Rating: 
Summary: Excellent writing and characters but a tired plot
Review: Terry Goodkind is an excellent writer and each installment of The Sword of Truth shows steady improvement in his style and ability to craft interesting characters doing things I care about. Most particularly, he gets his characters into situations so impossible that I cannot imagine how they will get out and I find myself genuinely worried about them (even though I know that it will work out in the end) - always a solid sign that an author has succeeded. But that points to the problem, as well. As other reviewers have noted, the outline for this plot is not much of a stretch from previous entries in the series. Richard is taken by an enemy while Kahlan is in dire straits facing impossible odds. Richard's straightforward honesty wins over seemingly implaccable opponents and learns a skill many take a lifetime to master in almost no time at all so that everything works out just fine. Fantasy tends to be formulaic as it is, and a fantasy author who does more than merely move his characters around map meeting exotic beings is always to be commended, but an installment series should strive for more variety of plot. One thing worth noting about Faith of the Fallen is that the political/sociological message that was left more or less to the allegorical level in previous novels is now blatant. No-one familiar with the work of Ayn Rand or Robert Heinlein will find the insights offered all that new; rather, they'll be nodding their heads throughout. Personally, I think it's marvelous that a fantasy author has the courage to bring such ideas to the forefront of his work - and perhaps expose them to many who would otherwise never have a chance to encounter them. But if you prefer to keep your politics and your novels separate, this book will frustrate you. Goodkind never goes so far as Ms. Rand, but there are times when Richard's speeches begin to seem like Francisco D'Anconia's in their length. I waited anxiously for this book to appear and snapped up a first edition almost as soon as it was available. I am glad I read it, and I encourage anyone familiar with the series to buy in and keep reading because Goodkind has definitely delivered another page turner full of interesting people. But I cannot give it better than three stars because of its derivative plot.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Episode in The Sword Of Truth
Review: I think the main problem with this series is that Terry Goodking is telling the story in a series of episodes rather than a World-Building book in the usual fantasy big saga mould. Each book introduces new bad guys and new 'friends' and normally wraps up their story within the bounds of the book. It is a bit like Buffy and Star Trek - they both rely on very basic plots and then use characterisation to fill in the gaps. Something like the Wheel Of Time is there to create a living breathing world. Temple Of The Winds and Soul Of the Fire were very bad episodes in this saga, and I did actually look at reviews before buying this book, and then only when I saw it for £8 at a local bookshop. Personally, I did enjoy the pseudo communism - a rare thing to have dealt with in normal western fantasy. I think some reviewers have taken it a tad too seriously. The only thing that I would say is that, even though I found this a very enjoyable book, there is nothing in the ending that even remotely makes me think "another year to the next one... what will I do...". But I suppose that is the downfall of an episodic series with a years gap in between.
Rating:
Summary: Nice story...old and tiresome ideas
Review: I must agree with the other pessimists of the group....this is just another dollar in the author's wallet at this point. Anything to keep the best-selling series going. It's a good read, and it's entertaining if you've followed the series, but it is the same thing as 3-5. Kahlan loses Richard, Richard loses Kahlan. Jagang does something nasty to one of his slaves. Someone dies horribly and in detail. Time out for flowers and other natural beauty, which neutralizes the death scene. Then more death and despair. Repeat. This isn't true fantasy...it's a romance novel with a sword. All you need is to chance Richard's name to Lance.
Rating: 
Summary: Shocked!!!
Review: I was really looking forward to this book coming out, until I was thru reading the second chapter! I then became very upset! It wasn't so much the story line that was so unimaginative it was that everything from book number five didn't carry over! There isn't a final meeting with Jagang or anything! There was plenty of characters that were left out of the book which shouldn't have been. I had to struggle through this whole book and I'm pretty disappointed with Goodkind's writing. It's like he threw this book together, trying to finish off a series that he wasn't ready to write. I would have preferred if he would have waited until he thought of something better! I've never seen a case of writers-block as bad as this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Goodkind Does It Again
Review: Well, Terry Goodkind does it again. I've been a fan ever since Wizard's First Rule. My anticipation for this book has been overwhelming. When I finally got it, I couldn't put it down. Goodkind has, once again, created a fantastic story line with beautifully static characters. Goodkind manages to pull you into a world where you feel genuine emotions for the various characters, both good and bad. Faith of the Fallen is definately both an inspiring and enticing, must read book.
