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Submitted by Tinman 
(Oct 29, 2001)

This is the 6th book I've read by TG, and I must say that never have I thought it possible to incorporate the Cold War capitalism vs. communism bullshit in a fantasy setting. Coming from Eastern Europe I find the plot of the book ridiculous and silly. Richard, the hero who personifies the utmost good that can possibly exist, single-handedly defeats the evil of communism while upholding democratic and capitalist ideals and values. Oh wow. How new and refreshing... NOT! And his descriptions of how evil and vile communism is... with all the carvings, everything drab and grey, etc. etc. is a bit extreme, not funny, not true and not interesting. In short, if you are not a beginning student of the history of communism, DONT READ THIS BOOK! As for the rest... I really enjoyed the first book, Wizard's First Rule. I fell in love with TG, because he appeared to be a great writer! I went out and bought all the other books and read them in succession within a week. The further I read, the more disappointed I got. True, TG introduced some interesting and novel ideas and plot twists... but in general I found the concept of Richard and Kahlan constantly being separated in the beginning of the book, only to be reunited in the end a bit tiring. Not even once throughout any of the books did they go through the whole thing together. I mean, COME ON!!! Plus the fact that Richard is an omnipotent god, rather than a man. If you take a look at the time frame of all the events, you will see that, even by a long shot, no human being should be capable of vaulting from "simple woodsguide" to battlewizard, good guy, master swordsman, master stone carver, and any number of other professions in between. Geez. The man's a genius! And he NEVER fails! And no matter how bad in a rut he gets, its the "true love" that sees him through miraculously intact. Any other person would have been several times dead, slept with half of the world's women, and went looney 10 times over. Grrr. Its just damn hard trying to identify with Richard. He doesn't seem to be human - no faults, no bad traits, no errors... UNREAL! On the whole, I would recommend reading the books to most people. They definitely have their merits, and they are very well written. But for the die-hard fantasy reader, I would recommend borrowing the books from a library or friend, and buying them if you really like them and don't mind the repetitiveness and the cliche'd good vs. evil type read.

If I could sum up in one word what this book is like, it would have to be - BEAUTIFUL. The story blends the amazingly powerful destructive aspects of Richard Rahls character with his creative and sentimental side. We, the reader, are trapped as Richards love for Kahlan becomes the only thing that holds him to life. And I would like to state that the idea of him creating a statue to free the slaves and citizens of the New Order, is intense, remarkable story telling of the most creative and wonderful kind that I have read in a while.

I enjoyed the books ability to create a tense environment and a feeling of hopelessness. Although he ends up victorious in the final chapters of the book, one has to wonder what Jagang will do in response to the death of his spiritual leader. The only problem I have with the book is actually in the character of Nicci. When Nicci and the other sisters of the dark in Blood of the Fold experience emperor Jagang for the first time, Nicci is crying. This goes against her supposed welcome of pain that is so apparent in this book. I don't know if it is just in part due to the first meeting of Jagang but I was confused by how much Nicci is different in Faith of the Fallen. Other than that I would have to say that the book was quite enjoyable and I look forward to the sequel.

First I have to start off and say this is the best series I have read in my 14 years of life. Many people, my parents, teachers, and friends say this book is too much for the mind of a teenager my age to read. But this book was a welcome one to them do to the fact that it had less sexual scenes in it then the rest. I have to agree the new views has more of how the minds of the characters work. But to say that this book was as good as the best is something I do not agree with. Because of my younger age then most adults who read this, the fact is that there is not enough action for me. Kahlan keeps the action for me as she usually always does. Richard of course gets into the mind of his enemy and changes their mind without killing them. This book really seemed like another version of the Sisters of Light parts and Denna. But I am hopping he has more books to come.

I liked this book. It was really good but I also think the author has lifted the storyline or idea from another book written by Ann Ryan. For those who loved this book, if you don't believe me just go and read "Fountain head" and "Atlas shrug" by Ann Ryan and you will know what I mean. Since I did like this book and the first book of this series (the only two books I have read so far), I hope that other books are also good and the story are not lifted from other books.