Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST OF THE SERIES
Review: In my opinion this is the best book yet from Terry Goodkind. The story is very compelling in that it speaks of humanity and strength of character. I have read and enjoyed all of The Sword of Truth Series, but none compare to book 6. In this tale the hero and heroine must deal with battling their own demons to survive their repective struggles. Richard must understand his role in the struggle for freedom and the world as he knows it. Khalan must understand that her role, and world has changed, not an easy task for someone born and trained into a specific position of power. This was a great book and I will continue to buy and read Terry Goodkind.
Rating: 
Summary: A Solid Entry
Review: While this title is not of the same caliber of the first three books of the saga, it is most certainly better than the fifth and seventh entries in the series. Though the "separate Richard and Kahlan" plotline is getting a little stale, Goodkind makes up for it by introducing Richard to the Old World. We finally begin to understand the conflict between the New and Old Worlds, and why they can never peacefully coexist. Is it a little preachy and is some of the communist/capitalist stuff somewhat obvious? Yes. But let's not tell ourselves that every single fantasy book ever written doesn't have shreds of REAL HISTORY inside of them. Where do you think the ideas come from? The Lord of the Rings is itself a parable for the Cold War as well. Sauron is lord of the "Evil Empire" that seeks control of the ultimate weapon, the One Ring (or the atom bomb). The characters are interesting and well-developed, a fresh setting is discovered, Kahlan's conflict with the Order is suitably action-packed, and we get a story with actual resolution. There isn't a lot to complain about here. As long as one doesn't expect for the central plot to be advanced too quickly in these middle books of the saga, they are great reads. Let's not forget that that other Tolkien-esque author of a very long fantasy series has a far more significant problem with middle books that go nowhere.
Rating:
Summary: Addictive Reading
Review: Faith of the Fallen was the best so far of an already unbeatable series. Terry Goodkind has continued the series with some of the most complex and detailed plot, with twists and sub twists that leave you wondering till the last page.Terry Goodkind writes in a similar style to Raymond E. Fiest, who has written some of the best books I have read... Untill now. It is hard to describe without giving too much away, but the plot focuses on 2 main arenas, that being the Dharan's battle against the Imperial Order lead by all of the main characters developed so well in the other series. Zed, the First wizard of previously unparalleled power, is thrown into the heart of command and leadership with his unique experience of battle using magic. Combined with several others, he leads them to become a serious thorn in the side of the Imperial order, which continues their conquest of the Midlands. The other parallel plot follows the experiences of Richard Rahl as he goes about his struggle for freedom. He has come to a resolve that the battle cannot be won by attacking the enemy directly, and it is up to the people to prove themselves worthy of his leadership and guidance. As with most books, it is the readers prediction of how these plots are to finnaly combine which leaves you wondering, and nothing you imagine can prepare you for what actually happens. The book concludes, leaving you with a renewed thirst and respect for life and all the beauty it contains. I also loved The Price of Immortality, the swords of life and death series. it was a great read and has reserved a place onm my shelf along with jordan, goodkind and martin
Rating:
Summary: Wisdom and heart in the face of mediocrity¿
Review: Faith of The Fallen is for me the richest book in the Sword of Truth series. A finely woven tale of the nobility of the human spirit that moved me in the way I love to be moved: reminding me of what matters in life. A rare read in this time of 'celebration of the cynical' in much of literature. To me, the various stories in this series of Richard and Kahlan going to the brink of disaster and back, all the while keeping their nobility as humans, is a variation on a theme. Many artists in many genres do it to great effect. In my view, Goodkind has created a most powerful and touching variation on that theme in this novel through a smart and exciting tale. The themes that Goodkind plays with here have been around since the time humans could think for themselves. All artists, if they are skillful, steal the best from wherever they find it. Perhaps the previous critics do not like the way in which Goodkind crafts his use of these literary tools, but to put down the book because of their use is a misguided criticism. Thank you, Mr. Goodkind, for staying true to your vision of human dignity and nobility.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Bunch So Far
Review: My brother dropped the first six books of the Sword of Truth series in my lap one day. Literally. Hardcover ones. (Ouch!) Okay, well, he didn't exactly THROW them at me. I'm exaggerating. Hey, he's my brother. I'm supposed to pick on him. Expecting the books to be as good as he said, I started reading them. I have to say that it took me until this book to be convinced I need to buy my own copy. Goodkind does have a tendency to skip between his characters' activities with a lack of segue that I find jarring. As soon as I get interested in a scene, the author moves on to someone else that has little or no apparent connection until the end of the story, at which point I've forgotten that the subplot from Chapter One was, in fact, leading somewhere. Because there's comparatively little of that here, this is the best book of the entire series thus far. ("Stone of Tears" is a close second.) For most of the book we remain with Richard as he struggles to hold onto his values in the heart of the oppressive Old World. The result is that the reader stays "in" the story, following it smoothly to a very satisfying (and spirit-lifting) conclusion. Goodkind has shown growth as a writer as he goes along with this series. If continues the rest of the books in this vein, it will be a bonus for his readers. On a side commentary, I have to say that Keith Parkinson's jacket illustrations are stellar. To see more, visit his website at keithparkinson.com.
Rating: 
Summary: not the best of the series
Review: Goodkind spins the same tale as always, and I am getting bored of Richard and Kahlan. However, Goodkind's grasp of suspense kept me reading until the end. I like Goodkind's use of the Old World politics and the way that it reflects on governments of our world. It made me think about social policy, and especially the merits/demerits of extreme socialism.
