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Richard and Kahlan #4
Warheart
The epic finale to the THE SWORD OF TRUTH 16 volumes 20 years in the making, 26 million copies sold.
Soulmates, pawns of prophecy and inheritors of an ancient conflict, Richard and Kahlan's destinies have been bound together since their first encounter in Wizard's First Rule. But now Richard lies on a funeral bier – suspended between the worlds of life and death and Kahlan faces her greatest challenge.
She must fight for Richard's very existence, and Richard, trapped in the underworld, must fight to keep the world of life from ending. Desperate sacrifices are required. This is the final battle in a war three-millennia old, a war that saw the Sword of Truth forged, a war that could mean the end, not only of their lives, but of their world.
Soulmates, pawns of prophecy and inheritors of an ancient conflict, Richard and Kahlan's destinies have been bound together since their first encounter in Wizard's First Rule. But now Richard lies on a funeral bier – suspended between the worlds of life and death and Kahlan faces her greatest challenge.
She must fight for Richard's very existence, and Richard, trapped in the underworld, must fight to keep the world of life from ending. Desperate sacrifices are required. This is the final battle in a war three-millennia old, a war that saw the Sword of Truth forged, a war that could mean the end, not only of their lives, but of their world.
464 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 17, 2015
555 people are currently reading
9242 people want to read
About the author
Terry Goodkind
278 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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December 13, 2015
An Opinionated Look At:
Terry Goodkind's Warheart
By Eric Allen
This review contains spoilers, both for Warheart and for Severed Souls. There's a bit too much to spoiler tag this time around.
It's no secret that I thought pretty much every book that Terry Goodkind has published since Confessor was crap. I superficially enjoyed The First Confessor, even though it is probably the absolute worst written book I have ever read that was actually published by an established author with more than ten published works under his belt, and at the time that I read it, I felt that The Third Kingdom was decent. That opinion has not aged well, as I think back upon that book with more and more disgust and loathing as time goes by. But, as a whole, pretty much every book Goodkind has published since The Sword of Truth proper ended has been garbage. Gone are the entertaining, distinctive, and, for the most part, well written characters. Gone is the well crafted, and often witty banter between them. Gone is the good writing, the good storytelling, and pretty much any hint that Goodkind has any clue what he's been doing as an author. I mean, look at Wizard's First Rule, the parts of the story that are meant to be scary are genuinely scary, then look at Severed Souls, where Goodkind flat out says they're scary and doesn't do anything other than that to build it up. So, the point being, I went into this book with such a case of lowered expectations that when it turned out to be merely mediocre rather than terrible, it seemed as though light was shining out of the heavens, Ode to Joy being sung by an angelic choir led by Beethoven himself, and little naked cherubs were flying around me. Now, that statement comes with a disclaimer. When I say this book is "decent" in this review, you can translate it to mean "This book is decent, but only when you compare it to The Law of Nines, The Omen Machine, The First Confessor, The Third Kingdom, and Severed Souls." It's still not a great book, but it's a better book than any Goodkind has published in a good decade or so. It seemed like he was actually trying with this one, which is more than I can say for a lot of the crap he's published recently. Anyway, on with the review.
Richard is dead, and Kahlan wants him back so she goes to see the Witch Woman Red to find out how it might be possible. Now, before I continue, I need to bring up one thing. One of the biggest problems with everything from The Omen Machine onward for me has been that I simply didn't care about what was happening. These weren't the characters I knew and loved. They were different somehow, and so I wasn't really invested in what was happening to them. It didn't help that the things that WERE happening to them were either stupid, badly thought out and written, or just plain made no sense. But here, right from the beginning, I had a stake in what was happening in the story. I don't want Richard to be dead. He was an awesome hero before Goodkind turned him into an angry, hypocritical douchebag. So I both wanted Richard back, and I wanted to see how it was going to be accomplished. Meaning, already, right from the very first page, I was already more emotionally invested in what was happening than in any of the previous three books.
Nicci has to draw on her past as a Sister of the Dark and enter the underworld to find Richard's soul and bring it back to his body, but once his soul is freed of the demons holding it captive, a life must be sacrificed to show him the way back. And this is where the book started going steeply downhill. Cara shows up out of nowhere with weapons that kill zombies. No explanation of where she's been, what she's been doing, how she knew to come, what she needed to do, or how she got a weapon that works on the zombies. Oh no, she just shows up and dies on Richard's corpse so that he can come back to life. And while her death was treated with somewhat more reverence than Zedd's, the character, and the fans deserved better than that. Seriously, Richard shows more emotion over Cara's death than he ever did over Zedd's. WTF!!!
With Richard back in the world of the living, it is found that the touch of death inside of him is still there, and it will still kill him unless he can have it removed at the people's palace... except that it's still too far away to make it in time. So Richard goes into Hannis Arc's personal scrolls of prophecy to figure out what he's been doing, how and why. And in doing so, he finds what the Omen Machine actually is, how it connects to prophecy, the worlds of life and death, and the magic of Orden. And in a nutshell... it's incredibly stupid and pretty obvious that Goodkind had no idea how it was all going to connect until he got to this part and just pulled it out of his ass on the spot, no matter whether it makes sense or not. And worse, the way he ties it all together cheapens the first eleven books of the series, and everything that happens in them.
Samantha shows up to murder Richard as justice for her mother's murder, and Goodkind really doesn't seem to realize how completely and utterly hypocritical Richard sounds when he's trying to talk Samantha out of it. He strangled her mother in a fit of rage right in front of her, and then justifies it as "she was bad, here's the proof" after the fact, and then tells Samantha that she has no right to do anything out of anger because she is wrong and he is right. Well, she murdered someone in a fit of rage exactly as he did... so what's the difference? They both had good reasons. Goodkind tries to make it out to be Richard is the hero, and he has right on his side, but it comes off as Richard being a MASSIVE hypocrite. It really doesn't matter that he does have right on his side, he still murdered someone in a fit of rage, and then went on to tell her that she had no right to do exactly what he did in retribution. No, I'm not advocating murder as a solution for murder, but Richard calling someone down for doing something that he, himself, did right in front of her seconds earlier is just so... unheroic. The fact of the matter is that Samantha is right. Richard executed her mother without a trial, he strangled her to death in a fit of rage right in front of her. That was murder, whatever he wants to call it. Our hero is a murderer. He didn't do it for justice like he claims after the fact, he did it for enraged vengeance. So not only is he a murderer and a hypocrite, he's also a liar. She is right to demand justice for it, and in this world Goodkind has built, the just punishment for murder is death, as we have been shown countless times before. So yeah, by the previous worldbuilding that Goodkind has done, Samantha is completely, and wholly in the right here. Just because he's the hero of the story doesn't mean he gets to get off with murdering someone with absolutely zero real consequences in the end. Sorry Goodkind, but YOU FAIL AT LOGIC, AND YOU FAIL EVEN MORE AT MORALITY!!! Could this situation not be resolved in a less stupid and hypocritical manner? I mean, Richard never even bothers to apologize for freaking strangling Samantha's mother to death right in front of her? Why? Because he's the hero of the story, so everything he does is right. No, Goodkind, I'm sorry, but again, that's not how reality works.
So, that problem dealt with for the time being, and the idiotic discoveries about the Omen Machine made, Richard heads on his way back to the People's Palace, because when Richard needs to get somewhere fast or die, you can damn well better believe that Goodkind is going to Deus Ex Machina the ever-living fuck outta it. So they head back to Samantha's village to find a second Slyph that takes them to a place where all of the souls of the zombies have conveniently been stored for later use. But not before Samantha shows up and kills herself rather hilariously. Her death is actually kind of funny. And I know I'm a horrible person for saying that, but I actually laughed out loud when it happened. He built up this confrontation between her and Richard like crazy, and THIS is how he ends it? And then Goodkind did this thing that I like to call Foreshadowing After the Fact, to make it seem like he'd been building up to it, when he actually wasn't. This is where after an event has happened, an author will point to a completely random and utterly unrelated event somewhere in the past and say "SEE!! Did you see what I did there?!?!? Aren't I clever!?!?! Look! Look! See how clever I am!" Yeah, sorry Goodkind, Foreshadowing After the Fact just makes you look like an asshole and an incompetent storyteller.
