Customer Reviews

Faith of the Fallen (Sword of Truth 6)

5 star:		(277)
4 star:		(117)
3 star:		(68)
2 star:		(53)
1 star:		(52)

 

 

I have to admit, after the last bomb, Soul Of The Fire, I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy another Terry Goodkind novel in harcover, but finding myself unable to wait until the softback came out, I went and bought it anyway. I'll first state that the entire work isn't a masterpiece, there were passages where I was a bit bored and read quickly to get through them, but there were also very good parts where I would slow down and read them slow to savor them.

One of the things I enjoyed least about the book was the fighting aspect of it, mainly the battles, and the constant reference to how huge the enemy was. I'm not a huge fan of war, though some reference to it isn't bad, but it seems as if that's the only aspect Kahlan is allowed to participate in anymore. The main blocks of the story that she has appeared in in several of the novels were in battles, leading the people against the enemy, again and again. I sympathize with and like her character, but wish there was more for her to do, but constantly have to keep coming up with another last ditch effort to turn a major disaster into a temporary victory for the army.

On the other hand, I deeply enjoyed Richard's journey into the heart of the enemy territory, as he is led to Jagang's home city by the Sister of the Dark, Nicci. Having arrived at his own revelation of prophecy, that the war was hopeless, and that he couldn't lead until the people were able to prove themselves to him, it was interesting to see how this was developed, without him even realizing that Nicci was unintentionally leading to the proof of his prophecy. Instead, we are given more of an insight into the character of Richard as he views the horrors of the Old World, from the hideous stone carvings to the despair and hopelessness of the people. Into this despair Nicci takes him, wanting to show him that the Order is the only hope for the common people, not knowing how Richard will change the people. With the pride that he takes in doing the most common things, Richard gives the people an ideal to live up to, and sets an example for others to follow without ever pandering to them or lecturing them. To discover with Nicci the special quality that Richard possesses, we are led with her to find that Life truly is worth living and that we all have to stand up for our own basic right to live as free people.

I wish I hadn't discovered this series when I did, there were already four books out by the time I started the series. I wish I hadn't found it until it was done, whenever that will be, because now I have to wait impatiently for another year or more until the next book. And during that time I have to wonder what is next to happen, and what the book will contain, with questions buzzing through my head. Have all the dragons died during the time magic was gone? What has happened to the Gars and will they come back into the series? Will Richard ever come across the night wisps, not mentioned since the first book, and get any aid from them? I sit and ponder and now eagerly anticipate the next book. I hope time really does fly.

My husband and I have been reading Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series for some time now, and have enjoyed them a great deal. In my opinion, however, "Faith of the Fallen," Book 6 in the "Sword of Truth" series, is by far the best book to date.

Each book expounds upon one of several rules of magic -- beginning with the "Wizard's First Rule," that people are stupid -- and we have had fun trying to figure out what each rule was before one of the characters, usually Zed, got around to announcing it.

"Faith of the Fallen" is, like its flap copy states, a novel of ideas. In it, Richard Rahl is captured by a sorceress, Nicci, and taken to the heart of the Imperial Order, its crown city in the Old World. There, he sees and confronts the Order's effect on the lives of its citizens firsthand.

The Old World in sway of the Imperial Order bears more than a superficial resemblance to the failed regime of Communism in the former USSR, although its lessons can also be applied when contemplating our own society's ongoing efforts towards greater equality and the continuing welfare debate. Goodkind is not the first writer to tackle the issue of socially engineered "equality" -- Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" is another fine example of this genre -- but he does so in a way that is compelling and thought-provoking.

It goes without saying that Richard will save the day, but this time we see a new side to the War Wizard, that of creator. Put simply, the Sword of Truth is not the only blade that Richard can wield with almost supernatural skill.

Goodkind is very adept at description, and his passages about carving seem very realistic and vivid. He is also very good at characterization, and his most vividly drawn creations include several women -- Kahlan, Cara and Verna among them.

