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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
Pretty good - didn't grab me as much as the others in the series have in the past.
This disapointed me to no end, because the series started out so well and ended so infuriatingly.
If you like good fantasy, by all means, pick up the series, its fantastic. But stop around book five or you will end up throwing the books against a wall and screaming as I did by the end.
If you like good fantasy, by all means, pick up the series, its fantastic. But stop around book five or you will end up throwing the books against a wall and screaming as I did by the end.
adventurous
dark
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:
No
This was a good step in the right direction after the diverson that was The Pillars of Creation. But after reading Naked Empire, I understand a little better why Pillars was included into the series. That said, Naked Empire was much better.
SPOILER ALERT!
I had to force myself to finish reading this and I really wish I had skipped it. I would have been caught up with the repetitive re-cap every few pages on what has happened throughout the whole series. First of all, Nicholas the Slide was a pointless villan. Richard just shows up out of nowhere without any confrontation and kills him. Then Kahlan whose soul was stolen is saved by Richard's sweet nothings. The first 700 pages is about the gang wandering through the desert looking at rocks and noticing moss that doesn't grow on one side of it and Richard going on his preaching rampages to people who cannot think or comprehend anything for themselves. The last 20 pages wrap up everything on a happy note, of course. But the part that gets me the most is that Richard who is poisoned and will die if he does not get all the anecdote, manages to survive because his "gift" told him how to make an impossible anecdote to cure him. Just a what-the-hell-is-this-book.
I had to force myself to finish reading this and I really wish I had skipped it. I would have been caught up with the repetitive re-cap every few pages on what has happened throughout the whole series. First of all, Nicholas the Slide was a pointless villan. Richard just shows up out of nowhere without any confrontation and kills him. Then Kahlan whose soul was stolen is saved by Richard's sweet nothings. The first 700 pages is about the gang wandering through the desert looking at rocks and noticing moss that doesn't grow on one side of it and Richard going on his preaching rampages to people who cannot think or comprehend anything for themselves. The last 20 pages wrap up everything on a happy note, of course. But the part that gets me the most is that Richard who is poisoned and will die if he does not get all the anecdote, manages to survive because his "gift" told him how to make an impossible anecdote to cure him. Just a what-the-hell-is-this-book.
These books would be so much better if the author just told the story and stopped trying to force feed beliefs down your throat.
For example, in this delightful romp, Richard met a sole man from a far off land who Richard gave many a lecture to about the value of life.
Then Richard met some of this man's village mates and had a chapter + giving the same lectures to all of them about the value of life.
THEN he met some of the wise men of the man's people and told the same lectures again!!!
Plus there were refresher lectures in-between and after all these main lectures. I can only assume that Terry Goodkind thinks his audience is excessively stupid (and given his interviews I think that is it).
For those of you who are curious I will summarize the lectures in three brief points:
- if you value your life you will be willing to fight for it.
- not making a choice or choosing not to fight is actually helping the enemy
- there's no compromise with people who rape, torture, and/or murder
Also it should be noted that for this book and all others, one should remember that Richard is always the most right and it is always his way or the highway. But honestly if it gets him to shut up then I definitely support agreeing with whatever the hell he says.
Aside from all the lectures the story was fairly enjoyable. Plus Goodkind has toned down the excessive rape and violence towards women and descriptions of how traumatized they are to the occasional one liners.
For example, in this delightful romp, Richard met a sole man from a far off land who Richard gave many a lecture to about the value of life.
Then Richard met some of this man's village mates and had a chapter + giving the same lectures to all of them about the value of life.
THEN he met some of the wise men of the man's people and told the same lectures again!!!
Plus there were refresher lectures in-between and after all these main lectures. I can only assume that Terry Goodkind thinks his audience is excessively stupid (and given his interviews I think that is it).
For those of you who are curious I will summarize the lectures in three brief points:
- if you value your life you will be willing to fight for it.
- not making a choice or choosing not to fight is actually helping the enemy
- there's no compromise with people who rape, torture, and/or murder
Also it should be noted that for this book and all others, one should remember that Richard is always the most right and it is always his way or the highway. But honestly if it gets him to shut up then I definitely support agreeing with whatever the hell he says.
Aside from all the lectures the story was fairly enjoyable. Plus Goodkind has toned down the excessive rape and violence towards women and descriptions of how traumatized they are to the occasional one liners.
Not my favourite in the series but not my least favorite either. There is not a whole lot of character growth within the main characters but the storyline does continue to grow well. The return of some of my favourite character also made me very happy.
How many times will we see a secret empire show up out of nowhere and a race to safe/rescue one of the main characters? Innumerable times. But that's Goodkind. This series is just the same plots over and over again.
I read this one much more quickly than I usually do for epic fantasies. It was just impossible to put down! Even though I knew that Richard and Kahlan go on to other books, I still found my heart racing with anxiety over whether either would survive. My only complaint is that the proselytizing got a bit heavy-handed and tedious. It would have been fine if Richard weren't so long-winded all the dang time ;) . All in all, though, still a fantastic book!