So, numerous Slyph travels take place, making the touch of death in Richard stronger and stronger, until everyone is back at the People's Palace at last, only to find that it's surrounded by an army of zombies. And then Richard does something that I absolutely hate, and that is so completely and utterly out of character for him that I actually threw the book on the ground in disgust. Richard, the Seeker of TRUTH, bearer of the Sword of TRUTH, a man who has generally shown himself to be honest, trustworthy, and a decent human being, as his last act that we will see him commit in his role as the Seeker of TRUTH (I hope) lies to his wife, and runs off back through the Slyph to get his sword, and gather up all the lost souls. Okay, two things. One... If he knew that he was going to do this since he came back to life, why didn't he explain it to Kahlan and Nicci, so that they would know what he was going to do, and why it was important. He has shown time and time again that he's able to convince people to see his point of view, and bring them over to his side with words alone. And he had numerous occasions during times of travel to lay it all out for them. So why did he keep it a secret, and lie like crazy for the entire freaking book when he knew exactly how to win in the end from the beginning and simply saying so would have removed both the need to lie, and the extreme worry that those who cared about him had to go through watching him, as they saw it, dying right before their eyes. And two, this is the hero of the story, a story called THE SWORD OF MOTHER FUCKING TRUTH!!! And he wins by lying to everyone he cares about through the entire book? No. Bad! Bad Goodkind! No treat for you.
I would have thought that Richard's defeat of Sulechan was pretty well done, if not for the fact that it was stained by Richard's lies. And then Hannis Arc dies in a manner just as pointless as his entire freaking character. He has got to be the least present, least threatening villain I have ever seen in a work of fiction. I'm still trying to figure out why he's even included in the story at all. The man is so irrelevant that you can remove every mention of his character, and none of the story would really need to change all that much to make up for it. After Darken Rahl and Emperor Jagang, we're really scraping the bottom of the barrel with this guy. He's more laughable than anything else when he actually does bother to appear in the story. Talk about a case of Tell, don't show. We have been shown absolutely NOTHING about why this guy is the villain. On the other hand, Goodkind is CONSTANTLY telling us how bad and evil he is and how he must be stopped. Sorry, Terry, but if you want me to know how evil he is, you've got to show him doing something evil, or even the slightest bit threatening. I mean, Darken Rahl and Emperor Jagang worked as terrifying villains, because you took the time to show me how evil they are by having them actually playing a part in the story doing things that are evil. Things that I can read about. Things that the characters can see and experience. Where was all of that with Hannis Arc? Nowhere to be found. Goodkind just tells us to take his word for it that the guy is bad news, and that's pretty much it. Do you see why I call the guy weak, irrelevant, and non-threatening? It's because I, as the reader, have never been shown WHY I should think on him in any other light.
So with the "villains" taken care of, there's still that pesky army of zombies to deal with. So, you remember where that Deus Ex Machina Slyph dropped them? You know, the place with all the disembodied souls that used to belong to the zombies? Yeah, Richard grabbed all of those while getting his sword, and apparently, all you need in order to end the Zombie Apocalypse is a bunch of disembodied souls that can take up residence in their bodies and turn them back into humans. And yes... that is exactly as lame as it sounds.
The book then wraps up with a full twenty pages of Richard explaining the ending to us. Look, perspective writers. If, at the end of your book, the resolution to your climax needs twenty pages of further exposition after the fact to even make sense, you're kind of doing it wrong. Just take my word for it, and find a better way of resolving things that makes sense while it's happening, not after you go into excruciating detail explaining it to us afterward. And they all live happily ever after, and I hope to God that Goodkind moves on to SOMETHING ELSE, because it's pretty clear he's burnt out on the Sword of Truth and these characters. New characters, new world, new story. I'd be interested to see what he could make of those things, but I don't think I'll come back for more Sword of Truth if he decides to continue after this one. He's ruined it enough for me.
The Good? The recaps that made the last few books almost UNBEARABLE to read through are kept to a bare minimum, only explaining, briefly, key events in the previous book. And the dialog, while still repetitious, is not repetitious to the point that you find yourself considering suicide. All in all, this book is considerably better written than the previous four or five that Goodkind has published. Is it as well written as his earlier work? Unfortunately, no. But it's a definite step above the crap he's been churning out lately. Although, I will admit, that if I had to read the phrase "homogeneous soup of the eternal now" one more freaking time I was going to punch a proverbial basket full of kittens.
Through most of the book, Richard and Kahlan seem a bit more like themselves instead of lobotomized automatons spewing repetative and soulless dialog whenever Goodkind needs someone to exposit, though they do still seem like shadow puppets of their former selves. Until, of course, you find out what a lying douche Richard has been through the entire book, that is.
And I was actually invested in the plot and the characters from the beginning of the book. I shouldn't have to count that as part of "the good" because it's something that should, generally, be a given in a work of fiction. But the fact of the matter is, that it hasn't been for a long, long time with this series. I keep reading in hopes that Goodkind will recapture some of the magic and adventure from his earlier career, only to find the story sinking deeper and deeper into awful and bland mediocrity.
The bad? This story really doesn't have much need to exist, now that it's over. It was sold as the continuing adventures of Richard and Kahlan... but their story was over, and it had a pretty good ending to it. It just sort of seems like Goodkind wanted to write more, but didn't want to go through the effort of coming up with a new world, new characters, or even work up the will to write it out very well. The entire five book story (I'm counting The First Confessor as part of it, because it really sort of is) is lazy, badly written, and didn't really have much reason to be told.
The Ugly? I pretty much already ranted about everything I wanted to during the synopsis part of the review. I'd just like to reiterate how extremely let down I was by Goodkind's choices with Richard's character in this book. To have him end the story he started out all those books ago as THE SEEKER OF TRUTH by lying, and hypocritically trying to pass off his brutal murder of a woman as the only right and just thing he could have done in the situation was just so... what was the opposite of fitting again? Oh yeah. WRONG!!! It was wholly, and completely WRONG!!!. Goodkind CLEARLY doesn't understand his own character, and what makes a character heroic. It left me feeling absolutely disgusted with him. I blew up about Zedd's death in the previous book, because of how disrespectful it was to the fans and to the character. This. What Goodkind did to Richard in this book. This is a thousand times worse. And it is for this reason that I'm giving this book 2 stars instead of 3. Because Goodkind absolutely, irrevocably, utterly and completely destroyed Richard as a character for me in this book. That was unforgivable, and the reason that I refuse to read a single other book in this series if Goodkind decides to write more. I'm done. That was it. There is no recovering, or going back from that. There's no getting better, patching it up, or making it go away. Richard, as a character, is now completely broken, and cannot ever be fixed. I'll stick to the original eleven Sword of Truth books, thanks. And yes, I will eventually get reviews of all of them out. I haven't forgotten about them.
Oh yes, and one more thing. The sheer number of abandoned and forgotten plotlines introduced in The Omen Machine that were never even addressed, much less resolved makes my head hurt. The sudden obsession with prophecy that all the people of the world seemed to have? Ludwig Drier turning Richard's own nobility against him, by making them believe he serves the Keeper? Unrest in the Empire? What happened to all of that? I mean, they were completely stupid plotlines to begin with, but we're not even going to address these things at all after they were introduced in the beginning of this story arch? Really? Did Goodkind just forget about them? Or did he just decide that following through with them was too much effort so he didn't bother? I mean, not following through sort of invalidates the majority of what happened in The Omen Machine as unimportant and unworthy of mention. Did even the author think that book was so absolutely wretched that he tried to minimize mentioning things that went on during it? It's like he just doesn't care at all anymore.
In conclusion, though this book is a huge step up from the mindless, repetitive schlock that Goodkind has been churning out for the last decade, it does contain the ultimate betrayal of everything that Richard's character has stood for up to this point in it. So you can take that as you will. On the one hand, it's a better story, and better written than the last few books, on the other, Richard is completely broken now, and can never be fixed. It's an end to the story, even though we already had a perfectly good ending in Confessor. So if you've made it this far, you might as well finish. If you're thinking of picking these books up now that the last one has come out. Don't. Please. Don't. Remember the good times that you had with Goodkind's earlier work, don't put yourself through this travesty of literary vomit he's dragged us fans through over the last few years. It may be too late for me, but you can still save yourself the horror of seeing something you love be systematically and completely ruined by its creator.
Check out my other reviews.
Terry Goodkind's Warheart
By Eric Allen
This review contains spoilers, both for Warheart and for Severed Souls. There's a bit too much to spoiler tag this time around.
