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Children of D'Hara #1
The Scribbly Man
From the internationally bestselling author of the Sword of Truth series comes a new Richard and Kahlan novella. "They are the monsters under the bed when you are little, the shape just caught out of the corner of your eye when you thought you were alone, the shadow of something in a dark corner that surprises you and then isn't there. They stop you dead with a knot of unexpected terror in the pit of your stomach. We have all seen fleeting glimpses of them. Never long enough to see them as I saw them, but it was them. I recognized it the instant I saw it. We've all seen flashes of them, the dark shadow just out of sight. They could briefly terrify us before but never hurt us because they came from so far distant. They were never able to fully materialize in our world so we saw only transient glimpses of them, the shape of them if the light was just right, if the shadows were deep enough . . . if you were afraid enough. I think that the star shift has brought us closer to their realm so that they now have the power to step into our world and hurt us." —Kahlan Amnell
180 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 4, 2019
648 people are currently reading
2986 people want to read
About the author
Terry Goodkind
261 books12.3k followersTerry Lee Goodkind was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines (2009), which has ties to his fantasy series. The Sword of Truth series sold 25 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages. Additionally, it was adapted into a television series called Legend of the Seeker, which premiered on November 1, 2008, and ran for two seasons, ending in May 2010.
Goodkind was a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of Objectivism, and made references to Rand's ideas and novels in his works.
Goodkind was a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of Objectivism, and made references to Rand's ideas and novels in his works.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 340 reviews
March 18, 2022
“Life is about change. Change has both good and bad elements to it. You can either deal with the way things have changed and move forward, or you can let bitterness about what’s lost in the past rob you of your future.”
Terry Goodkind's The Scribbly Man was a short but engaging tale from the beginning, when a diplomat comes to court and inexplicably demands the unconditional surrender of D'Hara. It was satisfying unraveling this mystery as Goodkind built a world that was not exactly where it was supposed to be. Interesting read!
Terry Goodkind's The Scribbly Man was a short but engaging tale from the beginning, when a diplomat comes to court and inexplicably demands the unconditional surrender of D'Hara. It was satisfying unraveling this mystery as Goodkind built a world that was not exactly where it was supposed to be. Interesting read!
October 4, 2019
I picked this up from the library a little out of nostalgia, but also with some heavy reservations. Terry Goodkind is just not very good. Since it's only about 150 pages, I figured I'd give it a chance, and sure enough, it's classic Terry Goodkind.
🗸 Dumb Characters that do dumb things
🗸 Shrieking hysterical women mad at their man
🗸 Thinly veiled sexualization
🗸 Hints of rape
🗸 Perfect character types showing up at the right time
🗸 Looping repetition in dialogue and otherwise
🗸 Repetition that loops in various methods
🗸 Talking down to the reader and/or overexplaining things
So yea, exactly as I would expect a Terry Goodkind story to go. The problem is, he has good ideas and great descriptions (usually) and I think the books could potentially be very good...if written by someone else. If the Sword of Truth series was rewritten by a Brandon Sanderson or GRR Martin, it would probably be 5 stars.
I may or may not pick up the next in this series of Novellas, assuming they don't get lengthy (I don't hold my breath).
🗸 Dumb Characters that do dumb things
🗸 Shrieking hysterical women mad at their man
🗸 Thinly veiled sexualization
🗸 Hints of rape
🗸 Perfect character types showing up at the right time
🗸 Looping repetition in dialogue and otherwise
🗸 Repetition that loops in various methods
🗸 Talking down to the reader and/or overexplaining things
So yea, exactly as I would expect a Terry Goodkind story to go. The problem is, he has good ideas and great descriptions (usually) and I think the books could potentially be very good...if written by someone else. If the Sword of Truth series was rewritten by a Brandon Sanderson or GRR Martin, it would probably be 5 stars.
I may or may not pick up the next in this series of Novellas, assuming they don't get lengthy (I don't hold my breath).
