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ryanjamesburt's review against another edition
4.0
1) Rating: 4 of 5 stars
2) Genre: Fantasy
3) Synopsis: Richard and Kahlan have just won the war. They are back home and everything should be good. However, it is not.
4) Feelings: I love the Sword of Truth series. It is so good to be back in this world. Although this book is on the Sword of Truth world, you really don't need to read the other 11 books to get the enjoyment from this book. Sure, you won't feel the deep connection to the characters that I did but it is still a good book.
5) Final recommendation: A good book. I am a fan so it might not be as good for someone who isn’t a Sword of Truth fan. I highly recommend it.
2) Genre: Fantasy
3) Synopsis: Richard and Kahlan have just won the war. They are back home and everything should be good. However, it is not.
4) Feelings: I love the Sword of Truth series. It is so good to be back in this world. Although this book is on the Sword of Truth world, you really don't need to read the other 11 books to get the enjoyment from this book. Sure, you won't feel the deep connection to the characters that I did but it is still a good book.
5) Final recommendation: A good book. I am a fan so it might not be as good for someone who isn’t a Sword of Truth fan. I highly recommend it.
kimmetjuh23's review against another edition
2.0
Eén volledige boekenkastplank is bij mij gereserveerd voor de elf boeken tellende fantasy reeks 'De Wetten van de Magie' van Terry Goodkind. Dit is na Harry Potter mijn eerste kennismaking geweest met het genre fantasy. Met veel plezier heb ik deze boeken gelezen en ze zijn het ook waard om steeds opnieuw te lezen. Tijdens mijn maandelijkse uitje naar de bieb, zag ik 'De Omen Machine' liggen. Dit is het langverwachte twaalfde boek in de reeks. Dolenthousiast heb ik het meegenomen en ben er meteen in begonnen. Elk boek in de reeks is een top boek, dus deze ook, dacht ik. Maar helaas is het tegendeel het geval.
Richard en Kahlan wonen inmiddels in het volkspaleis. Door een storm wordt er toevallig een eigenaardige machine ontdekt onder het paleis. Op de een of andere manier wordt door de klap ook de machine wakker en deze begint meteen met het overbrengen van voorspellingen. Deze worden steeds onheilspellender. Het is aan Richard, Kahlan, Zedd, Nathan en Nicci om een manier te vinden om de machine te vernietigen. Voor het zover is, gebeuren er allerlei rare dingen.
Het positieve aan dit boek is dat je toch op de een of andere manier blijft doorlezen. De eerste pagina's zijn spannend en het laatste hoofdstuk is ook erg spannend. Maar het deel daartussen had veel en veel korter kunnen zijn. Bij de vorige boeken vonden de gebeurtenissen in een veel vlotter tempo plaats. Ook de plaatsen waar het zich afspeelde waren divers. Daardoor zat je echt in het boek. Ook de personages kwamen daardoor beter naar boven. In dit verhaal wordt de machine ontdekt en het hele boek wordt vervolgens gebruikt om uit te vogelen wat de machine is en doet. Daardoor wordt het verhaal af en toe saai en langdradig. Alleen in het laatste hoofdstuk is de spanning weer terug. De laatste pagina verraad ook dat deel 12 nog niet het laatste is in de reeks. Ik hoop echt dat nummer 13 weer een stuk beter wordt.
Richard en Kahlan wonen inmiddels in het volkspaleis. Door een storm wordt er toevallig een eigenaardige machine ontdekt onder het paleis. Op de een of andere manier wordt door de klap ook de machine wakker en deze begint meteen met het overbrengen van voorspellingen. Deze worden steeds onheilspellender. Het is aan Richard, Kahlan, Zedd, Nathan en Nicci om een manier te vinden om de machine te vernietigen. Voor het zover is, gebeuren er allerlei rare dingen.
Het positieve aan dit boek is dat je toch op de een of andere manier blijft doorlezen. De eerste pagina's zijn spannend en het laatste hoofdstuk is ook erg spannend. Maar het deel daartussen had veel en veel korter kunnen zijn. Bij de vorige boeken vonden de gebeurtenissen in een veel vlotter tempo plaats. Ook de plaatsen waar het zich afspeelde waren divers. Daardoor zat je echt in het boek. Ook de personages kwamen daardoor beter naar boven. In dit verhaal wordt de machine ontdekt en het hele boek wordt vervolgens gebruikt om uit te vogelen wat de machine is en doet. Daardoor wordt het verhaal af en toe saai en langdradig. Alleen in het laatste hoofdstuk is de spanning weer terug. De laatste pagina verraad ook dat deel 12 nog niet het laatste is in de reeks. Ik hoop echt dat nummer 13 weer een stuk beter wordt.
khourianya's review against another edition
3.0
When Terry Goodkind wrapped up the Sword of Truth series, I had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't be able to stay away from Richard and Kahlan for long. And I was proven right with the release of The Omen Machine.
In a nutshell - at the gathering for the wedding of Cara and Benjamin, prophecy hangs in the air. As an obsession of the people. As the strange words on everyone's tongues. As the violent acts that happen to prevent its realization. Most of all - it is coming true. The prophecies are coming true almost as fast as they are revealed.
