The Omen Machine: A Richard and Kahlan Novel

I am 3/4 through this story and determined to finish it. But, it won't be easy. This is probably the worst of the series, and there have been a few I didn't care for. The characters are so flat, tedious, inconsistant. The Protags are supposed to be wise and clever, but everything they do is so amazingly obvious. The masses are more stupid then the masses could ever be in real life. Everyone is reactionary, and once again this entire book is about prophecy. AGAIN. Anyway. I think I am done with Richard and Kahlan. I have read 12 or so of these and I should have stopped with the last one.

Move the story along. It was laborious. Way too much descriptive detail. Way too much. It didn't really contribute to the value of the story.

This book could have been half the length. There was a great deal of repeating of the text within a few minutes. Sometimes the same idea was repeated three or more times. It was as though the author wanted to "catch the reader up".

I really wanted to like this book, but I really did not. If it's a sequel, I'll avoid companion works. Sorry.

Glenn L. Ladd

This novel was not at all what I expected. Terry Goodkind's writing style has really matured with this novel, and it is extremely evident. The story line starts in an entirely different direction than where I thought it would and travels a path I didn't expect. While it is clearly a fresh start on a new series I am extremely hopeful as to where it will go from here.

No never, only because I believe truly you get more out of reading than listening. Nothing against narrators. When you read yourself you also have the advantage of bringing the book to life at your own pace using your own imagination. Making characters sound the way you wish it, sometimes listening to others interpret the book tarnishes your own impressions.

I do not wish to spoil it for others but I always cherish when Zedd is proud of Richard much like my Grandfather use to for me.

I have and the only thing I really didn't like before is the pronunciation of Nicci. I understand each narrator will have their own style and no one can fault them for that. However I believe the pronunciation of at least proper names should be consistent.

I do smile often when I am able to discover the scheme of things before they are uncovered only because I have come to know the characters individually which only brings testament to Terry's ability to make people come to life.

I lot of people were upset over the longevity of the book with no plot. My only advice is to reread(listen) to the book once more like I have the others and you will find each time hints you missed before. This will help with understand how Richard comes to the conclusions.

Terry has a wonderful way of making magic both special and ordinary. Not every problems is solved with magic and sometimes magic is the problem.

Also some readers can't believe people are this stupid. If you haven't run into people of so low of caliber consider yourself lucky. I engage in such people everyday.

I hope I didn't ruin the book be exposing anything that should not have. It really is a good book that deserves the patience required to really receive the plot in whole.

I thought it was going to be a cool story,''but when the vampires got in it,'I turned the junk off..

Warning: Some spoilers

I have read all of the Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind as they have been released and was pleasantly surprised that a new book continuing the adventures of Richard and Kahlan was to be released. I felt the series ended very well in the last book Confessor and felt it complete. I have to say that after reading the new book The Omen Machine, I still feel the same. It should have stopped.

I am not sure what specifically about this book that led me to feel this way. My favorite characters are all back, but they seemed changed. Is it that I am remembering them in a different light? I do not know, but found myself thinking during the reading that I just want to get it done and over with. Not due to the performance of the reader, but the story.

The power of the previous books was the grandness of it all, the adventure, the travel, the new and exciting twists and turns and here in The Omen Machine you feel stuck in one place with a bunch of stupid characters. Not stupid as in useless, but stupid as in brainless. And the most sad is Zed. He is reduced to either not believing what Richard says or repeating what Richard says back to Richard. A smart, powerful character minimized to a shadow of who he use to be. Everytime Zed spoke, my eyes rolled in my head. Sad.

Another disappointment is that with 11 previous books, that there would be some reference to the experiences in which they have had to make decisions now. We are but products of our past experiences. However, it is like the previous adventures did not happen other than the "war is over". With all that has happened to them previously, why would they ever not take something seriously, especially if they have a "feeling". And all the conversations of doubt was mind numbing. And it was really strange that the whole affair with Kahlan forgetting all and the aftermath of what happened in the 3 Chainfire series are not even hinted at. This book takes place right after those books! It is like it never happened to Kahlan.

Overall I feel let down. I will continue to read the series, but the excitement and grandness has been lost.

Its about half the as long as his other books and sad to say its not even half as good. It repeats the same things over and over!! I love all the other Sword of Truth books but this ones not so much. Save your time and money and pass this one up.

I have read everything by Goodkind and have been looking forward to more stories in the "Seeker" series. It was nice to see the continued development of the story, but this book really needs some editing. The author repeats word images over and over with only slightly different phrasing. I will continue to buy Goodkind stories, but I would really like to see them tightened up. Enjoyed the narration very much.

This was one of the worst audioboock I've read. The story drags until the last quarter and just when it starts to get interesting, you realize there's going to have to be a sequel, which leaves you frustrated at the end. The narrator gets completely carried away with himself as the story progresses. Don't waste your time and don't get sucked in to getting the sequel when it comes out.

What happens in this book is a bunch of idiots talking back and forth to each other repeating the same crap over and over and over and over and over. Everything worth listening to literally happens during the climax in the last 2-3 hours of the novel and as per usual w/ Richard he suddenly for no apparent reason figures out the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything and saves the day. I know Goodkind isn't the greatest writer and his work has been going downhill but his lastt book, Law of Nines wasn't too bad and I expected way better in this new one. I'm not an objectivist or Ayn Rand fan either but he had great characters and actual plots and story! What the hell happened? Don't bother people! Save your money/credit on something good. I really don't even know why I'm giving this two stars. If you really want spoilers, here they are: No one knows what is going on but they find a machine that is giving omens. No one knows what is going on but they keep getting omens. Omens keep coming. Richard and gang repeat the same dialogue back and forth (literally, they say the same thing to each other, I'M NOT KIDDING) especially ZEDD. One of Zedd's greatest's lines are "I don't know!" Yeah... Skip this cash in. It was probably written in a few weeks.