Rating: 
Summary: Total sidestep
Review: I have read the whole series og Goodkind, and loving it. But in the last book, Pillars of creation, we read almost nothing about the characters we have gotten to know and love. 90% of the book is about two characters who are ultra-stereotypes of good and evil, and the last 100 pages or so is like we have learned to love Goodkind. Sure, the plot crawls forward, but in my view, the characters he has made are so important in this epic saga that one cannot leave them out and still satisfy devoted readers. And the plot itself moves so little that you van actually skip this book and miss little.
Rating: 
Summary: dissappointment
Review: a fan of terry goodkind, i was dissappointed at this book's change of perspective to highlight the minor character's adventures instead of focusing on the main character Richard.
I have been reading the whole book, hoping that the next chapter would be about Richard, Kathlan or at least any of the usual characters within the circle like Zedd. Much to my dismay, i read from cover to cover with so much as reading their names only a few times.it may be a fresh breath of air for some, but for me, it was a total dissappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: It's Just Fantasy
Review: Why does everybody feel the need to bash Goodkind's fantasy? I'm sorry, but if someone feels the need to put down an author's ideas for a story, then maybe they should write something better. Oh wait I forgot! 99% of the people who mock Goodkind can't sell a book, let alone write one! His story is fascinating and creative. Maybe the series is not Lord of the Ring's, but what is, and why would it want to be? Be original. See all of you in Secramore.
Rating: 
Summary: deserves 0 stars
Review: What was wrong with Goodkind for this book? The story was
-okay- going through, but this was the lowest he could go. I'll give a list of pros and cons; and just to tell you now, there are no pros.
Pro's:.......
Con's: first of all, the story had next to nothing to do with the series. It was linked to the story, but Goodkind told it backwards. He goes all the way to the frontlines, and past into the enemy. Why didn't he just start another series? That would have been better than having done this to ruin this series. Second. What is up with the voice children? All the boys who "don't" exist turn out bad, and listen to the voice of the nameless one. And for the first time, Goodkind is sexist against the males. The anti-female tone was bad enough, but now, all the boys turn out bad, but the girl doubts everything, and questions the voice, and she turns out good. Black and white. Typical.
The Pilliars had nothing to do with the story, except to be used to kill someone off by their destruction. How did Richy Rahlda survive being in the hottest place in the old world? And doesn't black absorb heat? Lastly, I don't even wanna talk about it. There are tons of more flaws, but to say more would be unnecessary.
All of Goodkind's weaknesses as a writer were present since the beginning, but he somehow managed to keep them out of the spotlight - until now. The flaws in this book are the manifestations of his prior struggles as a fantasy writer and that is enough to suffice. This book was not worth either my time or money.
Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favor, read anything else!
Review: This book was a big disappointment. I am always on the lookout for a new author and series of science fiction or fantasy. I realize this is the 7th book but a friend said I did not really need to read the other books to follow this one. The naivety of the character Jennson and the evilness of the character Oba are pathetic. If I could give less than one star to this book, I would. Instead of wasting your time with this one, try reading something from Clive Barker (horror), Joe Lansdale (mystery with a twist of humor), or Neil Gaiman (fantasy).
Rating:
Summary: Two Sides of the Truth
Review: There is a saying, that there are always two sides of the truth. "The Pillars of Creation" provides the other side of this "truth" that we have been experiencing from the first six books. We begin to look into the other side slightly from "The Faith of the Fallen", but "The Pillars of Creation" dives totally into it. We see through the eyes of the enemy. Jennsen has been hunted by Darken Rahl all her life. Just as she finds new hope for the future, after hearing of his death, she finds that hope dashed when she learns of Darken Rahl's heir, Richard Rahl. Now she is once again hunted, escaping his clutches only by a hair. Sebastian, a spy from the Old World, after saving Jennsen's life, is her only companion. Jennsen feels a connection to Sebastian when she comes to realize his cause - to save the world from the evil that is Lord Rahl. Although probably most SOT fans would love to have their hands around my neck for giving such a summary - they should come to understand that it is because this book has come so late in the series, that some would find it lacking. It is hard for someone who has read all of the first six books to fully appreciate the seventh. We have grown fond of hearing of Richard, Kahlan, Cara, Zedd, Adie, etc. We were sad when learning of the deaths of certain inner circle friends... To try to look at things from the "enemy's" point of view may seem a bit hard to do because we know the other side, and we have allied ourselves to that side. We may see Jennsen as gullible, nieve, etc, but that is because we know the whole truth of the matter - have seen both sides now. When you read this book, as I humbly suggest you do, as hard as it seems, try to forget a little about what you have learned from the first six books. Try to see this book as though it were the first of the SOT series that you have read. It's hard to appreciate it otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: a comic book without the pictures
Review: This is the first Goodkind book I have read -- I picked it up in the library, where it was wrongly catalogued under medieval historical novels. It was weird. The characters are so two-dimensional they could be folded into cereal packages. Jennsen is such a glaring example of the stereotypical female idiot (I'm surprised she was not blonde)that Goodkind deserves to be picketed. The battle scenes are not a patch on Cornwell's grippingly compelling Arthur series (which, by the way, are more graphically gruesome). However, I gave this three stars because the writing style fascinated me. It was the bubbles in comic strips transformed to abrupt but flowing prose. Very clever. It made even the most trite and endless passages of parlor philosophy readable, somehow.
Rating:
Summary: What a waste of time and money!
Review: Read books 1 - 4 but stay away from 5, 6 and especially 7.
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading
Review: I have read the entire Sword of Truth series; it has been a good fantasy. When I finished Faith of the Fallen, I couldn't wait to see what happened in Pillars of Creation. I read the new book and was a little disappointed. I was anticipating reading about the trials and adventures of Kalan and Richard, and the circle of friends around them. Instead, we don't even get to a scene with Richard until after 500 pages of reading. (Yes, five hundred pages.) By this time, the book is almost over, the scenes with Richard feel rushed, and the next thing you know the book is finished. So you ask what the first 500 pages are about? Not to give anything away, but we are introduced primarily to two main characters that have some type of relation to Richard. The book goes on and on following these two new characters. One I felt was interesting and devious, Oba, the other just too naïve and blind to her situation, Jennsen. In fact, Jennsen is so blind to the situation she is in, the reader can't tolerate her character. Chapter after chapter I wanted her to wake up and finally put all the clues together to realize she is being manipulated. It was very predictable when Jennsen came to her senses, and by then I was fed up with her. Overall there were some great scenes, an excellent magic fight, and it was an enjoyable read, but I think the book took the reader too far in another direction with the new characters, and not enough time spent interacting with characters from previous books. If you have read all the other SOT's, then you have to read this one, but it seems like if there is another one in the series to come out, and you skipped Pillars, you probably wouldn't be missing anything too important to the main story line. A Must read, The Price of Immortality by C.M. Whitlock. You will not be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Depth and Color
Review: I thought this book was very solid. Not only did it add more depth to Richard Cypher's world, but it added color and sense of wholeness to the storybook world. I feel that as epics tend to grow apace, as in Tolkien to Feist to Eddings to Goodkind to Jordan, we as readers demand more complicated novels that separte themselves from those created in teh past. As we get more sophisticated and exposed to many authors, so must the authors rise to the challenge. I thought Goodkind did a splendid job with this, but I think that the next book will create a seamlessness that will give a strength to the one before it, especially as the next on ought to revolve around Richard and Kahlan again. Or at least I hope so...
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