Reviews

Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind

jfkaess's review against another edition

4.0

The story was not quite as good as book 4, but the narrator was very good and a distinct improvement. Richard and Kahlan remain separated for a significant part of the story, as do most of the main characters. The story follows activities of the different groups of people, but the weak point is that overall, this book doesn't advance the main story to any substantial degree. There is a good and satisfying ending, and the world is fleshed out and kept interesting.

kkdelrey's review against another edition

5.0

This was my 2nd least favorite in the series during my first read. Revisiting it made me love it so much more. Zedd and Cara were the true heroes this time around.

edgyirishcupcake's review against another edition

2.0

So far this is the book I have liked the least. I was frustrated for most of it because of Kahlan. Her constant doubts about Richard and down playing his thoughts seriously angered me. After all they had been through up to this point, for example the doubts she had about Richard's sanity when he said the Temple of the Winds was sentient, she should know better. They literally just came from a similar situation of her doubting him and him being right, and still she believes herself superior and more knowledgeable about magic and wizardry. I usually love Kahlan but this was too much!

I think the entire Andre and Haken thing was completely unimportant and was written just to fill space in the book. I hope this is not a new trend in the series.

mrsplace22's review against another edition

3.0

Still a good book the series, but I had a hard time getting through it. The whole middle section of the book was a tad dull. . . but it had a great ending and I can't wait to get started on the next one!

sleepgoblin's review against another edition

3.0

I really tried to like this book, but it just didn't seem like it was as good as the first four. Not that it was bad, but it felt like first 480 pages of the book were just slow, and the protagonists were wringing there hands, and then POOF! the problem is solved, book over! It felt like the other books had more ups and downs, varied problems for all the main characters, just... more. I don't know, it was a little boring.

_stephp's review against another edition

3.0

Je commence à me lasser de cette construction des romans : les 100 premières pages sont denses, les 400 suivantes délitées et les 100 dernières à nouveau denses. Et cette façon de rappeler toujours ce qui s’est passé dans les tomes précédents est lassante, n’apporte rien à l’intrigue, et dessert le récit. Je vais faire une pause dans cette série, histoire de découvrir d’autres écrits.
Richard et Kahlan continuent à lutter contre l’Ordre Impérial. Ils parviennent à se marier, mais il semblerait que les Carillons, venus du Royaume des morts, aient été libérés sur leur monde pour semer terreur et destruction, et surtout effacer la magie.
Une bonne partie du roman se déroule en Anderith, où on découvre de nouveaux personnages, et deux nouveaux peuples, les Hakens et les Anderiens.
Mais nos deux héros cherchent surtout un moyen de se débarrasser des Carillons, en consultant les archives de Joseph Ander, un sorcier qui a vécu il y a des milliers d’années.
Richard parvient enfin à renvoyer les 3 maléfiques dans le Royaume des Morts, récupère ses pouvoirs, et retourne vite auprès de Kahlan afin de la soigner, après qu’elle ait été passée à tabac.

brash16's review against another edition

3.0

My least favorite title in the series. This book feels like an annoying side quest you think will be worth your time, but all you get is a crappy certificate of completion. I love The Sword of Truth series, but this one could have been left out without any major impact.

willwork4airfare's review against another edition

2.0

Holy fuck, everyone said this book was bad but I was so determined to read the entire series without skipping it that I literally downloaded a .txt file and read the whole thing on Notepad on my laptop. I had to believe it would get better. I'm used to Goodkind having no idea what being a woman is like. Kahlan does the same thing several times in the first half of the novel just refusing to believe Richard even though his entire character arc is being right about everything. The women are all just jealous and petty unless it serves the plot to make them slightly tolerable of each other's existence. It wouldn't have even been so bad if the ending had been worth it but there is just soooooooo much exposition for everything to end with disgusting, cruel deaths of 90% of the characters we have been introduced to in this book, and everything else just wrapping up into a neat little bow so we can move on to the next novel. I'm exhausted and I put so much time into reading this book! I'm pretty mad about it. As always, expect a huge amount of rape, torture, and humiliating sex, especially for all the women. The whole nonsense about the Dominie Dirtch just for them to disintegrate by the end of the novel?! So much happened and was explained in elaborate detail just for it to be completely nullified by the end. Still glad I read it because I always would've wondered what happened but I think very few important things will carry over into the next book. I suppose we'll see.

lammerman's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars

I would love to rate this book higher, but because Terry Goodkind likes the sound of his own voice so much, the story gets so bogged down by all the extra words. Still, I’m invested in where he takes Richard and Kahlan next.

jasme's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25