ugh

Would you try another book from Terry Goodkind and/or Jim Bond?

Nope. Moving on!

What could Terry Goodkind have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

1) cut the 2.25 hour preaching dialogue(s) to a concise concept that the moronic characters can understand and that the reader can tolerate. I drove across the state hearing " but Lord Raul" and Richards pleading imploring preachiness. One conversation was 2.5 hours. At some point I tuned out the stupid book and found the road noise more enjoyable. How bad is that!
2) at some fricken point Richard has learned some magic. For pity's sake start developing the characters. Stop keeping him back in book 2.
3) Kahlin is a wimp. Kill her off already if she hasn't figured out how to actually be the Mother Confessor she claims to be.
4) Start treating the books as a series. Stop reintroducing primary characters over and over again.

10 people found this helpful

Series deteriorating and redundant

I enjoyed the first 6 books in the Sword of Truth Series. Pillars of Creation went downhill, becoming redundant and in need of more editing. I should have stopped there, it had been a couple of years and I was headed on a road trip and thought I would give the series one more chance. What a poor choice and poor use of an audible credit. Scenes dragged on. Writing is lazy and preachy. Done with the series.

5 people found this helpful

Tired...

I was devistated when I started book 2 in this series and Sam Tsoutsouvas was replaced by Jim Bond as the narrator. I can't stand how Bond gives everybody with magic the voice of a simpleton and somehow makes Richard sound like Superman from an old cartoon show. He has done no better with book 7 and book 8. At least Bond can pronounce Kahlan correctly (ref: Book 4 narrative disaster). Can I honestly endure another book with Jim Bond narration to get back to Sam in book 10? Maybe I could, if the series it's self was not spinning out of control into garbage.

As for Terry Goodkind and this series, I have had enough. I can not stand the fact that 50% of this book is a pile of repeated social lecture and babble. I literally stopped countless times to cry out in frustration as Richard goes ON AND ON AND ON AND ON...blah blah blah blah blah. It's horrible. The story is also completely predictable and nothing gets accomplished. So I was just counting pages waiting for Kahlan to try to kill herself to save Richard just like every other book. It's pretty pathetic writing in my opinion and Goodkind is just cashing in on the first books as we're all compelled to see how it ends. Don't start this book expecting any real progress in the series. You start and finish in the same place. When the story does move it goes in circles and is frequently blocked by endless babble...kind of like this review. I've said enough.

29 people found this helpful

Repeat, Repeat

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A better narrator and no repeated passages.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jim Bond?

George Guidall

What character would you cut from Naked Empire?

none

Any additional comments?

There are multiple times in this recording that entire sentences and paragraphs are repeated exactly in what appears to be very poor editing.

The narrator has a very nasally whiny and monotone voice whenever narrating side characters and makes it difficult to tolerate at times.

4 people found this helpful

No more Jim Bond

Ok so I just got read a story by someone that sounds like a damn speak an spell. No more Jim, shhhh just no, stop!

23 people found this helpful

A little less talk, a lot more action

I've been a fan of this series, but the last two books 7 and 8, are very weak. I'm about 80% through this book, and have found it to be very disappointing. My main issue, is the same issue mention by other commentors - too much talk (preaching). For me the main issue is that Goodkind just repeats the same philosophical statements over and over and over and over ... As an example, when Goodkind mentions the 'Order', you can expect a paragraph or two follow-up regarding their misguided philosophies. Of course, the problem with this is that the Order is mentioned quite a bit, so we continually hear the same thing over and over and over. He does this with a multiple of other characters and philosophies as well, continually repeating the same statements, the 'pristinely ungifted' are just another example of this, continually reminding us what they are. It's as if Goodkind has forgotten what's already been stated ... numerous times over.

Additionally, with all the philosophical talk, it leaves very little room for action, which there is surprisingly little, which makes the book somewhat boring.

I will finish the book, because I've previously enjoyed the series, but I may have take a break from Goodkind once I finish this book, especially if the ending is more of the same.

18 people found this helpful

One word: PREACHY.

When I started to read this series, I had great expectations from Terry Goodkind.

The first five books of the series were excellent, the sixth a little long-winded, yet still a pretty masterful work, but by the time he wrote Naked Empire, Goodkind had devolved into shameless preaching that takes up a good 95% of this installment. Not only is it annoying, it's insulting: he repeats the same philosophical material over and over and over, while the reader (listener) starts to feel like they're being beat to death with a blunt object. While he has a few good nuggets and zings, most of the dogma could have been summed up in a paragraph or less, making the story about fifty pages (and an hour) long. I'm extremely disappointed that such a talented writer doesn't know better or have editors who know better than to publish this kind of self-indulgent rant. It's like being in purgatory for a reader or listener.

As much as I've liked Jim Bond's narration, the whiny condescending tone he lapses into during the dogmatic sections gets extremely annoying really quickly.

Lobby for an abridged version and hope those editors had better judgment-- avoid this one.

22 people found this helpful

Good, but getting redundant

It's great that we're back to the main plot, but the long speeches on individual rights, while inspiring, are getting old.

The most frustrating, however, is Richard's continued impotence. The most powerful wizard in 3000 years can be pretty boring and weak.

15 people found this helpful

Terry... the cold war is over.

Terry Goodkind seems bent on changing what was once a great epic fantasy series, into a thinly-vield, pro-Libertarian, cold war and Vietnam Conflict political allegory. Yes Terry, of course those policies work for everyone in your book, it's YOUR fantasy. With every new book the libertarian narrative gets more heavy-handed and writing an epic fantasy seems to be pushed aside further and further. if you want to have a political discourse book maybe don't change the narrative of your already-established high fantasy series, and instead create a different series where we can expect Tom Clancy-esque anti USSR from the theme.

2 people found this helpful

Not Just A Soap Box

Did Jim Bond do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The worst thing about this book, is the pedantic voices and inflections given to every character, except Richard. This, more then the actual text, lends the whole story the sound of a pulpit pronouncement.

Any additional comments?

This book is worth a listen, and not as 'preachy" as all the other reviews claim; the plot is advanced, as are the characters, in many substantial ways; however, I will agree that Goodkind makes the same mistake in this book as the previous ones whilst regailing the reader of his political ideology. He *tells* us about instead of allowing the action to *show* us; any internal moment of cathartic understanding of the political themes are denied the audience, in favor of a constructed and sometimes unsubstantiated world view. Even this I would find forgivable, if it were not for teh pedantic manner Richard assumes in these moments, and the way his core supporters seem to be child-like and vapid as they listen to Richard, as if he were exactly the type of pedagogue he warns his allies (and readers) against blindly following. They never reach these lessons through the contemplation of their own circumstances, but only through his speeches. In spite of these things, the book was well worth the listen, and some new ideas are developed.

2 people found this helpful