"Good book, though repetitive." | 2009-07-25 |
| - Reviewed By J. Hart |
| As of this writing, I am in the middle of Confessor, the last of this series. Chainfire started off intriguing, then got repetitive with Richard constantly trying to convince people Kahlan exists. Luckily, the finale is good. |
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"Awsome Book" | 2009-06-30 |
| - Reviewed By J. Chase |
| Loved this book! While two of the books in this series were very difficult to read, soul of fire and pillars of creation, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm a little concerned that the author is going to draw out the plot to much by continuing it to another book but i guess I'll find out tonight |
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"Prophecy Primer" | 2009-04-02 |
| - Reviewed By Tommy Jeffers from Pana, IL United States |
| I enjoyed CHAINFIRE. It is what it is...a fun read. The stuff about how prophecy works drove me a bit batty and seemed forced. "This subjugated convex triangle movement may cause a bit of a fulguration in current prophecy strings..." This kind of thing does very little for me. I just made that one up out of thin air. However, Goodkind does what he does best and that is weave wonderful characters. I really enjoyed the book when not being given lessons about how magic or prophecy works. Worth the money. |
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"I Love Cara" | 2009-03-31 |
| - Reviewed By Real Guitar Hero from Germany |
| Short and to the point... if you have really enjoyed Cara's character in past novels, this one really lets you get to know her better. She was always a favorite character of mine and this book really gives you more of who she really is. Read it! |
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"Loaded with fluff and filler" | 2009-03-04 |
| - Reviewed By High Fantasy Reader |
The first book of the final trilogy in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Series. This book turned out to be phenomenally different from all the others . . . the culmination of a corruption that's been eating at this series since Soul of the Fire.
What happened to all the interesting characters?! Scarlet disappeared after Stone of Tears and hasn't been seen since. Chandalen hasn't made an appearance since Soul of the Fire. Gratch hasn't appeared since Blood of the Fold. Jennsen has only a brief cameo early in Chainfire. Where is everyone?! Goodkind seems to have given up having interesting characters in favor of the same old plotlines, arguments over whether Kahlan exists or not, and elongated speeches! The sheer amount of filler in this book, be in in description that has no importance in the story or just the characters standing around and arguing with each other, is insane. There are literally parts where conversations go on for 3-5 pages without stopping.
A problem I've had with every book since Blood of the Fold is that Richard still doesn't develop his magic! Instead of developing it and writing about the ramifications throughout the series, as a good author would, Goodkind sends Richard through every freaking adventure with his magic only half developed. He's taken the easy way out and seriously limited Richard's magic, instead of developing it to its full potential and allowing that to affect the storyline. In Chainfire, he slaps another limitation on Richard's magic called the Blood Beast, which makes it extremely dangerous for him to use his magic, which he doesn't know how to use properly anyway. There is nothing interesting to Richard's magic: It is just a plot device that can pop out and solve all of Richard's problems before he is killed.
In Chainfire, Kahlan is separated from Richard, for the seventh f***ing time in nine books. I can't believe this!The only originality brought to this same old, same old is that no one remembers Kahlan. She has effectively been wiped from the minds of everyone except Richard.(Kahlan's kidnappers have really taken the beating of this dead horse of a recurring plot to a new level.)
In Faith of the Fallen and Naked Empire, most of the dialogue was focused on speeches. In Chainfire, it is focused on Richard arguing that Kahlan is real, while everyone else scolds him, calls him crazy, and insists that Kahlan never existed. This goes on until the final few pages of the novel. It's kind of interesting, but gets old really fast.
What irks me the most about this book is, quite simply, too many pages are spent on arguing and conversing with each other. In a real epic, the characters need to go out and DO things! Things have to happen! Why is Richard wasting his time running around the countryside when he has a bloody war to fight? I'm not suggesting that he should give up on finding Kahlan, just that he should stop trying to run away from his duties as the leader of the "good" forces in this battle.
Chainfire ranks even with Faith of the Fallen. Some really good bits of storytelling in there, but this series is beyond redemption. The good days of Wizard's First Rule and Stone of Tears are long gone. The genius and emotion of The Pillars of Creation was crushed like an ant in Naked Empire. Goodkind will probably churn out a few more somewhat good novels, then the series will finally end. |
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"The Sword of Truth/Truth Seeker series is excellent reading." | 2009-03-02 |
| - Reviewed By Truth Seeker from Fairdale, Kentucky United States |
| If you like adventure, fantasy, magic, metaphysic and want to be entertained, you can't lose! Terry Goodkind is an excellent author. Detailed characters and settings, make you feel as you are there. Enjoy. |
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