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Submitted by Anonymous 
(Jul 08, 2002)

Wow! Faith of the Fallen is the most uplifting book I have ever read. Richard may not be flambouyant in using his gift, but who knows the full extent of the power of the wizards of old? In SOTF the extent of one of there most unusual but powerful wizards(Joeseph Ander) was hinted at. He created a seamless new kind of magic by being creative. Richard even gave merit to his idea while the wizards of that time thought him talented, but arrogant. And Richard had to create a new kind of magic to beat his, and then talk the chimes into doing what he wanted by using reason. His magic lies in seeing the truth, and making others see it as well. He isn't trying to make or alter living things from nothing and be the Creator. That's where the wizards of old failed.
Faith of the Fallen was an excellent follow up to SOTF. Terry Goodkind world maybe full of termoil right now, but I would rather live in a world with love and magic(same thing in my opinion)than a world without. Everybody should excercise their free will and read all of this series at least 2 times a year. Especially WFR and FOTF. The two best in my opinion.
If you read them you might start to believe the saying "love conquers all".

Goodkind once again tells a story that captures the imagination. It's hard not to be drawn into his world and identify with his characters. This story will have you laughing with the characters, on the edge of your seat, and sometimes bring you to the verge of tears. Simply writing at its best.

After the disappointing previous book in the sword of truth saga: Soul of the Fire. I thought Goodkind has lost his edge. Never before have I've been happy to be wrong! In this volume: Faith of the Fallen, Goodkind's abilities to tell a rousing story are reborn!

Richard is disllusioned with ruling his vast empire and decides to abandon it and his fight against evil imperial order and take ailing Kahlan into the wilderness. Our favorite fantasy couple's happiness is short-lived when Nicci, a young woman from Richard's part and now a sorceress in league with evil emperor Jajang puts a spell upon Kahlan linking their lives together and threatening to kill Kahlan unless Richard leaves his wife and comes with her! She takes Richard deep into the territory of the imperial order seeking to bend his will toward her see the error of his ways in fighting Jajang's righteous cause! Kahlan's bitter toward losing Richard takes up the cause of the Dharan empire in the battle against the Imperial order.

What makes this novel so compelling is Goodkind's world-building skills as he takes us and Richard deep into the Imperial Order, a brutal communist-style regime where freedom and indivuality are crushed. Before we only saw the armies of the imperial order, now we see the people who suffer under the tyranny. Richard becomes a symbol for the people to gain their freedom against their oppressors in creating a stature that symbolizes the nobility of the human spirit in face of tyranny.

This novel also has sweeping battle scenes as Kahlan with the help of Cara rallies the outnumbered Dharan soldiers face millions of imperial order warriors. You watch as Kahlan commit shocking actions in defense of her homeland and her rage against imperial order Kahlan is the most compelling heroine to ever grace a fantasy series and you do not want her as an enemy! One of the things I love about this series is the love affair between Richard and Kahlan. You almost can feel the heartbreak as Richard must leave his wife that he loves to save her life from Nicci's terrible spell.They are the most romantic couple in fantasy genre.Once again my faith in Goodkind hasn't fallen but soared as he takes us into Richard and Kahlan's unforgettable world of magic, romance, conflict and sorrow!

I am getting tired of fantasy authors who drag out the story line just to sell more books. I dropped Robert Jordan after book 7. I just have one question for Mr. Goodkind, "Has the estate of Ayn Rand sued you for plagiarism yet?" I'm glad I waited for the paperback and will choose to use my capitalist option on the remaining ones of the series. It's too bad, tho, as I did like the first 3 books.Please Terry, wrap this up and enthrall us with something fresh.

_Wizard's First Rule_ was an acceptable book -- light, easy going, no surprises, rather stereotypical characters. _Faith of the Fallen_ sees Goodkind try to merge political commentary into his _Sword of Truth_ series. And the result is terrible -- the champion of the communist system is (predictably) overcome with Richard Rahl's charisma and capitalistic tendencies and repents of her evil ways. The communistic society is portrayed as being a mess of beaurocracy and heavy-handedness while capitalism comes out as whiter than white, no flaws anywhere, a system by which all benefit. I am unsure if Goodkind truly believes the tripe he spouted in this book or if it was intended to be a satire of how American Capitalism views communistic ideas. If it was a satire, it was very well done... but, as that would mean he was implicitly criticising his much beloved protagonist, I doubt it. To summarise: tripe.