Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed!
Review: Terry had me captured with the first 3 books of this series. I was constantly amazed with his imagination and his storytelling - just gobbled up each book. Then with book 4...he dropped the ball and kept basically stopping to fill the reader in --- like stopping them to tell them something, not like making the details part of the story... It was frustrating and disappointing....but I kept on reading and tried to ignore those things. Then with book 5....GEEZE...he'd go on and on about nothing....about the different foods and courses at some boring horrible banquet. Almost as if he had to fill some quota....it was filler. at least 1/4 of this 5th book can be (happily) skipped completely and not interfere with the story. I have book 6 at this point....but I'm not sure I want to continue now - even though I'm still curious as to what happens with the main characters we loved from the start and a few that came later.....Zedd, Kahlan, Richard, Cara, Ann, Nathan, Vera, etc.Terry - if you ever read this, I'm sorry - but it was NOT up to what you're capable of. The Ander part was just basically....bad. READERS - if you didn't mind book 4 - maybe this book won't let you down as much, give it a shot.
Rating: 
Summary: You have to appreciate Goodkind's bravery
Review: I find Terry Goodkind one of the most interesting fantasy writers out there. Now, when I say interesting, I do not necessarily mean good. What makes him interesting is that he "adapts" story lines from other fantasy writers into his own books. This may not be unusual (in that all fantasy writers "adapt" from Tolkien or The Once and Future King) but Goodkind pulls directly from books that are sometime less than five years old! For instance, readers of his prior books may recognize plotlines from Robert Jordan (and the use of "collars" by a group of female magic-users to hold prisoner a group of male wizards). This is one of many examples of direct adaptations Goodkind makes. This book is no different. In an apparent effort to get away from the inevitable "big-tough good wizard vs. big-tough evil wizard" at the end of this book, Mr. Goodkind weaves a political story very reminiscent of works written by George R. R. Martin's "Fire and Ice" books - although somewhat more clumsy. Now, although I have a somewhat negative impressions of Goodkind's most recent novel, I will say that he is able to tell the story in a pleasing - if not original - manner. This book is marginally entertaining and sometimes exciting. It is not as good as Novel 4 (Temple of the Winds), but I am not upset that I spent the money. However, if you read this book and find it somewhat interesting yet a little dull, I would highly, highly recommend A Game of Thrones by Martin. That book is a much better example of a political, character rich novel set in a fantasy world.
Rating:
Summary: A low in the high's
Review: I personally feel that yes, this book is a bit different from the others in that the focus is not on Richard and Kahlan alone. Yet, there is still the richness of plot and character. I liked that Goodkind was able to deviate from the usual flash and dazzle of magic. The people he introduced were ordinary everyday people who had a power of a weaker, corrupted sort. If all characters were able to wield magic at every turn, the result may likely be eventual disenchantment. The people ( the Anders and Hakens) tied into the story, for the point of Book #1 was to show that not all will believe in the good of magic based solely on word of mouth. More often than not, people tend to adhere to believing the negative of any person or situation. No matter what you try to prove, they will believe what they want because their fear and ignorance prevents them from placing their faith in something they do not fully understand. Finally, not everything will always be peachy for our favorite and beloved characters. The absence of the Sword of Truth, separation from their newfound family, the failing of the magic the Midlands' rely on: these are the circumstances in the story that will make a true fan of Goodkind appreciate the beauty of Richard and Kahlan's human ( or non-magical) sides. It makes the reader also appreciate the magic of Richard's ability to use his mind in an ordinary yet effective manner to solve matters that he cannot control; yet and still, the ability for the two mates to cope with their situation despite the agonizing lack of a deep, loving intimacy in their newfound union. All in all, this story is a good read. The display of the characters' greed, plotting, and disappointing lack of faith in the imminent good of magic gives us a background to the people that shape the world that Kahlan, and now Richard, have to struggle to mold into one peaceful existence for the few who believe.
Rating:
Summary: Ding dong its a married wife
Review: Finely, Richard and Kellan are united. Terry Goodkind pulls our hearts, and keeps us on the edge of our seat following these two love birds across the country. He gives us something familure Richard and Kellan strugling against terror unleahed. Terry also gives us something new, a slightly different take on his writeing. He lets us follow the detailed lives of a few of the small people who make the world go. Unfortunately I feel he focused to much on new characters pushing the -main- characters off to the side. Now Focusing on Cara or other Mord-Sith would have been nice but Terry instead let the scope get a little too off center. Because of this it makes the book seem longer then in it and not in a good way. Thankfuly this seems to only be a try to change his writeing style in this book and I hope he wont try it again. Still this book is important to book 6 so you can truely get the feel for there situation so if you dont like the new style you might have to tough it out. This is still on my top 15 of books I enjoy if only for the fact terry has such articulate writeing and his characters seem to have a life of their own. I'd give most of his books a 5 but the writeing style just hurt so much in my opinion I can only say its better then average.. and if I could give it a more specific score it would be a 3.4 better then average by my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing.
