Soul Of The Fire

A fantasy written by Terry Goodkind in 1999
Reviewed edition by TOR from 2000
A paperback has 790 pages
ISBN 0-812-55149-4

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You did not believe everything will be settled once Richard and Kahlan marry each other, did you ? Good, then you will not be surprised to hear that just as the two say their vows, a deadly trio of magical creatures is unleashed upon the unsuspecting world, draining magic as they hunt for Richard's soul.

Richard initially suspects what is going on, but his grandfather Zedd leads him on a false trail to get him into safety, being afraid that Richard might perish otherwise. Zedd sets out to banish the creatures himself, but his attempt fails and it is up to Richard to save the day. Luckily, his instinct for seeking the truth is not dulled and he does not stay on the false trail for long ...

Review

My impression is that this book is a bit more wordy and has a bit less intricate plot than the previous ones of the series. Especially the parts that depict Hakens being subdued by Anders tend to get a bit repetitive, although when you read fast it feels just like a pleasant stretch of a highway after driving through a serpentine country road.

The weird tendency for depicting violence I complained about before is still present, except now it is not armies massacring civilians but thugs beating a defenceless woman. I really wonder why it is necessary to spend some ten pages describing how somebody gets beaten up in a rather repulsive manner.

Except for this, the book seems to uphold the standard of its predecessors. If you liked them, you will like this one as well. If you did not like them, there is little chance you will change your mind now. And if you did not read them, do not try to start in the middle of the series. Somewhat hesitantly, rated as good.

Rated as good by Ceres on 2000-07-01

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