Book # 11

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With the ending of the series coming way too soon, this book tends to weave everything into a massive frenzy for the last book of Confessor.

Richard is still looking for his one true love, who no one remembers. It seems as though there are a few who believe in him but still don’t know her. With that, Richard has hope that he will find her before it’s too late. After speaking some truth to the D’Haran army about the upcoming battle, Richard seems to put two and two together like only the Seeker can and takes off with Cara, his Mord-Sith protector, and Nicci, his faithful friend who was once a Sister of the Light and then a Sister of the Dark. They decided to travel faster through the sliph and with the magic going off kilter since the chimes, Richard gets attacked by the beast while traveling as well as by a witch woman named Six. When Cara and Nicci returned without Richard, Zedd was up in arms.

Meanwhile Richard is stuck somewhere without the ability to travel since he has been stripped of his power. Six comes along to captivate him and he is powerless to resist her charms. While the world is coming to a close with Jagang leading, Richard fights to figure out what went wrong with his magic as well as find Kahlan. Nicci and Cara fight to find Richard before his luck runs out. Jagang fights for his cruel and unusual punishments along with the Order.

I was so focused on this story. I couldn’t put it down. I don’t recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read the rest of the series. Not because it isn’t a great read, it is, but because you won’t understand what is going on. This isn’t a story to read alone. You need to get some background and you will want to read the final story as well. I can’t wait to read Confessor. Great Read!

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Debt of Bones isn’t really a continuation but merely a glimpse of the past. First Wizard Zedd was under major stress with the war going on between the Midlands and D’Hara. He was just named First Wizard and he was called by nickname the wind of death.

While many people stood in line to petition one of the wizards, a young woman waited impatiently to convince the First Wizard to help her save her loved ones and the entire village from the invading army of D’Harans. She wasn’t able to plead her case well since his mind was occupied by many, many, others. When she was sent out of his office and denied, she thought that her world has turned upside-down.

With a second chance to see the First Wizard, she showed him her mother’s skull from which she dug up because her mother said that there was a debt of bones that passed on to the daughter from the mother. With that said to Zedd, she was told that he would come along. Knowing full well that this was a trap to get the First Wizard to come to Coney Crossing, she couldn’t seem to feel so sorry for her child living among those D’Haran soldiers. This was her part to play so she could have her daughter back.

When Zedd followed to Coney Crossing, things of magic really started going down. Zedd allowed her till dawn to find her family but that was all he could afford to give her.

I enjoyed reading a bit more about Zedd and how the boundaries came to be. I thought that it was awfully short but was told well. I really enjoyed the ending. It told what kind of man and wizard Zedd truly is.

Book #9

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Richard woke up after having a major brush with death. He knew instantly that something was wrong. He wanted to know where Kahlan, his wife was. Cara, his Mord-Sith protector and close friend didn’t know what he was talking about. Nicci, once a Sister of the Light/Sister of the Dark/Death’s Mistress/Richard’s captor and now trusted friend couldn’t figure out what he was talking about either. When Richard ran out to his men, they didn’t understand what he was asking of them either. It seems that Richard was the only person that remembers Kahlan Amnell, the Mother Confessor, Richard’s wife. He thought that he was going out of his mind once he realized that his trusted friends wouldn’t keep playing a game that he was so serious about.

People start to think that Lord Rahl is going crazy. Nicci thinks that she somehow did something wrong when she healed him. She had to use Subtractive magic to take the crossbow bolt that was barbed out of his chest as well as a massive amount of blood in his lung. She didn’t know if she was doing things right because no one has ever healed with subtractive magic before but she had no choice. It was either do what she could or let him die and that wasn’t going to happen on her watch. Since his long sleep, he seemed to be obsessed with a woman that Nicci figured he fantasized about while unconscious. She wanted him to do what he had to but on the other hand she needed him to forget this obsession and focus on what was real.

It seems to Richard that even though no one believes him, he can’t forget and doesn’t want to. He knows that there is more out there but he can’t figure out how to make every one see. His own grandfather doesn’t believe him. He wonders if life has to go on if Kahlan isn’t real. Standing on a cliff, he wonders if things would be easier if he just stepped off.

This story had me so mad, I almost threw it across the room. I wasn’t affected by the magic that made everyone forget Kahlan so I couldn’t believe that no one was believing him. Now as one of my favorites, this book will keep your blood pumping about betrayal and what is happening is beyond your control and you can’t simply fly into the pages to slap some people around. Trust me, I’ve tried. A great book and I highly recommend it.

