I just finished this book--the latest in the Sword of Truth series--and I have mixed feelings. Goodkind tells a terrific story--no doubt about that. His characters are interesting and fully fleshed. His writing style is not my cup of tea--way too many lengthy sentences and paragraphs--but his story lines and characters obviate that. I enjoyed the earlier Sword of Truth novels completely--almost as much as the Game iof Thrones series.

But glorioski, Terry, enough with the repitition already. Goodkind tends to tell you the same thing several times in not-very-different ways. If I had heard once more about how Kahlan and Richard had death inside of them, I think I'd have thrown the CD out the window. And that's only one example. Many other repititious passages mar an otherwise good novel.

I get the feeling that Terry was under pressure from his publisher to complete this book and didn't have time for a rewrite. It's better than The Omen Machine or The Law of Nines but not as good as the first 11 Sword of Truth novels. That doesn't mean I won't be early in line for the next one--gotta see how many deus ex machinas Terry can work into the story. He's really good at those.

Recommended; Rating: 3 smiles