The Law of Nines

By: Terry Goodkind

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Turning 27 may be terrifying for some, but for Alex, a struggling artist living in the Midwest, it is cataclysmic. Something about this birthday, his name, and the beautiful woman whose life he has just saved has suddenly made him - and everyone he loves - a target. A target for extreme and uncompromising violence...

©2009 Terry Goodkind (P)2009 Penguin

Can't stand alone

If this book didn't have ties to the "Sword of Truth" series it would be a complete waste of time. Only "Sword of Truth" followers will pick up on the references in this book that make it somewhat interesting. If you haven't read,listened to, the "S.O.T" series, don't waste a credit.

If you like the Sword of Truth series...

I am currently 6 hours into the book. It is keeping me on the edge of my seat so far. I am looking forward to listening more. I am a bit surprised that it is not advertised for what it is, but I don't want to give anything away. ;)

Terry Goodkind has lost his way

Potential Spoilers: I fell in love with the Sword of Truth series when I picked up Wizards First Rule on a whim. The book was so excellently written, the characters entrancing and engaging, and the storyline engrossing. The magic of the series was further established with Stone of Tears, and I was hooked. I even loved the ending Chainfire trilogy, and was happy with the way Goodkind left the world.

On that note, Goodkind should have left well enough alone. The only reason anyone should pick up The Law of Nines is if they were really big fans of the Sword of Truth series. The writing in Nines is poor, and far from the standard that Goodkind set forth in his earlier works. The plot is haphazard, with characters doing things for seemingly no reason, and the characters themselves are flat. And Goodkind is once again riding on his preachy high horse -; those who read Faith of the Fallen, Pillars of Creation, and Naked Empire know exactly what I'm talking about. This preachy nature was so bad early in the book that I almost deleted the book from my library with prejudice. It was only my sick curiosity to see the end that drew me forward.

All in all, The Law of Nines can best be described as Wizards First Rule, minus magic and compelling characters, but with a healthy dose of moral and ethical preaching which far exceeds Goodkind's previous rants.

The bottom line: don't get this book unless you are a HUGE Sword of Truth fan.

Not a conventional thriller--but not bad

I read and liked the first few books of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. The series lost me around "Naked Empire" when it swerved into long political monologues--that's not what I read fantasy books for!--but the first books were fun.

The Law of Nines brought back the enjoyment of "Wizard's First Rule." There's a lot of action, and while the first third of the book is slower than the rest of the novel, it isn't boring. And some of the scenes there are pretty amusing: imagine explaining what Goth teenagers are to someone from another world!

Along with the nonstop action for the last two thirds of the book, there are some intriguing thoughts about magic and technology. There's one political monologue, but it isn't too long and Goodkind thankfully keeps it mostly within the bounds of the story.

If I have one complaint, it's that action scenes are sometimes too drawn-out. I knew what was going to happen, but the characters didn't, so I had to wait.

Overall, though, The Law of Nines was a fun listen. You'll like it if you liked the Sword of Truth series--if you're not already a fan, try this and you might become one.

Lives up to the standards of the other books

Overall a great listen. This book is a little different from Terry Goodkind's other books of this series. Whereas the other books take place in a fantasy world, this book returns back to the "real" world and links it to the previous books, which is very intriguing and something i never expected. Great job, looking forward to the next book in the series.

Great job Terry

I glanced at a few reviews and had to give those of you who are fans of Terry, but not yet ready to get the Law of Nines, a review for the positive. Although most fans of Terry will probable get this one anyways...

The last series just built and built in intensity. Coming off that peak and to start over with this one probable makes this one appear more dull? I can't wait to see how it escalades. It still has the classic - "How the helk is he going to get out of this one" suspense. The last one I thought ended on a very powerful message. I can see this one taking that message and applying it to our current world.
Just remember this is fantasy and magic, so don't expect everything to seem "real." Like Richard, Alex has redeeming qualities in his character that can be admired.

Not Good at any level

FIRST, this is a SCIENCE FICTION BOOK!

It is categorized incorrectly. I called Audible and pointed this out so I hope they reclass it so someone else who doesn't know Goodkind will know what type of book this is...

BTW, Audible Customer Service is TERIFFIC - one of the best Cust Srvs outfits out there!! They addressed my complaint and handled it perfectly - as usual!

Anyway, once I got over the fact it was a Science Fiction book, the book fails on a lot of levels. It's basic premise is that there exists an alternative dimension and some have figured out how to cross dimensions. However, the author never describes the dimension from which they came and never describes or even alludes as to HOW they even made the jump.

Definitely NOT recommended at any level!!

Stream of consciousness

Boring, predictable, slow. Only one story line. Seems like he wrote the story stream of consciousness - like he didn't know where he was going with the story. He found his characters in a situation and then just decided what might happen next. Juvenile writing.

Hopefully the start of another great series

After coming to truly love the characters in the the Sword of Truth Series, I was skeptical about the author creating new characters that I would care about also... I was wrong, what a pleasant surprise. I hope he's writing the next in the series, Now!!

Law of Nines

I spent hours trying to get into this - finally, I gave up. I found this to be very boring and lacking substance.