November 16, 2019
The Scribbly Man by Terry Good kind and narrated by John Skelley is pretty darn good! A god demanding surrender, a creature killing and attacking animals/people, suspense, magic, and more. Very good for a short book.
Good narration!
Good narration!
March 24, 2025
Alright so being a novella even a fantasy one, I knew I’d be able to blow through it relatively quickly, but I’m honestly left a bit more confused than I prefer for the amount of time I spent reading this, and also as my first dive in the series or goodkind as a whole, I am honestly left questioning the friend who loaned me this book and recommended me to check it out and see if I’d like to fully explore the series after… because if I decided to do that then I would for sure not be continuing my reading adventure in this franchise after these novellas. Honestly it had some interesting and more or less original ideas in some parts, but truly it just felt mostly like someone got the ass handed to them and then a couple argued about raising kids in this era is wise or not. 2.75/5
April 7, 2019
So SPOILERS!!!! When it comes to Goodkind, I've literally read them all. Richard and Kahlan formed the basis of my love of fantasy as a teenager and I have followed their story through the good, bad and ugly. I found this to be better than his most recent works. The writing is much more what we loved from the beginning of SOT. However, the story was what fell short to me. He really seems to be stretching to create new stories and honestly Kahlan (who has always been my favorite) charging in to use her power only to be thwarted is really getting old. The constant recaps took over most of the story, and I swear every woman with magic that Richard sees has to be strikingly beautiful. The ending was also quite predictable. Essentially Richard and Kahlan are confronted with some godlike being that wants to take over their world. Richard continues to be the most specialest of specials, though he is viewed as weak because he hasn't given Kahlan children. It is then revealed that she is pregnant with twins (a boy and a girl because of course.) I hope this builds up to something much better. Terry does great with thriller style books, but I am not so sure about mixing that with SOT. To me is was closer to 3 stars, but I'm a faithful reader and will give it 4 just because I am so happy his writing and editing is going back to what it used to be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2021
1/5
Decently interesting premise, but if I have to read about this goddamn author waxing poetic abt the female characters' "figures" or "gorgeous physiques" I'm gonna lose my mind. This dude clearly has some issues imagining female protagonists with any characteristics beyond Physically Attractive & Powerful. This shit was so annoying plz don't make me read any more male fantasy authors
Decently interesting premise, but if I have to read about this goddamn author waxing poetic abt the female characters' "figures" or "gorgeous physiques" I'm gonna lose my mind. This dude clearly has some issues imagining female protagonists with any characteristics beyond Physically Attractive & Powerful. This shit was so annoying plz don't make me read any more male fantasy authors
February 13, 2021
full review later.
July 8, 2019
I was not impressed.
I read this without reading The Oman Machine or any of the books after that, which didn't affect my understanding of the book too much, because half of itwas the author relating the events of those books. The otehr half was way too much detail about magic and the palace.
This felt like it could have been three to four chapters of an actual book.
I read this without reading The Oman Machine or any of the books after that, which didn't affect my understanding of the book too much, because half of itwas the author relating the events of those books. The otehr half was way too much detail about magic and the palace.
This felt like it could have been three to four chapters of an actual book.
February 17, 2021
I read this book in the Dutch translation; the original title is ‘The Scribbly man’ in a new series ‘The children of D’hara’. As it’s a short book, I put an English translation under the Dutch one.
Dit boek maakt deel uit van, een nieuwe reeks ‘De kinderen van D’Hara’ die zich afspeelt net na de gebeurtenissen in de ‘Richard en Kahlan’ reeks. Het moet zich ongeveer gelijktijdig met de gebeurtenissen in ‘de kronieken van Nicci afspelen. ’De oorlog tegen het ondode leger van keizer Suleman en de sterrenverschuiving zijn dus net achter de rug. Er zou een tijdperk moeten aanbreken van ongekende vrede en voorspoed. Richard houdt elke dag een audiëntie om de grieven en problemen van zijn volk te aanhoren. Op een dag komt er een gezant van Estoria opdagen. Hij beveelt dat Richard zichzelf en zijn rijk moet overgeven aan de gouden godin, waar niemand ooit van gehoord heeft. Als Kahlan de man probeert te ondervragen, wordt ze zwaar gewond. Dat ze nog kan worden gered, heeft ze te danken aan de half heks/half tovenares Schalie die toevallig (?) ook ter plaatse was; Deze lijkt Richard en Kahlan goed gezind, maar Richard vertrouwt haar niet volledig.