The number of women in Goodkind's volumes is a refreshing change from what seems their mere token appearance in the work of some other male fantasy authors. For some reason, though, several of these women want to go to bed with, or marry, Richard, and Nicci is no exception. A fully realized character, full of conflict, who Nicci is and what she does in "Faith of the Fallen" are a direct result of her past experiences.

Altogether, "Faith of the Fallen" is an excellent novel, enjoyable on many levels as rousing fantasy adventure and as the "novel of ideas" it is purported to be. I highly recommend "Faith of the Fallen" and the other volumes in the "Sword of Truth" series.

FOF ends with such a terrific and moving conclusion that I almost forgave it all the problems that it seemed to have in the first part of the book. As other reviews have indicated, the 6th installment in the Sword of Truth series is a great,if flawed, read.

Goodkind reintroduces us to Nicci, a Sister of Dark (who I remember last reading about in Stone of Tears) who sets out to capture Richard and drag him to the New World. Nicci's reasons for capturing Richard are not revealed until the very end and I can't say I'm entirely satisfied by the reasons given (I won't reveal them except to say that they didn't seem all that compelling). Richard, meanwhile, is fed up with leading a battle when he feels that the Midlands are not willing to stand up to Jajang. Nicci tracks down Richard and kidnaps Richard by threatening Kahlen's life by way of a special "Corsican brothers-type bond" with Kahlen: so, any injury done to Nicci will also be inflicted on Kahlen. When I first got to this part, I admit it seemed that Richard's capture was a cheap and simple plot device to get Richard to (a) go to the New World; b) be subservient to Nicci; and (c) created sexual tension between Nicci and Richard (will she or won't she force Richard to have sex with her).

While Richard is on his months-long journey to the New World with Nicci, we are treated to some great battle scenes between a Kahlen-led Midlands army and the great horde of the Order. The battle scenes are well described and there is good drama in this section of the book (which is the middle of the book).

When we return to Richard, he's in the New World with Nicci. Here, Goodkind gets his Ayn Rand hat on and depicts Richard as a self-made capitalist in the fantasy version of Stalin's Russia. As I was reading the way this society "operates," I could see obvious references to Soviet-type systems and a few digs at a "welfare state." Yeah, it gets a bit extreme and preachy, but Goodkind has a point here and he starts to make it with about 200 pages to the end. And yeah, the ending is telegraphed and does seem a bit hokey. So why four stars?

For several reasons: First, Goodkind almost completely pulls it off. Through strong characters, he tells a tightly written story (no rambling chapters here a la Jordan's Wheel of Time). Second, Goodkind's writing is really very elegant and poetic. For the kind of story he told in FOF, he needed a more subtle way of describing events and emotions. Goodkind really uses some of his best language and imagery in this book. And third, Goodkind is able to tell a cohesive and complete story in one book. Unlike the "sort-of" ending in Soul of the Fire, Goodkind wraps up this story and there is a sense of completion.

This book took quite a while to get going, but when it did I was hooked. The first several pages are filled with lengthy discussions, point-and-counterpoint. Goodkind has a fixation with talking any subject to death, and he does this again and again in this volume. You think a topic has been beaten to death by Richard, then the "Mother Confessor" has to bring up one (or ten) more points which must be debated ad nauseum.

I can tell you that I found the character of Nicci fascinating, particularly in her relationships with her parents. While somewhat contrived, I really felt for this girl with the pinched and pious mother and the great-souled and generous father. I found myself caring much more about what happened to her than what happened to the "Mother Confessor" and the "Seeker of Truth." She was the hook that kept me reading page after page. Not all of the characters were as interesting.

All of the books in this series are a strange amalgam of juvenile righteousness and disturbing ultraviolence, but I was able to get past that. Why we must be subjected to graphic depictions of people being slow-cooked on a spit and screaming in agony under torture in books that otherwise read at the level of Harry Potter is beyond me. I suppose it at least serves to capture your attention.

The plot actually moved along fairly well in my opinion. Characters don't always behave as real people would--being either much more stupid or much more divinely wise than any people you or I know--because the plot contrivances call for an extension or truncation of their lives or fortunes.