It's no secret that I thought pretty much every book that Terry Goodkind has published since Confessor was crap. I superficially enjoyed The First Confessor, even though it is probably the absolute worst written book I have ever read that was actually published by an established author with more than ten published works under his belt, and at the time that I read it, I felt that The Third Kingdom was decent. That opinion has not aged well, as I think back upon that book with more and more disgust and loathing as time goes by. But, as a whole, pretty much every book Goodkind has published since The Sword of Truth proper ended has been garbage. Gone are the entertaining, distinctive, and, for the most part, well written characters. Gone is the well crafted, and often witty banter between them. Gone is the good writing, the good storytelling, and pretty much any hint that Goodkind has any clue what he's been doing as an author. I mean, look at Wizard's First Rule, the parts of the story that are meant to be scary are genuinely scary, then look at Severed Souls, where Goodkind flat out says they're scary and doesn't do anything other than that to build it up. So, the point being, I went into this book with such a case of lowered expectations that when it turned out to be merely mediocre rather than terrible, it seemed as though light was shining out of the heavens, Ode to Joy being sung by an angelic choir led by Beethoven himself, and little naked cherubs were flying around me. Now, that statement comes with a disclaimer. When I say this book is "decent" in this review, you can translate it to mean "This book is decent, but only when you compare it to The Law of Nines, The Omen Machine, The First Confessor, The Third Kingdom, and Severed Souls." It's still not a great book, but it's a better book than any Goodkind has published in a good decade or so. It seemed like he was actually trying with this one, which is more than I can say for a lot of the crap he's published recently. Anyway, on with the review.
Richard is dead, and Kahlan wants him back so she goes to see the Witch Woman Red to find out how it might be possible. Now, before I continue, I need to bring up one thing. One of the biggest problems with everything from The Omen Machine onward for me has been that I simply didn't care about what was happening. These weren't the characters I knew and loved. They were different somehow, and so I wasn't really invested in what was happening to them. It didn't help that the things that WERE happening to them were either stupid, badly thought out and written, or just plain made no sense. But here, right from the beginning, I had a stake in what was happening in the story. I don't want Richard to be dead. He was an awesome hero before Goodkind turned him into an angry, hypocritical douchebag. So I both wanted Richard back, and I wanted to see how it was going to be accomplished. Meaning, already, right from the very first page, I was already more emotionally invested in what was happening than in any of the previous three books.
Nicci has to draw on her past as a Sister of the Dark and enter the underworld to find Richard's soul and bring it back to his body, but once his soul is freed of the demons holding it captive, a life must be sacrificed to show him the way back. And this is where the book started going steeply downhill. Cara shows up out of nowhere with weapons that kill zombies. No explanation of where she's been, what she's been doing, how she knew to come, what she needed to do, or how she got a weapon that works on the zombies. Oh no, she just shows up and dies on Richard's corpse so that he can come back to life. And while her death was treated with somewhat more reverence than Zedd's, the character, and the fans deserved better than that. Seriously, Richard shows more emotion over Cara's death than he ever did over Zedd's. WTF!!!
With Richard back in the world of the living, it is found that the touch of death inside of him is still there, and it will still kill him unless he can have it removed at the people's palace... except that it's still too far away to make it in time. So Richard goes into Hannis Arc's personal scrolls of prophecy to figure out what he's been doing, how and why. And in doing so, he finds what the Omen Machine actually is, how it connects to prophecy, the worlds of life and death, and the magic of Orden. And in a nutshell... it's incredibly stupid and pretty obvious that Goodkind had no idea how it was all going to connect until he got to this part and just pulled it out of his ass on the spot, no matter whether it makes sense or not. And worse, the way he ties it all together cheapens the first eleven books of the series, and everything that happens in them.
Samantha shows up to murder Richard as justice for her mother's murder, and Goodkind really doesn't seem to realize how completely and utterly hypocritical Richard sounds when he's trying to talk Samantha out of it. He strangled her mother in a fit of rage right in front of her, and then justifies it as "she was bad, here's the proof" after the fact, and then tells Samantha that she has no right to do anything out of anger because she is wrong and he is right. Well, she murdered someone in a fit of rage exactly as he did... so what's the difference? They both had good reasons. Goodkind tries to make it out to be Richard is the hero, and he has right on his side, but it comes off as Richard being a MASSIVE hypocrite. It really doesn't matter that he does have right on his side, he still murdered someone in a fit of rage, and then went on to tell her that she had no right to do exactly what he did in retribution. No, I'm not advocating murder as a solution for murder, but Richard calling someone down for doing something that he, himself, did right in front of her seconds earlier is just so... unheroic. The fact of the matter is that Samantha is right. Richard executed her mother without a trial, he strangled her to death in a fit of rage right in front of her. That was murder, whatever he wants to call it. Our hero is a murderer. He didn't do it for justice like he claims after the fact, he did it for enraged vengeance. So not only is he a murderer and a hypocrite, he's also a liar. She is right to demand justice for it, and in this world Goodkind has built, the just punishment for murder is death, as we have been shown countless times before. So yeah, by the previous worldbuilding that Goodkind has done, Samantha is completely, and wholly in the right here. Just because he's the hero of the story doesn't mean he gets to get off with murdering someone with absolutely zero real consequences in the end. Sorry Goodkind, but YOU FAIL AT LOGIC, AND YOU FAIL EVEN MORE AT MORALITY!!! Could this situation not be resolved in a less stupid and hypocritical manner? I mean, Richard never even bothers to apologize for freaking strangling Samantha's mother to death right in front of her? Why? Because he's the hero of the story, so everything he does is right. No, Goodkind, I'm sorry, but again, that's not how reality works.
So, that problem dealt with for the time being, and the idiotic discoveries about the Omen Machine made, Richard heads on his way back to the People's Palace, because when Richard needs to get somewhere fast or die, you can damn well better believe that Goodkind is going to Deus Ex Machina the ever-living fuck outta it. So they head back to Samantha's village to find a second Slyph that takes them to a place where all of the souls of the zombies have conveniently been stored for later use. But not before Samantha shows up and kills herself rather hilariously. Her death is actually kind of funny. And I know I'm a horrible person for saying that, but I actually laughed out loud when it happened. He built up this confrontation between her and Richard like crazy, and THIS is how he ends it? And then Goodkind did this thing that I like to call Foreshadowing After the Fact, to make it seem like he'd been building up to it, when he actually wasn't. This is where after an event has happened, an author will point to a completely random and utterly unrelated event somewhere in the past and say "SEE!! Did you see what I did there?!?!? Aren't I clever!?!?! Look! Look! See how clever I am!" Yeah, sorry Goodkind, Foreshadowing After the Fact just makes you look like an asshole and an incompetent storyteller.
So, numerous Slyph travels take place, making the touch of death in Richard stronger and stronger, until everyone is back at the People's Palace at last, only to find that it's surrounded by an army of zombies. And then Richard does something that I absolutely hate, and that is so completely and utterly out of character for him that I actually threw the book on the ground in disgust. Richard, the Seeker of TRUTH, bearer of the Sword of TRUTH, a man who has generally shown himself to be honest, trustworthy, and a decent human being, as his last act that we will see him commit in his role as the Seeker of TRUTH (I hope) lies to his wife, and runs off back through the Slyph to get his sword, and gather up all the lost souls. Okay, two things. One... If he knew that he was going to do this since he came back to life, why didn't he explain it to Kahlan and Nicci, so that they would know what he was going to do, and why it was important. He has shown time and time again that he's able to convince people to see his point of view, and bring them over to his side with words alone. And he had numerous occasions during times of travel to lay it all out for them. So why did he keep it a secret, and lie like crazy for the entire freaking book when he knew exactly how to win in the end from the beginning and simply saying so would have removed both the need to lie, and the extreme worry that those who cared about him had to go through watching him, as they saw it, dying right before their eyes. And two, this is the hero of the story, a story called THE SWORD OF MOTHER FUCKING TRUTH!!! And he wins by lying to everyone he cares about through the entire book? No. Bad! Bad Goodkind! No treat for you.
I would have thought that Richard's defeat of Sulechan was pretty well done, if not for the fact that it was stained by Richard's lies. And then Hannis Arc dies in a manner just as pointless as his entire freaking character. He has got to be the least present, least threatening villain I have ever seen in a work of fiction. I'm still trying to figure out why he's even included in the story at all. The man is so irrelevant that you can remove every mention of his character, and none of the story would really need to change all that much to make up for it. After Darken Rahl and Emperor Jagang, we're really scraping the bottom of the barrel with this guy. He's more laughable than anything else when he actually does bother to appear in the story. Talk about a case of Tell, don't show. We have been shown absolutely NOTHING about why this guy is the villain. On the other hand, Goodkind is CONSTANTLY telling us how bad and evil he is and how he must be stopped. Sorry, Terry, but if you want me to know how evil he is, you've got to show him doing something evil, or even the slightest bit threatening. I mean, Darken Rahl and Emperor Jagang worked as terrifying villains, because you took the time to show me how evil they are by having them actually playing a part in the story doing things that are evil. Things that I can read about. Things that the characters can see and experience. Where was all of that with Hannis Arc? Nowhere to be found. Goodkind just tells us to take his word for it that the guy is bad news, and that's pretty much it. Do you see why I call the guy weak, irrelevant, and non-threatening? It's because I, as the reader, have never been shown WHY I should think on him in any other light.
