Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: Excellent bounceback from pillars of creation. It really his the spot.
Rating: 
Summary: Did you people even read the book? ((Some small spoilers))
Review: No offense to the reviewers, but when I purchased the book I was almost afraid to read it because of all the pompous and ignortant reviews. Then when I read the book I was glad all the reviews fell short.
True Richard had to continue to repeat things over and over, but look at the reasons around it. I enjoyed this book very much because I can understand him. If you look at some religions today they act the same as those people he was trying to explain it to. they are blind to everything except what they have been taught, brainwashed as you will.
It was disheartening to hear such callous reviews for this book, especially from people who claim to have enjoyed previous novels. I agree it was not the best and I didn't understand where it was heading at first but quickly I also got caught up in the movement of it.
Watching the 'Slide' find out new divisions of his power. Watching Richard Deteriorate because of the poison and his magic. The 8th rule in it simplicity is just...right. "Deserve Victory". Simple as that. I get it. It's amazing in it's simplicity.
And of course the battles happened quickly...What else was supposed to happen they were entering a raid, last time I checked a raid should be done in a short time before the enemy can stand up and take notice. Not pages and pages of describing of the battle, it happened, having it short like that, in my opinion, added to the intensity in the story.
And Kahlan...'whining' about destroying the world... well come on people...I would be a lot depressed too if I thought I was the cause for the world being lost and my husband dying. She had every right to be upset.
I did sit at work and get mad when I got a customer call because I wanted to continue reading. I think people have to sit up and take notice, your tunnel view of the world isn't necessarily the correct one. And that is the whole point of this book. Previous hateful reviews have proved what Terry was trying to say, that this world is much like the world of the Ungifted...the Banished. We do not see the forest for the trees. We have to stand back and look at the whole picture, instead of our perception.
Rating:
Summary: Did you people even read the book? ((Some small spoilers))
Review: No offense to the reviewers, but when I purchased the book I was almost afraid to read it because of all the pompous and ignotant reviews. Then when I read the book I was glad all the reviews fell short.
True Richard had to continue to repeat things over and over, but look at the reasons around it. I enjoyed this book very much because I can understand him. If you look at religions today they act the same as those people he was trying to explain it to. they are blind to everything except what they have been taught, brainwashed as you will.
It was disheartening to hear such callous reviews for this book, especially from people who claim to have enjoyed previous novels. I agree it was not the best and I didn't understand where it was heading but I also got caught up in the movement of it.
Watching the 'Slide' find out new divisions of his power. Watching Richard Deteriorate because of the poison and his magic. The 8th rule in it simplicity is just...right. "Deserve Victory". Simple as that. I get it. It's amazing in it's simplicity.
And of course the battles happened quickly...What else was supposed to happen they were entering a raid, last time I checked a raid should be done in a short time before the enemy can stand up and take notice.
And Kahlan...'whining' about destroying the world... well come on people...I would be a lot depressed too if I thought I was the cause for the world being lost and my husband dying. She had every right to be upset.
I did sit at work and get mad when I got a customer call because I wanted to continue reading. I think people have to sit up and take notice, your tunnel view of the world isn't necessarily the correct one. And that is the whole point of this book. Previous hateful reviews have proved what Terry was trying to say, that this world is much like the world of the Ungifted...the Banished. We do not see the forrest for the trees. We have to stand back and look at the whole picture, instead of our perception.
Rating: 
Summary: let down
Review: I was extremely disappointed again by Mr Goodkind. I thought Pillars of Creation was an aberration and read the whole book waiting for Richard and Kahlan to make an appearance. Now when we get the main characters back, we have to listen to Richard espouse the same theory over and over again! Hundreds of pages of it! Does Goodkind think we are stupid? Why has he turned Richard into a pompous, pontificating bore? I didn't buy the book to read a simplistic political diatribe on the american republican agenda. Not to mention the fact that Richard isn't exactly a democratically elected leader! Is it only ok to be a dictator if you are "good"??Jennsen is a useless character, not to mention boring, as is her goat! Where are the characterisations and plot complexities brought to the fore in previous books of SOT? Has anyone else wondered why Nicholas the Slide can use magic to steal the souls of the magically unaffected people of the Empire? Do not buy this book, borrow it if you are compelled to read it as I was in the vain hope of a resurrection of Goodkind's imagination.