Book # 8

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Richard Rahl, Lord Rahl of D’Hara, husband to the Mother Confessor, and Seeker of Truth appointed by the First Wizard has helped turn the homeland of Emperor Jagang into a free land. He led the people to believe in themselves and let them take control of their own lives and they decided that they wanted to be free. That spark created a mad fire burning out of control but in a good way for the lands of D’Hara and in a bad way for the Order.

While leaving the Old World, Richard came across a man that seemed innocent enough but Richard couldn’t seem to warm to him. When the man told him of his problem and that he wanted Lord Rahl to come and make the Order leave that has invaded his homeland, Richard was sympathetic but couldn’t do it by himself. He was sent on his way with words of wisdom but not help from Richard or Kahlan. After that night Richard started getting sick. It seems that the stranger that came to ask for help had indeed poisoned him. His way of thinking was that Richard had to help in order to get the antidote but he didn’t know Richard well. While giving him one of the four antidotes and telling him that there were three more to get, Richard was furious. All he could do was to go to the cities and recover them and see what he could do to help this man.

While getting to these cities it seems that someone is always watching and once Richard figures out that there is a wizard in the area, he was able to put two and two together. He brought out all the men that have run for their lives from the Order and told them what he thought was the truth. His ancestors banished those individuals that contained absolutely no spark of magic to the Old World after the boundaries went up. The wizards from the Old World sent them to a place that would keep their ideas of evil and everything away from the rest of the world. While living for so long without violence, it took Richard some time to explain what was happening and how he had to have their help if anyone was going to succeed.

These people weren’t able to see magic and magic wasn’t able to harm them in the slightest. Lord Rahl had his work cut out for him.

Meanwhile at the Palace in D’Hara, Wizard Nathan Rahl is beside himself because Richard has just about walked off the view of prophecy itself. Without delay, Nathan and Ann, the former prelate of the Sisters of the Light, ride hard to find out just what has happened. No one knows that a whole empire that is naked to the world of magic has become naked to the Order and the evil and violence that comes with them. This empire is exclusively made up of holes in the world like Richard’s half sister.

What is going to happen with the Order and Richard? Will Nathan and Ann make it in time before the Wizard Nicholas the Slide can slip into Richard and hand him over the Order?

I was moved by this book simply because these people were so ignorant of what goes on in the world around them. They called themselves the enlightened but were actually in need of it. I enjoyed watching the changes come over the people just by the influences Richard had. Another winner in my book or website actually from Goodkind.

Read On!

Sword of Truth Series

Book #7

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Jennsen is considered a hole in the world. She has been running with her mother since she was six years old. She is the daughter of Darken Rahl. The Lord Rahl, from then, kept all the offspring from him that wasn’t gifted dead. He knew that there was something wrong with them and that magic couldn’t touch them in any way. Jennsen is now 20 and she thinks that Lord Rahl has found her again. She came across a D’Haran soldier with a note in his pocket that had her name on it.

Oba is also a hole in the world. He has lived a much altered life compared to Jennsen. Oba’s mother was resentful of having an ungifted child from Lord Rahl and Oba was the one she reacted to. Jennsen was loved more than anything by her mother. The one thing they had in common was they both heard a voice in their head. For a long time Jennsen thought that it was Lord Rahl. Oba just thought that he had a friend.

When Sebastian came along and helped Jennsen, she felt compelled to have him stay to relieve his fever. While there enjoying a fire, some D’Haran soldiers came in and killed Jennsen’s mother and Sebastian helped her kill them. She grew to trust him and knew that she needed to get to a sorceress to have a spell put back on her to hide again. One thing that Jennsen didn’t do was give into the voice in her head.

Oba did listen to the voice and felt invisible. He didn’t have to listen to his mother complaining and making him take concoctions made by a sorceress that made him sick and also being locked in a cage. He did whatever the voice told him to do and was well rewarded. He found out that he was an important person.

Jennsen travels around looking for a way to live her life with the help of her new love, Sebastian. She learns more and more including that Darken Rahl was killed by his son, Richard Rahl and that Richard, her half brother, has taken over the hunt for her. She holds so much rage and contempt for Richard and hasn’t even laid eyes on him. Sebastian fans that flame and takes her to the Emperor and the Imperial Order.

This book is my least favorite of this series. I like the story itself but it doesn’t have Richard in it or Kahlan for that matter until the end. Of course I can’t tell you the end but they are there. I did like some of the new characters like Tom and had a good surprise at the end when everything came together. I had a easy time of putting this down and a hard time picking it back up. You should read this in order to have read the entire series but not the greatest book. I just enjoy Richard more than any other character, so I was disappointed to have so little of him and going through the majority of these pages without him.

Book #6

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Richard has a broken heart. His faith in people has been destroyed. He did his best in the towns around Fairfield but they were too ready to give into lies and not listen to truth. After Kahlan was beaten almost to death, Richard had wanted to heal her with the magic he’d gotten back from the chimes but wasn’t able to. There was a spell on Kahlan that would definitely kill her if any magic were to be used on her.