Jammer genoeg is dit een dun boekje dat net eindigt als het echt spannend wordt. Ik ben gewend om dikke boeken te lezen van deze schrijver dus het is wel even schrikken, en wachten. Blijkbaar heeft de schrijver hier gekozen voor de ‘serial’ formule waar een reeks korte novelles een verhaal vormen. Voorlopig vond ik enkel deel 2 in de bib, dus ik weet niet of de drie andere delen al verschenen zijn.
***************************************************
This short book is part of a serial ‘Children of D’Hara’ that occurs immediately after the ‘Richard and Kahlan’ series. It must take place around the same time as ‘Nicci’s chronicles’. The war against the undead armies of emperor Suleman is finished and the stars have moved. Richard promised an unprecedented period of stability and peace to his people and to his wife Kahlan. Each day he holds audience for his people to hear their complaints, squabbles, and worries. One morning an envoy from Estoria demands that Richard surrenders to the Golden Goddess. Nobody knows who that may be and when Kahlan questions him, she’s attacked by a Scribbly Man who travels through dimensions. The half sorceress/half witch ‘Schalie’ who happens to be there manages to save her. Richard is grateful but doesn’t trust coincidences or witches.
Unfortunately, this is a very thin book that ends when the real suspense starts. I’m used to reading big, long books by this author and not used to wait for the next parts. I’m not a fan of this serial formula where a number of short novella’s make up 1 story. I only found the second book in the local library and I’m not sure if the other volumes are out yet.
Dit boek maakt deel uit van, een nieuwe reeks ‘De kinderen van D’Hara’ die zich afspeelt net na de gebeurtenissen in de ‘Richard en Kahlan’ reeks. Het moet zich ongeveer gelijktijdig met de gebeurtenissen in ‘de kronieken van Nicci afspelen. ’De oorlog tegen het ondode leger van keizer Suleman en de sterrenverschuiving zijn dus net achter de rug. Er zou een tijdperk moeten aanbreken van ongekende vrede en voorspoed. Richard houdt elke dag een audiëntie om de grieven en problemen van zijn volk te aanhoren. Op een dag komt er een gezant van Estoria opdagen. Hij beveelt dat Richard zichzelf en zijn rijk moet overgeven aan de gouden godin, waar niemand ooit van gehoord heeft. Als Kahlan de man probeert te ondervragen, wordt ze zwaar gewond. Dat ze nog kan worden gered, heeft ze te danken aan de half heks/half tovenares Schalie die toevallig (?) ook ter plaatse was; Deze lijkt Richard en Kahlan goed gezind, maar Richard vertrouwt haar niet volledig.
Jammer genoeg is dit een dun boekje dat net eindigt als het echt spannend wordt. Ik ben gewend om dikke boeken te lezen van deze schrijver dus het is wel even schrikken, en wachten. Blijkbaar heeft de schrijver hier gekozen voor de ‘serial’ formule waar een reeks korte novelles een verhaal vormen. Voorlopig vond ik enkel deel 2 in de bib, dus ik weet niet of de drie andere delen al verschenen zijn.
