Faith of the Fallen (Sword of Truth, Book 6)

Rating:
Summary: Where's Grandpa?
Review: Did you ever wonder what happened to Nathan Rahl and Zedd? How can anyone say that some characters weren't left out? You don't introduce "main" characters and never bring them back into the picture! Goodkind left so many characterts in limbo. Other reviewers were saying something along the lines of " the story line was so good it was like living in a communist country". Well I'm sorry but I didn't buy this book to read about the life styles I can so readily see on our own world! This book was a big disappointment! Mr. Goodkind needs to take some lessons from David Eddings! Goodkind doesn't plan on writing another Sword of Truth novel but if he did I will have to say that I would buy it only to see what will happen and to see if Goodkind can recoupe after this sorry tale.

Rating:
Summary: Rahl Versus Maoism
Review: At a much slower pace than the first 4 novels, but similar to Soul Of The Fire, this novel gradually gains pace as you read it.

I have to admit I initially found the concentration on Nicci slightly tiresome, but I could not have been more wrong. The full portrayal of her character was necessary to reveal the 'thinking' behind the 'unthinking' life under the rule of the Imperial Order. I was utterly apauled by the awful life, attitudes and hopelessness of the people in Altur 'Rang, and I doubt if I would have believed in it quite so much if I hadn't recently read a couple of books about life in Maoist China during the Cultural revolution. These things really happened there.

In conclusion, an excellant read, worthy of your attention, but for God's sake let's get on the final chapter...we are desperate!

Rating:
Summary: Terry Goodkind found an Ayn Rand book!
Review: If you happen to be an Objectivist -- and many fantasy readers are -- you'll feel like you're being beaten over the head with an Ayn Rand novel (Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead) for the first half of this book. Goodkind obviously discovered Objectivist philosophy before writing this book, and really wanted to show his readers how it works. It's an admirable goal, and if you're not familiar with Rand, you won't even notice, but if you are, it will be EXTREMELY obvious, even frustratingly so. It can get annoying to feel like you're being lectured to on a philosophy you already embrace.

This said, the book gets MUCH better after the first half, and if you can get through the constant "altruism-is-bad-capitalism-is-good" barrage that hits you through the first half, you'll end up reading an exciting and triumphant novel, if a somewhat heavy-handed one. It's certainly worlds better than Soul of the Fire was (a book which many readers, myself included, trudged through thinking "How on Earth can the writer of a masterpiece like Temple of the Winds turn out utter crap like this as a sequel??"), and the second half of it is good enough to be worth getting through the first half.

And, of course, Richard and Kahlan are the same wonderful characters they've been throughout the series, and continue to be what brings me back to Sword of Truth.

Rating:
Summary: A good chance screwed up
Review: TG has screwed up the chance of writing a really good fantasy novel, that would have been at least as good as the volumes #1 and 2 of the series.

How did this happen?

In my opinion his writing skills have improved tremendously. His style is way more eloquent and the dialogues were mostly well done (one exception here - the dialogue almost to the end that kept about 12 times the word "lardo" in a few lines was really screwed up). Furtheron, the main story line, that means the "fantasy share" of it was well done the same. That some of the plots were resembling plots he has used in former volumes is, IMO, of less bother. After all he put these plots in a new context. For example the "Richard being again captured by a woman" thing had this time different conditions and circumstances. Nicci didn't intend to torture him but tried to learn from him rather than teaching him something (besides, of course, she wanted to teach him how life is for "common people" under the rule of the order).

Another good thing, as far as my personal taste goes, was that the main plot of the story was finally moving on. While some people might object here - after all the "final battle" between Richard and Jagang still didn't take place - it yet moved a lot, because it is now confirmed that Jagang cannot be beaten by "conventional means", as in a battle between the army of the D'Haran Empire and the army of the Order. This is insofar a good thing, as Goodkind now has to go for a more unconventional solution. Jagang and the Order have now occupied (almost) all of the Old AND the New World, considering that Aydindril will fall the next spring and D'Hara will be only a matter of time as well. As I see it Goodkind made already the first step into the unconventional direction, as Richard, through causing turmoil in Altur'Rang, the heart of the Old World, attacked Jagang at a point where it is probably more effective than leading a war that can't be won in the New World.