The ending was fairly satisfying, even though you could see it coming a hundred pages off. But the good get theirs and the bad get theirs in true juvenile fiction fashion.

There is much preaching of Ayn Randian Objectivism. I agree with others here. It seems that Mr. Goodkind got hold of a copy of Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead and thought he had come into some sort of Dispensation of Holy Wisdom, because he spouts it all again and again.

Despite its faults, I believe most people will enjoy this book. It is classic hero fantasy with Nicci being a strong and charismatic character.

A great follow up on the preceeding books of the series. The audio version however greatly diappoints in it's delivery. The excellence found in reader of the first two books and the fourth books are gone. It's as if the reader of this book did not listen to the prior audio versions at all to get a sense of the personalities and vocal traits of the characters. Zed has completely lost his thin and engaging voice and the way he seemed still full of life ,vitality and mischief are gone completely. He now sounds like some senior citizen who has lost most of his teeth and is about to suffer a stroke at any moment. Sister Verna sounds to have completely lost the strength of character she posesses and now sounds rather weak, helpless and somewhat whiney. I could go on and describe the disappointments I find in each character but I'll stop complaining here. Let me stress to any who have heard the audio versions of the prior books and who were impressed with them to brace themselves for this one, I am completely disappointed. I did not find it's delivery to be exciting or engaging at all. I was able to "wobble" to tape 15 and then gave up. I drive a lot and found that audiobooks help the long hours on the road easier to bear, but this time around it was sheer agony. I am now happily reading the book and am enjoying it fully but feel I wasted good money on the audiobook. Hopefully some else who has had the opportunity to listen to the audio can submit a review and let me know if you agree or disagree with my review. 4 stars for the book itself but a dismal 1 star for the audio delivery.

Terry Goodkind is an excellent writer and each installment of The Sword of Truth shows steady improvement in his style and ability to craft interesting characters doing things I care about. Most particularly, he gets his characters into situations so impossible that I cannot imagine how they will get out and I find myself genuinely worried about them (even though I know that it will work out in the end) - always a solid sign that an author has succeeded.

But that points to the problem, as well. As other reviewers have noted, the outline for this plot is not much of a stretch from previous entries in the series. Richard is taken by an enemy while Kahlan is in dire straits facing impossible odds. Richard's straightforward honesty wins over seemingly implaccable opponents and learns a skill many take a lifetime to master in almost no time at all so that everything works out just fine. Fantasy tends to be formulaic as it is, and a fantasy author who does more than merely move his characters around map meeting exotic beings is always to be commended, but an installment series should strive for more variety of plot.

One thing worth noting about Faith of the Fallen is that the political/sociological message that was left more or less to the allegorical level in previous novels is now blatant. No-one familiar with the work of Ayn Rand or Robert Heinlein will find the insights offered all that new; rather, they'll be nodding their heads throughout. Personally, I think it's marvelous that a fantasy author has the courage to bring such ideas to the forefront of his work - and perhaps expose them to many who would otherwise never have a chance to encounter them. But if you prefer to keep your politics and your novels separate, this book will frustrate you. Goodkind never goes so far as Ms. Rand, but there are times when Richard's speeches begin to seem like Francisco D'Anconia's in their length.

I waited anxiously for this book to appear and snapped up a first edition almost as soon as it was available. I am glad I read it, and I encourage anyone familiar with the series to buy in and keep reading because Goodkind has definitely delivered another page turner full of interesting people. But I cannot give it better than three stars because of its derivative plot.

First, if you're anything like me once you start a series you don't want to stop it. Also, I think that this was the best written book in the series.

That said, it was an incredible disappointment. The plot is nearly as rehashed as an L.E. Moddesitt Jr. series. Goodkind hits on everything he hits on throughout the series. Richard and Kahlan get separated again. Richard is taken into the heart of enemy territory where his kind ways and common sense win over people that should be his enemy. Kahlan leads an army against a much larger force. Blah blah blah.