So with the "villains" taken care of, there's still that pesky army of zombies to deal with. So, you remember where that Deus Ex Machina Slyph dropped them? You know, the place with all the disembodied souls that used to belong to the zombies? Yeah, Richard grabbed all of those while getting his sword, and apparently, all you need in order to end the Zombie Apocalypse is a bunch of disembodied souls that can take up residence in their bodies and turn them back into humans. And yes... that is exactly as lame as it sounds.
The book then wraps up with a full twenty pages of Richard explaining the ending to us. Look, perspective writers. If, at the end of your book, the resolution to your climax needs twenty pages of further exposition after the fact to even make sense, you're kind of doing it wrong. Just take my word for it, and find a better way of resolving things that makes sense while it's happening, not after you go into excruciating detail explaining it to us afterward. And they all live happily ever after, and I hope to God that Goodkind moves on to SOMETHING ELSE, because it's pretty clear he's burnt out on the Sword of Truth and these characters. New characters, new world, new story. I'd be interested to see what he could make of those things, but I don't think I'll come back for more Sword of Truth if he decides to continue after this one. He's ruined it enough for me.
The Good? The recaps that made the last few books almost UNBEARABLE to read through are kept to a bare minimum, only explaining, briefly, key events in the previous book. And the dialog, while still repetitious, is not repetitious to the point that you find yourself considering suicide. All in all, this book is considerably better written than the previous four or five that Goodkind has published. Is it as well written as his earlier work? Unfortunately, no. But it's a definite step above the crap he's been churning out lately. Although, I will admit, that if I had to read the phrase "homogeneous soup of the eternal now" one more freaking time I was going to punch a proverbial basket full of kittens.
Through most of the book, Richard and Kahlan seem a bit more like themselves instead of lobotomized automatons spewing repetative and soulless dialog whenever Goodkind needs someone to exposit, though they do still seem like shadow puppets of their former selves. Until, of course, you find out what a lying douche Richard has been through the entire book, that is.
And I was actually invested in the plot and the characters from the beginning of the book. I shouldn't have to count that as part of "the good" because it's something that should, generally, be a given in a work of fiction. But the fact of the matter is, that it hasn't been for a long, long time with this series. I keep reading in hopes that Goodkind will recapture some of the magic and adventure from his earlier career, only to find the story sinking deeper and deeper into awful and bland mediocrity.
The bad? This story really doesn't have much need to exist, now that it's over. It was sold as the continuing adventures of Richard and Kahlan... but their story was over, and it had a pretty good ending to it. It just sort of seems like Goodkind wanted to write more, but didn't want to go through the effort of coming up with a new world, new characters, or even work up the will to write it out very well. The entire five book story (I'm counting The First Confessor as part of it, because it really sort of is) is lazy, badly written, and didn't really have much reason to be told.
The Ugly? I pretty much already ranted about everything I wanted to during the synopsis part of the review. I'd just like to reiterate how extremely let down I was by Goodkind's choices with Richard's character in this book. To have him end the story he started out all those books ago as THE SEEKER OF TRUTH by lying, and hypocritically trying to pass off his brutal murder of a woman as the only right and just thing he could have done in the situation was just so... what was the opposite of fitting again? Oh yeah. WRONG!!! It was wholly, and completely WRONG!!!. Goodkind CLEARLY doesn't understand his own character, and what makes a character heroic. It left me feeling absolutely disgusted with him. I blew up about Zedd's death in the previous book, because of how disrespectful it was to the fans and to the character. This. What Goodkind did to Richard in this book. This is a thousand times worse. And it is for this reason that I'm giving this book 2 stars instead of 3. Because Goodkind absolutely, irrevocably, utterly and completely destroyed Richard as a character for me in this book. That was unforgivable, and the reason that I refuse to read a single other book in this series if Goodkind decides to write more. I'm done. That was it. There is no recovering, or going back from that. There's no getting better, patching it up, or making it go away. Richard, as a character, is now completely broken, and cannot ever be fixed. I'll stick to the original eleven Sword of Truth books, thanks. And yes, I will eventually get reviews of all of them out. I haven't forgotten about them.
Oh yes, and one more thing. The sheer number of abandoned and forgotten plotlines introduced in The Omen Machine that were never even addressed, much less resolved makes my head hurt. The sudden obsession with prophecy that all the people of the world seemed to have? Ludwig Drier turning Richard's own nobility against him, by making them believe he serves the Keeper? Unrest in the Empire? What happened to all of that? I mean, they were completely stupid plotlines to begin with, but we're not even going to address these things at all after they were introduced in the beginning of this story arch? Really? Did Goodkind just forget about them? Or did he just decide that following through with them was too much effort so he didn't bother? I mean, not following through sort of invalidates the majority of what happened in The Omen Machine as unimportant and unworthy of mention. Did even the author think that book was so absolutely wretched that he tried to minimize mentioning things that went on during it? It's like he just doesn't care at all anymore.
In conclusion, though this book is a huge step up from the mindless, repetitive schlock that Goodkind has been churning out for the last decade, it does contain the ultimate betrayal of everything that Richard's character has stood for up to this point in it. So you can take that as you will. On the one hand, it's a better story, and better written than the last few books, on the other, Richard is completely broken now, and can never be fixed. It's an end to the story, even though we already had a perfectly good ending in Confessor. So if you've made it this far, you might as well finish. If you're thinking of picking these books up now that the last one has come out. Don't. Please. Don't. Remember the good times that you had with Goodkind's earlier work, don't put yourself through this travesty of literary vomit he's dragged us fans through over the last few years. It may be too late for me, but you can still save yourself the horror of seeing something you love be systematically and completely ruined by its creator.
Check out my other reviews.
February 7, 2018
“Blade, be true this day.”
When you finish a journey, your heart is usually torn. You are content for the experience, the memories you stored that you may recall whenever you feel nostalgic, for everything you gained and the ways it changed you, but you are also overcome with sadness, a bittersweet melancholy that soaks your pores and settles in your bones. That's exactly how I felt after finishing Warheart.
“Time to dance with death.”
Warheart is the conclusion of the Sword of Truth series, and the adventures of Lord Rahl and Mother Confessor. After the tragic events of Severed Souls, the world is hanging by a thread. Emperor Sulachan and his ally, Hannis Arc, march towards the People's Palace with their army of the walking dead, the horrible half people that devour flesh seeking a soul for themselves, intending (and thus far succeeding) to break the Grace, the division between the world of the living and the world of the dead, resulting to the unraveling of existence. The only person that can stop them, the person whose arrival was in the making for 3000 years, is the bringer of death. The pebble in the pond. The Seeker of Truth. Richard Rahl. Only he can end prophecy, and save what is left of mankind. But Richard is trapped in the Underworld, held captive by the darkest of demons, and Kahlan and Nicci set on a desperate race to bring him back, before it is too late.
But maybe it is.
“Master Rahl guide us.”
One thing that I rarely confess, is that Sword of Truth is my ultimate favorite series. The series I devoured six years ago, after I accidentally stumbled on the TV series based thereon, and instantly enthralled me with its noble heroes in their quest to save the world from aspirant oppressors. But while Warheart was published on 2015, I only started it three days ago. The main reason was that I was afraid that the finale wouldn't live up to the hype I had built inside my head, to the shrine dedicated to Terry Goodkind and his otherwordly ability to make me feel at home amongst his heroes. And, in all honesty, Warheart had its flaws. Unnecessary repetitions of the same phrases and notions, strained dialogues and occassional confusion over the basic concepts of the book, they disheartened me and made me see the points of the numerous haters of this series. But it is Sword of Truth. Loving it is now a part of who I am, you can dig inside me all you want, but the fact that Mr. Goodkind's words flow in my blood still rings true.
“Master Rahl protect us.”
Warheart is heavily focused on the battle between prophecy and free will, on the balance between life and death that allows the existence of the world. It overturned beliefs we took for granted throughout the series, and managed to astonish me and give me gooseflesh when the solution to every problem was presented. I keep saying that Terry Goodkind has a brilliant mind, a conviction I will never shake off. His worldbuilding, and the concept of the Underworld, the Grace and the rules of life, they are intricate, complex and surprisingly fitting. His magic is founded on strict rules, his universe surpasses the average fantasy elements and he infuses his stories, his quests and the knowledge acquired with a philosophical aspect.
“In your light we thrive.”
The previous book of the series, Severed Souls, butchered my heart until there was nothing left but a bleeding mass lying on the floor. Warheart, while it mended some wounds, inflicted new ones, raw and painful and devastating. The absence and the loss of characters I cherished for years felt like a punch in the gut. Choked on tears, jaw quivering, hands trembling, I turned the pages and begged him to spare them, to give them the happily ever afters they deserve, but that's not Mr. Goodkind's style.