***************************************************
This short book is part of a serial ‘Children of D’Hara’ that occurs immediately after the ‘Richard and Kahlan’ series. It must take place around the same time as ‘Nicci’s chronicles’. The war against the undead armies of emperor Suleman is finished and the stars have moved. Richard promised an unprecedented period of stability and peace to his people and to his wife Kahlan. Each day he holds audience for his people to hear their complaints, squabbles, and worries. One morning an envoy from Estoria demands that Richard surrenders to the Golden Goddess. Nobody knows who that may be and when Kahlan questions him, she’s attacked by a Scribbly Man who travels through dimensions. The half sorceress/half witch ‘Schalie’ who happens to be there manages to save her. Richard is grateful but doesn’t trust coincidences or witches.
Unfortunately, this is a very thin book that ends when the real suspense starts. I’m used to reading big, long books by this author and not used to wait for the next parts. I’m not a fan of this serial formula where a number of short novella’s make up 1 story. I only found the second book in the local library and I’m not sure if the other volumes are out yet.
April 15, 2019
The Scribbly Man by Terry Goodkind is the first book in his new Children of D’Hara series. This is a novella that returns us to the world of Richard and Kahlan, not too long after the Sword of Truth series ended. From Terry’s site, he states that he will be bringing out novellas in this series every 3 months. Having read all of Goodkind’s Sword of Truth, I was anxious to spend time with Richard and Kahlan; the Mord-Sith, as well as finding out more of their children.
The Scribbly Man, starts with Richard and Kahlan meeting openly with those who have requests or complaints. Then someone comes to threaten them to give up their world to a “Golden Goddess”, especially since at this time in their lives, they do not have children who would carry their name.
An angry Kahlan takes this man to a private room to question him and use her powers as Mother Confessor to get the truth out of him. Richard also comes face to face with a female sorcerer, Shale, who tells him about strange and bloody happenings in her home of the snowbound North Waste. Richard is then summoned to help Kahlan, who started using her powers in the locked room, and all hell is breaking loose. He runs to rescue her, and uses his own powerful ability to break into the room, and find Kahlan seriously injured. It will be Shale, who is also a healer, who will work to save Kahlan.
What follows is an intense, fast paced story that will change everything in their world, and learn what is needed to stop this evil being, before they destroy everything and everyone. When Kahlan becomes healthy, she and soon Shale will work on the man who eyes are being seen through by the Golden Goddess, and they learn more and more about this evil person or persons in another world.
To tell too much more would be spoilers, but this was an interesting exciting storyline, and enjoyable when we watch Richard, Kahlan, the mord-sith bring back so many wonderful memories. The Scribbly Man ends as we learn more about the evil out there, and the future books where I expect to meet The Children of D’Hara. Welcome back to the world of Richard and Kahlan.
Barb
The Reading Cafe
The Scribbly Man, starts with Richard and Kahlan meeting openly with those who have requests or complaints. Then someone comes to threaten them to give up their world to a “Golden Goddess”, especially since at this time in their lives, they do not have children who would carry their name.
An angry Kahlan takes this man to a private room to question him and use her powers as Mother Confessor to get the truth out of him. Richard also comes face to face with a female sorcerer, Shale, who tells him about strange and bloody happenings in her home of the snowbound North Waste. Richard is then summoned to help Kahlan, who started using her powers in the locked room, and all hell is breaking loose. He runs to rescue her, and uses his own powerful ability to break into the room, and find Kahlan seriously injured. It will be Shale, who is also a healer, who will work to save Kahlan.
What follows is an intense, fast paced story that will change everything in their world, and learn what is needed to stop this evil being, before they destroy everything and everyone. When Kahlan becomes healthy, she and soon Shale will work on the man who eyes are being seen through by the Golden Goddess, and they learn more and more about this evil person or persons in another world.
To tell too much more would be spoilers, but this was an interesting exciting storyline, and enjoyable when we watch Richard, Kahlan, the mord-sith bring back so many wonderful memories. The Scribbly Man ends as we learn more about the evil out there, and the future books where I expect to meet The Children of D’Hara. Welcome back to the world of Richard and Kahlan.
Barb
The Reading Cafe
June 29, 2022
Alright! I just finished the fifth and final book in the Children of D'Hara series. This is a general, before you start, spoiler-free review. If you want the spoiled review, I'm doing one for the whole book series under book 5.