Richard took Kahlan and their protector and friend, Cara, to the deep woods around Westland where Richard grew up. Once confronted with those he grew up with that wanted him out or else, he really didn’t trust in people. He decided that the people have to make him believe that they want their freedom. He couldn’t force them to accept it. People needed to see what their own life was worth.

While Kahlan got better as the days wore into months, Richard started carving figures for her. He said that the gift has nothing to do with it. He taught Kahlan how to fight with a sword better than she already knew. He wanted her strength to return but also for her to be better able to defend herself.

Nicci had a rough childhood. She always believed that everyone was created equal and that if you had more than you needed, you gave it to those that needed it more. She became a Sister of the Light looking for something that meant something to her. She then became a Sister of the Dark and swore her soul to the Keeper because she thought that she was evil. The only time she ever felt anything was when Richard was at the Palace and she was one of his teachers. She decided that the only way to get the answers that she needed was to take Richard away from everything. She conjured a maternity spell that linked her to Kahlan. That way Richard wouldn’t harm her else he’d be harming Kahlan.

Nicci took Richard to the Old World and wouldn’t allow him to use his magic and told him that she couldn’t use hers either. They were to live as husband and wife to everyone and he would no longer be Lord Rahl. The bond from a Rahl to the people of D’Hara was masked. No one could know where he was but they knew he was alive since the Mord-Sith’s agiel still worked.

Nicci didn’t understand that Richard infected everyone around him with life. She couldn’t figure out the secret that he had. She didn’t know the right questions to ask in order to get Richard to tell her either.

I loved this book. I think that it is my favorite out of all this series. Richard’s compassion pours out the pages along with the love that he has for Kahlan. It seems that she is all he lives for. His life means little but it’s his. He tries to help those around him by helping themselves. You have to read this one.

Book #4

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A wizard shows up and announces that he is there to kill Lord Rahl. Everyone is in an uproar and want answers. With the help of Mord-Sith Cara, Kahlan goes to the dungeon to speak with this wizard. It seems even after Cara had control of his magic, he was different. It turned out that Wizard Marlin was being controlled by Emperor Jagang. Almost being killed in the process, they learned not to make the same mistake again.

Richard Rahl is the magic against the magic for the land of D’Hara. His people are the steel against the steel. It seems as though Richard might be out of his element with this. He knows that the black plague has started with magic, but the dead are still dead. He is unable to have his grandfather, First Wizard Zedd, to help him so he must go at it alone. With the help of one of the Mord-Sith, he is translating an ancient diary of a wizard long ago dead. He also gets a visit from Nadine. Nadine fancies Richard and doesn’t seem to bear in mind that he is to wed Kahlan, the Mother Confessor. He isn’t doing so out of duty. They are truly in love. Nadine was sent by the witch woman, Shota. When Kahlan realizes that she cannot go on without eliminating Shota, she takes off in the sliph to the witch woman. While there, Kahlan learns that the winds hunt Richard and that he is to marry someone. Shota thought it a kindness that Nadine was from his homeland and he knows her well enough that they would marry. She was only able to influence the spirits about who he was to marry, not Kahlan. She returns to Richard with a heavy heart and refuses to tell him what was said. Only that what Shota done wasn’t out of malice.

Richard learns that he must go to the temple of the winds in order to stop the plague from spreading even more. Kahlan saw through the spirits of the Mud People what would happen if the plague wasn’t stopped. He is to wed Nadine and Kahlan is to wed Drefan Rahl, Richard’s half brother.

Will Richard be in time to stop the plague from consuming all his people? Will Richard and Nadine marry? There are so many questions to ask and the only way to get them answered is to read this book. I really enjoyed this one. I was on the edge of my seat and crying and angry all at the same time. I wanted Richard and Kahlan to enjoy the love they have for each other but it seems that the responsibilities that they both have are weighing heavily on their shoulders. All in all it is a wonderful story line with Richard and Kahlan at the head and magic and the Keeper at the bottom. Leaves you wanting more.

Book #5

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Richard Rahl, Lord of D’Hara, Seeker of Truth named so by a Wizard of the First Order, and soon to be husband to the Mother Confessor, Kahlan Amnell. The latter is the most important to Richard. He has overcome the magic inside Kahlan that could destroy him by giving his all to her regardless. With that love, they are going to be married by the Mud People and take some time to themselves. They decided to make time for each other since their responsibilities have so far kept them from being together alone at all. After fighting the black plague and going through sheer torment being apart, Richard and Kahlan decided that they would make time.