“In your mercy we are sheltered.”
His characters are three-dimensional, fictional yet tangible, real. Richard, with his seemingly crazy ideas, is my soul companion, my guide and my friend, Kahlan my inspiration, the Mord-Sith with their sass and overprotective instincts the proof that you can find joy in simple things, even after the horrors of your past, and Nicci the example that anyone can change. It's up to you, is the message Terry Goodkind tries so desperately to instill. In this world, everyone must die. None of us has any choice in that. Our choice is how we wish to live.
“In your wisdom we are humbled.”
Whenever Richard drew the Sword of Truth, and was consumed by its righteous rage, I always heard its metallic ring, and felt its fury boiling beneath my skin. And now, now that I know I will never hear it again, I will never listen to Nicci admonishing Richard, and Zedd swearing on the toasted toad's truth, now that I will never see Kahlan wearing her Confessor face, or smiling her rare smile, and I will never bear witness to Richard's dance with death, I feel hollow inside. Hollow but incredibly full, because they will keep living, in the corners of my mind and the edges of my soul.
Goodbye, my dear friends. It was truly an honour.
“We live only to serve.
Our lives are yours.”
January 1, 2016
Dear Terry Goodkind And His Novels,
It's time to end our relationship. I wont lie; we had some good times. But I just can't do it anymore. As much as it hurts, I need to do this. You've taken me on such a baffling journey. From beginning to end on this 17-book trek, I've experienced so many emotions... and not all of them were positive. Your continual push for one more story has ended this relationship. Goodkind, you were my first love. Your novels and characters were what inspired me to read. I'll always have those memories. I'll always remember what you did for me. But now it's time....
Goodbye.
It's time to end our relationship. I wont lie; we had some good times. But I just can't do it anymore. As much as it hurts, I need to do this. You've taken me on such a baffling journey. From beginning to end on this 17-book trek, I've experienced so many emotions... and not all of them were positive. Your continual push for one more story has ended this relationship. Goodkind, you were my first love. Your novels and characters were what inspired me to read. I'll always have those memories. I'll always remember what you did for me. But now it's time....
Goodbye.
November 18, 2015
Not only is this a great book, it’s a satisfying ending for the series too! The action will keep your eyes glued to the pages and the plot intricacies are so well-written that it will leave you wondering how he managed to tie everything together so completely, through so many books! In this book, you will laugh, you will cry, and you will be riveted! You really have to read it!
January 17, 2016
This book reads as if Goodkind was a high school student struggling to meet a word count for an essay. The constant repetition and overexplanation is especially painful when the reader can guess each event pages, or chapters, before it occurs. All of the best characters either died unceremoniously for no reason, or were left alive as empty shells of their former glory so there is someone there to look puzzled and ask Richard to explain very simple concepts 13 times. Remember the really strong and intelligent Kahlan we all love? Yeah, she's gone. All we have is Richard's nagging wife that is either crying or failing to comprehend even the most basic elements of this make-it-up-as-we-go magic system. I'm glad we're done. The end of the Sword of Truth series probably should have stayed the end.
November 20, 2015
I'll be honest, I only downloaded and read the sample to see if I would get this book. So, I don't know how the story may end, which is why I rate this 2 stars instead of one. Let me just say that it was incredibly difficult to get through the 4 chapters that were provided in the sample from Kindle. How many times can you say that it's raining? Let me count the ways on just the first page. 1) "fitful rain" 2) "irregular pools of standing water" 3) "tears of rain" 4) "bouts of rain" 5) "drizzle". That doesn't include the copious amounts of mist that apparently pools on faces and looks like tears.
Now, on to page 2! It was a struggle and I truly feel like I was reading something written by someone who is just learning to use a thesaurus. Kahlan looks off and peers off and glances with her gaze while starting across the citadel with Nicci beside her and three mord sith in tow. For two entire chapters. Seriously! I'm not even sure if it is still raining anymore... Prior to their journey across the citadel that they start to cross, Kahlan is also looking at, randomly touching but then dropping to her knees in order to touch, Richard's worldly remains and worldly body and worldly form that was preserved by occult magic because occult magic and then some more occult magic. All the while, she is pondering about his spark of life that is being dragged into eternal night for eternity in the darkness for all time where time is timeless.
If you're a fan of the series, I do hope that it gets better for you. The writing can't really get any worse. And I just can't even anymore.
Now, on to page 2! It was a struggle and I truly feel like I was reading something written by someone who is just learning to use a thesaurus. Kahlan looks off and peers off and glances with her gaze while starting across the citadel with Nicci beside her and three mord sith in tow. For two entire chapters. Seriously! I'm not even sure if it is still raining anymore... Prior to their journey across the citadel that they start to cross, Kahlan is also looking at, randomly touching but then dropping to her knees in order to touch, Richard's worldly remains and worldly body and worldly form that was preserved by occult magic because occult magic and then some more occult magic. All the while, she is pondering about his spark of life that is being dragged into eternal night for eternity in the darkness for all time where time is timeless.
If you're a fan of the series, I do hope that it gets better for you. The writing can't really get any worse. And I just can't even anymore.
November 21, 2015
This was one of the worst books I've ever read. Conclusion? Bullshit. Terry Goodkind is now in the realm of Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel.
December 10, 2015
Forgot I quit book three in this new series, Severed Souls, because reading should be fun, not a pain, and I just didn't want to have to keep reading it. But since I did forget, I reserved this when I saw it on the new releases list. And coincidentally (?) I also saw The First Confessor on the New Releases shelf at my library, which I'd never read because it was self published and never available from the library in the past. I'm glad I read The First Confessor first, even though it was pretty badly written, it did answer a lot of questions about the series, and was also very relevant to this second Richard and Kahlan series, I recommend reading it if you can before this. I had remembered about half of the stuff that overlaps from The First Confessor to this series (half-men, dead men, Sulachan, etc.) so I was interested to see how it all played out now that I'd read the other book, and of course I did want to at least see how the entire thing ended, Wizard's First Rule all the way to the end, even if I had to skim a lot to get there.
What very quickly became clear, to my surprise, was that Goodkind very clearly had editorial help on this one that he did not have on his self-published The First Confessor. The difference in the writing was so clear, even just in the first five chapters. By that point in the other book I was already writing notes about how choppy and abrupt it was, how abrupt the short chapters where, and how much he was already repeating himself. This had a bit too much recap but it felt like a professional book, there wasn't anything that was leaping out at me as being a problem, it was just night and day.
So even though it was interesting to have all of the books come together in the end, it was also overdone too. The stuff with Isadore and Naja from The First Confessor was a little much. There didn't seem to be any point in Idadore's role except making it overly complicated. If I hadn't read the other book it would just have been confusing. Or even more confusing. It's one thing to build on books directly in a series but that was a prequel and independently published only as an ebook until July of this year (2015), the author shouldn't assume readers have knowledge of it. Plus having Nicci meet Naja, Magda and Merritt in the underworld just underlined how much they were like Nicci, Kahlan and Richard, it was a bad strategic move. It seems clear that Goodkind thinks the parallels are cool somehow but they seem so incredibly uncreative. They could have had similar roles without practically being clones. Or he could have managed to write something different even, wouldn't that have been interesting? Naja was especially irritating as the Nicci clone.
And all of the suicide stuff because the person you love died was too much. Richard and Kahlan should have been stronger than that (seriously, spoiler, don't click if you don't want to be spoiled). Yes, it sucks, a lot. But most people do survive it, especially when they have things to survive for. (Yes, I'm speaking from experience, don't send hate comments please.) This author constantly babbles about how much life is a gift that shouldn't be wasted, he should make up his mind. And stop setting such a bad example. Suicide is not a light subject that should be so casually thrown about.
I think I hurt myself rolling my eyes. Richard read these scrolls and suddenly re-explained the entire history of both series. In a really boring chapters long tell-me. Nothing that happened was what they or we believed. Why is that fun? And I'm supposed to believe that
The end was so bad, such a bulls*** fakeout. After seventeen books we get that ending. Worse than, "occult powers." One of the worst series endings ever.
It wasn't a hard book it read, but it sure wasn't a satisfying one either. There's no feeling of satisfaction to be had at the end of this journey except knowing that it's finally over.
What very quickly became clear, to my surprise, was that Goodkind very clearly had editorial help on this one that he did not have on his self-published The First Confessor. The difference in the writing was so clear, even just in the first five chapters. By that point in the other book I was already writing notes about how choppy and abrupt it was, how abrupt the short chapters where, and how much he was already repeating himself. This had a bit too much recap but it felt like a professional book, there wasn't anything that was leaping out at me as being a problem, it was just night and day.