If you're new to Terry Goodkind and you are thinking about starting with this series first because it's shorter than the Sword of Truth, DON'T. The Children of D'Hara series is set in the same universe with a lot of the same characters, but it's after the original series. This is kind of like a bonus set for people who are already fans of the original books. These books contain some series spoilers (it's been a while since I've done a read through, but there are definitely spoilers for Temple of the Winds and Soul of the Fire).
On one hand, the writing isn't Terry Goodkind's best.... but it's Terry Goodkind. And let's be honest, if you made it through the main series, you're either a fan or have incredible dedication to self-punishment. Goodkind could slip a lot before I'd start complaining, it's just not his best work. However, if your feelings got crushed in Soul of the Fire, this is Goodkind making nice and giving you a Christmas present.
Icymi, Terry Goodkind died in Sept 2020 before the final books in this series were released. I'm just glad he finished it. It was definitely worth reading about if you care about the characters. The ending was worth it. That said, I think if Goodkind had been younger, this would have been two separate full length books instead of a 5 novella series. #5 is weird because it's twice as long as #1. The details surrounding Goodkind's passing were not released, so I have zero evidence, but there are some style choices and a wild lack of general editing that makes me wonder if Goodkind was ill and rushing to finish. If that sounds weird, ok, but I've read 29 of his books and this set is different.
Be aware that these aren't stand alones. #1 ends rather abruptly with nothing resolved and book #2 picks up immediately. All together the books cover a very short time frame of just a few months, and of that time, a large part is jumped past at the end of #5.
I switched back and forth between the print and audiobook versions. The audiobook is good... same narrator throughout. I will eventually buy the books because I like the way the covers look together (and because it's Terry Goodkind and I re-read his books).
If you're new to Terry Goodkind and you are thinking about starting with this series first because it's shorter than the Sword of Truth, DON'T. The Children of D'Hara series is set in the same universe with a lot of the same characters, but it's after the original series. This is kind of like a bonus set for people who are already fans of the original books. These books contain some series spoilers (it's been a while since I've done a read through, but there are definitely spoilers for Temple of the Winds and Soul of the Fire).
On one hand, the writing isn't Terry Goodkind's best.... but it's Terry Goodkind. And let's be honest, if you made it through the main series, you're either a fan or have incredible dedication to self-punishment. Goodkind could slip a lot before I'd start complaining, it's just not his best work. However, if your feelings got crushed in Soul of the Fire, this is Goodkind making nice and giving you a Christmas present.
Icymi, Terry Goodkind died in Sept 2020 before the final books in this series were released. I'm just glad he finished it. It was definitely worth reading about if you care about the characters. The ending was worth it. That said, I think if Goodkind had been younger, this would have been two separate full length books instead of a 5 novella series. #5 is weird because it's twice as long as #1. The details surrounding Goodkind's passing were not released, so I have zero evidence, but there are some style choices and a wild lack of general editing that makes me wonder if Goodkind was ill and rushing to finish. If that sounds weird, ok, but I've read 29 of his books and this set is different.
Be aware that these aren't stand alones. #1 ends rather abruptly with nothing resolved and book #2 picks up immediately. All together the books cover a very short time frame of just a few months, and of that time, a large part is jumped past at the end of #5.
I switched back and forth between the print and audiobook versions. The audiobook is good... same narrator throughout. I will eventually buy the books because I like the way the covers look together (and because it's Terry Goodkind and I re-read his books).
July 5, 2019
It wasn’t bad. I’m just worried about this new form. The brevity of the story is so much a departure from the other books in the series, and it felt unfinished. It feels almost as if Goodkind is writing a long book in short installments in order to cash in more frequently. It felt like a commercial move rather than an artistic one. This probably won’t keep me from buying the next one, which, I suppose, means it was a good decision for him (but feels like he respects his readers less).