Rating: 
Summary: Uses a sledgehammer amidst rough prose
Review: The Sword of Truth Series seems to have peaked with Temple of the Winds. This installment, while helping the series as a whole by showing the direction the series is going, was rough in two ways: 1.) The prose was generally awful and 2.) In making his main social/philosophical argument, he took the sledgehammer approach which drove me nuts. In fairness, Goodkind's presentation of the Old World as a sort of Soviet Union fit well into the plot, but the thickly organized bureuacracy just doesn't seem to fit into the same world as the idealized agrarian monarchies we've seen in earlier installments. Saying they developed behind a barrier doesn't cut it somehow; this level of state control should require a level of technology not in evidence. Goodkind also seems to run his plots with too much coincidence (Gadi showing up right on Kahlan's doorstep and happening to mention where to find Richard), and magic that seems to do whatever the author wants. I simply dislike magic when used as a convenient plot device, kind of like technobabble on Star Trek. Also, what is the point of the wizard's rules, which seem to come out of nowhere plotwise, and which Zedd always happens to mention exactly one of every book? I'm ranting more than I wanted to. Richard's experiences in the Old World are interesting, as is the world he finds there. We also meet new characters with potential, and see how the series might resolve itself. But on the whole, I can't recommend this as one of the great fantasy works ever.
Rating: 
Summary: It just gets worse
Review: I don't know why I kept putting up with this series. I really liked the first book, even though it had some problems, and I thought the next books in the series would get better. They didn't. They got progressively worse. Every book in the series followed the same damn annoying formula: characters get 10 pages of relaxing peace and then some dumb monster appears out of nowhere and they go on a pointless journey for another 950 pages, and the 50 pages in which the story is resolved is hardly connected to all the BS that happened before.
OK, enough of my angry bashing, let's get the facts straight. Goodkind disobeys Writer's First Rule: SHOW DONT TELL. This book spends way too much time repeatedly summarizing events and explaining and analyzing their meaning, something the reader is supposed to himself. Most of his ideas are totally unoriginal, obvious and uninspiring, talking about pointless stuff about the real world WE ALREADY KNOW. But what pisses me off the most, is the pointless, graphic violence. What is this guy's problem? What point does he see in describing in such graphic detail? It does not bring me sympathy to the characters, but rather anger towards the stupid writer. Although I can't testify whether this is true, I have heard many reviewers complain that Goodkind just copies from other books. I would have to agree though, because Goodkind just in general demonstrates unoriginality. He can't think of interesting ways for us to sympathize with characters, interesting conflicts, so he just gets their head's chopped off or tortured. I have thus dispatched this meaningless waste of paper and ink in the trashcan. I can assure you, Goodkind, I did so in a forceful manner to appease your appetite for violence.
Rating:
Summary: Is this a series?
Review: Personally, I enjoy Mr. Goodkind's work. They are entertaining and well written with a lot of action and high adventure. I liked this book overall-but I'm finding it increasingly incoherent as a series. I think this is common whenever a series goes beyond the original story. Sometimes consistency is sacrificed in order to bring the new plot to light. All authors do it to some degree. However, Richard of "Faith of the Fallen" is no longer the Richard of "Wizard's First Rule". In fact a lot of characters are no longer the same characters of before. Yes I'm sure we can argue that character growth plays a big part here, but what about just obvious thing? There may be some spoilers ahead so beware....
In previous books, Kahlan Amnell saves a whole land from pillaging hordes, earns the respect and admiration of the lands, reluctantly claims a throne that her sister willingly gives her...well, none of that really matters now to almost anyone she saved-totally out of character from previous books where she had a LOT of authority even before her adventures and almost everyone showered her with near mythic gratitude-guess the people have short memories, eh? Richard needs to become a vegan because of the balance it needs from all the killing he does as a wizard. Coincidentally, he now finds a way around this-something apparently nobody ever bothered to tell him before... hey, it only took him 5 books to find out it's not a STRICT rule. Zeddicus the First Wizard, sought out as the ONLY remaining wizard in the first book...well apparently wizards are a dime a dozen-guess they just didn't know where to look in the first book. The Emperor's plans in the previous books has been ruined when Richard and company destroys a magic palace in his own kingdom where nobody ages...apparently he never thought of moving there in all the years BEFORE Richard came along. D'Hara, ruled by the tyrant Darken Rahl in book 1 is a feared and mysterious nation...well, apparently the Empire introduced in the next books is even MORE mysterious and feared and coincidentally 10 times larger than D'Hara-I guess Darken Rahl forgot to hire the services of a 5 year old child to advise him before he began his quest for world domination. Sigh...
Still, it was a good story. I just don't think it's becoming a very good series.
Rating:
Summary: Too Political and preachy, story got lost.
Review: The socialist world presented was too extreme to be believable, and the story degraded into sounding like the rantings of distrubed bitter old man. The ineptness of the leadership and councils was too extreme, and the evil too intentional to make sense for such a large movement. The side of good's evil wasn't addressed well, though at least it was more complex than pure evil against pure good. The whole nature of the story was distorted by the idea that a simple woodsman, could so easily outperform all the locals in a business he had no prior knowledge of. Again, a little more work justifying the sequence of events would have helped.
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