So even though it was interesting to have all of the books come together in the end, it was also overdone too. The stuff with Isadore and Naja from The First Confessor was a little much. There didn't seem to be any point in Idadore's role except making it overly complicated. If I hadn't read the other book it would just have been confusing. Or even more confusing. It's one thing to build on books directly in a series but that was a prequel and independently published only as an ebook until July of this year (2015), the author shouldn't assume readers have knowledge of it. Plus having Nicci meet Naja, Magda and Merritt in the underworld just underlined how much they were like Nicci, Kahlan and Richard, it was a bad strategic move. It seems clear that Goodkind thinks the parallels are cool somehow but they seem so incredibly uncreative. They could have had similar roles without practically being clones. Or he could have managed to write something different even, wouldn't that have been interesting? Naja was especially irritating as the Nicci clone.
And all of the suicide stuff because the person you love died was too much. Richard and Kahlan should have been stronger than that (seriously, spoiler, don't click if you don't want to be spoiled). Yes, it sucks, a lot. But most people do survive it, especially when they have things to survive for. (Yes, I'm speaking from experience, don't send hate comments please.) This author constantly babbles about how much life is a gift that shouldn't be wasted, he should make up his mind. And stop setting such a bad example. Suicide is not a light subject that should be so casually thrown about.
I think I hurt myself rolling my eyes. Richard read these scrolls and suddenly re-explained the entire history of both series. In a really boring chapters long tell-me. Nothing that happened was what they or we believed. Why is that fun? And I'm supposed to believe that
The end was so bad, such a bulls*** fakeout. After seventeen books we get that ending. Worse than, "occult powers." One of the worst series endings ever.
It wasn't a hard book it read, but it sure wasn't a satisfying one either. There's no feeling of satisfaction to be had at the end of this journey except knowing that it's finally over.
October 22, 2016
Finally finished! All 11 novels in the main Sword of Truth series, the 4 Richard and Kahlan novels (of which this is the last), the First Confessor, Debt of Bones and The Law of Nines.
Warheart concludes the Richard and Kahlan series, which are themselves an extension of the Sword of Truth. I didn't like the previous novel 'Severed Souls' but Goodkind redeems himself a bit here. I did guess some of the main plot points, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment since there was always a slight twist on what I thought would happen. There was one incident I defiantly DID NOT LIKE but I'm not going to say anymore because that would be a major spoiler. (Anyone who has read the book will know what I am referring to.)
Even though there were a few rough patches along the way this was one of the most enjoyable series I have read. It's certainly the longest. The main reason, the excellent characters. Richard and Kahlan are just wonderful characters and once you become full invested in them it's hard to not continue with the series. But other than the main two protagonists, the world building, interesting locations and large cast of supporting characters were also very memorable; Zedd, Nicci, Nathan and of course Cara. There were some diabolical villains in there too:)
The only real negative point on completing the series is just that. I completed it and have nothing else to read in the Sword of Truth. Goodkind has announced a new book, but this will a story about some of the supporting characters (Nicci and Nathan), not Richard and Kahlan. After spending so much time with these characters they are as detailed, if not more so, than most main characters in an single novel. They will be old friends so I will be continuing their story when the next book comes out.
Now, I'm off to rewatch "Legend of the Seeker" on DVD. I also have the first volume, 'Wizards First Rule', on audio book so next time round I will try that.
Warheart concludes the Richard and Kahlan series, which are themselves an extension of the Sword of Truth. I didn't like the previous novel 'Severed Souls' but Goodkind redeems himself a bit here. I did guess some of the main plot points, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment since there was always a slight twist on what I thought would happen. There was one incident I defiantly DID NOT LIKE but I'm not going to say anymore because that would be a major spoiler. (Anyone who has read the book will know what I am referring to.)
Even though there were a few rough patches along the way this was one of the most enjoyable series I have read. It's certainly the longest. The main reason, the excellent characters. Richard and Kahlan are just wonderful characters and once you become full invested in them it's hard to not continue with the series. But other than the main two protagonists, the world building, interesting locations and large cast of supporting characters were also very memorable; Zedd, Nicci, Nathan and of course Cara. There were some diabolical villains in there too:)
The only real negative point on completing the series is just that. I completed it and have nothing else to read in the Sword of Truth. Goodkind has announced a new book, but this will a story about some of the supporting characters (Nicci and Nathan), not Richard and Kahlan. After spending so much time with these characters they are as detailed, if not more so, than most main characters in an single novel. They will be old friends so I will be continuing their story when the next book comes out.
Now, I'm off to rewatch "Legend of the Seeker" on DVD. I also have the first volume, 'Wizards First Rule', on audio book so next time round I will try that.
November 24, 2015
After almost 20 years of weaving the masterful tapestry that is Richard and Kahlan, Goodkind once again delivers on his promises to speak to his readers through the art of prose.
Skillfully written and conceived, WARHEART is a fulfilling ending to the story and smashes all previous notions of expectations. As we say goodbye to the characters we have known for so long, in this last installment of the series we begin to see the world in a different way and feel as though we are parting with old friends one last time.
The evolution of the characters is wonderfully written and the spirit of the Wizard's Rules lives on in WARHEART, as we travel down a path laid by Wizard's First Rule almost twenty years ago. Millions of fans and millions of copies later, Goodkind dedicates this book to his readers on the first page and honors them right through to the last.
Told through the eyes of people who have no choice but to be who they are, they break all of the traditional boundaries and set a path for themselves that will leave you breathless with a new perspective on the series you have grown with throughout the years.
Goodkind has done it once again. Bravo!
Skillfully written and conceived, WARHEART is a fulfilling ending to the story and smashes all previous notions of expectations. As we say goodbye to the characters we have known for so long, in this last installment of the series we begin to see the world in a different way and feel as though we are parting with old friends one last time.
The evolution of the characters is wonderfully written and the spirit of the Wizard's Rules lives on in WARHEART, as we travel down a path laid by Wizard's First Rule almost twenty years ago. Millions of fans and millions of copies later, Goodkind dedicates this book to his readers on the first page and honors them right through to the last.
Told through the eyes of people who have no choice but to be who they are, they break all of the traditional boundaries and set a path for themselves that will leave you breathless with a new perspective on the series you have grown with throughout the years.
Goodkind has done it once again. Bravo!
December 19, 2015
I remember when I started reading the Sword of Truth series. It was 2001 and I picked up Wizard's First Rule on a whim, and was immediately blown away by the fullness of the world, the richness of the characters, and the thrilling action. Fast-forward almost fifteen years to Warheart and I couldn't be more glad the series is over. For me, this series peaked at Faith of the Fallen and has gone downhill ever since. The lush world and full-bodied characters have been replaced by a simplistic, repetitive writing style that sees dialogue go on for pages at a time full of circular conversations where the lines could be said by anyone. No one has a distinct voice anymore. And for a book about a character called Warheart (a phrase, by the way, introduced almost as a throwaway line that is only saved from being a one-off by being used twice more, including a closing line that is easily one of the worst closing lines in the history of books), there is so little action it's unbelievable. It's basically a book about characters traveling back and forth to different places saying the same thing ad nauseam, followed by a ridiculously anticlimactic final confrontation. I'm giving Warheart one star for the one scene in the book that packed any sort of emotional punch for me, and out of loyalty and love for what used to be a great series.
November 18, 2015
I'm on the fence over whether I truly enjoyed the four-part continuation of Sword of Truth. The first two books sorely disappointed me, however, Goodkind came back with a vengeance with Severed Souls and now Warheart. I don't feel they were on par with the main series, but the touches only Goodkind can add to an adventure did show through in the last two instalments.
Warheart started off slowly, though Goodkind kept me entranced with hints of bigger events going on in the little-known goings on of the underworld. As the series progresses, Goodkind does what he does best through the eyes of his characters and clues you in to how the events from the previous books all tie together, and open up to an even bigger event that is beyond your wildest imagination.
I found that, while saddened by some events, I really enjoyed the adventure with the final book and can rest easy with the conclusion.
Warheart started off slowly, though Goodkind kept me entranced with hints of bigger events going on in the little-known goings on of the underworld. As the series progresses, Goodkind does what he does best through the eyes of his characters and clues you in to how the events from the previous books all tie together, and open up to an even bigger event that is beyond your wildest imagination.
I found that, while saddened by some events, I really enjoyed the adventure with the final book and can rest easy with the conclusion.
October 29, 2015
The conclusion to the Sword of Truth Series, this book tidies everything up and puts a pretty little bow on it. Cameos are made by beloved characters as Richard and Kahlan prepare to battle the forces of evil, Hannis Arc and Emporer Sulechan. I highly recommend this book and all of Mr. Goodkind's books. This book has plenty of ah ha moments and keeps you interested.