March 15, 2020
Great story, but way too short. Much as I enjoy Goodkind’s writing, I can’t abide novels split into bite size portions, especially at a cost of £7.99 (glad they had it at the library, otherwise I would not have read it). Goodkind’s books are normally 800 pages long, so the full story will presumably cost £32. A star knocked off for that, and another star for it being incomplete; when I see novela, I think short story, not cash-in serialisation.
January 15, 2021
I really enjoyed this. To start off, I'm a huge fan of Terry Goodkind's The Sword of Truth series. Yes, there are books that I like more than others, but overall I enjoyed the series and the characters. It was nice to have a novella that delved back into that world, that wasn't Nicci & Nathan's story because honestly, while I like those too, I missed Richard and Kahlan and all of the mord-sith and I'm happy to be back in this world. I'm really looking forward to reading this series, hopefully quickly.
April 6, 2019
Wow, a new danger puts a damper on the “Golden Age”
No spoilers for this novella of the ever changing drama that is the lives of Richard and Kahlan. Life isn’t what we expect it to be as there’s never a moment of peace with these two...
No spoilers for this novella of the ever changing drama that is the lives of Richard and Kahlan. Life isn’t what we expect it to be as there’s never a moment of peace with these two...
February 22, 2024
3
I mean don't get me wrong, this book was okay, but i just felt like a majority of the time i really zoned out on a lot of things that were going on. I don't know, maybe I liked this series, I can't tell.. It could be for the fact that I didn't care of the writing style or just the story itself but the longer I think about it the more I don't like this book... LOL
Don't get me wrong, I'll read the next book to make sure but this series just don't sit right with me and some mysterious "planet devourers" coming to kill two people that have magic and then one of them ending up pregnant just doesn't sit well and isn't written properly.
2024 reads 35/300
I mean don't get me wrong, this book was okay, but i just felt like a majority of the time i really zoned out on a lot of things that were going on. I don't know, maybe I liked this series, I can't tell.. It could be for the fact that I didn't care of the writing style or just the story itself but the longer I think about it the more I don't like this book... LOL
Don't get me wrong, I'll read the next book to make sure but this series just don't sit right with me and some mysterious "planet devourers" coming to kill two people that have magic and then one of them ending up pregnant just doesn't sit well and isn't written properly.
2024 reads 35/300
February 22, 2020
Despite both the length of this book as well as my rating, let me start off by saying I will definitely be reading the second in this collection. I read the first seven books in this epic saga several years ago and enjoyed them. The reason I didn't continue with them was largely due to their length (easily over 600 pages each). I enjoyed the characters immensely and was glad to have revisited this adventure with them.
June 29, 2020
Goed verhaal.Ik heb de wetten van de magie in 2011 gelezen vindt ik zeer goed.
Sterk aan het twijfelen om ze nog eens terug te lezen.
Goodkind is 1 van mijn favoriete schrijvers.
Spijtig dat het maar een dun boekje is.
Sterk aan het twijfelen om ze nog eens terug te lezen.
Goodkind is 1 van mijn favoriete schrijvers.
Spijtig dat het maar een dun boekje is.
August 29, 2024
Scribbly men…”They are the monsters under your bed when you are little..” Definitely a primordial fear.
April 19, 2023
I learned that this is the start of a new series, but that this series is a continuation/sequel to a different one. I think if I go back and read that series this one will probably be more enjoyable. That said, it was still fun learning who all the characters were as and there abilities. The ending was kind of abrupt, but leaves you wanting to know more.
April 7, 2019
It is a shame this book was so short, the return to the charcters I grew up with and loved was to short lived. The is an excellent beginning to this series of books. I can't wait until the next installment comes out. This is an excellent reminder of why Terry Goodkind is my favorite author.
July 28, 2021
I didn’t realize I needed to read a larger series to really understand the breadth of this novella. I saw a review saying it could be enjoyed as a standalone, and while that is technically true, I think it is a little oversimplified and misleading.
