The Book Is Even Worse Than The Series
354979
The video was maybe a 3-star effort, tops, with atrocious film editing.  But the book is a serious contender for the dubious honor of Worst Ever Written On Any Subject.  The only reason I give it two stars is that it contains a couple of interesting narratives I've not seen elsewhere.

The text is thoroughly riddled with factual errors, proving that neither the author (a political specialist) nor editors were remotely competent in their subject.  But the photo captions are so egregious that one hardly knows where to begin.  A typical entry: "Soviet pilot wearing a belt."  That's downright erudite compared to some others, including the familiar shot of 361st FG Mustangs identified as Japanese floatplanes.  Many other planes are misidentified, and the poor to OK-quality photos include some like prewar racers that have no bearing on the subject.  Why George Bush's adventures in a torpedo plane are included is anyone's guess.

The bottom line: a waste of paper.  The publisher should be ashamed...but apparently isn't.
652678
It has been a long time since I was this disgusted with a new addition to a series I had previously enjoyed.  Elements of this book were so awful, they reduced the entire series to a pathetic caricature of itself.  In particular, the addition of several characters, a love triangle, and the attendant plot twists, that were so poorly conceived and written that they have more in common with second rate pornography than high fantasy.  The changes to the story, background, and characters contradicted what was previously established in the first 2 books without explanation.  Further, they made the leads so unlikeable, and unbelievable, that the only characters I still respected after reading this book were the villains.

  Very disappointed.  Will not be buying future books by this author.  He seems to have serious problems with women, relationships, and sex.  His female characters all seem to fit under the "Mother, Virgin, Whore" triad, and thinks sexually and emotionally abusing his characters, especially his female characters, is entertaining.  I really wish the author would stop trying to mix sexual material that is better suited for a Dark Fantasy with his Swords and Sorcery High Fantasy, which is otherwise quite good.
228969
I give this book one star because not only is it the worse book in an otherwise great series, it is a horrible book on its own merits.

I agree with other reviewers that the reprint of the events of the previous book told from the heroine's point of view was redundant and annoying.  The prose from this book was almost the same as the first few chapters of Mail Order Mix Up.  It would have worked had I not read the previous book.  But more than that I found that I strongly disliked the protagonist.  If you read the previous book "Mail Order Mixup" and did not like Malinda you probably won't like her in this book either.

*******Spoiler Alert**********

The protagonist is afraid of not being married to a man with money.  She goes on and on and on about it throughout the book.  I didn't understand the deep seated fear.  Nothing really bad happened to her because she was poor.  She wasn't ever alone.  She was never truly victimized due to a lack of funds.  She wondered for a few weeks at the most about how she would survive.  And even that burden was shouldered with the help of her older sister.  She landed on her feet.  So her repeated rejection/ distrust of her feelings for her husband seemed overblown and silly.

I thought Malinda was extremely childish in her attitudes toward her sister, husband, and brother in law.  She was angry because three people did not let her put their lives on hold while she decided if she could overcome her fear and marry a man who did not have money.  Really?  She wanted three people who knew what they wanted to wait for her to decide she was ready to let them take their chosen paths in life.  The conversations about her in this book and the predecessor book put the character in a box that she did not escape.  She was nice when it didn't cost her anything.

In the course of the book she lies to her husband about taking extra work to supplement their income.  She does reach out to him but her behavior is so badly considered that it is painful to read.  In the last part of the book, she has saved money that she does not want to spend on paying the doctor after her husband has been shot.  At least she didn't say it out loud.  It was an improvement.

**** Spoilers End*******

I have really enjoyed this series.  The author typically has a gift for writing sweet books about characters that you like.  Malinda is one of the worst characters I have read in a long time.  I did not see her as sweet with strange quirks.  I thought she was selfish and badly behaved. The author missed the mark on this one.

