Naked Empire

Rating:
Summary: Naked Empire? More like Idiot Empire
Review: The main content of this book is insulting. There is no other way to put it. Over one quarter of the book is nothing but Richard lecturing idiots about what individual freedom means. And he does this over, and over, and over again. Richard and his companions are so annoying that when I got about three-quarters through the book, I was secretly hoping that their little group would just ... die. It's a sad thing when you wish the deaths of the heroes.

There are two saving graces of this book - the scenery descriptions and the secondary characters. The chapters featuring Zedd, Adie, Ann, Nathan, Nicholas the Slide, and Emperor Jagang are a million times more interesting then the rest of the book. I also enjoyed Goodkind's descriptions of Jagang and his encampment, and Ann's visit to the People's Palace.

Would I recommend this book? As a whole... the answer is no. But if you skip every chapter involving Richard and his group, I guarantee it will make for a more enjoyable read.


Rating:
Summary: Painfully tedious
Review: The author is fond of describing pain and suffering in excruciating detail. Well, that is nothing compared to what you will endure if you try to read this. It is one thing to instill moral, ethical, political, and economic beliefs and values into a story but it is unbearable and unacceptable to wade through this brutal repetition, and redundancy. I feel like the same basic concept has been rehashed half a hundred times from every possible combination of possible outcomes and perspectives.

Spare yourselves. If you want a book on ethical decision making...buy one, there are lots of good ones out there. If you want to read about what comprises a freely governed society consider reading the Federalist Papers. If you want to read good fantasy, stick with the earlier books or look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: I really like this series, but.......
Review: I've had trouble actually getting through book #8.
Normally I stay fairly interested the entire book through, as things continue to happen, and the storyline progresses. But this book has just been about walking, and more walking, and even MORE walking. Then, a talk about philosophy, and being good or bad to people for pages on end. PLEASE just make the constant rambling stop and continue on with the story.
I probably could have skipped this entire book & not really missed anything. About halfway through the book, I almost couldn't stand it and actually just skipped several pages at a time. I just don't understand how this really relates to the story & plot as a whole. it's just talking about the same thing over and over.
I'm hoping Chainfire is better than Naked Empire.... I'm still waiting for the paperback version... Hardcover is too much to spend on a book. But that's another matter.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I think I am an atypical reader as it seems, after reading others' reviews, that many think the series is worsening as it progresses. On the contrary, my favorites are those later in the series; this one is no exception. I quite enjoyed this book, and thought it had some interesting plot twists. But again, I appear to be an exception to the rule.