As most novels FOTF keeps some details that were not completely thought out, for example the matter of supply. The Order, considering the technology Goodkind has generally set up in the series, is surely not able to transfer enough supply for an army of 2.5 to 4 Million soldiers. Not across the distance between the Old and the New World. Even in our real world this would be not an easy thing to do. Even more, the Order is now going through the second winter in the New World, and the soldiers of the Old World are not used to this kind of winter. If you remember the history of WWII, one of the main reasons that the German army failed in Russia was the harsh winter there. Goodkind's numbers of about 25% of the soldiers dying from the coldness is way too little. Considering the poor supply, 60 to 80% would be probably a more fitting number.

Another weak point is how Richard could learn so quickly to become a sculptor. For this Goodkind is using a period of 2 months, when Richard is carving these ugly reliefs, and afterwards he is already starting to work on the statue. Considering that Goodkind is talking of absolute perfectionism, of a statue that is at least equal to something Michelangelo created or even beyond that, and also that Goodkind explicitly states that Richard does not use any magic skills, this seems rather unlikely.

However, considering a time of one year for this book and also that it is a fantasy novel, I would be easily able to accept these details as "writer's freedom" and could just ignore them.

The main bother of FOTF is something else. It is the political and social attitude Goodkind is showing and promoting in FOTF. It would be not so bad if he would do it rather subtely, but time and again he is knocking the reader over the head with these political statements. I would even say that the term "preaching" isn't any longer sufficient here, but that Goodkind is trying to "brainwash" his readers.

Basically he is talking about three different subjects: welfare, communism and church/religion. The welfare part is mostly related to Nicci and her attitude. The bad thing about this is that the whole issue, including Nicci's character, is put so stereotype and two-dimensional that it gets really annoying. Again and again Goodkind is bashing the institution of welfare, however without considering that there are two sides to it. Goodkind points out only the bad side, as in that people can take advantage of welfare. In no place of FOTF it is mentioned that originally welfare is supposed to help people who have gotten in need without it being their own fault. Goodkind is putting it as if everybody, who is in need of welfare, is basically bad and not ready and willed to work. Doing this, Goodkind is insulting European countries as he is not only bashing welfare but also other social institutions like retirement. This is to be seen in the connection that most European countries have a better developed web of social security than the U.S., which obviously includes higher taxes. Goodkind is plainly stating that this is the wrong thing to do. I would go so far to claim that the person Terry Goodkind is in his core an arch-republican if not even a right-wing extremist and a "flag waver". This is even more scary, as a lot of young people are reading his books and are most likely influenced by this attitude.

Now to the communist part in his books. Rarely did I read something related to this issue of an author who had less an idea about it than Terry Goodkind. Neither does he know how socialistic countries like former Russia or the GDR worked nor does he know how every day's life looked like in these countries. What he did, instead, was constructing a stereotype of all this with the purpose of bashing it. He is shamelessly exaggerating. It is ridiculous to claim that, in case people really would have to live under circumstances like he describes it, the mob would not make a revolt after only a few month. No army in the whole world could prevent this.

Another thing Goodkind did was even worse. While putting the Old World as communist, he at the same time included a clerical influence (Brother Narev, Neal and companions). Taking a look into history books, one can easily see that a worldly totalitarian regime and clerical influence do not go with each other because BOTH are in some way totalitarian. One part would always try to dominate the other part and finally completely supress it. Examples are the Third Reich, former Soviet Union, and also China. That Goodkind tries to combine two things that cannot work with each other shows only that he has no idea what he is talking about and how things work in real life. In this sense, the whole part of FOTF around Nicci, the Old World and Altur'Rang was very poorly written and in fact very annoying for everybody who has at least a tiny clue of these things.

Rating:
Summary: A huge disappointment
Review: Like many of the previous reviewers, I am continuing to plod through this series. At the beginning, I avidly read and then re-read the books, waiting for the next one to come out. Based on this one, I'm not even sure I'll buy the next. While I am sure existing readers will continue, I would not advise anyone to start this series based on the quality of this work.

