Soul of the Fire: A Sword of Truth Novel

I really loved the first 3 books, and felt that it could hardly go on so well. Indeed the fourth book was slow at first, but picked up at the end. The fifth book introduces a new culture entirely and I was fascinated by it. The land of Anderith is the breadbasket of the midlands with endless supplies of grain, making it very desireable to the Imperial Order and their endless armies. Anderith is also protected by an ancient magical death machine. At first I was confused, like other readers, by the in depth introduction of characters soley from that realm, but soon I became fascinated by the opressive society and their struggles. I found the ease with which the indoctrined youth Finch was able to commit murder simply because he trusted he was doing the right thing fascinating in a terrifying way. And the clever politician Dalton and penance assemblies reminded more than horrifyingly of what Nazi Germany might have been like in some ways. (Think propaganda and Hitler Jugend.) Oddly the story of the chimes really was secondary and though they had irish fairy tale like elements which interest me they were not as absorbing as the Anderith segment. Of course you knew from the beginning that eventually the old characters and new would come together in the end which lent a suspense factor. Remember how Jondalar and Ayla in the Valley of Horses novel are each going about their own story then ultimately meet. I love those kind of build ups when two plot lines finally converge, it's immensely satisfying. I am sure the Jagang/Richard conflict will continue in the next book, frankly I didn't miss it all that much. The plague and those annoying side characters Nadine and Drefan in book 4 I'd rather forget.

I applaud Terry Goodkind on many levels; I just don't know where to start with it. Each of his books can be stand alone. I have derived so much pleasure from reading this book, and the books preceding this one.I applaud him first at the creation of the world in these books. The main thing in fantasy that i Look for is a world that impresses me but also is believeable (for a fantasy world), and intriguing. The characters are a mirror of this world, and Goodkind has succeeding on both accounts of creating characters the readers can understand and cheer for, and also with the creation of a land that I would love to be a War Wizard in. This book is good because it doesn't continue the last book and continue with obscure references that were made 2 books ago and assume the reader has intimate knowledge of the land they are reading about. This book has departed and travelled some distance and time from the last book, the same characters remain, but the venue has changed as have their personalities to reflect the lives they have been living in this book. Each installment in this series doesn't stay in one place, but changes the location, antherefore the supporting cast of characters, so that you never know what is going to happen in the next book (Goodkind has not fallen into the predictable trap Jordan has). This book was as good as the last ones, and the reader is left at the end of the book not knowing what is going to happen to the characters in the next book. This anticipation is what I am looking for in a book of this calibur, I don't want all my questions answered at once, I dont' want to be able to predict where the characters are going to go, and where they are going to be in the next installment.I can't wait to read the next book; I can only dream and wonder what fantastic changes I am sure Goodkind has wrought on the beautiful world he has created.

I'm surprised that The Sword of Truth books have not yet lost my interest. The first two books (Wizard's First Rule and Stone of Tears) are the best bye far, the third...well, not so good, the fourth was great, and Soul of the Fire is wonderful! Terry Goodkind has created a wonderfully compelling and intruiging story for each book! The character development is perfect, and the stories, for the most part, have a great pace. Maybe that's why these books are so wonderful! Now, to this novel. Soul of the Fire is wonderful! The story is complex and intruiging. To those that have read the fourth book, Temple of the Winds, Soul of the Fire is about the chimes, which were brought into their world when Kahlan had spoken the names of the chimes when she was saving Richard from the plague. Along the way are the usual unsuspected surprises that Goodkind provides us with. The only thing that personally bothered me was the new characters from Anderith. They're fine, I was just bored with their entrance into the story. But once you get past the first couple chapters with them in it, they are fine. Great book! I hope Goodkind makes more....either he finishes up the Sword of Truth books, or he start a new series! Whatever he does, I can't wait! Enjoy!

Unlike others in the fantasy field, I feel that every time terry goodkind sets pen to paper, a good book is going to come out. He has not made this series a slave to the same characters every book, nor even the same scenery; every book in the series continues to have it's own scenery, and specific characters, which makes this book less like a tired out series, and more like high quality stand alone books. The unifying characters are of course included in each book, and their development is very believeable and appealing to the reader. I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait till the next book in the series comes out.

Wow, wow and wow again. I have to say that Terry Goodkind's 'Sword of Truth' series is one of the best I have read (and I have read a few! )and Soul of the Fire is no exception to the norm. In this book all our favourite characters re-appear and are developed into deeper personalities that we can empathise with. Terry moves away slightly from the 'on a quest style' and adds more politics and intrigue into this book which helps to keep a long running series refreshing. I particularly enjoyed the way he keeps you suspended at the end of the book, with the near fatal injury of a main character. I am dying to read the next one...