Siege of Stone

Sister of Darkness: The Nicci Chronicles, Book 3

By: Terry Goodkind

Narrated by: Christina Traister

Length: 20 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

*io9's New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books You Need to Put On Your Radar This Fall

Set in the world of the Sword of Truth saga, the ramifications of New York Times bestseller Terry Goodkind’s Shroud of Eternity extend throughout all of the Old World as familiar allies, dangerous magic, and creatures created by twisted sorcery all work at cross purposes to either save or destroy Ildakar in Siege of Stone.

The Sorceress Nicci, the Wizard Nathan Rahl, and the young swordsman Bannon remain in the legendary city of Ildakar after a great internal revolt has freed the slaves and brought down the powerful wizards council. But as he fled the city, capricious Wizard Commander Maxim dissolved the petrification spell that had turned to stone the invading army of General Utros fifteen centuries earlier. Now, hundreds of thousands of half-stone soldiers from the ancient past have awakened, led by one of the greatest enemy commanders in history.

Nicci, Nathan, and Bannon have to help Ildakar survive this unbreakable siege, using all the magical defenses of the legendary city. Even as General Utros holds Ildakar hostage and also unleashes his incredible army on the unsuspecting Old World, an equally powerful threat arises out in the sea.

Nicci knows the battle won’t remain in the city; if she can’t stop this threat, two invincible armies can sweep across the Old World and destroy D’Hara itself.

The Nicci Chronicles

1. Death’s Mistress
2. Shroud of Eternity
3. Siege of Stone

©2018 Terry Goodkind. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Terry Goodkind is phoning it in at this point

So, I have been a fan of the Sword of Truth series from the beginning. The main SoT series was great, though Richard was Mary Sue. So, when he had to take a back seat and we get to see the world from Nicci’s eyes, I was really excited. Goodkind’s last works in the SoT world largely redid or retconed much of his own mythology so a story exploring the Old World with one of his least used but most interesting characters was something I was quite excited for.

But the execution has been pitifully done.

First, I think it was the third or fourth grade where we were taught about varying your adjectives and adverbs so that the same one wasn’t used more than once every few pages...

This is a direct quote from the book, “He was exhilarated. “This is exhilarating!” He called.”

And that is only one a small example, but it was in one of the first few chapters and it only went down hill from there.

His dialogue is the worst kind of contrived tripe. Like, did he say a single sentence he wrote from this series out loud? His dialogue has never been top shelf, but seriously some of the sentences his characters say are downright absurd in this series.

Beyond the lack of imaginative or descriptive language or inability to have his characters converse in any kind of normal way (that was more prevalent in his original series), Goodkind also has his amazingly interesting characters... being completely unlike the characters he originally wrote.

Nicci and Nathan’s dynamic together is just bad. They almost never refer to each other by their names, instead calling each other wizard or sorcerous. And they don’t treat each other in a way reminiscent of the dynamic they had at the people’s palace when Jagang was laying siege to it.

Speaking of which, why is it that almost no one seems to know who Richard is when he used Orden to talk to LITERALLY EVERYONE!?! Millions of people stepped over to the place without magic because of the chapter long speech Richard gave to all of life at the end of Confessor.

And how is it that Jagang didn’t instill the law of the Imperial Order in cities he conquered in the Old World. Nicci visits one port city in this book and the leader if the city talked about how Jagang just charged a heavy tax and largely left them alone. Seeing as an entire novel was spend with Richard and Nicci in the Old World learning about the the rule of the Imperial Order, you would think that callbacks to the world Goodkind built would be easily ised to build page count, but no.

Instead halfway through the book we are being told once again (for the third time) about the nature of magic, or Life’s Mistress, or some other repeated story from a previous book within this new series. I understand trying to make a series novel friendly for new readers who might stumble across it, but really how many people pick up the third book in a new series that takes place in a larger universe that has 20+ other books to read first? You can reference other events without treating the audience like first timers or idiots.

I had a lot of hope with the Law of Nines. Somewhat less home with First Confessor. Grudging optimism with Omen Machine, and downright dread once I realized he was going the zombies route. It ended quickly though and Goodkind wrote about Nicci and I was excited again.

But honestly, these books don’t even sound like his typical narrative or cadence style. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was just writing outlines at this point and giving them to an intern/grad student to ghost write for him.

It’s the only explanation besides Goodkind not caring any more about these characters and just wanting his check.

Regardless, he needs to step up his quality control, his editor needs to step it up, or he needs to hire an intern who has actually read the previous books because this is really starting to suck. Its a great world idea, but it is being lost in the mediocrity of its implementation.

I love the story but narrator is terrible!

