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Title: Naked Empire (Sword of Truth, Book 8) by Terry Goodkind ISBN: 0-7653-0522-4 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 21 July, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.76 (231 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Please Stop
Comment: This book was light years ahead of Pillars of creation, but would have been MUCH better if it were a stand alone book without richard or Kahlan... it could be in a new world, or by more minor characters (such as Nathan or Verna)... it would have only taken a few small changes to make this a stand alone book so we dont have to see another "villain of the week"
I am a little tired of the first 50 pages reminding us where we are...then some bad guy comes out of nowhere and causes problems for our hero and then they are dispached... maenwhil i guess Jajang is just waiting miles away eating food and drinking waiting for the end of the series.
These are rapidly turning into pulp books that resemble a serial much more than an epic saga...
Please take 3 years off and write a good book Mr Goodkind. I know you can do it.
Rating: 2
Summary: The Sword of Truth isn't so sharp anymore
Comment: Since the fifth book of Mr. Goodkind's venerable Sword of Truth series, Soul of the Fire, a growing number of people have begun to complain that the books have grown too "preachy" to be enjoyable, while series loyalists and Mr. Goodkind himself insist that no such thing is occurring. Since this is the topic that invariably arises when one discussed these books, I feel that this is the primary issue I must address in this review.
I recently read an interview with Mr. Goodkind in which he discussed his writing process, his views on philosophy, and how he incorporates them into his work, among other things. In it, he made a number of comments that struck me as telling indicators of what you'll find in Naked Empire.
1. Mr. Goodkind stated that rather than tell a pre-conceived story as he believes it would unfold, he instead comes up with a moral or philosophical statement he'd like to make, and then crafts the story to fit that tenet. Goodkind is not a world-builder and never has been; the endings of his books have always had the ring of, "Nice work Richard... but our princess is in another castle!" to paraphrase from everyone's favorite plumber-based video game. I've never had a problem with this in the past, since what Goodkind lacks in a cohesive world and story, he makes up for with his wonderful characters.
However, his statement in the interview confirms what many readers have been saying over the past few volumes: his books are increasingly becoming vehicles for Goodkind's philosophy, and Naked Empire shows that trend increasing exponentially. While the events put forth as the book's main conflict could be intriguing, as the story develop, they seem much more like a setting explicitly constructed to make a tired moral point than one crafted to advance his story.
2. One of the main influences for Mr. Goodkind's portrayal of the Bandakar people was the idea put forth by Immanuel Kant that our senses are insufficient to perceive reality as it truly is. The Bandakar are a people who have been sealed away from the rest of the world since the time of the great wizards' war, whose homeland is now exposed to the rest of the world for reasons that will be made clear in the middle of the book. The Bandakar have some impossibly naïve views on reality and pacifism, and the fact that Goodkind cites Kant as the forebear of these ideals shows how grossly he misinterpreted what Kant was trying to say.
I am as much a proponent of personal responsibility as anyone else, but unfortunately, this book is nothing more than a huge strawman argument. Goodkind sets up a pitiful target that nobody in the real world would defend, and expects us to be awed when Richard knocks it down with the force of reason. The result is not impressive; it's irritating in the extreme.
3. Mr. Goodkind calls Ayn Rand the "greatest philosopher since Aristotle." I'm not even going to touch that, but it should give you a strong idea of what you're in for.
About three quarters of the way through this book, I realized something astonishing. I don't like Richard anymore. He was such a wonderful character in the early days of this series, but now he doesn't even seen human. Rather than a compassionate and resourceful man who's overcome many hardships, he comes across as a tiresome ersatz intellectual, and not just when he's addressing the Bandakar. His words are saturated with pedantry even when he's talking to his friends.
The book's ending marks another low point in the series. There are three primary problems that Richard must overcome, which I won't name for fear of revealing too much of the story, but while Goodkind prides himself on writing endings that show his characters prevailing through intelligence and resourcefulness, only one of the solutions satisfies in that regard. Of the two disappointments, one is a contrived anticlimax, and the other is a horrible deus ex machina.
That said, the upside is that there are still several strong characters here. Zedd, Adie, Nathan, and Ann all have parts to play, and they are still my favorite characters. I still love every minute I get to spend with them. Jagang is as interesting as usual, and Mr. Goodkind gets bonus points for Nicholas the Slide, who is one of the creepiest villains I've read in quite some time.
So, the final verdict: Would I recommend this? Maybe. If you're a very dedicated Sword of Truth fan, I think you might want to stay with it if only for the good times spent with the characters not traveling with Richard. Will I give up on the Sword of Truth? Probably not. As much as Richard irritates me now, I still love the other characters, and I haven't given up hope on the series yet. Please, Mr. Goodkind, turn this thing around.
Rating: 2
Summary: A daring jaunt through underdeveloped ideas
Comment: I first read Wizards First Rule I was in college and absolutely feel in love with it. Then I read Sword Of Truth, and was hooked. Since then I have dutifully read everyone of the books, but this will be the last, and the reason is this. I don't read fantasy novels for underdeveloped, half thought out philosophical flights of fancy. If I want philsophy I'll go with Kirkegard, or Wilber, or Plato. Someone who has taken time to properly develop and work out a concept. Not some fantasy writer with his own politcal agenda to push. Now I realize all of the books in this series have a message (as does any good book), but they were well hidden in the context of the story and were cleaverly revealed throughout. This book takes it's moral, and beats you about the head with it. And as the ideas in the story are mentioned ad naseum, it's actually a severe blow to the head, repeated often. If you break down the book into action vs. expostion, you get about 100 pages of action, and 566 pages of exposition. Actually most of the expostion is just the same thing over, and over, and over again. So what you really get is 300 pages of exposition, repeated. I don't know if Mr. Goodkind thinks his reading audience is dumb, or just wants to rest on his laurels, but you should never subject someone who has laid down their hard earned money to this kind of trash. I can safely say that after having been enamored with this series now for many years, I won't be reading the rest of the series. That is unless Mr. Goodkind can return to his roots and leave the philsophie to those who know what they're talking about.
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Title: Debt Of Bones by Terry Goodkind ISBN: 0575072563 Publisher: Gollancz Pub. Date: 31 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The Pillars of Creation (Sword of Truth, Book 7) by Terry Goodkind ISBN: 0765340747 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 05 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Faith of the Fallen (Sword of Truth, Book 6) by Terry Goodkind ISBN: 081257639X Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 15 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Jarka Ruus (High Druid of Shannara, Book 1) by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345435737 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 26 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth, Book 5) by Terry Goodkind ISBN: 0812551494 Publisher: Tor Fantasy Pub. Date: 15 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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