Suddenly, Richard and Kahlan feel like they are being watched. As though the people's palace is no longer safe. And when a strange machine is discovered that has been buried for thousands of years and it starts spewing forth the same prophecies as the people - things get very strange indeed.
This book was an odd one. It jumped around A LOT. It also left a lot of loose ends and never seemed to be able to provide concrete reasoning for much of what transpired. It was as though Goodkind decided that he needed to give his bank account an injection that only his fans could provide so he took a bunch of random ideas and loosely strung them together.
Not only that, but the writing really irked me. Goodkind isn't a great writer on the best of days, but he can usually string a decent story together. This one felt as though he was repeating himself over and over and I found myself growing weary of the repetitiveness as the book wore on. I think it is safe to say he only wrapped up about a third of the plotlines and he would lead the reader to believe the characters would take a certain action only to leave that line dangling. Perhaps he was rushed to get it to a publisher and forgot to map it out in advance.
So - I withhold a recommendation on this one. It feels too disjointed, but if you are a fan of the Sword of Truth series - you might enjoy a step back into that world again. I didn't but I can be weird like that.
In a nutshell - at the gathering for the wedding of Cara and Benjamin, prophecy hangs in the air. As an obsession of the people. As the strange words on everyone's tongues. As the violent acts that happen to prevent its realization. Most of all - it is coming true. The prophecies are coming true almost as fast as they are revealed.
Suddenly, Richard and Kahlan feel like they are being watched. As though the people's palace is no longer safe. And when a strange machine is discovered that has been buried for thousands of years and it starts spewing forth the same prophecies as the people - things get very strange indeed.
This book was an odd one. It jumped around A LOT. It also left a lot of loose ends and never seemed to be able to provide concrete reasoning for much of what transpired. It was as though Goodkind decided that he needed to give his bank account an injection that only his fans could provide so he took a bunch of random ideas and loosely strung them together.
Not only that, but the writing really irked me. Goodkind isn't a great writer on the best of days, but he can usually string a decent story together. This one felt as though he was repeating himself over and over and I found myself growing weary of the repetitiveness as the book wore on. I think it is safe to say he only wrapped up about a third of the plotlines and he would lead the reader to believe the characters would take a certain action only to leave that line dangling. Perhaps he was rushed to get it to a publisher and forgot to map it out in advance.
So - I withhold a recommendation on this one. It feels too disjointed, but if you are a fan of the Sword of Truth series - you might enjoy a step back into that world again. I didn't but I can be weird like that.
shogins's review against another edition
2.0
Spoilers, not that anyone ought to care: better than The Law of Nines, but that's the worst book I've ever read. I keep reading these only because I want a resolution to the problem of how Richard and Kahlan can have children, which is brought up in the second book. Unfortunately, this is still unresolved.
argash's review against another edition
1.0
I enjoyed the premise however the end felt very rushed to me.
nikkiethereader's review against another edition
5.0
Story: This book definitely hit way different than the rest of the series. There were still threats against Richard and everybody who stood with him. It was a lot happier and not as morbid at least. Not saying it wasn't morbid at all. Kara and Benjaman get married before the start of the novel. Which is unheard of. No Mord Sith has ever married before. Not going to lie, I was kind of hoping to be able to see the wedding itself. At least we got to see the wedding party.
Characters: All of the characters were as amazing as ever. I would have loved to see more of Nicci and Kara in this book. They were around, but they were more in the background than anything. I also really want to see more of Benjamin. If he is good enough to be married to my beloved Kara, then he's good enough to shine more in the story.
Critiques: None
Narration: The narrator was as good in this novel as he has been in the other novels.
Final Thoughts: I'm really curious to see how this part of the series goes. I want to see if Richard is able to overcome things like he has in the past. On the same note, I'm also just kind of annoyed. I mean that in a good way. Can't people just leave Richard alone???? Let him be happy!
Characters: All of the characters were as amazing as ever. I would have loved to see more of Nicci and Kara in this book. They were around, but they were more in the background than anything. I also really want to see more of Benjamin. If he is good enough to be married to my beloved Kara, then he's good enough to shine more in the story.
Critiques: None
Narration: The narrator was as good in this novel as he has been in the other novels.
Final Thoughts: I'm really curious to see how this part of the series goes. I want to see if Richard is able to overcome things like he has in the past. On the same note, I'm also just kind of annoyed. I mean that in a good way. Can't people just leave Richard alone???? Let him be happy!
astroscribe40's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly, I'm not sure how much longer I can wait for the next one.
clarikatie's review against another edition
1.0
Quite literally so bad, so preachy at the beginning that I've tried to start it twice and and thrown it across the room in disgust both times. It's a shame that this series has dissolved into such transparent preaching. The storytelling started out with a lot of promise, but the echo chamber of his own opinion has proved far too attractive for Goodkind. A real shame.
happyocelot's review against another edition
5.0
A really good Terry Goodkind book that picks up right where Confessor ends... and continues straight into The Third Kingdom. A solid read.