Review: Goodkind Gets You with the 1st Sentence
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 4, 2013
For fans of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series this book will really hit the spot! It is wonderfully fascinating, as it back-fills so many of the open questions that are confronted throughout the entire series.The story deals with Magda Searus, a young woman with little status until she falls madly in love with First Wizard Baraccus and marries him. Once married to the First Wizard she is allowed to grow her hair out (how a woman's status is shown - the longer the hair the higher their status). She then falls into a roll of representing all of the areas of the Midlands that do not have a voice at the Council. A roll that suits her well.However the book opens with the apparent suicide of First Wizard Baraccus, so there is no romance or passion, other than in Magda's memories. Throughout the book Magda is strongly opposed to wizards turning people into weapons and can't reconcile how anyone would allow themselves to be used in such a manner - regardless of how dire the war is that continues to rage on, closer and closer to the Keep and Aydindril, considered to be the heart of the Midlands.Like the other books in the SOT series there is a fair amount of exploration of the human factor, possibly more so than of magic. There is no way that I can give a solid review without spoilers, so I will go with what impressed me.Yes, some readers will feel that there is not enough action in this book. I disagree, however the action is more cerebral and emotional than physical. There is still more than enough of the physical to make things entertaining and bring you to the edge of your seat. Personally I find that the soul searching that takes place, by Magda, Merritt, and others only adds to the power of the physical action.This book certainly does expose some of the mysteries that we were left with from reading the SOT series, particularly since the series takes place in the distant future. And we get to see exactly how many of the problems that plagued Richard, Kahlan, and crew came to be.I will agree with one reviewer that said it was clear who the antagonist is early on (aside from the known evil from the Old World that is). But that is not problematic, as we don't know how Magda will become the First Confessor. Will it be against her will, or will something happen that allows her to see another side of being altered by a wizard, a side that she can embrace? There are many ways to get to the resolution, so knowing the antagonist is not a problem.Hopefully since Mr. Goodkind did not come close to exposing all of the mysteries that riddled the SOT series, this means that he will continue with more books set in this wonderful world he has so deftly created. I've read every single book in the series and the "off-shoots" and still hunger for more. It astounds me that he has been able to craft so many substantial books about the same characters and not repeat himself endlessly. Hats off to Mr. Goodkind for once again creating an enthralling book that was impossible to set down once begun.