Chainfire: Chainfire Trilogy, Part 1, Sword of Truth, Book 9 (Unabridged‪)‬

Terry Goodkind can write! It's a fantasy series, so yes, it will be long and old matters often need to be brought back into the picture as after thousands of pages, one's mind forgets certain aspects. I think this book is wonderful, as well as all the previous books. I think Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan have the two best fantasy series at this point.

This book is intended not only to continue the story of the previous 8 books but to also stand alone as part one of a trilogy allowing new readers an entry into the series and entice them to read the earlier books. The author does this reasonably well, but as a result, readers of the previous 8 books must plow through many pages of past history. At times this review of the past 8 books addresses a plot issue in the storyline of this book but just as often it seems only to fill pages in an effort to give the new reader a bit more feel for Goodkind's universe. This is not his best book in this series. It is OK but the story tends to drag and the reader can get frustrated - oftentimes saying "get on with it already!!". In general, the characters of the book, suffer not only from the memory loss which is the basis of the plot, but they seem to have taken stupid pills. Not only do they seem not to have learned from their experiences in the past 8 books, their common sense appears to have taken a bit of a dive. There are a number of inconsistancies with this book that may annoy readers familiar with the series. Two examples: 1) Goodkind has gone to considerable effort to build a universe in which his story takes place - all with its own set of rules of capabilities and restrictions. Unfortunately, he often breaks (or rewrites) those rules if it advances the plot. What worked in a past book "suddenly" doesn't work. First magic is just a tool and is not inherently good or evil. Now suddenly subtractive magic is evil. Balance in all things - except when it is inconvenient to the plot. What makes a good series writer is his ability to define his universe and then stick to the rules. Such discipline provides a grounding that the reader needs to suspend disbelief of things, like magic, that do not exist in our universe. 2) Goodkind is excellent in building up the puzzle that the antagonist must resolve. He does it in, at times, excrutiating detail. But in this book, as in previous books in the series, he spends comparatively little time resolving the puzzle. Suddenly Richard exclaims "Aha! I've got it!! All I have to do is this (whatever it is)". Then cut to the palace or keep or wherever and maybe a chapter or two of closure. I would like to see more text devoted to the process of divining and implementing the solution.

As book 1 of a trilogy, the book is pretty good. But as book 9 of an 11+ book series, it leaves the reader a little unsatisfied.

Some parts of the audio are choppy