Once their marriage was sealed, a magic that was triggered for that event was released and magic was beginning to fade. Richard asked his grandfather/greatest friend/First Wizard what everything meant and Zedd couldn’t give him the answers he seeks. When Richard took off to the Wizard’s Keep with Kahlan and Cara, Zedd and Ann took off to do their best to rid the world of the chimes that are ultimately going to destroy magic all together.

What Zedd failed to realize was that Richard is the Seeker and Zedd’s cock and bull story wasn’t going to keep Richard from finding out the truth and going on without any knowledge what he’s doing. Will Zedd be able to figure out everything and keep Richard safe? Or will Richard have everything figured out before Zedd can even know what is going on?

]]> http://www.read-that.com/fantasy_books/terry-goodkindsoul-of-the-fire/feed 0 http://www.read-that.com/fantasy_books/terry-goodkindblood-of-the-fold http://www.read-that.com/fantasy_books/terry-goodkindblood-of-the-fold#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:29:28 +0000 chanchan http://www.read-that.com/?p=835 Continue reading →]]> Sword of Truth Series

Book #3

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Richard and Kahlan are in love but that love comes with a price, their freedom. Richard has recently learned that he is Lord Rahl of D’Hara and that he must unite the Midlands in order to have success in defeating the Order and Jagang the Emperor of the Old World. Kahlan is the Mother Confessor of the Midlands. She has kings and queens bow to her. No one has more power over others as the Mother Confessor. Except the Seeker, which is also Richard. While they want to get married, it isn’t’ a good time. It never seems to be a good time for them. With Mord-Sith by their side and a major army of D’Harans, they seek to stay above evil.

When Richard brought back the home of the Baka Ban Mana, he unknowingly unleashed a dreamwalker from the Old World into the Midlands. It seems that he always has faith in what he does but there are too many consequences. Can Richard and Kahlan save the Midlands from the Emperor?

It was exciting to have the author bring in even more characters and have them come to life. It was awesome to read them intertwining with the other characters and that it was all in sync. I love this series. This is the third time I have read it through. I think that I enjoy it more so this time around than the others. I highly recommend this series and this book if you like long stories that have a lot of characters and will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what else could go wrong. I kind of feel sorry for Richard and Kahlan that they don’t get a break, but that would be a boring story. All in all, a great read.

Book #2

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Richard has found his one true love and it turned out to be the one he wasn’t supposed to be with. He has devoted himself entirely to Kahlan Amnell, the Mother Confessor. If he wouldn’t of given himself freely, her magic would of destroyed him. A trick Darken Rahl used on Richard was to turn those that were on his side against him by revealing his looks to be that of Darken Rahl. When his own brother saw him as Richard, Richard knew that his brother had betrayed him. After the Boxes of Orden were put into play by Darken Rahl, the Stone of Tears was unleashed. The seal to the underworld was torn and if the Keeper’s minions could break enough seals, the Keeper himself could escape his prison. There are already Screelings among the world reeking havoc and killing people with laughter in their voices.

Richard desides that his best course of action is to ask the Mud People for help from the ancestors. Although he received many warning, he knew of no other way to get  the information he seeks. Once they were circled in the Spirit House, Richard was asked if he was the one to request the gathering and to state his full name. Once he stated Richard Rahl, his father Darken Rahl came through the veil. He put the mark of the Keeper on him and admonished him for breaking the Wizard’s Second Rule.

Richard has found out that he can indeed unleash magic and needs to learn to control it. While trying to do what he thinks is best for all but not, he violates the second Wizard’s Rule.  As he keeps making mistakes and not knowing what to do, he is brought to his knees from the headaches. With the headaches killing him, Kahlan knew that to save his life, he must go with the Sisters of the Light and learn control. Zedd was no where to teach him and they couldn’t find him fast enough. Once Kahlan does find Zedd and tells him that Richard is at The Palace of the Prophets, Zedd unleashes his magic out of heated emotion. He takes Kahlan to have her beheaded among all of Aydindril to see.

While Richard continues to fight the women that have him captured, he knows the veil to the underworld is torn and he is the only one who can close it. He is the only war wizard born in three thousand years. He has the ability to control both subtractive and additive magic. Fearing for Kahlan’s life from seeing the prophecy of her loosing her head, he must also fight Sisters of the Dark. Sisters of the Dark are those sorceresses that have given a sworn oath to the Keeper (Nameless One) for their souls. Will Richard be able to free himself and get to Aydrindil in time to save his one true love? Will the world be swallowed by the Keeper because his minions have done what they were told?

This is the second installment from Terry Goodkind. He has shown his worth as a writer in the first, Wizard’s First Rule. He starts just where he left off with the last one and only gets better from there. I was unable to put this one down either. I give mucho kudos for this wonderfully adventurous series.