I love the story, because I'm jonesing for the SoT world, but the narrator is just terrible and ruins the story with her "valley girl" inflection for the main narration. Just read the book. Obviously it's not great. Goodkind (if it's indeed still him and not a ghost writer) just doesn't bring the world to life like the early books.

Love the story, hate the narrator

I love Terry Goodkind and his stories. I am struggling with this series because of the narrator though. if book 4 is narrated by the same person, I'm not sure I'll get it.

Not bad, just not great

Terry Goodkind has always been one of my favorite authors. This series just doesnt feel like his usual stuff. It seems overly, un unnecessarily sexual and just slapped together. also the reading isn't great either. It's like she thinks the book is supposed to be a porn or something. Shes whiney, I'm not a fan.

A bit of a drag story

Overall a decent book but a bit repetitive and monotonous. Banon is saying obvious things and Nicci seem to pull magic tricks out of nowhere despite past chapters building up to that moment. I would've preferred a different narrator.

amazing story as usual

I am loving the continued adventure of these well k own characters from the Sword of Truth series. please keep them coming!

Full of action!

This book seemed to have a lot more action than the previous Nicci books. The characters are fleshing out nicely. I was pleased to hear hints of the Mord-Sith ancestry, and a small morsel about Nathan's childhood as well.

It left me anxious for the final book--I'm looking forward to it already!

As for the narration, it was great. I often listen while in an extremely noisy environment, and the narration was clear and easy to understand through it all.

Typical Goodkind

Expansive story with a multitude of interesting characters. Picked the wrong person to tell the story . That is a great disappointment

Better in my head than her voice.

Not good when the narrator doesn't know the characters. I've been reading the SoT series for over 20 years and she doesn't understand the spirits of the main characters. Kinda ruined it a bit for me.

Ehhh....

A weak story worsened by horrible voice performance. Lifelong TG fan... but this doesn't make the "reread" list.

predictiable and sexist

Okay, a few things. I'll begin by saying there was a lot of recapping and repeating from past books, including Richard and Kahlan series. A lot. Lots of repeated content by characters saying the same thing over and over again. Every time a chapter came to Thora, Maxim, Adessa they said the same thing. King Grieve, again just kept repeating himself! It's overkill. I can't tell you how much I hate that Goodkind feels the need to repeat everything from other books, explaining it all again. Or keeps repeating content again in another chapter (from same book!) We don't need recaps! Stop this madness! I found myself skimming... a lot. A lot of wasted pages, characters repeating content from Richard and Kahlan series, making it the very reason I swear to never read another Goodkind book. It makes the story just suck. I only return out of invested time I spent on particular characters and curiosity to where they may go. He's the only author I've ever despised by his writing skills, yet I enjoy his plots and some characters. His books are only thick from repeated content. Just garbage writing.

1. Stay with me here... Maxim released the stones warriors HE petrified by releasing everyone he ever petrified. alright. sounds legit. This, I followed... But then apparently because HE created the spell, he can somehow dominate over anyone else who used this spell by unpetrifying EVERYONE's petrification spell??? This is where I got lost and had a WTF moment. That's what went down. He undid everyone's victims that ever cast this spell. By Undoing his own petrification spell, he also unraveled the 3 other gifted Dumas spell that they cast to petrify Thora into a statue making her now some half statue, more lethal. He shouldn't have been able to undo Thora since he did not cast her petrification spell. Apparently he has some patent over the use of the spell. Made me rethink every person that ever creates a spell and others use it. Wouldn't that mean they can just take it back or undo its usage, too, by this theory, if they created the spell?? Other gifted clearly are strong enough to cast it and use it, because they did and by Maxims own admittance, it's easier to remove it. So what, Maxim is more powerful than the 3 other gifted wizards combined, to override them??
Maxim doesn't seem to have the power to over rule every wizards spells in that form when, he is clearly a coward. how can you be the most powerful wizard and be a coward who runs from a single mordsith *cough* I mean morazeth. He seems more of a trickster. I had trouble believing Maxim was so powerful and could just undo everyone's usage of this spell.