Rating: 
Summary: Get on with it Goodkind!
Review: When you think about it very little happened in this book. The majority of it was spent with Richard espousing some Smith and Hobbesian philosophy of individual right over the "Evil" collectivism and pacifism. Then the actual freeing of Bandakar took hardly any time at all. Insurrection against a occupying power can be a fairly interesting thing, but Goodkind seemed like arguing for pages about philosophy (In a very poor manner mind you) is more interesting than actually talking about how the battle was fought. I feel almost ripped off after reading this book. Much of it was completely uninteresting and the interesting parts were fleeting. I will most likely read the next book in the series because I have invested so much time in to the series. But, there is no way I'm going to one of his books again.
Rating:
Summary: Worst. Ever.
Review: Why do I say Naked Empire is a disappointment? Mostly because... it's nothing new. I felt like I've read this book before, that it took elements of Soul of the Fire and Faith of the Fallen, added in plot twists from Pillars of Creation, mixed well, and produced this. It's like... the next episode in a TV show. The series, which began so intelligently, has almost become a parody of itself. Certainly the empire indicated in the title is a ludicrous parody of a civilization -- like Altur'Rang in FoF, except even worse -- an empire that is so poorly concieved and constructed on such shoddy intellectual ground, it's impossible to concieve of it lasting three days, let alone centuries. The pages devoted to Richard Rahl, protagonist and superman, dictating perspectives on reality to the members of the empire, seem so painfully blatant. At least in FoF, the Empire was slightly more coherent, and wasn't taken down just by words. Kahlan annoys me. She's supposed to be a strong, intelligent, competent woman -- the ideal of femininity -- but she's just getting more and more out in crazyland with every book. Now, admittedly there's reason for it, but so much of the time devoted to her is her whining about how she's destroyed the world.
Richard continues to be a superman, who manages to figure out everything, sway everyone, and unleash domination over all. Most of the book is devoted to him explaining the same thing, over and over and over again. Precious little of Ann, Verna, Zedd, Adie, Nathan... the characters that always seemed so much more human, and consequently much more interesting, than the protagonists. The magic enemy du jour possesses a truly terrifying and horrible power, one that should have more significant repercussions to the series than the Sisters of the Dark, the chimes, or even the dream walker himself... but he's totally wasted. Nothing at all comes of it. Batman: The Animated Series devoted more time to the psyches and ramifications of its villains that NE did. That more than anything turned me off to the book. The Wizard's Eighth Rule, while not preachy like the Sixth, is not intelligent like the first. It really seemed pointless. I guess that after Soul of the Fire and Faith of the Fallen, my respect for the series started to drop. Pillars of Creation really seemed like a breath of fresh air, taking the series in a new direction, with a new perspective. Unfortunately, Naked Empire seems to have gone back to formula, and it really didn't get the best parts of that formula.
Rating:
Summary: What everone's problem?
Review: well, i'll give all you reviewers this: you're right, this book wasn't one of his best. the plot was very similar to the other books and the philosophy wasn't up to his normal standards. but really! if you don't like this you may as well give up on goodkind completely. this is how he writes and thats not going to change.
i liked this book. it may not have been the best yet, but it was good. to those complaining that the series doesn't end, how would you honestly feel if it did? this book goes deeper into the characters feelings and what they believe in. it shows what will become of the world if the order should win, why they think their cause is worth fighting for.
if you don't like this book, fine. but don't go saying terry goodkind is slipping. writing is hard, and putting in philosophy is even harder. as i said, this wasn't the best, but i think it was worth the read and i'm eagerly anticipating the 9th book.
