Rating: 
Summary: where did all the magic go?
Review: First of all I want to say that Terry Goodkind is one of my favorite authores and I have waited impatiently for the last two books to be published... after soul of the fire, which was dissapointing, because it ended with Richard being defeated and not acting at all like himself, I was hoping that Goodkind would make amends by changing it around and let Richard strike back with all his power. Instead, Richard doesn't use his magic once in the entire book. And while there is alot of talk about magic in the army camps with Kahlan and the sisters, he keeps saying that magic ends up canceling itself out. I wonder if he is trying to change from fantasy into simple fiction literatur, because I don't see much of the fantasy left in this book. Besides that I was really missing the Prophet Nathan in both his latest works. I don't see where he got lost along the road. All of the Old world also seemed to be a drag also. just as the former book told too much about characters that in the end did no more than create a little mischief and die, this one told too much about comunist life style and it kept preaching about trying to help the comunity, just in the wrong way. All in all I wonder if Goodkind has not been reading 1984 lately and came up with the ideas from there. Other than that, I enjoyed the book, the character developement and the mesmerizing way Goodkind can tell the story. I wish he would turn back to the more magic an fantastic realm, and not end up in a world that becomes more and more like our own, because then I wouldn't see the point in reading it any longer.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh, Please!
Review: Wow, It's amazing to read many of these other reviews and discover that there are an awful lot of people who subscribe to the Wizard's 1st Rule (they are stupid.) This was a great book! The people who bashed it because of it's intellectual content obviously lack the capabilities of higher thought. If you don't have a brain, don't bother reading this book (try the children's section.) If you do have one, you might find you'll enjoy it. Guess my review is actually a review of the reviews. Hmmm, that can get twisted.
Rating:
Summary: Totally Spectacular!
Review: I've been reading this series from the very beginning and I've never looked back. I found it almost impossible to put this book down. As it has been with all of the other books of the Sword of Truth. Terry Goodkinds writing is like no other. I've became so immersed in the story that I felt that I was there watching and not just reading about it. Terry has the ability to keep you interested in the story even during a lull in the action where many other writers usually loose my attention when the pace of a story slows. And the way Richard and Kalen never loose heart that no matter what, thier love will survive and prevail is, although cliche' in most stories, inspiring. And as this story came to a climax at the end, I found myself on the edge of my seat with anxiety and excitement. I impatiently await Mr. Goodkinds next installment in this fantastic series. Long live Lord Raul!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book but has flaws...
Review: I have to start this out by saying that I found this book to be both engrossing and frustrating. I agree with the majority of different views on this book. Some of the extensive communist description was both repetitive and annoying. "For the greater good" is one choice phrase that comes to mind. Anyway the characters are developed quite well in this novel, and at least he doesn't waste half the novel on characters that die pointless deaths anyway. If one isn't looking for a very fast-paced plot advancing novel then this is a *very* good read. The battle scenes are almost realistic, but Goodkind tends to throw away numbers...150 000 died here, oh and another 6 million there...Oh did I mention the thirty million who are coming to replace those guys? Now done with the criticism, this novel is exceptional. Goodkind finally rationalizes Jangang's motives with something concrete (yet again "the greater good"), and the Richard in the Old World subplots are actually fun to read about. And the ending lives up to the pace to book four (a pretty hard standard). All in all i do not regret reading this book. I think Goodkind is just trying to flesh out the story so that he doesn't end the novels on the note that the Old World is full of pure evil and must be killed to a man while the D'haran empire is a great and wonderful place (he should have decided this earlier). Final Summary: READ THIS BOOK!
Rating: 
Summary: Goodkind comes down with Jordan's disease
Review: The Sword of Truth started with such high hopes. I liked the first three, the fourth started the downward slide. The fifth left a lot to be desired and this one...the 6th is a total waste of time and money. Goodkind has now joined the Robert Jordan club of has-been writers. Both started with great ideas, then through greed kept churning out mediocre and then awful novels. Jordan's Rand and Goodkind's Richard started out such strong and interesting characters and evolved to the point that I no longer care what happens to them. Both also started their series with interesting and strong female characters. All of the surviving women in the Wheel of Time series became comical caricatures and Goodkind's Kahlan is fast joining that group. There should be a Writers' First Rule...no epic can go beyond 3 volumes. Philosophers should write philosophy and fantasy writers should write fantasy...the two don't mix. At least not for Goodkind.
Rating:
Summary: MUCH better than the last two, as good as the first.
Review: This book has the series back on track (at last). I thought the series, while still better than average, had deteriorated from the lofty excellence in the first two books. This one is right up there. The preachiness of the message did not detract from the tight storyline or great characterizations.
Rating:
Summary: Ayn Rand's new boy toy
Review: If Goodkind wants to become a born-again objectivist that's his own business, but for him to whore himself out and write this propaganda drivel is a disgrace. He has characters thoughtfully developed in other books mindlessly repeat Randian nonsense as a mantra. He has completely ruined the series. I would suggest you do yourself a favor and avoid this book at all costs - believe me your imagination of what happens in infinitely better then what Goodkind actually wrote. I would like to officially start a collection for Goodkind's family to hire a deprogrammer to remove him from the cult he's joined.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but...
Review: I did like this book. I must say that it was the best in the series in terms of character development and advance of the storyline - if this had been all the book had been, I would have given it five stars, and even six if I could. That being said, it is unfortunate that this is not all the book is. Maybe it's just me, but when I read a fantasy book, that's all I want to read - having to split it with a long dissertation against the evils of communism is not really my idea of a good time. In conclusion, I like it, and it's extremely well-written, but the preachy quality of it and the extremely overt moral could have been diminished greatly without damaging the image of the Order as the big evil (well, politically correctly, misguided) country.
Rating:
Summary: NOT a let down!
Review: I've been a Terry Goodkind fan ever since I picked up "Wizards First Rule." His writing style captivates me and holds my attention more than almost any other author. I do admit however that his last book, "Soul of Fire" disappointed me greatly. But let's not get into that now... This book was a return to the passion evedent in Goodkind's writing in his earlier books. This book reminded me of the relationship between Richard and Kahlan that captivated me from the begining. The reason I gave this book 4 stars and not 5 is for a few reasons. One, is there are a few things hastily tied up at the end that left me a little cold. If anyone can explain to me WHY the tie to Lord Rahl was was lost when he went away with Nicci I would be very interested in knowing. Also, the way Richard has risen into almost a God like status is on some levels very satifying, but Goodkind seems to feel the need to take things away from Richard in each novel to make things interesting now. I would like to see the plot move forward a little more in the next book. All in all it was an excellent read and kept my attention very well, dispite my short attention span. I definatly recomend it.
Rating:
Summary: Goodkind tears me up inside
Review: Terry Goodkind has dazzled me once again. Faith of the Fallen is one of the most well written explorations of religious and political thought I have ever read in my life. Best of all, Goodkind makes his points subtly with nothing more than the telling of a mighty yarn. Any author who can take me on such an introspective journey deserves my continued loyalty. Goodkind succeeded in making me questiong the very nature of good and evil. As I read, I found myself cheering for the villainess before I realized what I was doing, and then turning right around and screaming for the triumph of the hero and heroine. Goodkind continues to make war a fascinating and horrifying experience, and his dialogue continues to make me laugh while his plot twists make me wince with pain as my insides tear to pieces. Terry Goodkind is an author worth watching, and the Sword of Truth is a series more than worth following. Furthermore, Faith of the Fallen proves to me that this series just keeps on getting better.
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