Review: Where were was all my favorite characters? The series seems to be declining as I read each new book in the series. I had to work to finish this book and the only reason I didn't put it aside was because I am to stubborn to stop reading something I started. He spent a number of pages introducing new characters for us readers to relate to and then went nowhere with it. I felt like I wasted time trying to get to know these people. I'm giving the series a break and moving on to something better. The series has dried up for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Very VERY disapointing
Review: I really like the previous four books, so when this one came out I was really excited. Then I started it. This was the first of the books that I had to struggle to finish. It was completly boring. Iread this a while ago so I don't remember all the details, but I remember as I was reading it being completely fed up with hearing about the Chimes. I DIDN'T CARE what they were doing because he didn't make it interesting. I would recomened the other four books to anyone who likes fantasy but unless you really want to I'd SKIP this book. I just got the sixth one and hopefully that will be better...if it has a lot to do with this one I take back the thing about not reading it but...
Rating: 
Summary: Sword of Truth
Review: The story of Richard and Kahlan continues... The battle is on a far greater scale and the future of humanity is at stake. How strong is the bond that ties Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor? What new perils must they overcome? Goodkind's series is enthralling! Once you've read the first book, you'll have to get the others.
Rating:
Summary: In one word: shallow.
Review: I can remember when I read "Wizard's First Rule" I was impressed. Not only because it renewed my faith in the fantasy genre, but also because it was fun, hard to put down and -albeit a few cliches here and there- well written. I can remember forsaking many a night of going out just to stay in and reading about Richard, Kahlan and all of the other characters from this series that intrigued me so. The strongest point of the books was that: character development and the consistency these characters maintained throughout the story. Unfortunately all that appears to have been lost in "Soul of the Fire". An avid reader of the series, I must say this last book was not up to par with the first four (although there has been a visible decadence since "Blood of the Fold"). Firstly, I was shocked to see that almost half of this book is dedicated not to the characters we know and love, but to Anderith and its people. I would be all well and good if they played a major role in what we are told is the story's epicentre (namely, the chimes), but unfortunately, they serve no higher good than providing constant anticlimaxes. Perhaps it is not just that, but rather that the characters are so badly created that no-one except for Fitch (and to an extent, Beata and Dalton) gets a reasonable development. Even so, Fitch is utterly inconsistent, sometimes showing incredible stupidity and sometimes the cold-heartedness of a mass murderer. When I started reading this book I thought Fitch would mimic characters such as Steerpike in "Gormenghast", slowly rising to power and corruption, perhaps not the freshest option but the most viable. He does not. Or rather, he half-does it. What is worse, he disappears for most of the second-half and comes back suddenly just to be cut off the story in a most casual fashion, again, something that shows another of the book's weaknesses. It seems that the author tried to tell too many stories at a time, but couldn't finish them off properly (we know authors have deadlines too!). My hunch is that he had so many plotholes by the second half that he decided to write off many of the side stories (Beata, Fitch) to carry on with the main theme (the chimes). The last quarter of the book seems hurried and the conclusions are too abrupt for the reader to digest. Out of the blue, Richard comes up with the solution for beating the chimes, as abstract and underexplained as it is. The chimes, supposedly central to the story become just feeble reasons to innocuously explain the rest of the plots. The storytelling is shallow and incongruent, and after jumping from plot to plot, reading over unnecessarily dull chapters (most of them involving less than masterfully portrayed political scheming in Anderith) the reader becomes confused and frustrated. There is some merit to this book, though. The simpering and almost sickeningly melose realtionship between Richard and Kahlan has been, fortunately, toned down. Furthermore, the book does off with much of the homoerotic porn novel eroticism that its predecessors contained, making it less "trashy" than before (reading about Richard's "manly chest" and "bulging, powerful arms" can get tiring after a while). Also, the narrative takes on a different style in "Soul of Fire", being concise and assertive rather than the more lyrical approach given to the other books. This neither enhances nor hinders the reading, but it does make the experience feel fresh. I understand that authors cannot always write about the same things; clearly, in this book the author tried to stray from the traditional and create a different type of novel in his series. While I would not say that he has completely failed, it is far fom being a job well done. Moreover, this book has left me indifferent as to what may come next in the series. It feels like this was not a proper "Sword of Truth" book, but two books in one, one about Anderith and one about Richard and the chimes, both failing to converge in the end and leaving the novel it as it is: two unfinished, rushed parallel stories that hold little relation between one another.
Rating: 
Summary: Ill thought remarks
Review: I looked over a few reviews and was satisfied with most of your remarks, however those of you determined to down play this book becouse it did not fit your standards should crawl back into your petty little holes. I happen to agree that i was a little disapointed myself but truth be told i took the time to look at the big picture. Mr. Goodkind has given me many hours of "on the edge of my seat entertainment" and the few things i have learned is he is unpredictable and never without purpose. Quote me when i say that in the future you will find this book was a necisary edition and you will not be able to take back your ill thought remarks.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing story, always improving
Review: Many have posted reviews talking about how little was accomplished during the course of this book, and how much of a waste of time the early chapters are. Personally, this is tied with Faith of the Fallen as my co-favorite books in the series. First, note that every action has a reaction. Goodkind's use of this principle to guide Richard's actions and the people's reactions shows an evolving storyline that never stales. Where as many author's take a "everything gets better" approach, Goodkind paints a real-world scenario with magical consequences. The derivation from previous character traits and Richard's loss with the people set the ultimate stage for Richard finding himself in the next book. I hope and pray Goodkind keeps up the excellent work, and that he does not shift HIS vision because people don't want to see their favorite character changing (as everyone in life must). -Tim Hermann
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