Rating:
Summary: Keep It Coming
Review: I suppose if you are a reader who wants stories to begin and end quickly, or if you are not enjoying the Sword of Truth story, then you may not be a fan of this book. I am neither of the above--if the story is good then I want it to last for a long time, and I really enjoy the Sword of Truth story--I hope we keep getting books upon books and that the story follows us through to Richard's kids, his death, his grandkids, ad nauseum . . . as long as the story telling remains good. Goodkind has created noble characters; they aren't gratuitously flawed, and, perhaps, they are a bit too perfect in some respects, but, then, Goodkind is not writing a biography or history--he is writing a story, and it is nice to read about such noble heroes. I find this book a nice mix of action and inspiration. After six books we have a lot invested in these characters, and it is enjoyable to read about them for that reason. Frankly, I believe Goodkind's writing is improving over the series, and the plots, though still formulaic, are becoming a bit more textured. As compared with Jordan, who is still one of the best in the genre, Goodkind is better at wrapping up major plotlines in one book. It is this aspect which makes his books feel more formulaic, but it is also nice to feel some closure at the end of a book--as opposed to Jordan, where you feel he just sort of ran out of paper, so he stops that book and then starts a new book when he finds more paper. With two years between installments, Goodkind's closure allows me more sanity. SPOILER. . . . I can't believe he killed off Warren with such little fanfare. What's up with that? I had considered Warren a major character, and it's like you are reading along and Goodkind goes, "Oh, yeah, by the way, Warren died." JLH
Rating: 
Summary: Faith of the Fallen Author
Review: Terry Goodkind ought to be ashamed of himself. One of the great things which really made me a fan was after the 1st 2 books there was a final confrontation and conclusion to the story. I started getting annoyed after Temple of the Winds when he still hadn't fought Jagang. After Soul of the Fire I was angry. The Chimes and the mystery of Joseph Ander were cool but he still hadn't fought Jagang and he devoted half of the book to some moronic kid and his background. I thought he was introducing a new character so all of this was necessary but they end up running a sword through him towards the end of the book. That's when I knew he was just dragging this story out to rake in more money from his loyal fans. Faith of the Fallen is even worse. He drags Richard off on some silly side quest just to avoid a confrontation with Jagang. This novel goes nowhere and nothing of any importance happens. You could skip this book and pick up the next one and never notice you had missed anything. I take that back, 1 important thing did happen. He took Jagang, the most evil, exciting and intimadating bad guy to come along in years and turned him into a wimp. Yeah, he serves the creator now and gets pushed around by women. He did this just to put off the final conflict so he could make more money on books that go nowhere. When the final conflict does eventually happen nobody is going to care because he's ruined the character. Richard vs the Almighty Jagang could have been 1 of the greatest clashes in history but Richard vs a wimp is something nobody cares to read about. Terry Goodkind better start remembering what got him to where he is today and stop trying to screw his fans over because he's greedy.
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY INTOXICATING
Review: Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, has one of the most captivating themes I've encountered. I've been following this series since book 1, Wizard's First Rule. Waiting for the next book was a long, and extremely unsettling experience. This series can be very annoying at times; things constantly happen to the main characters, making you strain against skipping ahead, and finding out what happens. In this book Richard is captured by a Sister of Dark, who was once his teacher at the Palace of Prophets. Sisters of the Dark are sorceresses that have forfeighted there souls to the Keeper of the Underworld, in return for power and a promise of immortality. Even though some of his themes are reoccuring, they always have a new twist to them, keeping you enchanted through the whole book. I highly recommend reading this series! You'll love it! Although, if you want to read the series, you should begin from book 1, or you'll be confused for most of your reading time. READ IT! READ IT! READ IT! I'm not very good at hypnotisms, but read the book anyway!
Rating:
Summary: Nothing but right wing propaganda in a weak plot
Review: I have so far read every one of the Terry Goodkind sword of truth books but after reading this one, I have decided to never touch them or any of the future novels. Why? a) Weak charachters. Does anyone like Richard. He is barely 2 dimensional! His only charachter flaw is being an idiot but thats only bacause Goodkind counldn't wright an original plot if his life depended on it. His other heroes are all perfect as well, except some times they can't see Richards "vision" and screw things up. b)The plot. Or rather the lack there of. Basically we have a book whose only redeeming feature is the violence, and there is a lot of that. c)Facist ideology. What exactly is Richard fighting for? Certinly not freedom. He's just as much a dictator as Jagang would be. And he isn't even morally superior. He does after all condone torture and we certinaly saw what Richard thinks of Democracy in the 5th book. In this book Goodkind takes it to te next level by attacking socialist programs like Welfare and rent control without having the faintest understanding of the issues, and doesn't even acnowledge the flaws in capitalism which lead to these programs. d)Huge gaping falacies. Goodkind failes to create any plausable reason for there to have been a stalinist takeover. He seems to think that communism is created when people are poor. In truth there wasn't any communism before the industrial revolution and theres a good reason. Without a middle class these sorts of ideas don't come around and Goodkind failed to include one. The second area where he got everything hugely wrong was his logistics. With he level of technology present there is no way that any area could support close to 4 million soldiers! Nor could anyone, not even a dream walker, maintain control over an area the size of the old world without technology and the level of buerocracy and social thought control in the Imperial Order. In summation do your self a favor and don't give money to a facist charachter like goodkind.
Rating:
Summary: John Galt lives in Richard Rahl!
Review: Picture Atlas Shrugged set in a fantasy world -- only with better writing and more action. It's great.
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