I have never written a review before, but I have been listening to books since before Audible was hatched.

I have noticed readers voice..Show More »s before, but never really been put off by one. This book had me wondering if it was read by a machine, initially. After getting hooked on Wizard's First Rule, I dove into this book only to be highly frustrated by the reader's voice and inflections.

I will likely abandon the Audible copy to read it - I hope you have a different experience. I will actively avoid anything read by this narrator.

« Show Less

I am very pleased to say that this is the first book in the series to live up to the hype. I found myself listening to the book even when I wasn't at ..Show More »the gym or driving, which is a good indicator of a book that draws you into the story.

I think the main factor that made this book worthwhile was the stories of the supporting characters. The intrigues at the Palace kept me wanting to find out more, and I think that Verna and Warren, as well as many of the supporting characters, show far more depth than we've seen in previous books.

Ann, Nathan and Zed's plot line was also fun to follow, and this is the first book where I really began to like Zed (I think the poor narration in the first book gave me a dislike for his character). I think that Nathan might prove to be a very interesting character as well, if he's given the right plot lines.

Even Richard's plotline was interesting, as in this book they finally appear to make consequences for some of the more idiotic things he does (although in the end it ended up being the perfect thing for him to do, but for a while they seemed to be slightly more realistic with him).

One of the best advancements in this book was the villains. The sisters of the dark's plotline kept me intrigued, and I couldn't wait to get more details on the Emperor (what powers did he have, what supporting characters did he have on his side), as well as the BoTF plotline.

My only hope is that the rest of the series is like this one, and not like the first two. If so then my faith in TG will be restored, as it was nearly destroyed by the first two books.

One note; did I hear correct? Ann's horse was named Bella? And TG says he never read WoT!

« Show Less

The narrator kept calling the characters by the wrong names!!! It was very frustrating because it would throw me off everytime. I had to make a ment..Show More »al note everytime he said Collin he meant Kahlan. I wonder what Terry Goodkind would say about this. Didn't someone review this before they put it on Audible?? I think the narrator Sam Tsoutsouvas who read Wizard's First Rule was the best!!! His narration was captivating.

« Show Less

As with most audiobooks a lot of the listener's experience comes down to the reader of the audiobook. The story was so so in the beginning and got be..Show More »tter towards the end but ended pretty abruptly. But the reader of this novel is 10x better than the previous one. I'm glad I didn't stop at the last book and was able to make my way thru this one. I've read pretty good reviews of the book to come.

« Show Less

By the time I reached this book in Goodkind's series, my interest in the Sword of Truth was waning. I love the characters of Richard and Kahlan, but ..Show More »after hearing about how there never was a moment's peace and one thing after another going wrong, I was getting fed up. Temple of the Winds nearly killed me, but I saw everything getting better during Soul of Fire, only to have it end horrifically. Terry, give us a break! I want to see my heros happy for more than five minutes.

However, during the first pages of Faith of the Fallen, my faith in these books was renewed. Faith of the Fallen has become one of my favorite books of all time. The story of hope and perseverance is truly touching, showing readers that in the darkest of times, hope will always shine through. Richard's strength and Kahlan's courage prove that these two characters are the best the literary world has. Goodkind captures the essence of the human spirit and the woes we deal with in our world today. He sums it up perfectly stating, "Your life is yours alone. Rise up and live it." Never have there been better words to live by.

Technically, this book is fast paced and filled with action, although it is more hopeful than depressing. The plot is direct and the characters are engaging. Goodkind's writing is masterful.

Faith of the Fallen is the beacon of this series and urges the reader to continue on. You won't be disappointed to see Richard and Kahlan to the end.

« Show Less

If you know up front that the Richard,Kahlan, and the usual cast are not the main characters in "The PIllars of Creation" then the story is not dissa..Show More »pointing. They serve as the background story for most of the book until the last several chapters. This book centers around 2 other offspring of Darken Rahl, Jennsen and Oba. Rather then distracting from the series, these new characters expand and inrich the story. It starts off a liitle slow but worth listening to the end.

« Show Less

It's great that we're back to the main plot, but the long speeches on individual rights, while inspiring, are getting old.

The most fru..Show More »strating, however, is Richard's continued impotence. The most powerful wizard in 3000 years can be pretty boring and weak.

« Show Less

Terry Goodkind spends less time preaching his Ayn Rand derived ideas and more time telling the story. However, there are still significant flaws. Whil..Show More »e the preaching is much reduced there it still too much of it and it is poorly integrated in to the story. He fails to allow the story to make his points and resorts to having Richard simply "preach" his points. Further detracting from the book is Mr. Goodkind's appalling lack of skill when it comes to writing conversations. It is partly this and partly due to Jim Bond's presentation. The result is that almost every conversation sounds like the village idiot lecturing a slow child. I suspect that most (not all) of the fault is Jim Bond's as Phantom read by Sam Tsoutsouvas is much more palatable. If you like the Sword of Truth series, definitely listen to this book. If you used to like this series and gave up in frustration after the debacle of the Naked Empire (and a few of the books before it), this recording though heavily flawed, is worth hearing to advance the story.

« Show Less

What can I say, I really should have read the other reviews and taken a bit more notice. I read the preceding books in the series when they were first..Show More » released, and I must say and advantage to printed books is that you can skip the bits that are repetitive and dull. I think that the three final books in this series could easily have been compressed into a single story.

Although I have memories of the early books being very good, the final "trilogy" set have been something of a disappointment. The characters are dreadfully one-dimensional, and Richard himself has become unbelievable, overly righteous and at times downright dull. And was it just me, or were all the "bad" characters fat and/or ugly brutes, and the "good" characters slim and attractive intellectuals? Please!

I also found the switch in narrators disconcerting - the narrator who did the first book was better, but by then I was sucked into the "but I just need to see how it ends" trap.

« Show Less

I have been looking forward to the end of this series ever since I began reading The Sword of Truth series. After reading subsequent reviews which we..Show More »re quite negative I still chose to purchase this title. I am glad I finally got through the last book, I just wanted to know what happened in the end! But, it was very, very painful listening. I do not think I can handle much more of Terry Goodkind's brand of writing. The first few books were fabulous but when he started fixating on freedom and choice I got a little wary. As the series progresses it just gets worse with each book. There is less and less story and more and more about politics or rhetoric or whatever you want to call it. Really I am extremely fed up with long speeches that repeat the same ideologies over and over again! I am not ignorant, I got the message the first time and the second time and the third time and you get the idea. I am relieved to be done with it all. I will go back and read the first 3 or 4 books because they are the best, but I will NEVER read this one again! Download it, listen to it, and then be content that the series has finally come to a tortured end.

« Show Less

Great story about Zed, a young Zed. Tells the story of the boundaries,how they got put up. Zed is a powerful funny start up first wizard. A great book..Show More » and short,a sTart to finish book.

« Show Less