Rating: 
Summary: Anderith too much of it
Review: I loved the first four novels. I could not put them down. However with this fifth installement, you have 300 pages of the lives of anderith people. They're not important and they disappear in the 6th novel. There was no need to write so much of their story while the only peopple we care about are nathan, richard, kahlan, zedd, anne, verna and all the magical creatures we met through the first novels. The chimes were a great idea but there was not enough magic in this book. One advice you can fastword on all the chapters concerning Anderith. They add no value to the book. If you do that, you will definitely enjoy the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow
Review: It's amazing how Goodkind can captivate readers so well. With the books not coming out once a month, they have some time to anticipate the next book, and actually reading it becomes pure bliss.
Rating: 
Summary: strike 2!!
Review: First and foremost I think that Terry Goodkind is a marvelous write.....but c'mon I think waiting roughly 570 pages for the plot to get a movin was a bit long. The characher development was done well but...this book was lacking. I'll give him one thing atleast he kept the main chrachters together... O and another thing 3 books to get them married, and after that they stand around waitin for people to die. Terry Goodkind needs to let the series mature without jamiing another ::cough:: lacking book down his readers throats. I still love the books and I know i will read faith ofteh fallen but TG needs to let the thing breath alittle. oh and temple of the winds took a long while to get goin too.. email if u wanna chat bout thsis stuff Samwp@yahoo.com
Rating:
Summary: Good Series
Review: The first book of the Sword of truth series was very good, but lately there seems to be a repition in the theme. But a good series never the less but Goodkind might want to vary the theme a bit to make it more interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book
Review: Not his best, but it certainly is a good and fun read. Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: What happened to this series?
Review: First of all, I am a fan of the author and was (until now) enjoying this series. This book really let me down. It was lacking in all the elements that made the previous books good. It wasn't enough to turn me off of the series completely, but it was close.
Rating:
Summary: The Saga Continues - With A Lot Of Distractions
Review: Poor Richard and Kahlan. Every time they solve one problem, they unwittingly cause another. At the end of the previous book of this series ("Winds of the Temple"), Kahlan saves Richard's life by reciting certain words as part of a spell. The spell works magnificently -- Richard is saved -- but she finds out too late that only people with "the gift" are supposed to say those words aloud, lest they call forth some nasty magical critters called "the Chimes." Oops. Freshly married at the end of the last volume, Kahlan and Richard awaken at the beginning of this one to discover inexplicable deaths among the Mud People. Complicating things, Additive Magic is rapidly failing everywhere. All of this is the fault of the Chimes running loose in the land, and the absence of magic threatens an ecological disaster in the country. The solution to this problem appears to lie in an insular land called Anderith, which is filled with political intrigue and dirty tricks worthy of a Grisham novel. Making matters worse, evil Emperor Jagang is advancing on Anderith. Richard has his work cut out for him. This book is perhaps more disturbing than the earlier volumes in this series, as it explores more subtly Goodkind's fascination with moral choices and the nature of good and evil. Unlike the boorish and repellent Queen Milena of "Wizards First Rule," for example, the leaders of Anderith are educated and cultured, though no less unprincipled. Their dirty tricks and propaganda work exceedingly well to manipulate their people. Goodkind's examination of human weaknesses is more nuanced and less black-and-white than in previous volumes, and leaves behind a greater sense of ambiguity, raising doubt whether good can always be counted on to triumph over evil. This obviously bothers many readers. More bothersome to me is the shift away from the principal characters and themes of the earlier volumes in favor of new ones that seem to add little to the overall journey Goodkind has embarked on. A substantial portion of "Soul of the Fire" is devoted to extended development of characters and side issues that have very little payoff in the larger story. Of the familiar characters, only Kahlan gets much of a role here. Richard seems quite distant in this one, and his actions and motivations appear arbitrary and inconsistent. As for Richard's principal challenge -- dealing with the Chimes -- we don't really get to see him wrestle with the problem much; insights seem to simply pop into his head, with unerring accuracy and very little explanation to the reader as to how he arrived at them. Like a mystery novel, part of the fun of this kind of book is accompanying the protagonist through the clues and false starts in his quest for the answer. That is missing here. Yet, for all that, this is a competently written yarn (or set of yarns) and it does get you from Book 4 to Book 6. Though it lacks some of the charm and grace of earlier volumes, it has enough virtues to maintain its place in the Sword of Truth lineup.