Rating:
Summary: Ignorance is bliss
Review: My downfall was reading 'Wizards' First Rule'. That, I now realise, was not the beginning of the end. And what's wrong with that? Well, it would be nice, would it not, for this story to actually conclude? Isn't that what stories do?! *Sigh*. Evidently, not this one. Not while Goodkind is convinced that your wallets retain enough cash to keep him in bread.
But, I digress. 'Wizards' First Rule' started me off on what could be argued to be an addiction to Goodkind's novels. And as with most addictions, this one isn't proving to be healthy.
I'm hooked enough that - despite despairing when I read the previous two books, despite despairing at reading the reviews posted here, despite despairing at the never-endingness of Goodkind's story - I still went and bought Naked Empire. I'm a fool.
You know the funny thing? I still haven't actually read it. I don't want to. So long as I don't read the damn thing, I can try to convince myself that Goodkind has sorted out his act. I can believe that he has once again started writing for the joy that he evidently got from writing his first couple of books, and not for his own financial gain. I can persuade myself that maybe, this time, he won't have filled an entire book with unimaginative plot, disinteresting characters and poorly contrived political messages. I can dream about how good it might be, and shiver with anticipation when I look at the cover. That's why I bought the damn thing.
That, and it makes an impressive-looking addition to my bookcase, in all its hard-back glory. Don't judge a book by its cover? Hah! That's the only thing that got this one any rating at all.
What more can I say? Ignorance is bliss.
Rating:
Summary: sigh.
Review: pretty standard regurgitation. the first few books showed some potential, yet with the introduction of new characters and new settings, i can't help but feel like i'm stuck in the archtypical sitcom universe: all the main characters face dire peril, yet live to see the next episode while the "ensign joe shmoe" equivalent gets killed. the last character who really mattered at all that died, died in the first book. aside from that, you get those recyclable one-episode character who die every book over which richard and company all collectively weep over. sadly, this book even fails to measure up to sitcom standards. most of the writing is drab political and social commentary. i have to admit, ever since the introduction of jangang and the imperial order and it's clear allusion to communist china (i mean, he even describes them like the mongolians or possibly the turks), i could see where this was going. a whole other nation exactly like the imperial order was just overkill. when he isn't beating the same dead horse for 5-600 pages, he spends the remaining pages trying to shock readers with blatantly obvious plot twists. that is, when he isn't describing fights with the races, the most inconsequential and idiotic manifestation of goodkind's imagination yet. all they do is come and get killed by richard. they achieve nothing, other then fill a few hundred pages of not very engaging action. not to mention this book simply makes it all the more obvious where the series is moving on a whole. with constant references to the disappearnce of magic (with zedd's oh-so subtle insight as to the 'end of an era'), it becomes obvious that jangang will lose, yet magic will still die out, but people will live on in their freedom to exist as they are born, as jennsen is constantly used to highlight. this series pretty much lost all it's realism with the introduction of a human villain. oh and one last thing. that whole 10page elongated description of kahlan simply taking another person? it got old after the first book.
Rating:
Summary: Borrow - do NOT buy.
Review: This book is not just bad - it's embarrassing. What happened to the author of Wizards First Rule? One piece of advice for Terry would be to stare clear of philosophy. In this book, Richard somehow manages to lead himself to the point where he ends up encouraging the slaughter of a bunch of misguided, weaponless, passives who are doing nothing more than trying to prevent a war. How he gets there I'm still trying to figure out. This book is just a disaster. Goodkind had created a believable world - it's amazing how quickly he has managed to uncreate it.
Another piece of advice for Terry - the formula he's been using for the past six books - it's dead. I actually can not believe that he has shamelessly used basically the same plot yet again. I'm sick of it. This is not advancing a story - this is the same story told slightly differently (and slightly worse) over and over again. I waited for this story to go somewhere. It doesn't. Read this book only if you must.
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