I devoured, but it does feel like he could have done better and has done better in the past.
Then again, the man has written 17 books in this series. They can't all be as awesome as the first, and given that this is only the second I had any issues with I can't really complain. Even with its faults it was still amazing.
purplewidow's review against another edition
1.0
This is it. I'm done with Terry Goodkind.
As some reviewers mentioned before it, this book doesn't have TG's touch. It seems to me someone else wrote it and just tried to make it to 500 pages, even though it could've been done in 100.
Very disappointing.
As some reviewers mentioned before it, this book doesn't have TG's touch. It seems to me someone else wrote it and just tried to make it to 500 pages, even though it could've been done in 100.
Very disappointing.
michaelesch's review against another edition
3.0
Terry Goodkind is one of my favorite authors and Richard and Kahlan are by far my favorite characters of any story I have ever read. So my review automatically gets 2 stars (I dont know if that is fair, but its my review and therefore my rules).
If a story is suppose to have an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement then this story fails. It has great characters and exciting moments but then it goes dead. For the first 200 pages I was waiting for rising action. I thought I had found it with the introduction to who I thought was the villain. I was excited and thought this was the point of the Goodkind book where I cant put it down, staying up till 3 in the morning to finish. But it was not that and the story slowed down.
I felt like the story created more questions then it answered. Maybe the sequel that is coming out at the end of summer will help this one out. I hope that the Third Kingdom has more passion like the first confessor, and less like the omen machine.
If a story is suppose to have an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement then this story fails. It has great characters and exciting moments but then it goes dead. For the first 200 pages I was waiting for rising action. I thought I had found it with the introduction to who I thought was the villain. I was excited and thought this was the point of the Goodkind book where I cant put it down, staying up till 3 in the morning to finish. But it was not that and the story slowed down.
I felt like the story created more questions then it answered. Maybe the sequel that is coming out at the end of summer will help this one out. I hope that the Third Kingdom has more passion like the first confessor, and less like the omen machine.