We've seen it all before many times. This series is becoming very stale and is not progressing. Series' such as "A Song of Ice and Fire" or "Wheel of Time" are clearly ONE developing story. While readers get frustrated with the wait between novels, we can tell that the story is progressing and each installment brings us a little closer to the climax. With "The Sword of Truth," this feeling of progression is completely absent. Instead, Goodkind rehashes the same old plotlines with a few new twists. The series is only ever advanced with the climax of each book which nicely sets up the next book.

Now, all my griping aside, this is the best written book of the series so far in terms of character development. Goodkind started a good thing with Soul of the Fire by really developing the "enemies" of Richard. Nicci, is now one of my fvorite characters. If Goodkind could incorporate this level of character development with an attempt to advance the series, I would probably rate this book much higher. Indeed, as a stand alone book, it's great. However, I can't be too enthusiastic about it since we've seen this story many times before.

Hmmm ... Richard is separated from Kalhan and Zed, tormented and nearly killed ... but its all ok in the end. Can't tell which one of the series you are reading? That's the problem with the 6th book of the series. After 6 books, the characters are still simply sketches with little depth, no moral ambiguities, no serious self examination. Having well developed characters that you can empathize with or at least understand is crucial if you want to keep the reader's interest over an extended series. You won't learn anything of interest about the major characters in this installment. And its not clear what this book contributes to the longer term storyline, and even makes me doubt that Goodkind has thought it through in advance on a macro level. I really enjoyed the previous books in the series, and re-read them prior to reading this. Unfortunately it only makes me suspect that this effort is more about book sales and publishing dates than delivering what intelligent and loyal readers should expect from an author.

I am writing this review without having read the opinions of other readers, in the attempt to be unbiased. Soul Of The Fire was an unmitigated disaster in my opinion: a book that became an unintentional parody of itself. Faith Of The Fallen restores this series to its initial, good path. The Sword Of Truth series, let's be honest, is a traditional good-vs-evil, noble-hero-who-struggles-against-impossible-odds kind of novel. And from many points of view, this is its major flaw. Richard is a hero above reproach, noble to a fault. While his "goodness" has bothered me in the past, I felt that it fit into this installment of the series quite nicely. Another strong point is the major reduction in detailed descriptions of violence. I always thought that Goodkind just could not be subtle to save his life, so he always subjected almost all of our heroes to painful trials of physical and emotional violence. Most of the time, they were as painful for me to wade through. There are some spots in the novel where this temptation presented itself; when Richard is imprisoned for example. While we read about his condition, we are thankfully spared the details of his treatment. Yes, there are some other aspects that are undoubtedly heavyhanded. The entire political and religious ramifications are obvious and trite in parts. But I nevertheless liked the way the story unfolded and how nobility and the desire for life were victorious in the end. Richard, Kahlan, and Cara have remained themselves, they have not sunk to parodies of themselves as happened to Robert Jordan's characters. Nicci, the principal "enemy" in the story makes for an interesting analysis. Troubled and ruthless, she skirts the line between being evil but wanting to do good in a deliciously ambiguous way. I really felt that Goodkind really made me care about everyone in this novel. Major kudos for Keith Parkinson for his splendid cover and bringing the essence of the novel to life.

This book was by far the worst piece of literature I have ever read. This series of books started out EXCELLENT. In fact, I loved the first 2 books, after that, everything went downhill.

This book, Faith of the Fallen, has nothing new to read in it. If I hadn't of read this book, I could continue on in the next book of the series and have missed nothing. I'm almost led to believe Mr. Goodkind takes his ideas out of a hat, but throws the ideas back in for the next round!

Here's a run down of the series.. This happens in a different form in every book.

Richard (lead character in this series) gets captured/kidnapped/taken away from his wife, Kahlan. They express their undying love for each other and part ways. Half-way through his kidnapping/being taken away/being captured Richard or Kahlan thinks the other doesn't love him/her anymore. At the end of the book, they find each other again and make up.

Add in the occasional beating of Richard, some more twisted rape/torture and you have the next book in the series.

I guarantee I won't be reading the next book in the series as I almost couldn't finish this one.

Get some new ideas Mr. Goodkind.

Regards,

Mike