Rating: 
Summary: Enough of the political and moralizing.
Review: Enough of the moralizing, there was only about 100 pages of story here. Same as the last book. The first four books in this series were outstanding, but downhill after that. I want to see big armies, wizards, action, Richard winning some battles, this is going nowhere. To sum it up, we have 100s of pages of downtrodden and sick Richard with all the political stuff, and then about 20 pages of what you expected at the end of the book.This is the last one of this series I will buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Pleased
Review: I was very happy with this book. All my favorite characters are back in the story. Richard has finally resolved some major issues. Bad guys are very bad, and the situations that the good characters get into are beyond desparate. Typical SOT story. Fast, violent, exciting, fun, and satisfying.Excellent job Mr. Goodkind.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW Goodkind has forever changed the Fantasy Genre!
Review: WOW! Pristine in its clarity of The Human condition. Goodkind has again reached into the very depths of the abyss of morality and fanatical extremes to bring to light a riveting story of Romance, commitment, passion for life and the ever constant struggle to fight the evil that so closely resembles the very axis of evil in our own time! I can't believe this story, its better than expected. The clear and concise description by Goodkind, of our ever-present struggle against the evil that seeks to justify, as does the Imperial Order the immorality of Moral Equivalence. Goodkind has broken through the boundary and created new definition of the Fantasy genre!!
This book picks up with in hours of the last Novel Pillars of Creation. It compels the reader into deeper and more fervent passion to seek what is just beyond the next page.
Following Richard, Kahlan, Cara and Richard's newly found sister Jensen; we are drawn into a web of deceit and a centuries old dilemma unfolding within the Old World and the very core of the Imperial Order itself. I was not only spell bound and so engulfed by the story line, at one point I literally found myself jumping out of my chair and pumping my fist in the air whooping with excitement at the sudden twist within the story. Goodkind totally blindsided me! Zedd hopelessly struggling for his very existence! Richard entangled with a rule that could very well mean the end magic. Kahlan torn between Love and duty and Jagang ever bearing down on D'Hara and the last remnants of a free people.
I sat torn between a pitched race to find out what happens next and the fear of what could possibly happen next. As I finished the story I found myself refreshed and yet wanting more! More Mr. Goodkind MORE!
Kudos!
Ron Wilson
Rating: 
Summary: The last 300 pages were good
Review: Unfortunatly like many authors who write long prolonged series they must backtrack for some reason. My personal opinion is that they are reminding themselves of their own story by "reminding us" of what happened in previous books. Now that said. I actually like the book well enough once i got past the first 350 pages. Yet it seems as though Mr. Goodkind has turned into a philosopher.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping story with a moral
Review: Terry Goodkind continues to impress with gripping story telling, imbedded with clear moral messages to impress upon his readers. Just as Faith of the Fallen illustrated Ayn Rand's Objectivism and the fallacy of blind altruism, Naked Empire illustrates the necessity of violence in the defense of freedom and liberty. This book is was clearly influenced by recent world events (i.e. The War in Iraq), and shows the inherent danger to societies which unconditionally reject violence. There is a danger in distilling the actions of evil men to mere root causes, Goodkind successfully argues that we are accountable for our actions and those who commit crimes should be punished accordingly. Goodkind recognizes that those who protect evil men in the guise of enlightened morality are no better then the men they protect. A common theme is simply, evil exists and must be recognized as such, and not explained away. These messages are incorporated into the story of a lost people and expands on the plot initiated in The Pillars of Creation, while advancing the larger story of the struggle to keep the New World free. All of our favorite characters are back, but the novel focuses largely on the travels of Richard, Kahlan, Cara, and Jennesen. Zedd has a good supporting role and we get a chance to see the reemergence of some beloved secondary characters (sorry you'll have to read it to find out). The book introduces new bad guys you'll love to hate and hints at more to come (sorry no chicken monsters). Goodkind does touch on past books to remind readers of those events, which I found useful as we are now up to book eight and it is at this point that readers may have trouble remembering the details of past plots and the interrelationships of secondary characters. It is well done, with just enough information presented to remind readers of past events without becoming a burden. Nevertheless, this series is reaching a point where a glossary or a prologue would be helpful, but thankfully is nowhere nearly as convoluted as say, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (which is totally out of control). Minor negative criticisms some readers might feel is that the book lingers on the moral of the story more then the story itself, Richard delivers speeches that GW Bush could only dream of making (too perfect), and the polar beliefs of the lost society are so extremely foreign it seems unbelievable (well, maybe just to me). However, all in all Naked Empire has a great message surrounded by a good story that will entertain and educate readers both new and seasoned to the overall story. This series is a must read for all fantasy lovers.
