Not Mr. Goodkind's writting
353961
I don't believe that Mr. Goodkind has written the last 3 books, The Omen Machine, The Third Kingdom and Severed Souls, whilst the names of the characters are the same the writing is not. They are two dimensional caricatures of the original, and this is coming from someone who has read and reread the original series at least 5 times.
3131645
I do not know if it is because I read fantasy as a young man and didn't know good writing from a good plot or what, but This woman has alot of maturing to do with her writing style, I found it to be rather childish,  though the concept I thought was good, I however will not buy the sequel  and regrett buying the hardcover...  If your going to buy this then  please check it out from the library, save your money for a better book.
2488668
First reading prompted by the authors recent death.  Apparently has not stood the test of time.  Wizard schoolbut this is no Harry Potter!
The writing is so stylized that it becomes pretentious.  Long stretches vie to outdo Old Man and the Sea in the boredom department.  The villains are white skinned with blond hair.  The heros are dark skinned and civilized.  I will not be reading any more of this series.
1098586
This volume in the Sword of Truth series provides much needed background for previously published volumes and I would have placed it much earlier in the sequence. From information on the boxes of Orden to the origin of the Sword itself many gaps are covered. It reads like a typical Goodkind novel with many slow spots covering much redundant philosophy and interspersed bouts of activity. It would have been interesting to include more background on the D'Haran Empire but all in all it is a relatively fast and interesting read. The hardest element to digest was how, with the loss of so many wizards, the 'good guys' have a chance. As I reflect on my rating it probably is inflated by two stars simply because I have read all of the prior books in this series. It would be good to see an evaluation from someone for whom this was the first Goodkind novel. Please Mr. Goodkind get a good editor, reduce the repetitive dialogue, and keep on one theme at a time.
4074430
I bought the three books in this series because of a recommendation.

I'm not saying the books were poorly written.  I simply do not like the style of writing, character development, etc.  It was hard to identify with any part of the stories.

This isn't typical sci-fi or fantasy writing.

Some people consider these books classics.  I don't.
1435653
For a book about magic, there is surprisingly little of it. The lack of magic is forgivable in the beginning as it is a good, if not predictable, plot device. Our protagonist is forbidden to use magic and then gets his chance. However, he doesn't use that chance. I have stopped what feels like an obligatory slog though this book at the 87% and he has maybe cast 1 spell. He spends his time at a MAGIC academy studying history. History. Oh and trying for months to cast 1 spell. When there is actual spell casting, it's so lackluster and dry to read. Perhaps this series becomes good with the second book but if you were looking for fantasy in which the protagonist actually does something, I'm afraid you will be disappointed. This book is so dreadfully boring. It's like opening a brand new carton of strawberry cheesecake ice cream, only to find it tastes like unsalted oatmeal. Not tasty and certainly not what you expected.
4725850
I found this book by googling "Adult Fantasy". The Name Of The Wind was #2 under Game of Thrones. I was severely let down.

No, I was not expecting some grand epic political novel -- but I was hoping a book for adults would have a little more depth. I prefer books that speak to me as a human, stretch my mind, or teach me something new. This is not one of them.

A boy who is incredibly skilled at magic goes to wizard school. One of his fellow students hates him. Some of the teachers don't like him and want to make an example of him. There is a secret door in the wizard school! His school friend has a crush on him. Really exciting stuff here.

The writing is not horrible, but it reads at a children's level. The plot wanders aimlessly. A third through it goes off-track and becomes very Harry Potter-esque.
3635476
First of all, I liked Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy and thought I'd give his new series a try.  I'm not a hard-core fantasy reader, but I've enjoyed George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, and obviously the LOTR series.

I really struggled with this book.  The characters are not likable and the dialogue is labored.  As another reviewer mentioned, some of his work seems derivative (even from his own stuff - like the prologue reading like something out of Mistborn).  There are multiple editing mistakes which really jar the reader - everything from spelling mistakes to missing prepositions. My biggest problem with this book however, is Sanderson's weird, seemingly half-finished world that he's created.  On one hand, he describes fantastical creatures like grass that pulls back into its hole when humans are around, or flying eel things that prey on dock rats.  On the other hand, his world still contains many normal animals like horses (or the above mentioned rats).  I noticed modern colloquialisms creeping into some of the character's dialogue as well which further distracts from this fantasy world.  My feeling is either go big and describe a complete fantasy world, or ground it more in medieval semi-realism, but it feels like Sanderson has picked somewhere in the middle and it doesn't quite work.

