Rating: 
Summary: In one word: shallow.
Review: I can remember when I read "Wizard's First Rule" I was impressed. Not only because it renewed my faith in the fantasy genre, but also because it was fun, hard to put down and -albeit a few cliches here and there- well written. I can remember forsaking many a night of going out just to stay in and reading about Richard, Kahlan and all of the other characters from this series that intrigued me so. The strongest point of the books was that: character development and the consistency these characters maintained throughout the story.Unfortunately all that appears to have been lost in "Soul of the Fire". An avid reader of the series, I must say this last book was not up to par with the first four (although there has been a visible decadence since "Blood of the Fold"). Firstly, I was shocked to see that almost half of this book is dedicated not to the characters we know and love, but to Anderith and its people. I would be all well and good if they played a major role in what we are told is the story's epicentre (namely, the chimes), but unfortunately, they serve no higher good than providing constant anticlimaxes. Perhaps it is not just that, but rather that the characters are so badly created that no-one except for Fitch (and to an extent, Beata and Dalton) gets a reasonable development. Even so, Fitch is utterly inconsistent, sometimes showing incredible stupidity and sometimes the cold-heartedness of a mass murderer. When I started reading this book I thought Fitch would mimic characters such as Steerpike in "Gormenghast", slowly rising to power and corruption, perhaps not the freshest option but the most viable. He does not. Or rather, he half-does it. What is worse, he disappears for most of the second-half and comes back suddenly just to be cut off the story in a most casual fashion, again, something that shows another of the book's weaknesses. It seems that the author tried to tell too many stories at a time, but couldn't finish them off properly (we know authors have deadlines too!). My hunch is that he had so many plotholes by the second half that he decided to write off many of the side stories (Beata, Fitch) to carry on with the main theme (the chimes). The last quarter of the book seems hurried and the conclusions are too abrupt for the reader to digest. Out of the blue, Richard comes up with the solution for beating the chimes, as abstract and underexplained as it is. The chimes, supposedly central to the story become just feeble reasons to innocuously explain the rest of the plots. The storytelling is shallow and incongruent, and after jumping from plot to plot, reading over unnecessarily dull chapters (most of them involving less than masterfully portrayed political scheming in Anderith) the reader becomes confused and frustrated. There is some merit to this book, though. The simpering and almost sickeningly melose realtionship between Richard and Kahlan has been, fortunately, toned down. Furthermore, the book does off with much of the homoerotic porn novel eroticism that its predecessors contained, making it less "trashy" than before (reading about Richard's "manly chest" and "bulging, powerful arms" can get tiring after a while). Also, the narrative takes on a different style in "Soul of Fire", being concise and assertive rather than the more lyrical approach given to the other books. This neither enhances nor hinders the reading, but it does make the experience feel fresh. I understand that authors cannot always write about the same things; clearly, in this book the author tried to stray from the traditional and create a different type of novel in his series. While I would not say that he has completely failed, it is far fom being a job well done. Moreover, this book has left me indifferent as to what may come next in the series. It feels like this was not a proper "Sword of Truth" book, but two books in one, one about Anderith and one about Richard and the chimes, both failing to converge in the end and leaving the novel it as it is: two unfinished, rushed parallel stories that hold little relation between one another.
Rating: 
Summary: I'd give this zero stars, if I could.
Review: I enjoyed all the Sword of Truth books prior to this one, and the Faith of the Fallen was a remarkable comeback. Soul of Fire lost me as soon as the Killer Chicken showed up. I only finished it because my sister assured me it got better after that. She lied. Do yourself a favor, and don't waste your time. I agree with the reviewers who suggest skipping straight to Faith of the Fallen.
Rating: 
Summary: Very nice...
Review: I really liked this book. I liked the sudden twist of magic failing, leading to other things in future books as well. I was amazed by the twist at the end where it actually was something as simple as the travel book they were reading said. I have to give this a five star, because I'd have to say this was one of my favorite books in the Sword of Truth series. Terry Goodkind's imagination is great at thinking up perils for the main characters, and somehow getting them out of it later on. It's a very interesting book, and I'd suggest any fan of the SOT saga read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good. Some interesting creative additions.