Read the other books in the series.  They were sweet, light reads that I have shared with friends.  I would not recommend this book to anyone because I did not like Malinda.  The book does not work if you don't like her.  Again, I did not like her in Mail Order Mix Up either.  If you liked her in that book you will enjoy this product..
3341695
It's better than part one, but that's not saying much as the first novel was beyond awful. Pools of darkness starts off just as bad as book one was, but picks up slightly to a level of mediocrity that's acceptable as long as you read in "auto pilot' mode. Unfortunately, it falls flat on its face again toward the end.

The characters are more interesting than in book one, but they're still as flat as cardboard. The story is poor as well and there are zero plot twists. If you'd like a glimpse of how badly this book is written, try to wrap your head around "prose" like this: "Few things scared Shal. After all the adventures and monsters she and Tarl had faced together, they both had nerves of steel that matched their tall, athletic bodies." If that isn't absolutely cheesy and horrible, then I don't know what is.
4397193
This series is just terrible!! I bought all three books to see the series to completion and I really wish I hadn't bothered.

It does not get better. The writing does not improve. The plot does not improve. The editing definitely does not improve.

There are so many writing errors (grammatical and spelling). There are random thoughts and phrases in places that distract the reader rather than add to the story. The writers appear to attempt character development, but nothing comes from it. The characters are flat.

I continually checked to see how much of the book was left as I read it, but it couldn't end soon enough. I will not be buying any other Wearmouth and Barnes books. In fact, I will be staying far away from them.
1244432
Many years ago, a girlfriend recommended this series.  I read three and a half books before giving up.  It isn't worth reading three and a half pages of the first book.  If you have read any sword and sorcery style novel, you have read this novel.  It borrows everything and adds nothing.  The "plot" consists of Richard wandering through the universe exploring various cultures in his quest to become a wizard.  Most of the time this involves libertarian torture porn.  That is not an exaggeration or a metaphor: literal libertarian torture porn when [spoiler alert] Richard gets kidnapped by BDSM witches that use pain sticks and sex to teach him to control his magic.  Later in the series he will be kidnapped by totally-not-Catholic-nuns who will also literally torture him but with less sex.  Every female character except Kahlan is raped and/or killed.  Richard is tortured and raped.

If that isn't enough to turn you off, the writing is vapid and predictable, the characters are as deep as a puddle in Death Valley, and Goodkind has a nasty habit of leaving every novel as a cliffhanger for no reason other than to sell another book.  The books don't "end" so much as Goodkind sporadically writes "Page 1" on the bottom and gives it a new cover page when he feels like the "story" - such as it is - has gone on long enough.

Unfortunately, the hours I spent trudging through the fetid morass that is Wizard's First Rule and its sequels are lost forever.  Do yourself a favor and value your time more than I did.  Reading the dictionary would be a better use of it, and probably more enjoyable.
4136077
This book is definitely the worst of the series so far. There is nothing of substance in it and you can skip it. After reading the one before it at over 600 pages, this one says 240+ but reads much more like a short story. Definitely not worth the price of admission.
1357706
So far inferior to the first two books in the trilogy that it was a painful read.
178398
I know books are subjective, but WHAT are you people reading??  These books get more painful and horrible as the series goes along.  Not only am I sick and tired of Nate's Neandrathal behavior and Erin's just laying down and taking whatever he wants to dish out, but the storyline in this one wasn't even any good.  The racism and whipping of Sam, and the threats of gang rape sickened me.  I realize that's real life for some people, but that doesn't mean I want to be entertained by it.  The sad thing is, I made a HUGE mistake and ordered 3 more of this author's series and I suspect they'll be just as bad because her stilted writing just is not getting any better, and one of the series predates this one.  I hate to be this critical of anyone's hard work, but PLEASE listen to me and DO NOT buy these.

