The Third Kingdom

Sword of Truth, Book 13

By: Terry Goodkind

Narrated by: Sam Tsoutsouvas

Length: 17 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

"Richard saw the point of a sword blade sticking out from between the man's shoulder blades. He spun back toward Richard after throwing the woman out of the opening, ready to attack. It seemed impossible, but the man looked unaffected by the blade that had impaled him through the chest.

"It was then, in the weak light from the fire pit off to the side, that Richard got his first good look at the killer.

"Three knives were buried up to their brass cross guards in the man's chest. Only the handles were showing. Richard saw, too, the broken end of a sword blade jutting out from the center of the man's chest. The point of that same blade stuck out from the man’s back.

"Richard recognized the knife handles. All three were the style carried by the men of the First File.

"He looked from those blades that should have killed the big man, up to his face. That was when he realized the true horror of the situation, and the reason for the unbearable stench of death."

Sequel to the #1 New York Times best seller The Omen Machine.

©2013 Terry Goodking (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A dark twist to the series.

Both this and it's predecessor, The Omen Machine, are very dark compared to the rest of series. I can't decide which take is better, the original books or the new, darker side of the story. They're both great and highly recommended. Anyway, I loved this book!

So good

Like always I just loved everything about this book and all Terry Goodkind's books. Can't wait for the next adventure. Highly recommend

Delayed recording the entire time

I love the author and narrator but the starting was always delayed making it sound like he was in the middle of a sentence. It happened for about half of the book and was frustrating and annoying. I love his voice and emotion but the delay drove me insane.

amazing amazing amazing

Just amazing. Perfect way to dive back into the story of Kahlan/Richard after the First Confessor. I just wish it was longer as it was so engrossing.

great book and the reader have a great voice

love it love it love it love it was a great book right performance clock

I personally like this series of the timeline

I guess I'm one of the ones that actually enjoys the Omen Machine series. each book has its moments good and bad, but I enjoy the world Terry wrote about. The 3rd Kingdom sets a more ominous darker tone than the previous books. The main villain is definitely on another level of evil.
Sam does a great job with narration and sets a good pace.

Glad to see the characters still alive

Would you listen to The Third Kingdom again? Why?

No, it was hard enough to survive the narration the first time. There are so many good narrators out now, that a change would have been a good idea. I have grown used to being able to tell what character is speaking since most good narrators can change inflections and tones, Sam Tsoutsouvas just doesn't have that.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Third Kingdom?

The dialogue about how long a person is dead for. It is only surpassed in duration by the amount of time Terry Goodkind keeps going on about it.

Would you be willing to try another one of Sam Tsoutsouvas’s performances?

no, no, no!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Do you mean to hit the fast forward button? Terry Goodkind has mastered the art of saying the same thing in every way possible. This book is the first one that would actually be better if it was abridged. This is a tough review since I like his books so much. You just get in spots where you know the book is going into a rut and that you'll have to wait out the rant, all the time shaking your head and yelling, come on now, get back to work!

Any additional comments?

I'll still read his next ones, but it gets tough to slog thru the long winded dissertations about nothingness.

Zombies, Cannibals, & Soulless Oh My!

The Third Kingdom picks up where the Omen Machine left off but reading The First Confessor (the story of Magda Searus, Barraccus & Merritt) will be useful background.

Sadly a peaceful world does not make a good story so Richard, Kahlan, Zedd, Nicci, Cara & others are again thrown into the brink of war for the survival of the human race. Like the other books of the Sword of Truth series, the stand alones & the Richard & Kahlan series the main theme is to believe in yourself, live with honor, and be prepared to fight for the rights or yourself and others.

(Kind of a spoiler, though you find this out very quickly) In this book you get a chance to see the leader Richard has become without the ability to access his war wizard powers. It is nice that there are men out there (well in fantasy anyway) who know how to apologize.

Everything is in three's

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book has an excellent story, just like Terry Goodkind's entire series. The backstory, the interweaving of ancient civilizations/wars/prophecies is . . . incredible. 10 out of 10 in that regard

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Good grief though, this book could be a third as long and communicate exactly the same amount of awesome. He repeat's almost every single statement, concept, or plot device 2 to 3 times, just with different wording, and my god is it ever annoying. I understand if he just did that when going over what happened in a previous book, because it's been awhile since I read the Omen Machine, but it's literally every. Single. Thing. Except for combat, he manages to get out of doing that (mostly) because I guess that would break the flow.

It's such an excellent story and performance though, just needs a bit of love from an editor with pruning shears.

great way to go terry

Would you listen to The Third Kingdom again? Why?

yes and will the whole series. i love it!

What other book might you compare The Third Kingdom to and why?

nothing, maybe ra salvator a little

Have you listened to any of Sam Tsoutsouvas’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

yes. good

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

most diffently