This Paperback Book item from Gollancz was reviewed on 6-Nov-2008. Search ISBN:1857989139 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth) Reference Book. Classifications : Sword of Truth Series Fantasy Science Fiction & Fantasy Subjects Books General AAS Fantasy Science Fiction & Fantasy Subjects Books General AAS Science Fiction & Fantasy Subjects Books Paperback Mass . Click the following link to view the cover of Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth). Related topics: Sword of Truth. Series. Fantasy. Subjects. Books. General AAS. Fantasy. Subjects. Books. General AAS. requestid: e77f53bf-7c3a-43f5-ab27-545eac1defdb
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1) Paperback Book Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth) by Gollancz. I gave this story four stars. It would have gotten only two or three, but having gone back and re-read it, I think I can understand it a whole lot better now. Terry Goodkind had a lot to say about political and social change, and while not everyone´s "cup of tea," it was a great background for this book. I hated and pitied Dalton Cambell for what he couldn´t understand and loved Beata and Fitch for their innocence and because they reminded me of Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke from Bridge to Terabithia.
(Spoilers ahead)
My regrets about this book were that those two were destroyed. They seemed like Richard and Kahlan, in their youth. I would have liked to have seen them go with Richard and Kahlan and live in their mountain home.
In the sixth novel, Richard could have taught them both how to sword-fight properly, while he taught Kahlan to fight better and when everyone else leaves to fight the Order, Fitch and Beata could stay in their mountain home and be happy together.
That way the home could always have a family--even after Richard and Kahlan were gone.
I also hated the loss of Franca Gowenlock, a beautiful character addition.
I admired and reviled the ending of this story, as the tradegy of Franca and Fitch´s deaths must have taken great courage. I can imagine Terry Goodkind and his wife weeping over the death of Fitch and Franca and the loss of Beata. To paraphrase Goodkind, he must have "grieved to undo what he had done." In spite of the pain, he knew what had to be done, for the good of the story and he didn´t hesitate. For that, I loved him and I hated him.
There was so much tragedy in this story, I almost couldn´t see its value.
I see it now.
The ending for Richard was wonderful in a way that I didn´t fully appreciate when I was younger. I was only eighteen when I read this and I thought it wonderful that Richard would finally be returning to Westland, after all this time, but I didn´t think he should give up the fight. I thought, like Ann thought, that he must fight. I was wrong.
About the ending being wonderful:
The ending of Soul of the Fire, where Richard sees Dalton Cambell and walks away with the Sword of Truth triggered in me a memory from my pre-school days as it reflected the writings of another great author: Doctor Seuss. Richard is the Lorax who "spoke for the trees (Hakens) as the trees had no tounges" and "was lifted and taken somewhere."
In the end, I see Dalton Cambell (aka. Mr. Once-ler) who comes to understand, only after everything is destoryed, the mistake he has made.
Although it didn´t actually happen, I can still see him giving Fitch the last tree seed at the end and telling him: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing will change," and that if the trees come back, then maybe the Lorax will too.
Beautiful.¤ 2) Paperback Book Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth) by Gollancz. I had not read any books in this series previously, so I expected I was reading at my own risk, and could look up things I didn´t understand in internet summaries. I didn´t have to look a single thing up, and not because the book was particularly self-contained. Goodkind explained all the backstory in great detail-- which must have been excruciating for people who weren´t new to the series.
None of the characters moved me. I was confused by Kahlan at first because she seemed to consider everything Richard said completely idiotic (even when he was obviously right,) and I wondered why she´d married him if she found him so pointless. I lost my slight sympathy for Richard, however, as the book wore on. It irritated me that he seemed to be the absolute best at everything, from fighting to magic; I realize there´s some degree of wish-fulfillment for Goodkind there, but it makes the other characters pretty irrelevant, and Goodkind´s personal fantasies are of limited interest to me.
I also found Richard´s personal philosophy ambiguous at best, for all the time he spends harping on it. I couldn´t help seeing irony in the fact that, much as he nattered on about individualism and free will, he was delivering hostile ultimatums to anyone who didn´t go along with his agenda. What about THEIR free will? Or is individualism only for when people agree with you? If this inconsistency was an intentional flaw in the character I would actually welcome it as a change from Richard being portrayed as entirely perfect, but I didn´t get the feeling it was on purpose or that the author recognized it as an imperfection.
