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

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
The next book in the Sword of Truth series from bestselling author Terry Goodkind. Fantasy adventure on a grand scale featuring the popular wizard-hero Richard Cypher. The Sword of Truth is Terry Goodkind's wonderfully creative, seamless, and stirring epic fantasy set in a fascinating world rich in detail, history and incredible violence. Reluctant hero turned magical warrior Richard Rahl has long since learned the wizard's first rule (People are stupid and will believe almost anything) and accepted his fate. With his beloved Kahlan Amnell, the last Mother Confessor, he has battled unearthly adversaries, military foes, the Underworld, the malign and wild magic of the Old World, even the elements themselves. Now Terry Goodkind, acclaimed and superlatively gifted storyteller, delivers another thrilling novel, with all the complexity and taut characterization we've come to expect from this master of fantasy.

Customer Reviews: Read 385 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Mr. Goodkind, you are just a fantasy writer... January 5, 2005
295 out of 395 found this review helpful

I think the mistake that Mr. Goodkind has made is trying to make a fantasy series more than it is. His series started out great and somewhere in the middle he thought he could sneak in some philosophy into his stories. The problem is that in doing so, he has turned a potentially great fantasy series into a soap-box preaching/Ayn Rand wanna-be fiasco.

As for this book, I appaud him for trying something a little different (not the same kind of different as Pillars of Creation). Again, the preaching gets old very quickly and you'll find yourself skimming ahead past the sometimes pages-long speeches. You never seem to reach the high emotional invovlement you used to feel between the characters (like the relationship of Cara and Richard, my favorite character interaction). I am only reading the books now because I have invested so much time in the series and feel obligated to finish. I am sure that I am not alone. If you've read them all up to now, then I guess you have nothing to lose by reading Chainfire. We can only hope that he returns to the style that made Wizards First Rule such a great read when he writes the last two books.

3 out of 5 stars

Where's the rest of the story? January 16, 2005
200 out of 269 found this review helpful

"Get on with it!" as one character said to another as yet another endless restating of the facts takes place. You have to admire Goodkind's writing skills -- he can take one sentence and spin it into 4 pages.

And Where's the rest of this story? At least, in the past, you could count on Goodkind to tell a self-contained story, one that at least resolved the main issue of that particular book, but we're left hanging at the end of this one.

Is it true there are only 2 more books to go? Well, at least an end is in sight (hey, Mr. Jordan, you paying attention?)

This could have been an incredible 5-book series -- the best ever, but Goodkind was no doubt told to stretch it out to make more money. . .so now we have a mediocre series where readers skip over vast numbers of pages in a book (without missing a thing,) waiting for the final story.

Wizards First Rule was just amazing - let's hope the last two books measure up.

4 out of 5 stars

An honest review, for once January 5, 2005
41 out of 46 found this review helpful

I'm going to be honest. I like Terry Goodkind's work, even if some elements do play off of another fantasy series. But the characters have sprung into a life of their own, and Goodkind has managed to weave the story into something fully original.

I won't be one of the ones to say that this is his best work, because it honestly isn't. I enjoyed Wizard's First Rule and Faith of the Fallen much more than I did this book. But it is a good book. Goodkind has managed to take an idea seldom heard, if ever, and work it into the fabric of the reality that he has spun for all of his loyal readers. What's more, he has managed to keep the interactions between the characters believable, even taking into account the many different plot twists.

The only downside I found to this book is that there were a few instances where I could not believe what was going on. There was also one or two instances where concepts involving prophecy left me befuddled. But despite the few bad points, it still does not diminish from the effort he has put into this. I literally read it from cover to cover in six straight hours, and was enchanted the entire time.

In short, people want to whine because it doesn't have the few elements they've become accustomed to. And people want to heap praise and adulation upon a new book simply because of who wrote it. I hope I do neither. I like this book, and hope that this review will help someone enjoy it as much as I did.

3 out of 5 stars

Mr. Goodkind, you are just a fantasy writer... December 6, 2005
25 out of 34 found this review helpful

I think the mistake that Mr. Goodkind has made is trying to make a fantasy series more than it is. His series started out great and somewhere in the middle he thought he could sneak in some philosophy into his stories. The problem is that in doing so, he has turned a potentially great fantasy series into a soap-box preaching/Ayn Rand wanna-be fiasco.

As for this book, I appaud him for trying something a little different (not the same kind of different as Pillars of Creation). Again, the preaching gets old very quickly and you'll find yourself skimming ahead past the sometimes pages-long speeches. You never seem to reach the high emotional invovlement you used to feel between the characters (like the relationship of Cara and Richard, my favorite character interaction). I am only reading the books now because I have invested so much time in the series and feel obligated to finish. I am sure that I am not alone. If you've read them all up to now, then I guess you have nothing to lose by reading Chainfire. We can only hope that he returns to the style that made Wizards First Rule such a great read when he writes the last two books.

5 out of 5 stars

A Review of Chainfire January 6, 2005
24 out of 29 found this review helpful

First, I must openly admit that I am a fan of the Sword of Truth series, and that my personal beliefs are often in line with those espoused by the author. However, I must also note that I have read other fantasy series with equally strong political and personal philosophical biases in the other direction and enjoyed them just as much.

That being said, this book addresses one of my favorite philosophical quandries (one that I was discussing with a friend, in fact, the evening before the book was released): "what if you believe that you are the only person who knows the truth of a situation?"

Chainfire is a very fast-paced, almost mystery-like novel with enough magic and intrigue to propel the plot effectively combined with the characters' usual philosophy (and I must admit that understanding the characters' motivation and the reasoning behind it has always allowed me to enjoy this series more than many others). In addition, it serves to flesh out the characters of Cara and Nicci very well.

With the possible exception of Faith of the Fallen, I believe this to be his strongest entry in the series; he has finally achieved a near-perfect balance between plot and philosophy (granted, they are interconnected at every level, but they can be presented in different manners).

I will warn you, however, that if you *understand* Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism and choose to reject it, then you will not enjoy certain aspects of this book, as has been the case with the entire series.

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