Rating: 
Summary: Well developed world and characters
Review: After reading 'Wizard's First Rule,' I was a apprehensive about 'Stone of Tears.' WFR involved some child torture that I thought was over the line, as well as some other, very bloody, torture I thought was a bit excessive.Terry Goodkind is a good writer and does a nice job of building his world and his characters both in terms of visual detail and in terms of historic depth. While once in a while his prose is just a litlle ham-fisted, normally he is very precise and eloquent. Stone of Tears is not for kids. It is replete with rape. In fact, it seems that the baddies in this world seem to know of no other real way to deal with women. While I got tired of it, it did not seem unrealistic for the world created. There is even a scene of a demon having sex with a woman, with a special description of his anatomy to heighten the idea of the pain it caused. However, there was no child torture (if there had been any as in WFR, this would have been my last Terry Goodkind book). As it is, I will continue to read the series, though I will not give it to my nephews to read, as I feel they are too young. Overall, Terry Goodkind is one of the better writers in this genre. He has a a smooth writing style and develops the story well. His world is a bit rougher than most, but this can be seen as a necessary addition to the genre. If you want something a bit different, but still well-done, I guess this is it.
Rating:
Summary: Worth proceeding
Review: After reading the first book, I didn't know if I should invest the time and keep reading this series or stop right then and there. I couldn't stand all the cheesey dialogue and childish romance between Richard and Kahlan.
Althought Stone of Tears still has that underlying love story, this tale has now matured. Plot developments are more enriched, and Richard and Kahlan keep the cliche out of their love.
I liked this book 10 times more than the first and am excited to start Blood of the Fold.
Rating: 
Summary: I fear for the authors state of mind
Review: I have read fantasy with descriptive acts of torture before but I don't think this descriptive. As much as I wanted to enjoy the book and pay attention to it I couldn't get past the torture parts
These included(but were not limited too)
Torture
Gang Rapes
Beheadings
Skinning people alive but not before the people had their tongues ripped out usually with bare hands or a dull knife
I normally wouldn't mind but most of the time this stuff is carried out with a sort of glee that I would expect from someone who was into bondage or S&M
Another problem I had aside from the torture was that as with most pieces of epic fantasy I could skip whole pages and the plot had not advanced at all. This is not an isolated incident a lot of fantasy authors have this problem.
Overall-When the plot finally rolled around it was a good plot it managed to suck me in and keep my attention. I am not saying that the book was bad. I will probably read other books in this series but not before I have a nice stiff drink to keep me loose.
Rating:
Summary: good at first
Review: I remember being absolutely obsessed with this series...even missed a couple nights sleep because they were so hard to put down. The first book (Wizard's First Rule) especially was mindblowing - fast paced, action filled and (seemingly) original. Soon afterwards, I went through a new phase...I hated the books with a passion. The plagiarism was terrible, the porno extremely uncalled for, and the plot was overly exaggerated. However, I have now reached a middle ground. There really are some amazing sections in the books - completely original and heartrending. As for the rest, if you haven't read the Wheel of Time series, you'll be fine - if you have, then try to be a little open-minded...I guess in these times, it's difficult to come up with a complete fantasy world without recycling other's works (although Robin Hobb managed it with ease). I rounded up my 3.5 to 4 stars give it a go!
Rating:
Summary: Beat The Editor!!!
Review: I'm less than halfway through the book, and already I want to choke the editor for leaving out commas, periods, and closing quotation marks all over the place. It is driving me insane!!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: I'm not big on writing lengthy reviews when I like a book compared to when I dislike it. The character developement, the world and the plot are all totally gripping. Excellent book!
Rating:
Summary: Endearing character and epic tale...
Review: Stone of Tears is the second in a series of books revolving around the epic battle of good versus evil. In this book, Terry touches many times on the point that the line between good and evil can, at times, be distorted by our views. With the addition of characters not in the first book, the author weaves a web of hope mixed with despair; love mixed with hatred; and truth with lies. You find yourself at constant odds on what to think about each character and verbally yelling at them to see the obvious or to stop being obtuse. All in all, it's a great read and I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: The best in the series
Review: Stone of Tears starts off quick, bringing you quickly back into Richard and Kahlans world before the first chapter is out. It picks up where the first book left off, and continues telling the exciting story, and picks it up a few notches. Everything in Stone of Tears is more extreme, the action, the plot, the dilemmas, and the romance. I cried when I read this book, and I can sit through anything Hollywood puts out without so much as wet eyes, but this book made me cry. I'd consider it the best one out of the Sword of Truth series, closely followed by the first and the third in the series, which were both excellent as well. It sort of has something for everyone, its full of omens and portents, giving a thinker some foreshawdowing to work out, it has a fabulously written war sequence, battles between a small heartened army and a much larger force, it has romance to boot, and it is packed full of the stuff you loved from Wizards First Rule, magic, swordfighting, barriers to be overcome, and a cast of unforgetable characters that continues to grow, without too much recycling. Plus, it has Gratch, and everyone loves Gratch. (I won't give too much away about Gratch, but he's very loveable)
Rating: 
Summary: A Crying Shame
Review: Stone of Tears The second book (now considered the third because of a new prequil) in the Sword of truth Series by Terry Goodkind Picks up from the previous tale, Wizards first rule. Darken Rahl has been defeated by richard but now it seems a new evil is spreading throughout the world which only Richard can stop, with the help of Kahlan and Zedd and many others of course. I found this book to be less enjoyable than it's predecessor, and although I was drawn in toward the end of the book to keep reading, it was still somewhat of a let down. I found Goodkind to have a little less faith in his readers than I would have enjoyed. I often found him reminding the reader what had happened in the last book so often enough that it drew away from the story (not just minor details but major events). Also it was still quite predictable, while I could tell that Goodkind tried ever so hard to not be so. I was also unamused at the authors repeated use of prophecies, I kept hoping that he would stop using them in the same fashion, and yet he never did. The author seems to also have trouble putting characters away for good. On the bright side there were some good aspects of the book as well. It read amazingly fast for bing near 1000 pages long. Also as far as fantasy books go, the author did manage to define his own creatures and rules rater than relying on others to show him the way. All and all I would not suggest this book for everyone. If your a big Goodkind fan already it might be worth your time, although I would warn those that have already read the first book in the series that this was definitely no an improvement
Rating:
Summary: A worthy sequel
Review: The second book in the Sword of Truth series has pretty much the same strengths and weaknesses as its predecessor, so if you liked 'Wizard`s First Rule', you should enjoy this one.
The story starts within days of Richard's victory over Darken Rahl, when monsters from the underworld attack in the People's Palace in D'Hara and the Mud People village where Richard and Kahlan have gone. It's soon discovered that Darken Rahl's use of the magic of Orden in Book 1 has weakened the Veil between the worlds of the living and the dead, and Richard and Kahlan are off once again to prevent apocalypse. The angle this time is that prophecy shows that the apocalypse can be prevented only if Kahlan dies.
This time they are mostly separated, Kahlan traveling through the Midlands while Richard leaves with the Sisters of Light to seek to learn mastery over his powers. Once again, there is no shortage of action, but the writing isn't the best, too many fantasy cliches are invoked, and the characters don't show any further development. New characters and locations are introduced, especially in Richard's travels.
Once again, there is a somewhat morbid element running through the book. Along with the battles, there is a good deal of rape, torture, and mutilation. Unlike the prior book, it takes place mostly offstage and we generally get elaborate and excessive desriptions of the results more than the acts.
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