As to my opinion of the flaws:

First, like many of the other reviewers, I am frustrated at the lack of progress in the book, and the rehashing of similar storylines from the earlier books. Maybe the author should read some of David Eddings or Raymond Feist's work on how to create a set of stories out of a fantasy world, rather than just crushing all the life out of a single story.

Second, when you seem to be reading the same lines or concepts 3 or 4 times in the same book, it smells like page filling. I found the continual re-description of the "evil ways" of the Old World particularly annoying. OK - I get it - the author thinks that communism is a bad idea. He should get over it! First we hear Nicci talking about it, then we see Nicci explaining it, then Richard living it. Spaced in between this, we see several other characters re-iterating the same points.

Third, the time line is unblanced. We spend most of the book on 2-3 seasons, describing trivial events in great detail. Then the last few chapters cover 15-18 months in a flash. It's as though the author were under a time deadline to finish the book, or realized how long it was getting. This leads to a very uneven level of detail.

Finally, towards the end, the plot gets farcical. Without giving away any information that may spoil it, the way characters seem to "find" each other in the exact same spot at the same time, at a critical point, in a country that can raise an army of millions stretches even the most vivid imagination.

I would definitely not advise people to buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT STORY TELLING
Review: TERRY GOODKIND HAS DONE IT AGAIN . A GREAT READ AND AN ENGROSSING STORY. MY ONLY COMPLAINT BEING IT WAS OVER TOO SOON AND I WILL HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER YEAR FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT. THE SWORD OF TRUTH NOVELS ARE AT THE TOP OF THIS GENRE . THE FAITH OF THE FALLEN ONCE STARTED IS DIFFICULT TO PUT DOWN. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

Rating:
Summary: Great book, but let us get to the end
Review: I have been a fan of Goodkind's work ever since my freind gave me a copy of A Wizards First Rule. All these books keep the intensity and the conclsion comes in the last 40 pages of the books. I think that the only reason that i did not give this book the five stars is that it is about time that Richard makes some headway with his character. I mean that the series needs to end with a bang. I am getting tired of Richard getting beat, when it is obvious the most powerful being in the world. Terry, if you read this, please let Richard go and defeat evil in the last book.

Rating:
Summary: Better... But same ole song and dance
Review: Goodkind has shown me one positive and many negative things in this novel. The positive is that he still has the potentiel to write like he did in WFR. I found this novel to be similiar in style where the others have differed. This book is by far the best sense WFR, but thats only cause the others have been that bad. Goodkind doesnt seem to know where he is going with this saga, either that or he has completly sold out to corperate publishing and is milking this Sword of truth for all he can. On a brighter side, even though the plot had absolutly 0!! progression, this book was tons better then the last few and will keep me reading the series. hopefully Goodkind will be patient with this next book and make it good.

Rating:
Summary: A Resurrection
Review: Congratulations to Mr Goodkind! He took a series that was becoming rather pedestrian and resurrected it from the grave. After reading Faith of the Fallen, I felt the need to read all of the books of the series again!

Unlike most other readers, I enjoy long series of books, as this is the way life is - it does not just end happily ever after, but other trials arise and that is what makes Goodkind's characters become a part of the readers' lives. The fight against oppresion that takes place in this book is inspiring and well thought out. The love and devotion expressed is realistic, not a fairy tale but true to life and humanity. Thank you to an author who has captured my interest and ensured that I will come back for more.

Rating:
Summary: Faith Of the Fallen (Sword of Truth, book 6)
Review: THis book was great, a real Fanatsy lovers dream. I had thought that Nothing would top Wizards First Rule. The first Sword of Truth book, boy was I wrong. This book has it all, a great plot that keeps getting deeper and deeper. A load of new charactors that you soon grow to love. Anything you want and love in fanasty books is in this book. If you are to read this pick a clear afternoon where you have ntohing to do. because once you start this book you wont be able to stop. Thats just my 2 cents worth E-mail me at [e-mail]