And one more note to Mr. Sanderson: Enough with the "spren"! We get it - every type of emotion or feeling or natural resource, or abstract concept has a physical creature associated with it in your world.  But by the 100th different type of spren described (I think it was "gloryspren"), I was ready to throw the book across the room.
1715335
Firstly I thank Mr Goodkind for explaining his last book. At LEAST I now know why he did it! I got his first book as a hardbound and did too with his next two books. But I waited for the paperback (one and a half  years!)on his 4th and this 5th novel as I noticed the quality of the books  were decling. I of course also read and love Robert Jordan's TOW and have  also started to noticed his (RJ) decline in quality. BUT the main  difference in the two series' is that The Wheel of Time has a LEGITIMATE  reason for continuing, the main plot of the book isn't finished yet! But  with The Sword of Truth books I would have been happy if Mr. Goodkind ended  his series when he should have (about two books ago) and started a new one.  His series has now become sorta like a soap opera where people will read it  only to find out what happens to the characters and not to any storyline,  to be blunt about it, you could skip any of the last three books and NOT  miss anything important in the series which wasn't mentioned (in a couple  of sentences) in the following book! I will of course continue buying his  books, but I am  one of those readers who agree that if he had wanted to  introduce totally new characters, then he should have done so in a  different series, this is The Sword of Truth series and Richard Rahl IS the  holder of the Sword so PLEASE write about him! I do hope Mr Goodkind will  listen to the majority and improve on the next book. Or start a new one  (series). I have no doubt that his next book will be an improvent as I  don't don't a writer a good as Mr Goodkind can get any worse than this 5th  book.
1879189
I'm a diehard Pratchett fan, and so when I bought this book after reading all the novels (up to The Last Hero), I felt distinctly let down. This wasn't a bad book in any way except comparing it to Terry's earlier works of two decades of witty retorts and spliced fables. This book has the same sort of premise, but has a distinct 'lite' feel about it, presumably for the younger audience he seems to be aiming for. The sad truth is this is not a kid's story, and the stripped-down vocabulary does not do justice to Terry's writing skills. All in all, this is, I say again, not a children's book and will not pass muster for the teenagers and the adults: It winds up in a no-man's land in the middle.
3988242
I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would.  It reminded me of both Dragonlance and the Belgariad at at times.  Be warned, the book is not written in the traditional first person, so there is a lot of dialogue, exposition, action, and imagery, and not much about the characters' thought process.

edit:  I no longer recommend reading books by this author.  Wile I enjoyed the first 2 books, series goes to hell in book 3 and beyond when the young adult characters become sexually active.  This author has serious problems writing women, relationships, and sex, in a respectful and believable fashion.  He has fallen into the trap of the "Mother, Virgin, Whore" triad; his previously strong romantic female characters start acting like sluts and whores once they become sexually active (see spoiler).  It is almost as if he hired a junior high school student to write the sexual relationships in his books.  The author needs to stop trying to mix material that is better suited for dark fantasy with his Swords and Sorcery High Fantasy, which would otherwise be quite good.
3426012
I don't think that I've ever read a book where the author intentionally tried to use the title of his book throughout the text. The first time it was kind-of natural and makes you grin a little that he managed to do so. After the fifth or sixth time it became aggravating and annoying to see him trying so hard. As usual, there were still a few small grammar mistakes such as thrown for throne in the book which is also aggravating. I found that Goodkind was more anti-religion in this book than he had been in any of the others, not that he's been favorable in the past. I continue to be irritated by him just throwing his view out there so clearly in a fiction novel. If I wanted to read intentional allegory and commentary on social events, I would do so but I don't enjoy it in my fiction.