Now for the finale, "You Light My Fire".  For those of you who are mad because you can't get it, I'll tell you how you can, but really, you're wasting your time in my opinion.  But if you're like me and anal and HAVE to complete your collection, just email the author and tell her you have all the other books and need the finale.  She'll send it to you for free.  Her email address is included in the book description for the omnibus collection of these books.  As for the book itself, it's a novella, not a full length book, which for me is great because I'm so glad to be done with these books.  It actually doesn't have much of a plot, it's more a way to introduce Luke as a "real" character because the author plans to give him his own series of books.  Luke comes across in this book as a bit of a jerk (with good reason I'll grant you), and the villain is so glaringly obvious there is no suspense really.  The only positive---Erin and Nate finally get married.
2868055
This book has nothing to do with the rest of the series.  I was disappointed from the first page all the way until the end.  I didn't care about what was happening, I wanted more from the plot of the original books.

Hugely disappointing when an author does this. I literally skipped ahead 20 or 30 pages, and was dumbfounded that we were still stuck in "the future."  Skipped ahead another 100 pages, and my mouth dropped open. Skipped to the last 30 or so pages and literally couldn't believe it.

This is not the book you want to read. In fact, I'd skip it if the next book were out. But it's not.

The first book was ok. The second was good. The third was good. The fourth was great. The fifth? Skippable. It might be so disappointing that it warrants skipping the entire series. Up to the readers individually, I guess.
2423110
Not only is this book one of the worst in this horrendous series, it makes it obvious that the book is geared toward young boys and male fantasies in general.  I mean, the publishers are very smart; boys with surging hormones really don't need good prose or plot to be satisfied, just a lot of gratuitous sexual information.
For example, this book contains innumerable comments about beautiful breasts.  Also, the two main characters in the beginning go to this house that basically has the ability to lower people's sexual inhibitions.  Throughout the book, this is pretty much what Anthony talks about.  No wonder young people like this book.  If you're looking for quality though, look somewhere else.
1841979
Warning:
I loved the TV show but, not the book.

First, the author ruined this story for me by his choice and frequency of profanity.
His favorite curse is to use the Lord's name in vain.
As I got to the middle of the book, I noticed there was an increasing frequency of using Christ's name as a curse.
(As in several times over several pages.)
I can take an occasionally appropriate profanity in a book but, cursing the Lord's name is very offensive.
I'm not trying to come across as a religious zealot but, it was enough to remove me from the story each time I noticed.
It's worse than what you'd hear in a movie - unless that movie was a trashy piece of crap.
Moreover, I feel reading profanity is worse than hearing it because, you're effectively saying it in your mind.

As for the characters:
Unlike the TV show, I find Dresden to be a bit stupid.
He pisses mob bosses off after he's already entered their limousine.
It's no wonder the Council wants him dead...he's a liability to wizards everywhere.
Murphy's character doesn't come across as likeable or believable, and unlike the TV show, she pretty much accepts magic and Dresden without hesitation.
She only seems to be there so Dresden can get all twitterpated over her.
All the women seem to be written to try and provide a bit of sexual intrigue/fantasy and it's blatantly so.
Subtlety in developing an attraction, isn't the author's strong suit and over time it's clear that Dresden is desperate for female company.
It makes him seem a very lowbrow character which is probably why he's so desperate to begin with.
In fact, the author might as well have started each woman's entrance with a bad Mickey Spillane prologue.
The plot lines don't really offer any clues in solving the mystery if your after that.
Stuff just happens and magic fills in the gaps.
In fact the crap about "Third Eye" is just completely thrown in out of nowhere so the author has something to go on.
Not a real mystery novel - more like - Meet Dresden, He's tall, horny, and daft!

