Rating: 
Summary: The Sword of Truth isn't so sharp anymore
Review: 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:
Summary: write more at the damn war
Review: Terry Goodkind is a wonderful author and after writing The Wizards First Rule he became know and big player in the "fantasy industry". He wrote amazing books about heroic character on one epic adventure to another. But after writing The Blood of the Fold the quality of his books slowly decreased. I almost expected his new one to be good, and it easily could have been. It was all set up so he could write about the raging war (that he has been postponing in his recent books) or about Richard learning more about his Gift and how to be at the full potential of a War Wizard. But no. He made the whole book about Richard, Kalhan, Jennson, Tom, Cara, and a goat; and their "adventure" walking up from the Pillards of Creation, with the "scary" Black Tipped Races after them. And then after 300 pages of that, someone poisons Richard so he would come and free their Bandacar empire of the Imperial Order. Only to find out that they are "blind to see evil" and will not fight under any conditions. So wise and noble Richard has to convince them that there is evil in the world and you must fight against it. So then 50 of the citizens of Bandacar and Richard and his little gang free the worthless empire of the imposing Imperial Order. Very exciting! (In case you missed that, it was sarcasm). I believe Terry has a skill for writing about the "fantasy wars" and battles, so he should focus more on them. For the like 1 chapter he focused on the D'haren Empire fighting against the Imperial Order, the book kinda sped up a bit, but then that was it and no more battles. As I was reading the bit about the battles I was really hoping that for the rest of the book he would focus on it. It was a horrible book and TOR never should have published it. The only way I would ever reading any more of Terry's books is if I want to read 1-6 or 7 of the series or if he smartens up and writes a final book of the series about the huge war between the great D'haren Empire of the imposing Imperial Order. that promises to be spectacular(so I hope). So for now I wonder why the heck I wasted $20 on this book and I will be praying tonight that one of the worlds(I would think) best fantasy writers will come to his senses and write like he used to. Write like all his millions of fans, fell in love with. Oh ya, GET RID OF THE STUPID FRICKEN GOAT FOR GODS SAKE!!! I really whish the sausage lady at the Peoples Palace would have made sausages with it when she had the chance.
Rating: 
Summary: Naked Empire
Review: The turn of events in the latest of Goodkind's efforts is not disappointing to me, and I enjoyed this book, and its overall plot. I like that Richard has found a half sibling that he can love and that loves him back, and I have especially enjoyed watching Cara evolve as a character, as we have seen some of her more human vulnerabilities in the last book and this one. There are a few complaints I have that will apply not only to "Naked Empire", but to this entire series. When we are first introduced to Richard and Khalan, we are led to believe that theirs is a relationship forged not only with love, but with a sense of equality. Together, they will fight for the Midlands and beyond. However, now, all the events spawned from a single event (for those that haven't read the books, I will not spoil it too much)are basically Khalan's fault for not believing in Richard, for believing too much in Richard, for making mistakes that they emphasized they would never make in the first two books, and for going against his wishes. By this last book, Khalan has been reduced to a damsel in distress who gets kidnapped/captured more often than Daphne from "Scooby-Doo". Goodkind seems to forget that despite the evolution of Richard, that he is still a woods guide learning how to manage his gift. No matter what he has read in the Keep, or what he learned from the Sisters of the Light, he has not had the time to study with Zedd or even Nathan, yet now he is this great philosophical genius who spends as much time correcting his own allies (a few of which are older than him by centuries)as he does the enemy, waxing philosophical on things that he should be learning, not fully grasping. Zedd has been dumbed down considerably as well, which is a disappointment. He is First Wizard, yet he is portrayed as a bumbling old fool who progresses into more foolishness with each volume. While I understand that he is comic relief in many ways, Goodkind should not have compromised Zedd's intelligence, power, and resourcefulness for a chuckle here and there. This last installment of the Sword of Truth series emphasized those things greatly. The end of the book was anticlimactic, and I was looking forward to seeing Nicholas the Slide becoming Jagang's worst enemy and threat. Here's hoping that some of this is corrected with the next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than "Pillars of Creation"
Review: Then again, it's not much of a chalange.
A book full of meaningless words would be better than "Pillars of Creation", and this book is not far from being just that...
Some people complained about the goat, I only wish it was the goat that made me bash my head over and over again while reading this book.
Like most people, i think that the endless preaching ruined the book. I have no problem with a book that has a philisophical idea, but that was not an idea that is given in a story, that is an idea that is shoved down the throat.
I could forgive and forget if the preachin would have any sense in it, but even that was lacking. I'm FAR from being a pacifist and yet I could find better arguments han the ones used by the pathetic pacifistic civilization in the story.
In addition to that, the problem in the entire series is the quick changes in the characters, the magic and the world itself.
Richard starts in the first book as a woods guide, in the second to a wizard, in the third he is already an emperor and in this book he "realizes" he's even stronger than most wizards in the old times. I will not be surprised if by the tenth book he will become God.
Same error repeats itself in the magic, a powerful magic in one book becomes useless compares to the one that appears in the next book.
In other words, the only reason I keep buying those books is the faith that it can't get any worse (which turns to be false).
It's too late for me, save yourselves, avoid this book!
Rating:
Summary: Boot to the head
Review: This book makes me feel sorry for people because they will read it (like I did) simply because they had faith in the series. Or maybe the author. Or maybe the characters.
Well, whatever their reasons, they're in for a let-down. I won't tell you not to read it. That didn't work on me and it won't work on you. All I can do is say, wow... this is really bad. Fame really changed Goodkind. Looking back I can tell he always had these really strong political convictions - he just didn't feel justified expressing them. But I guess the conbination of 9-11 and his rise to fame in the world of fantasy literature made him feel that he could finally say what was on his mind. Namely, that he thinks it's okay to kill war-protestors. They're unpatriotic, and that's just like fighting for the enemy.
I know, it's a little too crazy to believe. But just keep your eyes open while you read, trust me, you'll see what I'm talking about when it comes by.
Shame on you Terry. Shame on all arrogant, self-righteous people all over the world. I can't believe I bought this guys books.
Rating:
Summary: Its my moral obligation
Review: Well, I really did learn something from this book. I used to be a dyed-in-the-wool pacifist but now I have seen the light and I am thinking for myself. Here is what I'm thinking, I'm thinking that authors who hook their audiences into a series with a few excellent books and then proceed to write a bunch of self-indulgent trash are wasting my hard earned time and money. These authors are evil people! And from this book I've learned that it is my moral obligation to murder all evil people :) So watch your backs Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan, I hope you don't sleep too well because you know I'm coming after you with a bloody axe or perhaps just a sharpened stake...
Rating:
Summary: Why Terry...Why????
Review: Why are you doing this to your fans Mr. Goodkind? What is the point to this book? If you read Book 6, you could skip book 7 and this one, #8, and not be at all lost. There is no overall plot advancement in Naked Empire. Richard preaches, Kahlan and Cara worry about him, the New Order is still stuck outside D'Hara. This story is the equivalent to a sidequest in a fantasy RPG. There are also inconsistancies with previous books. Why was Richard's sister able to detect Zedd's Wizard's Fire in book #7 and save Jajang by getting in front of it at the Confessor's palace, but none of the other pillar's of creation can see it in Naked Empire? Mr. Goodkind should try getting off the soapbox and going back to writing a good fantasy story. If you haven't yet read this book, don't bother. You don't miss anything important to characters or main story line.
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