Terry Goodkind can not write and it boggles my mind that he accumulated such a following. He by no means competes with the greats of Robert Jordan (RIP) and George RR Martin... I bought this book when I had no other option at the airport... and returned it upon landing. I would have rather enjoyed my time with the Twilight series... and I suffered through the Twilight books so I could have a leg upon which to stand when I said they were AWFUL. I don't suppose many educated people enjoy Terry Goodkind... they seem like fantasy for the illiterate or juvenile.

This book was awful. It was not a deep dissertation on the human spirit, or complex human conditions, or anything else. It was 100 pages of Richard chasing a chicken-monster, 50 pages of recap from previous books and about 250 pages of Kahlan pouting and whining. Oh, and Richard finding out he has yet another woman who thinks she's married to him, something that occurs in each book and has become a source of great merriment among Goodkind's former fans. What started off with some promise in Wizard's First Rule has fizzled into a boring, endless, pointless episodic melodrama which even the author admits has no plan for a conclusion. Stop the Madness! We've all made Terry Goodkind very rich, and this is how he rewards us? I'm insulted.

I must say that this series is one of the best...and I have read all the greats. There is one thing that I tresure about these wonderful books is the fact that each and every one has some sort of moral-lesson...or deeper meaning. Something that the average person can do to improve their way of life. I must admit that Richard and Kahlan's heart-jerking struggles usually bring me to tears more often than not. That alone is something of acheievement...If you can make a "manly-man"...like myself...cry... Well, you have done something. =) This is also an excellent book to make a "fantasy skeptic" read...more oftern than not, they will come begging to borrow the next in the series. It can be a wonderful tool for gloating. =) Nevertheless, this series is in a class by itself. Yes,...it has simularities to Jordan, but who cares...IT A MASTERPIECE!!!!

Mr. Goodkind is the best author I have run across these past few years. No other author has had me so excited about and waiting so impatiently for his next book. I have, and will continue to collect his books in hard back. His books have a consistant quality that we have all come to expect of his work. He has had me on the brink of tears and laughing hysterically with the story twists and turns. I never know what to expect. The concepts are useful (the Wizard's rules) and I have often quoted his work. And I will do so again. In reference to a negative personality. All I can say is....Wizard's First Rule, People are stupid.

the pages not spent re-hashing the previous books were used to repeat actions done by the characters in them

Terry Goodkind takes a major detour into the realms of parochial politics and loses his way. In 'Soul of Fire', Goodkind attempts to recreate something of the charm of earlier instalments, but fails because he does not have a story to tell. The plot evaporates about half way through and he spends most of the second half desperately seeking an end, which unfortunately does not come soon enough. I was left bewildered by the sudden conclusion. Is it really so necessary to link this story to the sequel in such an obvious and clumsy manner? Does this book carry the taint of 'contractual obligation'?