I've read more elegant stories and plots.
The story isn't horrible, but not great, so 3 stars.
Wish they hadn't cancelled the TV show, it was better.
2340537
This was promising, and I love the series a lot, but the book was the worst in the series.  It was disjointed, and had too many characters, for so short a book.
1087964
Don't start reading this book unless you have pleanty of spare time to kill and nothing good to read. If you read this book, you will most likely continue reading the rest of the series. Each book is worse than its predecessor. They are all filled with endless plots and are awash with repetitive descriptions of the preceding plots.
4431896
I love the first two book but I gotta be honest, this one was awful.  Katniss went from being a powerful leader to be about as useful as a poopy flavored lollipop.  I realize she's only 16 and is being forced to be the leader of a revolution but seriously does she have to be so incredibly weak?  She was a leader in the first two book who fought for her friends and family and was willing to give it all to save those that she loved but in the third book something changed and she turned in a self-centered teenage who would've been more recognizable in "Mean Girls" than she was in this universe.  Not only did she hide and pout for more than 2/3rd of the book, when she did get out and actually do something it was just a struggle in deciding who she loved more between Gale and Petta.  I realize that is a big part of the books but Collins made it the center of the whole story and completely threw away the fact that A REVOLUTION IS GOING ON! I don't care which one she chooses and in real life it is entirely unbelievable that this would be the first thing on her mind after everything that has happened.  Not only that but the entire point of the whole series is ruined when *SPOILER* Prim dies, wasn't Prim the entire reason that the books started in the first place? So if Prim dies then her entire last 3 years of her life have meant nothing because she didn't protect her sister.  Not only that, Katniss becomes the dumbest person in the entire universe and constantly makes the most blatantly wrong decisions throughout the book for no apparent reason other than she is a masochist who enjoys being punished for making the worst decisions possible.  Also one last book breaking plot point, if you have 13 districts (I guess technically 9 or 10 by the end) wouldn't there be at least a handful of trained commandos who can invade the capital, not the worst ragtag team of children you could possibly throw all your hope in?  Why would you send this group to the capital to finish the war in a guerrilla style sneak invasion? They can't even survive teenagers attacking them, how the hell would they stand a chance against a trained military force? It's just ridiculous and Katniss becomes absolutely loathsome for the sole purpose of continuing a love triangle.  Collins force this one and tried to pander to her 13 year old girls crowd rather than writing a real and compelling story with at least semi-believable characters.  Serious question, how did Katniss go from be a witty, semi-genius to be the most annoying 16 year old pre-pubesant moron who doesn't even have enough confidence to decide what pizza she wants to order.
3624448
Dear Heasitating Amazon.com Shopper,
I consider it my duty to inform you that this horrible gift set contains the first three misrable books in Lemony Snicket's utterly unfortunate book series, "A Series of Unfortunate Events."  For some reason, even though the books describe nothing but sadness and terror, they continue to show up on bestseller lists.  One might wonder why this happens when in the very first chapter of first dreadful book, THE BAD BEGINNING, the Baudeliares recieve word that their parents have perrished in a terrible fire while they spent the day at the beach.  Following this utterly wretched news, their lives don't improve, and they are sent to live with the revoltingly gross and unbelieveably greedy Count Olaf, who attempts to get his fillhy hands on their fortune.  Upon failing, he tries again in THE REPTILE ROOM and THE WIDE WINDOW, when the children are sent to live with two ill-fated guardians, the kind but uncareful Uncle Monty and terrified, weak, grammer-obsessed Aunt Josephine.  In conclusion, if these books even sound fun to read, you are better off seeking medical help than spendinng your money on this boxed set.  In these three books, trouble begins, and in later installments of the series, it only worsens.  Wouldn't you rather read a more pleasnt book?  I know of a supurb one called "The Littlist Elf," and I highly suggest you read that one instead of these depressing novels.
With all due respect,
Jake Lizzillo-Who
2967911
I don't know who wrote this book but it sure does not read like any of the 8 before it. The whole story is rushed with no character development of any type. Events happen at breakneck speed and you are left feeling like a huge part of the story is missing. The death of some key characters in the series destroys the next installments and the closing off of the "fay" makes absolutely no sense with the final outcome of the war.
This book needs to be recalled and made right, it is a disgrace to everything that came before it.