Severed Souls: Sword of Truth, Book 14

I've loved sharing the world of Richard and Kahlan over the years, but I think our time is over. Over and over again I felt like I was reading the same thought 2-3 times in a row just phrased differently each time. I can't stress enough how often that comes up, it's constant. My wife started reading it after I had finished and one night, stopped, turned to me and said "This feels very repetitive. He keeps repeating the same thing." I admitted feeling the same, but didn't want to say so in fear of souring her to the story. I couldn't help but feel a constant repetition. Like I was reading the same thought over and over again, just written differently to fill up space. Both my wife and I felt that. The story wasn't terrible, but it was repetitive.Often times I would stop reading, and think to myself, did I just read two full paragraphs and only one complete thought? Was this always the case and I just didn't realize it until now? Is there just so much background now that everything takes explaining 3 times? Why all the repetition? Sometimes I would stop after reading a chapter and think to myself, what actually happened in that chapter? Was it just a review? Why all the repetition.The flow for all of these books has always been 80% buildup, 20% payoff. To be fair the, payoff was good, but the buildup was exhausting, and repetitive. This was a 200 page story, extended to several hundred pages. Because... wait for it... repetition. It was repetitive.PS. Have you ever said a normal word to yourself so many times it starts to sound really weird?

First of all, im a great terry goodkind fan. If you have been following the series from the beginning, get the book. You support a great author, and you get to follow up on the plot.Sadly that plot is meh. The book seems rushed, incredibly short compared to the series, (i remember it took me a week to read Wizard's First Rule, while this took me 6 hours or so) a lot of plot points revealed and never visited, overpowered and unstoppable enemies (at this point it is kind of required, as there is definitely a power creep going on) and just unimpressive prose. The first 7 books, i felt the characters alive through the book. Now, they are just like video game characters; do this as it is required, feel this feeling as it was appropriate . . .Terry goodkind has produced this work of art, but is now (what i think) trying to complete the demand for more, which is killing it. The series finished a long time ago, and these are just unimpressive and empty.Though note that, it is a good fantasy novel. On it's own. There is adventure, there is action, some magic, evil and good. Just compared to the series, the last books have been a joke. I think the author should move on to some other project than this.

Much more like a soap opera than some of the other novels in this series. Also uses more hack phrasing and stereotypical conventions than some of the earlier books. Yes, I *get* that Richard loves Kahlan. Yes, I *know* she means everything to him. *Of course* he would do ANYTHING for her, and life wouldn't be worth living without her. And she feels the same way about him. But how many times do the characters have to express these very same thoughts? I lost track at more than 14 references. C'mon. Terry, assume your readers got it on the first try. And the relentless one-more-thing-that-seems-inescapable scenarios get tiresome. Reminds me of the worst parts of the newer Battlestar Galactica TV series - a dark soap opera in which you know things will be fine in the end, but in the meantime we have to slog through endless, dark, depressing and how-will-they-ever-make-it scenarios that, in the end, just aren't that interesting (and are a bit tiresome). I'd normally give this 2 stars, but it DOES advance the story line. It just takes a looooong time to get there.

I have tried reading this book for the 5th time over the last 3 years but can't seem to get past the first few chapters every time. It is preventing me from reading "Warheart" and the follow-on Nicci series, which I have also purchased - I shpuld have held off and saved some money. Richard and Kahlan's saga should have ended after the Confessor and why the last 4 books were written is beyond my comprehension. "The Omen Machine" and "The Third Kingdom" had completely destroyed the series. Hopefully I might just be able to jump to the last 10 Chapters and read those but more of the same thing "small white powdered covered canabils' is to much repetitive and boring.

I have LOVED reading the Sword of Truth series, but have been disappointed in the last 3 books, especially with "Omen Machine." (Richard and Kahlan were SO weak and out-of-character in that one) "Severed Souls" is better than that, but definitely NOT Terry Goodkind's best work. I think the last several books haven't gone through the thorough editing process that the earlier books must have. They are sloppily written, LOTS and LOTS of repetition, like the author was trying to fill pages with words. (I found Jean Auel like that in the last couple of her books, too.) I would rather wait longer between books and have a really well written story, than to have 3 repetitive books that could have been merged into one.I will probably read the next in the series, but only because I am invested in the lead characters. Please Mr. Goodkind, have someone else edit your books, so they're the quality of the first ones.

I bought the first book I read in this series at the $1 store, then I had to read more, so I ought them on Amazon. They were hard to put own. Terry Goodkind is a master storyteller. My only problem with the books was that he is a dreadful writer. As an editor myself, I have to say that a good editor could probably have trimmed several thousand words from each book and made the writing a lot tighter. But I understand Mr. Goodkind has an incredible ego, so he probably would not countenance an editor trying to chance his words. And who am I to judge. I'm sure he makes more money than I do.