I actually enjoy political stuff in novels (heck, I have a degree in a political science field,) but this novel grated. I found the Anderith sections heavy-handed and overdone. It was an obvious political allegory, and in my opinion a rather poor one. I wish he´d focused more on making his imagined culture believable than on trying to make a statement about his own views. The potential negative undertones about minorities made me very uncomfortable.
I was also pretty uncomfortable with how many times Goodkind described the culture of the Mud People as like the main characters´ cultures, holding compatible views, having the same values, etc. and thus being worthy of Richard and Kahlan´s presence. On the surface that seems positive, but the implication is that cultures must somehow justify themselves as being like the dominant culture in order to be worthy of mixing. Richard and Kahlan couldn´t just stay with these people because they liked them? They couldn´t just be friends without an agenda? The Mud People didn´t have sufficient worth outside of their similarities to Richard and Kahlan? The political posturing seemed pretty demeaning to minority cultures and suspicious of diversity.
The reliance on sexual violence as a plot device also bothered me. Unfortunately rape is often part of war, and sometimes as an organized strategy, but people do also do other bad things to each other. Not everyone who commits harmful acts is automatically a rapist. I´m not saying sexual violence can´t play a part in a story (heck, I LIKE George R. R. Martin) and it is realistic-- but the extent to which Goodkind takes it is much too extreme. It often seems to be played for thrills and shock value, and possibly misogynistic fantasy, not to be accurate in his portrayal of the horrors of war. The armies seem to be more interested in rape than in actually fighting, and the emotional impact of sexual assault is greatly reduced by making it seem commonplace. Whatever Goodkind´s intentions, by the end I was starting to wonder what he had against women.
On a more personal-taste note, I was very irritated by the continued reliance on the plot device of easily solved problems being turned into complicated dilemmas because characters who supposedly liked and trusted each other suddenly deceiving, lying to each other, not talking about things, and hiding the truth. It made no logical sense-- why are these people even friends, lovers, etc. if they can´t even be honest with each other?-- and it really lessened the impact of dramatic moments. During the ending, which I think was supposed to be emotional and tragic, though only peripherally related to the rest of the story, but I kept thinking, "You realize this wouldn´t have happened if you´d just talked to each other like normal people, right?" Yes, real people do stupid things, but it seemed entirely contrived.
I did find the ending of the primary plot (if you could call it that) rather rushed, but since it´s a continuing series, I assumed Goodkind had plans to elaborate more in the future-- though this particular installment would have been more satisfying if it had a more complete plot arc.
This book isn´t unreadable, and I had moments of enjoying it, but overall it´s not one I would recommend.
Final note, for those who suggested Goodkind shouldn´t be criticized because writing a novel is hard: yes, it is. If a professional puts his or her craft in the public arena, though, that person subjects it to criticism, from ordinary people as well as from other professionals. Goodkind is a professional writer, and as such has opened himself up to both positive and negative reviews. Whether or not the writer of a review could produce a better novel is beside the point; I don´t have to be a better baseball player to have a negative opinion on the pitch that lost a team the World Series, or be a better actor to criticize a wooden performance in a film. A professional writer has to be prepared to accept critiques, not just praise. Not only other authors are entitled to have opinions about what they read.¤ 3) Paperback Book Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth) by Gollancz. To bad Goodkind couldn´t come up with hardly any new material.We are stuck reading 90 percent of the book as the characters rethink,or dwell on what the reader read in the first four books of the series.¤ 4) Paperback Book Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth) by Gollancz. Soul of the Fire is part of the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Following the story of Richard, it´s written well enough that you can relate to the struggles of the people involved, even if the issue is other worldly. Soul of the Fire, the fifth book in the series, is my third favorite, only being surpassed by Wizards First Rule (Book 1) and Confessor (Book 11 and final). In all the books, Richard learns a little more about what he can do, but I think in this book, he really starts to grasp larger concepts and it makes for a really exciting ending. Really, a great book.¤ 5) Paperback Book Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth) by Gollancz. I purchased books 4-6 as a set. I read Temple of the Winds then mistakenly read Faith of the Fallen next. It´s funny - aside from a couple minor references, you can skip Soul of the Fire without missing a beat.
In any event, I read the plot overview for SOTF. Richard´s and Kahlan´s marriage released some ancient curse/spell? Are you kidding me? I´m giving the book one star just for having such a contrived storyline.¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 4-Dec-2008, 18579891399781857989137, 470-940-780-860-391-EWB-8 
Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth), Book, Image © Gollancz
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