Soul Of The Fire: Book 5 The Sword Of Truth: Soul of the Fire Bk. 5 (Sword of Truth)
£2.37
Disappointing - Having read the first four books in the serious Sword of Truth , book 5 was nowhere near as good. T Goodkind has done an amazing job creating the first four books, which are outstanding, but this one was like coming up against a wall and being bounced right back off it. i had to force myself to read it, waiting in vain for something to happen - the word slow doesn t cover it.T. Goodkind has an annoying habit of repeating himself throughout all the novels to remind you constantly about previous situations, this is bearable as the other previous books are so good you can forgive him for this, but i found this book so poor that it was near impossible to stick with it. i am ok with new characters, but in this novel it lost its connection to the main characters for far too long. This was so.... boring and unnecessarily violent and abusive. he does seem to like his abuse!!For me he over egged it in this novel and made me feel i had wrongly recommended these novels to my friends. i feel that many people who like Science Fiction Fantasy would be offended by the continual level of abuse, which detracts from the overall story. felt like he was filling in rather than writing from his heart/soulSo for me this book was a big disappointment. I would suggest he end the series sooner rather than later, and for the next novel in the series persevere to the same high quality level of writing and plot that he managed in the first 4 books!
Give it a Chance! - Having read a few reviews already, I was exhasperated to see that several people complained about the book, but actually skipped the sub-plot with the excuse that it was too boring! The sub-plot is about a third of the story and it s hugely rewarding to see how it all comes together at the end, and how Dalton finally comes to his senses and lashes out at the corruption around him.Throughout the book, Terry s philosophy on society makes sense, as corrupt leaders lie to the population to turn them against Richard and Kahlan. Particularly interesting was how the parents held up their children so that they could exclaim Lord Rahl, please give peace a chance, even though they had clearly rehearsed the words and had no real clue as to what was going on.The only complaint I would have would be to do with Kahlan, who was extremely annoying in her selfish doubt of Richard throughout the book. After all the experiences of the past four books, she still doubts Richard (the man who can solve *anything*, so it seems) when he has suspicions about the chimes being loose. I was constantly frustrated and exhasperated by the apparant ignorance and stupidity of the people surrounding Richard, and I often got the impression that Richard was the only intelligent person living in a world of morons.Also, the ending was predictable, as surprise surprise, Richard manages to solve EVERYTHING, and Zedd and Ann turn out to be alright.However, I greatly enjoyed this book towards the end, as I found satisfaction in seeing all the pieces fit together, and Dalton come to his senses. I would NOT say this book is a disappointment, and I would recommend this book to people who have enjoyed the series thus far. I look forward to reading the next one. I ve heard that apparantly the story deteriorates from now on, but I ll make my own mind up about that.
You what, Kahlan? - Having read the other reviews, it looks as though most people didn t like getting sidetracked by the whole Anderith subplot. To be honest, I loved it. It was certainly a refreshing change, although it did seem to make the book slightly out of place with the rest of the series thus far.I didn t find that a problem at all. And whilst the Chimes were never tangible , per se, I don t think they were ever meant to be the major bad-guy. Instead, they were just something that Richard had to deal with instead of getting ot the root of the problem.So that wasn t my problem either - what was my problem, was Kahlan (and possibly Cara, too).After all that s happened in the previous books, after everything Kahlan has been through not just with material enemies, but with good and bad spirits (like Darken Rahl and the ever-present Keeper), she decides, for some reason, that she isn t going to believe in bad spirits anymore, and rubbishes Richard s worries about them. Even when people die mysteriously, and when she s given all the clues under the Sun, and a man who seems to be able to understand and accomplish everything ever possible (Richard) warns her, she still doesn t believe.That was truly apalling story-telling.But it gets much better towards the end. This may not be the best in the series, but I enjoyed (most of) it nonetheless 8)
Good but will get better - After reading this book again after reading the rest of the series i must say that it is good but the others in the series are better. The chimes are a completely intangible enemy and all the characters seem to be helpless to do anything. The plot meanders along until the end where surprise surprise Richard finds the solution. Dont get me wrong i did enjoy this book the first time but that was because i hadnt read any of the others. It seems like a very inactive book. There are no major battles and there is no pitting of the characters wits against any real challenge or so it seemed to me. however if you are getting into the series it is definately a book that you should read.
soul of the fire - were to begin...the book was a waste of a volumn! It simply dragged on, after reading what i felt were 4 fantastic, enthralling gripping volumns i was hoping this volumn would have some type of resolution, but there was none. the story of Richard and the mother confessor is a excellent one, but a good story can only go so far, the characters have developed well but its time to give them a conclusion, how many times must Richard and his wife get separated?? we know how much they love each other so why continuelsy emphasis it by separating them at the beginning of every book, it becomes excrutiating to read!! i feel that T.Goodkind is a master storyteller, and i yearn for something new from him, he certainly has the talent to produce more blockbusters, but he must stop beating on a glorious drum that is withering away i feel that T. Goodkind has run the full course of his story and must end it! for the sake of the first four novels which i beleive rank with the best of fantasy epics, come on terry dont be afraid to end it!! MACKY