Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind

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Submitted by kichelle
(Sep 30, 2000)

well, i thought this book was as great as the first one, wizards first rule.  i love the way he writes, and makes the characters totally burst out at you.  i am now on the fifth book, and it gets better yet.

Terry Goodkind sets himself apart from his contemporaries in several ways.  Firstly, his stories are so analgous of a contemporary society burdened by villains of an identical character as those in his series.  Secondly, his narrative is devoid of frivolous material that leaves the common reader begging for the return of a central plot.  Thirdly, he treats his readers as if they possess an intelligence capable of grasping the metadiagetic level of his books rather than just drooling goons wanting action (although this demographic can be in no way less appeased than the former).

Although not as elaborate as Jordan in creating sights and sounds so poignant to various cultures, Goodkind stays true to his characters, especially the females.  Whereas Jordan's feminine protagonists merge into one obnoxious and overpowering personality, Goodkind's women enjoy individuality and exceptionally unique traits.  One has to go no farther than Stone of Tears for the proof.

In Goodkind's first outing, Wizard's First Rule, we were surprised that Richard was smart enough to act rather than react as so many of his contemporary heros do.  Now, we see the baptism of Kahlan as a legitimate heroine of action rather than reaction.  the length of WFR finds Kahlan as a victim to her powers, unable to seize the essentials of humanity in her role as fated judiciary.  Her character is governed at the conclusion by the very magic which serves and enslaves her.  Stone of Tears reveals and indeed expounds upon an exceptional character, who uses the subtle advantages of her gender to aid her.

No relationship in all of fantasy literature is so well written and gripping as that between Richard and Denna, the paradoxical Mord Sith in Wizard's First Rule.  Yet Kahlan establishes the potency of her character in Stone of Tears as a viable person, one with whom we can sympathize and fall in love with alongside Richard.  As usual, Goodkind weaves words like a listener rather than teller of tales.  But who can blame him?  Afterall, it's people we're reading, not stories.

I thought SoT was kind of slow at first. Once I started reading it though, I could hardly put it down. Well I should say this, I dreaded to find out what horrible things were happening to Richard and Kahlan, yet I could not wait to see how they would overcome it. Yes the Sisters of Light do remind me alot of Aes Sedai. But after reading Robert Jordans Books, Terry Goodkinds are a delight. Robert Jordan drags out every little thing. I got to where I could care less what happened to the charecters. Not so with SoT. I went of and bought the next book before I was even finished with it.  I hope the seris continues to be as riveting as the first two books.

Stone of Tears is a strong entry in Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, and I enjoyed reading it, though not as much as WFR. 
There are a few things that kind of disappointed me though.
The first and most obvious thing was his excessive borrowing from Jordan's Wheel of Time series, particularly in the area of the Sisters of the Light, who are almost a carbon-copy of the Aes Sedai.  They have their own Tower, surrounded by their own city, on their own island.  They call each other "Sister" and have all kinds of self-righteous ideas about what they ought to do with men.  They introduce the Han, and it looks like this will end up being the One Power of the Sword of Truth, the force that dwells within you.  They have their own Sisters of the Dark (Black Ajah), little statuettes that aid them in using their magic for specific purposes (ter'agreal), a Prelate (Amyrlin Seat), novices (Novices), and a mistress of the novices (Mistress of the Novices).  This kind of disappointed me.  One thing I loved about WFR was its originality, which was not as evident in SoT. 
Darken Rahl is also getting rather Ba'alzamonish.  It's anyone's guess as to how many times Richard will have to kill him before he finally stays dead.
Despite all that, I still enjoyed SoT, and fully intend to continue on with the series.  Goodkind's style is as strong as ever.  SoT is slow in the beginning, but after you make the halfway point, things speed up and rarely slow down.  This looks like it's going to be an excellent series, though it has yet to match the standards of WoT, particularly in the area of characters.  Compared to the people in WoT, SoT's heroes are cardboard. 
Don't let that stop you from reading this book though.