The story itself was like most of the other book's story lines. There's a desperate struggle for Richard and Kahlan to be together but everything is conspiring against them with incredible odds of it ever happening. There are a few interesting things in this book about how spells work and such but for the most part it seems to only be more of the same struggles that the rest of the series has presented. There are better fantasy series out that with more varied plots and more realistic writing. I'm not expecting complete realism on everything but seriously, for once just let things not work out the way everyone expects. Otherwise the reader is left feeling cheated when things are neatly tied up because of lucky coincidences. I feel this series has far too much of this to be enjoyable.
2964603
Not bad, just not good. Remember that the writer is not a DM! I look forward to more from this author, not the Dungeon Master!
2010109
The start of "The Way of Kings" is disconcerting, to be fair. It starts off like someone playing a video game and you're just following along - not Sanderson's brightest moment, IMHO.  It gets better though.  Once you can establish what is actually happening.  I do think Sanderson relies entirely too much on video game magic though, but the writing is good enough.  This sampler is a decent way to check out an author though - I wish more did it.
744757
This book is better than the average fantasy book. The storyline is not the average orphan/thief discovers unusual skills/powers and goes on to defeat evil, become famous, and win the girl. So if you are an avid reader of fantasy novels and annoyed by the cookie cutter fantasy novels, you will enjoy this. However, this is not a 5 star book. This is not a book on the level of the masters or fantasy, or deserving of 1.5K 4.5 star reviews. The author does a poor job of developing the characters. For example, the main character spends a chapter or two in the company of a girl and suddenly boom she's the denied love of his life. The author did absolutely nothing to build up the romance. When the main character is forced to make a hard decision about one of his brothers, there is basically no introspection or reason behind his action. When the "blood song" is explained in a fantastical way, he just accepts it as being true without questioning. When the character makes an unsavory deal, he does not ask himself if the deal is worth being made. Etc Etc. Hopefully the author will improve on these aspects of writing as I still do enjoy the book.
4469608
Used my monthly Amazon Prime Membership Book Borrow on The Wretched of Muirwood. If you like medieval magic tales then this will do. It isn't great but it will do. But be warned, or heartened--(depending on your beliefs)--this is a story literally ripped right out of the pages of the Christian Bible.
The source of the magic in Muirwood is something called the "Medium". That I know the Bible and Evangelical Christian interpretation of the Bible is something you'll have to take on faith [pun intended :) ]. Replace the word "Medium" with God and you've got the source of power in Muirwood. Many, ahem, all of the encounters recall stories from the Bible. Moses getting water from a rock through the power of God? Check. But in Muirwood the power of God is called the "power of the Medium." Surrender yourself to the power of God to know his plan for you? Check. But in Muirwood you surrender yourself to the power of the Medium. Meet loved ones after they are resurrected from the dead through the power of Jesus Christ upon his return? Check. But in Muirwood it is through the power of the Medium upon some "future dawn."
Anyway, you get the point. And why I gave it three stars. This book is Christian Fantasy--which I have absolutely no problem with. However, the author should tell the reader that. It's a bit...misleading, and wholly "unEvangelical", to declare the word through false pretenses if you believe the Bible is the word of God or if you believe in God or the idea of a/the God. And it will no doubt be highly off-putting to those who do not. Most medieval magic readers want an answer for how sorcerers conjure up ice, flame, wind and storm other than put your faith in God.
3139004
The tagline for this book was "There's no ancient evil to defeat or orphan destined for greatness, just unlikely heroes and classic adventure".  Sadly, the description of the book was more well written than the book itself.  The same tired fantasy cliches were easy to spot, early and often, and nothing behind them could save it.

I agreed with the author, who stated that there is nothing wrong with a cliche idea as long as it's well written.  However, in Theft of Swords the cliches were abused and the writing was not up to par.  Sullivan read like a poor man's Salvatore.  The plot moved along at an elementary level with pacing that reminded me of baking a batch of instant mashed potatoes.  Everything was clean cut and obvious.  There was little intrigue and certainly no details to draw you into the story, simply short little chapters that were tidy, nice and devoid of depth.

The saving grace of the book were the two main characters.  Hadrian and Royce were likeable and Sullivan did an excellent job of showing some fun banter between the two.  That drove me long enough to get pass the flat secondary characters and the absolutely horrid Arista storyline, but it was not enough to have me buy book #2.  Certainly not at a criminal price of $7.99/book.  Theft of Swords read like a .99 Kindle Short and should have been priced accordingly.