2. Female rant: What is the deal with making like every female characters some sexual play thing for men in these books (minus Verna)?! So many men use woman for their own sexual purposes in Goodkinds books. Maxim even took PRE TEENS in a village he took over! PRE teen means before 13...which is pedophilia!!! Maxim even complained about their inexperience. Is it necessary to keep repeating this theme in every book as if woman are mostly worthless? At any age even. (Can we just leave at least female children alone? ) It's repeated SO much that I have no other conclusion other than to assume this turns Goodkind on sexually, to constantly be demoralizing, raping and belittling woman in his stories or he's writing it for a targeted, male, audience that gets turned on by it.
The undertone was always there in the Richard and Kahlan novels. this book was written in 2018...and there's been no progression to ease from this. How many men say disgusting, sexual things to Nicci?
There's even an implication of incest between Uteros twin sister sorceressess that just worship him, pleasure him (and fight his battles for him while he does basically nothing). Verna, Elsa (Elsa gets killed off) are the exception to all these things. You didn't ever hear Verna or Elsa worshipping anyone, including, Richard Rahl. They act normal. Get treated normal. (because older woman are undesirable in Goodkinds views, clearly) Nicci is constantly repeating that everything she does is for Richard... I mean, come on already. It's a total turn off for female readers. Nicci at this point should have love and respect for Richard as a whole, as a leader and friend, not him be her reason to breathe and all she does like she's trying to impress him. This worshipping of Richard needs to go. Self respecting, powerful people don't worship anyone. Men are constantly worshipped in these books. Goodkind even made Lila pathetically worship Bannon, following him like a puppy, protecting him... is there a single main male character that isn't being ridiculously adored by some alleged powerful (or plain) female like a robot, Other then Ian (but even he snapped out of his Stockholm syndrome) and was killed off, or Nathan? how many males in Goodkind books become a mindless robot, only living for the female-worshipping her? Apparently you have to be a confessor and magically force men into this role. I'd actually think Lila and Bannon are cute, if not for Lila raping him (and Bannon just enjoying it like all the male characters who get raped)being the bossy, dominant, yet can't be without Bannon like a dog, undermining her actual dominance.


3. Another sliph? I thought they were spirits from the underworld? Is that not sealed too? Just another Sliph that magically appears yet no one knew it existed. Just like the grumpy sliph (Lucy) that magically appeared in the last Richard and Kahlan novels to save the day, and was also just placed there conveniently... This sliph apparently serves the evil wizards of the past... so there's now a grumpy sliph, a bad political one who serves enemies and a prior prostitute.. how many masters and sliphs are there? Why are they not retired in the underworld in a closed veil? Why would Nicci in the end put her life in the hands of such an untrusting Sliph that clearly loathes her? Now, she's stranded, alone in a place she doesn't know because she tried to force an unwilling Sliph to travel(this kind of behavior Goodkind writes for Nicci diminishes her from being the intelligent, powerful, bad ass, Death's Mistress she's suppose to be) Nicci would never of been so careless in previous series.

This whole world of Ildkar read to me like a copied Lord of the Rings meets the Roman Empire. Noble first class citizens to lower. Slaves who fight in pits to the death. (The movie Gladiator comes to mind).
Non magic against people with magic. Slaves want freedom. In the end, they slaughter the lower class anyways for sacrificing and Ildkar just disappeared again. WTF

Here's where I'm also confused: I thought Richard separated the people without magic, from this magic world and gave them their own world? Yet, here we are, with a ton of societies, abusing the non magic people, using them as slaves and like nothing Richard did effected anyone outside of his backyard. This would have effected everyone, everywhere, just like the stars in the sky.
Ildakar could get away with not being affected because they were in a time capsule world, hidden (I'll give them that excuse)

4.The twins being able to see into the veil of the world of the dead and speak to them? STOP. Sealing the veil means sealing the veil. period. there's no window shopping. This part was so stupid. again, undermining his beloved Richards work from previous books. There was no loopholes...The veil is sealed, permanently... until Goodkind decided to just change it. Just like the secret sliphs scattered everywhere. Hearthounds exist, again. How? The veil had to open for this and it was not even explained. Why repeat this story line? It's exhausted, finished...

5. Lila and her female companions are just copy cat versions of mordsiths from previous series. only they repel magic instead of stealing it from enemies. I found Lila only slightly less annoying then the others and wish Goodkind didn't lazily invent more Mordsiths and call them by another name. They all say and act the same. it gets old reading the same arrogant demeanor without human emotions. like robotic children. It feels like Goodkind is just recreating the same characters from Sword in the stone series but calling them by different names. Lila is no Cara!

6. how is Chalk seeing the future when prophecy is dead? It's definitely current and the last book in sword in stone made it clear that no one could predict futures or see them anymore... yet here's Chalk. Contradiction again.

7. King Grieve... honestly was not invested in this character or his people. A savage who intends to take over the world (how unoriginal), who feeds his own people to a sea monster for luck and occasionally eats them himself- who has an insane future, seeing, albino sidekick. Wanted them to die in this book but nope- Goodkind combined them in the end with Utro's army so they will conquer together. um.. okay.


8.I genuinely liked the plot. Just hated the writing. Felt like nothing really was accomplished in this book. It dragged on and no one was defeated. people just died and Ildkar just disappeared again. now all the good characters are separated. I like Nathan, Renn, Bannon, Capt. Zimmerman and Verna and was intrigued to see where the story takes them. I'm invested in these characters and am glad Goodkind brought them over from previous series. This book just wasn't delivered