Readers,
I have such an amazing treat for you today. I recently obtained an advanced reader's copy of one of Fantasy's best-selling author, Terry Goodkind. There was a contest on a Facebook fan group page I follow of his Sword of Truth fantasy series, and I happened to be one of the lucky 150 people who received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I finished the book a few days ago, but I needed some time to let the book's events marinate with me before I wrote my review.
Terry Goodkind, like I said, is known for his series Sword of Truth. His known genre is Fantasy, but Nest falls under a Paranormal thriller. Goodkind sought to turn the genre on it's head, and provide a fresh new outlook. Goodkind is known for his political and religious juxtapositions within his tales, and I always found that his voice is very unique. You can always find a place in the story where a character will use their voice to speak to Goodkind's own personal thoughts on life, society, and everything in between. His characters are essentially his personal mouthpieces, and they always move and act with an agenda. Nest is no different.
As you see from the synopsis, Nest is a dark thriller that delves into what it means to be human. It speaks to the nuances between black and white, good vs. evil, and how we are actually living in a world very similar to that of Kate Bishop's and Jack Raines' world. Goodkind uses current events from the real world in order to grab the reader's attention, which in turn forces us to really question the very fabric and foundation of our society.
Kate Bishop works in cyber security for a well known firm, and has made plenty of enemies along the way. She's quick-witted, observant, and doesn't shy away from shady people or shady situations. She thrives in and around them. She becomes entertwined with a sadistic world of killers who are dead set on killing her and those like her. Kate Bishop can tell if a person is a killer just by looking in their eyes. A tragedy happens that forces Kate down the road to not only seek ways to survive, but to thrive, in a dark and twisted society that isn't very far from our own. Along the way she meets Jack Raines, an enigmatic author who seems to know about Kate and those like her who also have her abilities. It is under the tutelage of Jack, that Kate really seems to thrive and come into her own abilities and the potential she has always had.
I promised to keep this as a spoiler-free review so I would just like to discuss my initial thoughts about the world Goodkind has built, rather than discussing specific events of the book. It reminded me of one of the important individuals from the Enlightenment period of history, a time where science was about to discover many new and scary things. One of those philosophers was Hobbes, who believed that men were naturally brutish and short. It was a very pessimistic outlook on humanity, and Goodkind has sweeping moments of this throughout Nest. As Goodkind expressed in his Sword of Truth series, evil and good always seek a balance. When there is too much of one, the world seeks and produces a balance. Due to "nesting events" as Goodkind calls them, acts of evil that brew and become cataclysmic events, the world balances itself out by producing what it deems as a solution. In Nest's world, it produces an evolved being like Kate, who can see evil for what it is, exactly how it is. It seems as if anyone is capable of murder. Murder and violence is a common thread that seems to be woven within the very fabric of our society's foundation.
Nest provided me with a captivating tale that had me engulfed from beginning to end. It's a story that seemed to take a life of it's own and leaped right off the page. It was real. It was dark. And it had me scared. It's what I loved most about it. The very real feeling I got. It had me question whether or not if that's our own world. In a way, it really is. History is drenched in the blood of the victims from the regimes of dictators and elitist, hungry with the taste of conquest. Humans have always had a superiority complex, one we have no problem with acting on, especially among each other.
Nest is primal and it reveals the true dark recesses of the human mind, at it's most basic level. Strip humanity of all it's luxuries and you will have violence and murder in abundance. As Hobbes believed, it's in our very nature to be Brutish. A book that can make me question the world and have me question my own morals and thought processes, is a book I will love forever. Terry Goodkind is a master at weaving dramatic tales that are relatable to our very own world. It's entrancing, intoxicating, and sometimes just down right scary.
However, I would like to say a HUGE Thank You to Terry Goodkind and his camp for providing me the opportunity to dive into this amazing story ahead of it's original release. Nest is set to be released on November 15th, 2016 in all major stores and at any place you can buy a book. If I wasn't a fan before (which I am), I'm definitely am now. Terry Goodkind has proved to be a master in more than one genre, and can tackle any issue that society is plagued with. Go out and read Nest on it's release day, and also check out his Sword of Truth series. It's an amazing story that is just as captivating.
Happy Reading!