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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
entertaining, but I'm starting to lose my "umph" for this series
This was by far my favorite of the series. There was no downtime and you were interested in all the stories. Even the side stories (like that with Nathan and Clarissa) that you weren't sure of their direction all came together in the end to mesh perfectly with the other characters stories. I figured out early how the prophesy of betrayal was going to be played out, but the other parts of the ending were very surprising. Both Kahlan and Richard are such duty-driven strong characters that you can't help but root for them. I've embraced the fact that this author will never let their strife end, but now that I've embraced it it doesn't break my heart as much.
This book could have easily been 300 pages shorter. If the book is about trying to fight a plague, why don't we find out about it until around page 350. I'm on page 621 and I still haven't gotten to The Temple. I like this series and I like the characters (though Kahlan's jealousy issues are annoying) but it is taking entirely too long to get to the point.
Really interesting and imaginitive how the author brings the threads together. You can tell he spent some time on the creation of this series. Editing was a bit better than the 3rd book, though the writing was still repetitive in many places.
This felt like a filler part of the series.
I enjoyed reading most of it but there are some key issues that were just dumb
I enjoyed reading most of it but there are some key issues that were just dumb
This book was the worst so far in the series - a painful slog for many reasons.
The first problem I encountered was the overwhelming amount of recap. I understand the need to refresh readers memory, but I'm fairly sure this book would be about 100 pages shorter without the recap. Plus the way a lot of it was done was painful. "Hello, random person Richard barely knows! Let me fill you in on all the intimate details of everything we've ever done even though it doesn't affect you and you could use this knowledge to destroy the world if you wanted to!" I swear R&K have zero forethought.
The next problem was that Kahlen was the main character for most of the book. Terry Goodkind (so far) has evinced zero talent for writing female characters. With the continuing objectification, rape and torture of every female in the books, it is starting to feel like he's got some unresolved issues. I expect some people would point out that Kahlen is a strong female role - but she is overwhelmingly short-sighted, useless, weak and stupid considering her supposed role and upbringing.
Finally, the writing on the whole was not great. I thought with the 3rd book that he was starting to find his feet a little bit and was hoping for continual improvement. This book was a big step backward. The way R&K behaved throughout the climax just reminded me of petulant teenagers, which fails to to inspire any pathos at all.
The first problem I encountered was the overwhelming amount of recap. I understand the need to refresh readers memory, but I'm fairly sure this book would be about 100 pages shorter without the recap. Plus the way a lot of it was done was painful. "Hello, random person Richard barely knows! Let me fill you in on all the intimate details of everything we've ever done even though it doesn't affect you and you could use this knowledge to destroy the world if you wanted to!" I swear R&K have zero forethought.
The next problem was that Kahlen was the main character for most of the book. Terry Goodkind (so far) has evinced zero talent for writing female characters. With the continuing objectification, rape and torture of every female in the books, it is starting to feel like he's got some unresolved issues. I expect some people would point out that Kahlen is a strong female role - but she is overwhelmingly short-sighted, useless, weak and stupid considering her supposed role and upbringing.
Finally, the writing on the whole was not great. I thought with the 3rd book that he was starting to find his feet a little bit and was hoping for continual improvement. This book was a big step backward. The way R&K behaved throughout the climax just reminded me of petulant teenagers, which fails to to inspire any pathos at all.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you didn’t get the gist of what was going down in the first three books then you shouldn’t be surprised that this book is also pretty bonkers. It’s fantasy pulp times a million. Does that make it bad? No. Does that make it good? Also, no but that’s beside the point. Whatever the author meant or was going for, you read it now because of its absurdity and you can find enjoyment in that. I know I do.
Best book of the sword of truth series so far. 4.5 stars. Characters starting to behave in believable ways and captivating storyline.