Rating: 
Summary: FORGETTABLE
Review: I stumbled upon the other reviews while once again trying to find out when the next T. goodkind book will debut. I just have to say that "soul of fire" just doesn't fit. I read the complete series back to back about 2 years ago and while reading other's reviews all the characters and plots from all the books came rushing back to me...all except Soul. It was utterly "forgettable", mainly because it was just boring. Mr. Goodkind, you know your worth as a fantasy author, and your response to the poor reviews was essentially readers didn't grasp what you were trying to do. well, of course not because there was nothing to grasp. the book just did not fit. I don't pretend to understand the diificult task of writng an epic such as yours. I am sure in many ways you accomplished what you were attempting and by itself the book isn't that bad. But by the same sentiment Phantom Menace wasn't any worse of a movie than other Hollywood swiil that is produced. But when compared and linked to the Last supper of films it is blasphemy. terry shouldn't release another book till he rewrites soul.
Rating:
Summary: good but could be better
Review: after reading all the other SOT books I found this one the most disapointing after the second one wich was utterly boring. It was a good read but not the best. The thing that disturbs me the most is that Mr. Goodkind creates characters and then seems to forget all about them. I keep expecting some of them to turn up again in the next book but they never do. Where is Gratch, Adie (comes back I think in book 6), Scarlett, berdine, Richard's friend who also lives in his forrest in his homeland, rachel,... Mr. Goodkind leaves all options open, leaving us expacting more but when will it all fall together? I guess he knows what he's doing and knows exactly where he wants to go with his story. I'll keep on reading anyway because I wanna know what is going to happen and it almost seems like Richard, Kahlan and Cara really are friends f me now.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and Disturbing
Review: Goodkind's latest book is a far cry from his first two. There, his world was fresh, untried, and begging to be explored. The creativity of his mind was clearly evident, and his cast of characters was developed fully and with great depth. Soul of the Fire, however, lacks almost all of these qualities, and Goodkind's writing style is becoming substantially worse. Probably the most innane aspect of this book are the interactions between characters. Too often, Goodkind uses a form of dramatic irony where the reader perceives that the characters simply need to talk to each other about specific issues to come to a better resolution to their problems. Moreover, because Goodkind fails to sustain the motivations of his characters (or at best, provides them with fairly simplistic motivations), it is unclear why life long friends and new acquaintances interact in the way they do. For example, Richard conveniently forgets to inform everyone about one of his "wives," which leads to a host of problems. For a Seeker, someone Goodkind bills as extremely sharp, he has a way of forgetting important details just when they would help advance the storyline. Goodkind's writing is getting much poorer as well. He makes blunt statements in short sentences, making reading Soul of the Fire exceptionally boring. No one should compare this latest work (or the previous two for that matter) as anywhere near Tolkein's lyrical storytelling. Finally, I am disturbed by Goodkind's prolonged second storyline about Anders and Hakens. It seems a close metaphor for race relations, and Goodkind presents a sort of fantastical apocalyptic scenario. His presentation of the Haken personality defies all credulity, as Fitch (the main downtrodden Haken individual) is at times exceptionally stupid and at others chimes in with understanding far exceeding his established personality. I don't know what Goodkind intends with this parable. If it is a metaphor for race relations, then he clearly does not have an adequate understanding of the pain that is often involved in racial histories. It also suggests that his personal politics are much more conservative than I would have guessed, and are interfering with his presentation of the story. If it is not, then Goodkind is writing a fairly awful depiction of the impact that privilege and pain make on peoples' personalities. I hope Goodkind does better in the next book. However, from his recent performance, I would strongly suggest that he reevaluate what he is writing, regain the focus that was a strong part of his initial work, and wrap up the series soon. Dragging this out with problems that seem to simply spring up in the last few sections of each book do nothing to advance the reader's interest.
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