Have been a huge fan of the sword of truth novels and have read the first 'series' a number of times over,however Mr Goodkind seems to gotten in the annoying habit of repeatinghimself over and over again. How many times do we need reminding of the powers ot the SofT etc etc.. This book just seems intent on continuing the drawn out story line from the last book and will no doubt drag into at least two more sequels. I must admit that my admirayion will only go so far and have given up on the novel

Love this series. Love the characters. Always waiting for the next part of the saga.This book, however, was shockingly bad. I'm so sad to say that, but it was absolutely dire. Saved it to read on holiday and wished I hadn't.At least the first 50% of the book was deadly dull and ridiculously repetitive. I was sick to death of reading over and over and over about the bloody Shun-Tuk! So boring, I contemplated giving up on it, but I have invested so much of my time in the story of Richard and Kahlan, I couldn't bring myself to abandon it now. It picked up a little after half way.This book smacked of 'come on, Terry, we need you to write another book'. It was nothing like the enthralling, unputdownable books of the past. I'm not sure I will read the next one.Ridiculous.Get a decent plot for the next one, or don't bother!

If you've read this far, like me, I'm sure you're aware of the mistake we've made. We shouldn't have read past Confessor.Confessor ended the series. I liked how it ended. Richard and Kahlan's story was finished, bad guys were dead and the future looked rosy.So when I found that more books had been written of course I'm going to read them. Wizard's first rule is one of my favourite books, so if these new ones could recreate some of that magic I'd want to experience it.However..... Everything from the omen machine seems like a really bad b-movie with your favourite characters a poor shade of the their former glory.I could write a list of the things I don't like about these books, a really long list, a list too long, a list you might not want to read, but let's go for it anyway.(just the main ones though)1) Repetition - why make one point once when you can make it twice.2) REPETITION- just in case you missed it the first time3) Dialogue - characters don't talk to each other, they'll lecture or preach but never converse4) personality changes - Zedd and Kahlan both want Richard to give up and run away.5) Occult powers - did I mention that they're occult and super scary6) faulty logic- occult powers are the balance against magic yet Irena uses both7) bad guys. 3 of them. And they all need to be super strong with occult powers. However Irena does more damage to Richard than those 3 ever will8) Ludwig Dreier - he used to be an adventurer with occult powers that could take down a citadel and its archers singlehandedly until he took an arrow in his knee9) OMG ZOMBIES - now with added occult powers10a) stating the obvious - "For Richard’s entire life Zedd had always been alive" (really? What are the odds of that?)10b) unintentional humour - (See above)10c) poor writing - (See 10a -I don't really have to explain that do I?)11) no Cara - at this point I must assume she's dead or going to make a return from nowhere to save them all in the eleventh hour12) cliches - Zedd's sneaking off alone, at night, after a poignant scene with Richard. What could possibly go wrong? *SPOILER* occult powers13) repetition - so everyone is up to speed and on the same page14) deja vu (not repetition) - it seems like this scenario happened before; a witch giving a prophecy that Richard will be killed by a close friend. I know I've read something like that before, if only I could remember where.And finally 15) repetition - because if I re-use my words it's more eco friendly (at least on kindle)I wish I never read the omen machine and its sequels, but I will continue with it in the (diminishing) hope that it will end well

Really starting to struggle now. Very drawn out. Why use a couple of paragraphs when you can fill the book with chapters of nothing happening!!? Mr Goodkind has a very good imagination, but keeps repeating the same stuff over and over. Yes, we know what a Confessor is, and what the Seeker is. We have read this so many times I am skipping great chunks of repetitive, and dare I say, preachy stuff. Obviously he is referring to the current international political climate, and I agree with a lot he has to say, but enough already!

Unfortunately, much like the other books in the “Richard and Kahlan” series, Severed Souls was a great disappointment. It doesn’t feel worthy of the original Sword of Truth series which, whilst they had their ups and downs, were thoroughly enjoyable. Instead it feels like the entirety of this new series would have made one excellent book, but it has been written by a writer who no longer has a passion for the world he has created and has been incentivised to bleed it dry and draw it out by publishers. The book is filled with constant repetition and recapping both in the expression of the current story and to pad out descriptions by comparing them to scenes from previous books. It’s a shame as hidden between the mediocrity are some great scenes and events, some which feel surprisingly rushed in contrast to the bulk of the book.What leaves me with the most salt however is that their marketing strategy will work. No-one should or will read this as their first Goodkind book, being so far into the series, which mean its target audience are those so invested in the story that they will continue it to its conclusion for pure sentimentality. I will read Warheart as to leave a series having read 14 out of 15 books just boils my OCD, I only hope that Goodkind reflected enough on the critique the previous books in the series to try and improve it.