Just because one can read this book in under three hours if uninterrupted and could entirely understand the plot is irrelevant. The book references other adventures Richard and Kahlan have been on, adventures that sound way more interesting than the predicament they’re in. This makes sense, though, when you take a step back and realize these are novella’s in the background of a different series. Same stars, just a continuation of adventure after a brief explanation of D’Hara, the palace city, Rhaul and Dark Rhaul, his late father, and the Confessor wife who had had a miscarraige in a previous book.
During the allotted time that the King sees to his kingdom, a peasant arrives with demands to surrender the world to the Golden Goddess. Kahlan insists it is odd for people of his culture to make demands (which felt strange to me) and is later mysteriously mauled during the investigation. A sultry stranger comes in to (rudely) point out Richard’s folly. She is repeatedly said to be sultry, except this has no effect on Richard because he loves his wife, but he trusts her instantly, and their healing magic weaves differently in Kahlan after she’s attacked. If I’ve already lost you, then we’re on the same page.
In the end it was just the first of a long series of novellas to burst out of Goodkind’s fully realized world, and this little taste isn’t enough for me to commit to the fifteen book series that precedes it.
Just because one can read this book in under three hours if uninterrupted and could entirely understand the plot is irrelevant. The book references other adventures Richard and Kahlan have been on, adventures that sound way more interesting than the predicament they’re in. This makes sense, though, when you take a step back and realize these are novella’s in the background of a different series. Same stars, just a continuation of adventure after a brief explanation of D’Hara, the palace city, Rhaul and Dark Rhaul, his late father, and the Confessor wife who had had a miscarraige in a previous book.
During the allotted time that the King sees to his kingdom, a peasant arrives with demands to surrender the world to the Golden Goddess. Kahlan insists it is odd for people of his culture to make demands (which felt strange to me) and is later mysteriously mauled during the investigation. A sultry stranger comes in to (rudely) point out Richard’s folly. She is repeatedly said to be sultry, except this has no effect on Richard because he loves his wife, but he trusts her instantly, and their healing magic weaves differently in Kahlan after she’s attacked. If I’ve already lost you, then we’re on the same page.
In the end it was just the first of a long series of novellas to burst out of Goodkind’s fully realized world, and this little taste isn’t enough for me to commit to the fifteen book series that precedes it.
June 19, 2021
Das Cover hat mich sofort neugierig gemacht *-* Es ist schlicht und einfach wunderschön. In "echt" sieht das Buch soagr noch besser aus und wirkt total edel - ich mags also wirklich sehr.
Beim Schreibstil muss ich sagen, dass mir irgendwie die Spannung und die Gefühle gefehlt haben. Es ist zwar durchaus flüssig geschrieben und auch sehr detailreich, was ich persönlich gerne mag, nur nehemen eben diese ganzen Details so einiges an Spannung aus der Geschichte, was ein bisschen schade ist.
Die Charaktere wirkten leider an manchen Stellen ein bisschen "flach", was natürlich an der Kürze des Buchs liegen kann. So kommt es nur leider dazu, dass man bei manchen Situationen nicht wirklich die Handlungen nachvollziehen kann. Vielleicht ändert sich das jedoch in den nächsten Büchern, ich bin gespannt.
Insgesamt ein ganz nettes Buch, das gleichzeitig detailreich und doch kurz ist. Wer diese Art von Schreibstil mag, dem wird das Buch sicherlich gut gefallen, wer kein Fan von vielen Details ist, der sollte vielleicht doch zu einem anderen Buch greifen - ich mag es jedoch echt gerne. Obwohl ich mir mehr Tiefe bei den Charakteren gewünscht hätte, bin ich gespannt auf den nächsten Teil.
Beim Schreibstil muss ich sagen, dass mir irgendwie die Spannung und die Gefühle gefehlt haben. Es ist zwar durchaus flüssig geschrieben und auch sehr detailreich, was ich persönlich gerne mag, nur nehemen eben diese ganzen Details so einiges an Spannung aus der Geschichte, was ein bisschen schade ist.