Review: I was interested in this story from beginning to end. We get to see the inner machinations of one of the nations from which Richard has demanded surrender. Thus much of the novel deals with political intrigue and cultural conflict. I actually think that Feist & Wurtz did this better with the Daughter of the Empire series, but Goodkind does a fine job. In fairness, Goodkind has much less space than did Feist & Wurtz, being that this is only a fraction of one book.
I found the writing to be more efficient than previous books and the story to be less obvious, though I would not say that everything is unpredictable. There are certainly some things you can see coming clearly. The latter is not necessarily a bad thing and is sometimes necessary to keep the reader going.
Goodkind does seem to have a good grasp of the psychology of enslavement. People under circumstances of brutal slavery do sometimes become so hopeless and helpless, that they will fear taking clear exits because they no longer believe it will work out. Their captor begins to seem omnipotent or omniscient.
Goodkind's books have a brutal side. There is a lot of rape and torture (sometimes this seems like the only brutality he can think of), but he uses them more and more judiciously with each novel. I have given up hope that he will ever become subtle and nuanced and have decided to just see the purpose in the cruelty.
As always, this book is not for children, but by now that should be obvious.
Rating:
Summary: Jordan vs. Goodkind; the debate goes on
Review: OK well I am absolutely in love with both authors (if you REALLY want, I'll throw Tad Williams into the mix too). A friend of mine and I have often compared the pros and cons of both authors. In some ways I like Goodkind better, in some Jordan. I feel more of a companionship with Goodkind's characters (I've only cried once for a bad situation in Jordan's series, of which I have read all 8 of the books that are currently out but I've cried countless times in Goodkind's). He has excellent character development and an intriguing plotline that keeps me wanting more but Jordan has an incredibly intriguing plotline as well. Normally, when a story drags on and on like a soap opera I get irritated and impatient but with Jordan it's different. He keeps me constantly intrigued and hungry for his next novel. Goodkind keeps me wanting more in a different way. I'm more patient with the next book in Goodkind's series (I guess b/c sometimes they actually work as stand-alones, whereas Jordan's do not by any means) but with Jordan I'm ravenous for his next book. Who's better? I can't say; I love both equally.
Rating:
Summary: Ian's Review
Review: Okay so basicly the chimes are loosed by Kahlan in saving Richard's life and he must banish them in order to restore magic. Cara is sent to recieve Richard's sword and finds two kids, Fitch and Morley, stealing it. And Zedd is turned into a raven after his soul is stripped from his body by Reechani the queen of the fire.
This novelwas appealing to me because it had a lot of suspense in it and that kept me reading ever onward. Also some other reasons are that the characters were portrayed as real people and reacted in ways that you would expect them too...except maybe Richard, Zedd, and Fitch. Also the fact that it is book five in a series that I've grown too love and have read all along didn't hurt it at all.
This book is mainly for the sci-fi audience I believe. It is also for you if you are deep into swords and magic.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbingly bad.
Review: The morbid sense of curiosity that I have propelled me to continue reading this series. This hurt to read.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best
Review: the soul of fire is a great book i reccomend it to evreyone and for all ages i would tell you what makes this book so good but that would ruin it for you and you would never forgive me for ruining such a masterpeice
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant exposition of racial truth
Review: This book gets five stars for it's wonderful tale of the Anders and Hakens. Most may not have noticed that this story is a parable for race relations in our world. The Hakens were people whose education and weaponry were superior to those of the Anders. They conquered the Anders and improved their lives by sharing the benefits of their superior intellect. The Anders, resenting their obvious inferiority, slowly turned on the less numerous Hakens and institutionalized a culture of Anderian guilt and weakness. This is perfectly analogous to what is happening to white Europeans. Western culture has advanced humanity beyond any other and yet, lesser cultures as found in sub-Saharan Africa are busy trying to convince whites that they are responsible for the horrible condition blacks find themselves in and making whites feel guilty for daring to accept the truth of black intellectual inferiority. I congratulate Terry Goodkind for daring to tell this tale and hope that the Anders (whites) will one day proudly identify themselves as part of the white race and dare not let anyone persuade them that their heritage is not a great one worth preserving.
Rating:
Summary: a great book for almost all ages
Review: this book is a breath taking book fit for every person looking for a good long intresting book fit for almost all ages this book is a great book wich i personally recommend to everyone. (if intrested you should start by reading the first book in the series the wizards first rule.)
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