November 19, 2015
I am disappointed by how repetitive the book is. I liked his first book in this series and some of the other sequels but this one is annoyingly repetitive.
June 18, 2024
Man I love this series, even with all its stupidity. Or maybe it's because of all the stupidity, lol.
April 20, 2018
This will be my last Goodkind novel. I wish it had ended four books ago.
What was once an intelligent, thoughtful and novel idea devolved into a dumbed down, preachy and boring travail.
What was once an intelligent, thoughtful and novel idea devolved into a dumbed down, preachy and boring travail.
November 28, 2015
What a disappointment. Although Confessor was a perfect way to end the series if he chose to do so, I was excited to hear of his new releases. The series stared well, but then completely fell apart. This is literally the worst Goodkind book I have ever read. He goes completely away from the roots of his first several novels.
It ended fine with confessor, but I was completely excited new books were coming. But what a time waster. NOTHING HAPPENS!!! At all!! His 'enemy' is almost never heard of. There is no depth or substance like any of the other evil doers Richard and the free came across. Not to mention Richard doesn't fight anyone either. This entire damn time about him being the moepst powerful war wizard ever, and he never uses his power or even understands it!!!!!!! What the hell man!
I appreciate the intricacies in his stories. I will give some credit in how Goodkind fits everything together, but it's basically saying all the previous books and characters were useless and were mere puppets. Somewhat cliched. He does provide fine dialogue, as usual, when characters give those brief explanations and sum up what's happening. But it seemed that's all he was thinking. The one time I thought I'd see Richard in action, right when he wakes up, he doesn't even gives us any fighting! Boom next chapter...give me a break. In wizards first rule, he had Kahlan cutting off that guys privates and feeding it to him. Blood of the fold has some of the best battles.
And don't get me started in Confessor. Ja La. Ja La. That's all I have to say. How badass was that whole series. What the heck is Warheart!!!!??! A bunch of garbage. Hot garbage.
Oh and don't forget, this 'trilogy' needed four books. I think it was third kingdom, toward the end they were going to Stroyza or something. And the entire next book is them still traveling there. It takes a book and a half to get somewhere. Okay dude. You got another 30 bucks from us. And I can't get Lord Rahl to wield the Sword if Truth once??? When it's not a shield please?? Nope. Sowwy
I was so excited when some new books were coming. And there are some sweet battle scenes in some of them. And I agree it is more than just the fighting, I love the characters too. And he does well with all of them. But it's like going to an action movie and watching them talk. It's lame
Oh and thanks for the forced goodbyes at the end! Promise me. It's a promise. Promise it's the end... Cmon no problem Goodkind! I'm going to reread your first 12, 13 books. That's some real Lord Rahl..
Ja La
It ended fine with confessor, but I was completely excited new books were coming. But what a time waster. NOTHING HAPPENS!!! At all!! His 'enemy' is almost never heard of. There is no depth or substance like any of the other evil doers Richard and the free came across. Not to mention Richard doesn't fight anyone either. This entire damn time about him being the moepst powerful war wizard ever, and he never uses his power or even understands it!!!!!!! What the hell man!
I appreciate the intricacies in his stories. I will give some credit in how Goodkind fits everything together, but it's basically saying all the previous books and characters were useless and were mere puppets. Somewhat cliched. He does provide fine dialogue, as usual, when characters give those brief explanations and sum up what's happening. But it seemed that's all he was thinking. The one time I thought I'd see Richard in action, right when he wakes up, he doesn't even gives us any fighting! Boom next chapter...give me a break. In wizards first rule, he had Kahlan cutting off that guys privates and feeding it to him. Blood of the fold has some of the best battles.
And don't get me started in Confessor. Ja La. Ja La. That's all I have to say. How badass was that whole series. What the heck is Warheart!!!!??! A bunch of garbage. Hot garbage.
Oh and don't forget, this 'trilogy' needed four books. I think it was third kingdom, toward the end they were going to Stroyza or something. And the entire next book is them still traveling there. It takes a book and a half to get somewhere. Okay dude. You got another 30 bucks from us. And I can't get Lord Rahl to wield the Sword if Truth once??? When it's not a shield please?? Nope. Sowwy
I was so excited when some new books were coming. And there are some sweet battle scenes in some of them. And I agree it is more than just the fighting, I love the characters too. And he does well with all of them. But it's like going to an action movie and watching them talk. It's lame
Oh and thanks for the forced goodbyes at the end! Promise me. It's a promise. Promise it's the end... Cmon no problem Goodkind! I'm going to reread your first 12, 13 books. That's some real Lord Rahl..
Ja La
November 21, 2021
Sadly, I was very disappointed with Warheart since it is the conclusion to The Sword Of Truth series, my favourite. I wish I could say that the story has come full circle, but I definitely can't.
As far as I'm concerned, Confessor was the end of this sequence and the rest was just filler nonsense; none of his later works can compare to his earlier works and I have been tempted to DNF more than one - annoying and unnecessary repetition, intelligent characters being dumb af, and long, long chapters describing miles of forest.
The end of this just feels rushed and hopes the reader is satisfied with the outcome; I finished this because I had to, you know? Being my fave and all.
3.5 stars
As far as I'm concerned, Confessor was the end of this sequence and the rest was just filler nonsense; none of his later works can compare to his earlier works and I have been tempted to DNF more than one - annoying and unnecessary repetition, intelligent characters being dumb af, and long, long chapters describing miles of forest.
The end of this just feels rushed and hopes the reader is satisfied with the outcome; I finished this because I had to, you know? Being my fave and all.
3.5 stars
February 12, 2016
Hmm... Terry Goodkind. A name I personally associate with twists, despair and as of Chainfire and on, with poor, unimaginative ways of defeating the villain.
The only reason I read on after Confessor was the characters I loved. A friend of mine decided that not only will she not let the author turn her into a psychopath with these four more books, but she wouldn't ever read any of his work.
While I wish I could've listened, I'm now also glad I didn't. I can promise whoever intends to read the Richard and Kahlan series they will become almost immune to any sorrows seen in other books, if they aren't already after the Sword of Truth series.
The only reason I read on after Confessor was the characters I loved. A friend of mine decided that not only will she not let the author turn her into a psychopath with these four more books, but she wouldn't ever read any of his work.
While I wish I could've listened, I'm now also glad I didn't. I can promise whoever intends to read the Richard and Kahlan series they will become almost immune to any sorrows seen in other books, if they aren't already after the Sword of Truth series.
March 26, 2016
If nothing else, my ocular muscles got a good workout from all the involuntary eye-rolling. The dialog is awful; the wooden characters continually kick dead horses as they talk in circles for pages at a time. Few events occur that aren't overtly corny. That said, Warheart is a fitting end to a drudging tetralogy that was inarguably unnecessary. Either Goodkind really half-assed this sub-series, or I just didn't realize back when I read the original series that his writing/storytelling/dialogue/etc. was this cheesy. Nostalgia urges me to settle with the former.
April 16, 2018
I'm glad this is over. The series went further and further downhill towards the end.
Either I didn't recognize how annoying Richard was in the Sword of Truth series or he got increasingly annoying with this sequel.
Also the writing felt super repetetive at times, making me feel as if the author had zero trust in his readers ability to read.
Kinda messed up how I think about one of my favorite fantasy series. Gotta go back to the SoT-books and see if they can make me feel better again (or even worse?) ...
Either I didn't recognize how annoying Richard was in the Sword of Truth series or he got increasingly annoying with this sequel.
Also the writing felt super repetetive at times, making me feel as if the author had zero trust in his readers ability to read.
Kinda messed up how I think about one of my favorite fantasy series. Gotta go back to the SoT-books and see if they can make me feel better again (or even worse?) ...
November 26, 2017
what happened to , though?
p114: "i have worn the of agiel of a number of women who have died for me," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.
p192: the all held their noses, wincing, gagging on the putrefying stench.
p327: he was holding kahlan by her hair, dragging her along behind.
- what happened to thunder without sound, though?
p343: before she'd left, nicci had used subtractive magic on vika so that she could travel in the sliph and protect them.
p114: "i have worn the of agiel of a number of women who have died for me," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.
p192: the all held their noses, wincing, gagging on the putrefying stench.
p327: he was holding kahlan by her hair, dragging her along behind.
- what happened to thunder without sound, though?
p343: before she'd left, nicci had used subtractive magic on vika so that she could travel in the sliph and protect them.
