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Submitted by witchy_woman291@hotmail.com 
(Feb 15, 2004)

I have been reading the Sword of Truth series for some time now, and above all the Faith of the Fallen novel is my favorite. I love it for the fact that it takes you so far into the human soul and teaches you about the human spirit and why you should fight for it. There were endless little details which make this a perfect book to read at any time. It was very easy for me to connect spiritually with Goodkind's words and characters.

This IS a rather belated review of Faith, but... oh well.

Faith of the Fallen, being the 6th book in a series of (so far) 8, is also one of the most controversial chapters of Goodkind's fantasy Magnum Opus. From talking about it in various book clubs, talking with friends, and reading a number of reviews on both Amazon and this very website, it seems that a lot of people who read it were upset by

a) the blatantly antagonistic view of communism,
b) The unrealistic portrayal of Richard as a superhumanly good character
c) The relationship which is at the core of the book, Richard and Kahlan, being torn apart (again) for most of the book

and

d) The cyclical nature of Goodkind's plots (i.e., Rich is captured, great evil threatens, Kahlan is bitter, Rich escapes, conquers, learns new powers, and is reunited with Kahlan. Wash, dry, and repeat.)

I would like to adress those issues. Remember, this is all just my own opinion.

First of all, the cycling plot and the Kahlan/Rich relationship problems
- It works. What a lot of people don't seem to pick up on, and I may be wrong here, is that the SoT series is more character study than epic, tolkienesque fantasy. Granted, there are many plots Goodkind could have used, but this plot actually works for me as the best way to espouse his views on character and the human condition. Richard represents something, which I will go into later, and that something will get its message across most effectively in the manner whihc Goodkind has decided.

Secondly, the communism.
- Again, communism here serves to underline the great message which Richard himself delivers. Is it a false perception of communism? Perhaps, Perhaps not. But, either way, it is NOT communism as we know it. Just because it SYMBOLIZES what communism itself symbolized, it is not the same thing. I appreciate the pain that communists or even political scientists out there feel about communism being maligned in this book, but it still stands that FotF is NOT bashing communism. It is bashing the evil PARTS of communism, and therefore must push them to the fore in order to better contrast them with Rich's heroic ideal.

Lastly, Richard himself.
- Richard is a hero. He's not the tragically flawed hero of Hamlet. He's not the anti-hero of Taxi Driver. He's not the introspective, brooding, regal hero of Aragorn. He's not even the hero cut along the lines of King Richard the Lionheart.

He is the hero called man. The heroic IDEAL of man. The man we all aspire to be, realistic or not.

He is Howard Roark.

To those unfamiliar, Howard Roark is the principal hero in Ayn Rand's masterpiece, The Fountainhead. To keep a beautifully long story short, Fountainhead was about one man, Roark, facing a world in which "heroism" was being a mindless sheep following the will of a mindless majority. It was about Roark climbing for the ideal, he became a hero by sticking to his principles, by realizing that one need not listen to the cries of the masses for guidance, but to his own inner, heroic, voice. Roark espoused the idea that man's supreme goal is himself. There's more, but that's another story.

Richard and Roark. Similar, eh?

Should Ayn Rand's estate sue for plagiarism? Heck no. Goodkind did not steal any of Rand's sentences. He assumed her philosophy. And isn't that what Rand was trying to do in the first place? Spread her philosophy?

Goodkind simply did what Rand wanted, by taking Roark and transforming him into a fantasy hero, Richard Rahl.

Being a faithful fan of Terry, both his devious plot turns and the beautiful depiction of the main characters, I was utterly shocked reading "Faith of the
fallen." Being nothing like he has ever written before.
Faith of the Fallen is most of all a political book and a comment on the 'mass' being more important then the individual, carrying the political and philosophical heritage of Ayn Rand and her Objectivism.
Whether you sympathize with this or not, it is a literary masterpiece, simple and devious.
It is a philosophical manifest, yet it tells of its
principles through examples in human life rather then just stating them in a list.
The plot turn involving the statue and Nicci was amazing at it actually made me cry.
I truly hope that "Naked empire" will live up to this
breathtaking book.

!!!!!!!I've never read a book with so much politics that is this good I love the way that Mr.Goodkind uses so much detail,the book needed it so we could better comprehend everything going on in the crazy world that Richard calls life,but it also drags out the book.I've started to read the Pillars of Creation and I hope that it is as worthy as a two thumbs up as the previous books have been!!<@:)

I have been following this Sword of Truth novel by Terry Goodkind since his first book: Wizards First Rule. I am impressed about his first and second book, but when it came to The Blood of thhe Fold up to the Soul of the Fire, the storyline seemed to be diverted from the story or the theme of the novel. Some of his characters were really bugging me because some were supposed to be "ungifted", but they still have a "few" tricks up their sleeves. Just like Defran, Richard's "ungifted" half-brother. Defran can allign a persons "Aura-flow" or something. But not all books are put downs. The Faith of the Fallen took my breath away because of Richards own "Faith", he survived for Kahlans sake. This book will touch even the cold-hearted. I cant wait for Terry's next book. i live in the Phillipines so we get the books here a bit too late... I wish Terry doesn't stop until Richard and Kahlan have peace...