Die Charaktere wirkten leider an manchen Stellen ein bisschen "flach", was natürlich an der Kürze des Buchs liegen kann. So kommt es nur leider dazu, dass man bei manchen Situationen nicht wirklich die Handlungen nachvollziehen kann. Vielleicht ändert sich das jedoch in den nächsten Büchern, ich bin gespannt.
Insgesamt ein ganz nettes Buch, das gleichzeitig detailreich und doch kurz ist. Wer diese Art von Schreibstil mag, dem wird das Buch sicherlich gut gefallen, wer kein Fan von vielen Details ist, der sollte vielleicht doch zu einem anderen Buch greifen - ich mag es jedoch echt gerne. Obwohl ich mir mehr Tiefe bei den Charakteren gewünscht hätte, bin ich gespannt auf den nächsten Teil.
November 28, 2021
Yea.... no. I saw some reviewers likening this newest series to Goodkind's early books and had hope. But I saw the same things here that I was seeing in his later books - statements needlessly repeated over and over again by the same character and then different characters right after. I'm also not a fan of this new method of writing a book in chunks and publishing them that way - so clearly just a way to make more money. Maybe not Goodkind's fault - I'd be more inclined to blame the publishers there. But it leaves a bad taste in the mouth before even opening the book. Anyways, not something I will continue with. I'm going to stick with my love for the first half of the series and stop trying to come back here hoping that these newer books will stand up to them.
August 7, 2019
I really loved the original series. Richard always inspired me, made me want to think more, become more, value life. I admired him. That stopped sometime during the last series. He stopped being fair... stopped caring... stopped thinking... it's like when Zedd died his brain and heart died too. I keep reading hoping he will be back... only to be disapointed. I would give the original series a billion stars... this barely gets two from me
January 10, 2021
I have always been a huge fan of Terry Goodkind's works, and this book is no exception. Richard and Kahlan are two of the top twenty-five characters I love reading about. The plot is easily followed, and the action is mostly never ending. The antagonists are extremely dangerous and very sly. All the books I have read in this series are cliffhangers so be aware of that. I highly recommend this book.
September 10, 2020
Not a good one. The writing is so lackluster. I miss the original Sword of Truth books. 😓
April 7, 2019
So SPOILERS!!!! When it comes to Goodkind, I've literally read them all. Richard and Kahlan formed the basis of my love of fantasy as a teenager and I have followed their story through the good, bad and ugly. I found this to be better than his most recent works. The writing is much more what we loved from the beginning of SOT. However, the story was what fell short to me. He really seems to be stretching to create new stories and honestly Kahlan (who has always been my favorite) charging in to use her power only to be thwarted is really getting old. The constant recaps took over most of the story, and I swear every woman with magic that Richard sees has to be strikingly beautiful. The ending was also quite predictable. Essentially Richard and Kahlan are confronted with some godlike being that wants to take over their world. Richard continues to be the most specialest of specials, though he is viewed as weak because he hasn't given Kahlan children. It is then revealed that she is pregnant with twins (a boy and a girl because of course.) I hope this builds up to something much better. Terry does great with thriller style books, but I am not so sure about mixing that with SOT. To me is was closer to 3 stars, but I'm a faithful reader and will give it 4 just because I am so happy his writing and editing is going back to what it used to be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2019
I absolutely loved this novella. It was quick paced, and I couldn't turn the pages quick enough to keep up with the story. I am eagerly awaiting the next book and I hope it's as good as the first! I would love to go into more detail about the story and the synopsis, but I would rather sound a bit cryptic than accidentally dropping spoilers for the Sword of Truth saga.
January 24, 2024
It is well written, and with the proper background information, it would be a very good book. The issue is that it is treated like a stand-alone when it is not. If you haven't read the Sword of Truth series you will be spending most of your time feeling like you are missing out on all kinds of context. I don't think these short books are worth reading a twenty-one-book fantasy series to gain that context.
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