March 28, 2017
One of my favorite series comes to an end. Or does it? I thought so after the 11 books but then, lo and behold, another 4 came out. Although I found some parts repetitive, overall I thoroughly enjoyed these new stories. There were a few surprises and shocks as well. I for one would love to see more. I love the story of Richard and Kahlan. I'm always sad and disappointed when a good series ends. I felt that way the first time around. These 4 additional books give me hope that maybe, just maybe, it's not over yet.
April 20, 2017
An exciting end to The Sword of Truth Series. Though there were some instances where
things felt like they got repeated a bit, the action and drama of the novel kept me hooked
until the very last page.
I can't wait to begin the new spin off series of Death's Mistress.
things felt like they got repeated a bit, the action and drama of the novel kept me hooked
until the very last page.
I can't wait to begin the new spin off series of Death's Mistress.
November 30, 2015
So this was the end of the series... It's been a bumpy ride (and the last few books have not been my favorites) but I have to say, this was a good read. I don't think this book was the best that Mr Goodkind has given us - but it certainly felt like he was back in the author saddle.
This book really took me back to the world of Richard and Kahlan, answered some outstanding questions, gave me conundrums and riddles to puzzle over, let me see and hear from a number of old favorite characters...and wrapped it all up in a nice bow at the end!
I liked the action, the questions, the unique way Richard puzzles through a problem. I didn't much like that everyone still questions everything that Richard says - I mean, seriously, the guy is the bringer of death, foretold in prophecy, ruler of the DHara and savior of both the new and old worlds...give him a break already. If he suggests something it's probably with good reason!
That said, I was also a bit pissed at Richard. The tone of his voice in this book just felt a bit off. In other books he has always been respectful and patient to kahlan, Nikki, mostly all of the people...but he seemed a bit flippant with Kahlan (especially), and he didn't seem to fully trust her. I guess there didn't seem as much of a love story as others in the series.
But all that aside - a good read. A great finish to this series.
This book really took me back to the world of Richard and Kahlan, answered some outstanding questions, gave me conundrums and riddles to puzzle over, let me see and hear from a number of old favorite characters...and wrapped it all up in a nice bow at the end!
I liked the action, the questions, the unique way Richard puzzles through a problem. I didn't much like that everyone still questions everything that Richard says - I mean, seriously, the guy is the bringer of death, foretold in prophecy, ruler of the DHara and savior of both the new and old worlds...give him a break already. If he suggests something it's probably with good reason!
That said, I was also a bit pissed at Richard. The tone of his voice in this book just felt a bit off. In other books he has always been respectful and patient to kahlan, Nikki, mostly all of the people...but he seemed a bit flippant with Kahlan (especially), and he didn't seem to fully trust her. I guess there didn't seem as much of a love story as others in the series.
But all that aside - a good read. A great finish to this series.
June 6, 2016
Warheart continues to story of Richard and Kahlan that started in Wizard's First Rule back in 2010. Wizard's First Rule was a good start to the series as Richard finds himself in a new world against overwhelming odds. This 15th book in the series doesn't have the same magic though.
The book revolves around the Underworld and its relationship with magic and the living. Richard is dead at the beginning of this book and Kahlan makes unusual decision involving traveling to the Underworld to get his soul back.
Much of this book delves into the idea that prophesy comes from the Underworld and that prophesy is the opposite of free will. Richard and his companions must battle against two main enemies that control thousands of minions that are in search of their souls.
Sadly, the concepts are either overdone or key issues are solved too quickly in this book. I give it a three out of five stars as the characters lacked additional development and overall the book was rather forgettable.
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The book revolves around the Underworld and its relationship with magic and the living. Richard is dead at the beginning of this book and Kahlan makes unusual decision involving traveling to the Underworld to get his soul back.
Much of this book delves into the idea that prophesy comes from the Underworld and that prophesy is the opposite of free will. Richard and his companions must battle against two main enemies that control thousands of minions that are in search of their souls.
Sadly, the concepts are either overdone or key issues are solved too quickly in this book. I give it a three out of five stars as the characters lacked additional development and overall the book was rather forgettable.
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January 22, 2016
I enjoyed the book, but I have to say I've outgrown Goodkind's writing style. after 17 novels in the same series in what reality do we need to devote so much time telling us that Richard is the seeker, the Lord rahl, the bringer of death, blah blah blah. seriously the 460 page book would be closer to 300 pages if they cut that repetitive garbage out.
plot wise, where did Cara come from, how did she know that killing herself would save Richard? she just magically shows up offs herself (somehow) and boom. the fight with Samantha was so anticlimatic. someone of such immense power drops rocks on her head? you couldn't have come up with something more?
the first few books were magical. the tensions, the discovery, the characters were fantastic, and then we got weighed down in political and theological garbage, but the tension was still there.... after 17 books of Richard finding the solution no matter how impossible at the last moment, how could we have believed it would be different in this book?
plot wise, where did Cara come from, how did she know that killing herself would save Richard? she just magically shows up offs herself (somehow) and boom. the fight with Samantha was so anticlimatic. someone of such immense power drops rocks on her head? you couldn't have come up with something more?
the first few books were magical. the tensions, the discovery, the characters were fantastic, and then we got weighed down in political and theological garbage, but the tension was still there.... after 17 books of Richard finding the solution no matter how impossible at the last moment, how could we have believed it would be different in this book?
November 18, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars My suspense has been quenched!, November 18, 2015
By JoyceH.
This review is from: Warheart (Richard and Kahlan) (Kindle Edition)
As I was reading this book,I was watching Richard grow into the man he was meant to become.His character was developing during the entire storyline and as always it was last minute realizations that brought about his capacity to get into and/or out of trouble at the last minute.Even though he knew what he had to do,he had to wait till just the right time to do it and his growth and maturity gave him the knowledge and stamina he needed to make it through.
All the characters were used in their own capacity to make the story full of suspense and some were heartbreaking to lose,but that's what good writing is made of.
This book kept my interest throughout,but ,afterall,I knew it was the final part of the series!
Great job TG! I enjoyed it immensely! Thank you!
Joyce Henry,
Conroe,Tx.
By JoyceH.
This review is from: Warheart (Richard and Kahlan) (Kindle Edition)
As I was reading this book,I was watching Richard grow into the man he was meant to become.His character was developing during the entire storyline and as always it was last minute realizations that brought about his capacity to get into and/or out of trouble at the last minute.Even though he knew what he had to do,he had to wait till just the right time to do it and his growth and maturity gave him the knowledge and stamina he needed to make it through.
All the characters were used in their own capacity to make the story full of suspense and some were heartbreaking to lose,but that's what good writing is made of.
This book kept my interest throughout,but ,afterall,I knew it was the final part of the series!
Great job TG! I enjoyed it immensely! Thank you!
Joyce Henry,
Conroe,Tx.
November 13, 2015
The great adventures of Richard and Kahlan are finally over. That was what I was looking for in this book. An ending. Well I got one, even if it was not ideal. To me the whole book seemed a bit rushed. There was quite a bit that was left out, things unexplained, and then some things that were over written. Cough cough Cerulean Scrolls. If you are a super fan like I was, I would recommend going into this book with the idea that Terry Goodkind might not have put his whole heart into it. Try to read it for what it is and make something of it for yourself. Also, the writing style was different this book. At times I could swear it was George R.R. Martin writing some of it. Killing off so many big characters. It was unnecessary.
I would like to give the book 5 stars, but it was too lacking for my taste. Going into a new series, perhaps T.G's heart will be more in it.
I would like to give the book 5 stars, but it was too lacking for my taste. Going into a new series, perhaps T.G's heart will be more in it.
November 20, 2015
AWESOME AND MORE THAN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyone who has read any of Mr. Goodkind's books, knows that his stories are GOLDEN. This one is even better.
I was so lost when he finished his earlier work, but he just kept coming out with MORE to let his readers know that he wasn't quite finished yet.
This story is even MORE important to let us readers know how much he cared about Richard
and Kahlan. They have been a huge part of his life too.
I have read all of the Sword of Truth series twice.(I have the time) and I know I'll be reading this last story at least that many times.
This story ties in with much of what has gone on in all the previous books. I sure hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
What a legend this entire creation is already.
What's next Mr. Goodkind???????
Anyone who has read any of Mr. Goodkind's books, knows that his stories are GOLDEN. This one is even better.
I was so lost when he finished his earlier work, but he just kept coming out with MORE to let his readers know that he wasn't quite finished yet.
This story is even MORE important to let us readers know how much he cared about Richard
and Kahlan. They have been a huge part of his life too.
I have read all of the Sword of Truth series twice.(I have the time) and I know I'll be reading this last story at least that many times.
This story ties in with much of what has gone on in all the previous books. I sure hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
What a legend this entire creation is already.
What's next Mr. Goodkind???????
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