Rating: 
Summary: Milking it to meet the contract...
Review: I'll start by saying I absolutely loved the first four books of this series. The last four books seem only to be filler to meet the quota contracted with the publisher for the series. I have to say I am getting more and more disappointed with the way things are going with this series. For those of you who are new to SOT, my recommendation would be to read the first four books and then wait for the last one to be published so you can have closure. My only hope is that George R. R. Martin doesn't go down this path with his "Song of Ice and Fire" series - which, in my humble opinion, is an EXCELLENT read.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: I do agree with some prior readers that the content of this book was a lot like Faith of the Fallen but I still really enjoyed it. The thing I really enjoyed about it was that it progressed the overall story a lot more than Pillars of creation (which was still enjoyable).
Rating:
Summary: Hmmmmm....
Review: Well it wasnt a BAD book it just kinda lacked a really in depth plot. It seems that unfortunatley Terry Goodkind is dragging out his, once execellent, series into something that seems to be going nowhere... reminds me of.............. ROBERT JORDAN! Hey whaddya know.
anyway thats my two cents
Rating:
Summary: Can You Not See Quality?
Review: I have been an avid fan of the Sword of Truth series since the debut of Wizard's First Rule. Each and every time Mr. Goodkind has released a new novel I have been completely absorbed into the world he has woven. The multitude of well rounded, intelligent characters is the backbone of the series in my opinion. This is why the never ending rants about Pillars of Creation is extremely upseting. So many people are upset that the book focused on secondary characters rather than Richard and Kahlan. This makes no sense to me. Of course we love to watch Richard and Kahlan on their adventures, however, the world Mr. Goodkind has created has a great deal more depth than two individual characters. With that in mind I will first state that I truly enjoyed Pillars of Creation. Now on to Naked Empire. I enjoyed this novel a great deal because it utilized four individual storylines woven together. When we look back, Pillars of Creation involved two, as did Faith of the Fallen. I personally enjoy the multiple storylines in Naked Empire which resemble those in WFR, SOT, BOTF, and TOTW. The "preachiness" which so many are so fast to condemn does not stand out that much to me at all. I realize there are a few times Richard goes off on a long speech, but I didn't think it was nearly as much as Faith of the Fallen. While Richard and Kahlan's particular storyline in this novel is relatively predictable as many have said, I feel the storyline with Zedd and Adie is very surprising and exciting. This was by far my favorite part of this novel. Especially because a long missing character returns! One of the most exciting moments in the last four books in my opinion. In any case, I loved Naked Empire. I though it was exciting, fun, and relatively free of plot holes. If you truly didn't enjoy this I think you are missing something when you read or you are just so bound and determined to hold WFR and SOT in some special higher place that you refuse to find the good in Terry's new novels. Whatever the case I wish you luck. I highly recommend this novel to anyone and everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Book Worm
Review: First of all, I would like to say that I enjoyed reading this book. I feel that one of Goodkind's strengths is his ability to write great stories that revolve around very interesting characters, and he certainly delivers with this book. Goodkind also reveals more of the back story from the time of the great war, which took place 3000 years before this series. Fans of the series, who did not like Pillars of Creation, will find this book much more enjoyable since it returns to story telling that is centered around the main characters(i.e. Richard, Kahlan, Adie, Zed, Cara, etc.) and brings back some long forgetten characters(but I don't want to spoil the surprise). I must say that if you chose not to read Pillars of Creation, then you may want to do so before sinking you teeth into this one. This story answers many of the questions raised in Pillars. I really liked Pillars, but I think that Mr. Goodkind should have merged Books 7 and 8 into one novel.
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