The Third Kingdom

Richard and Kahlan #2

by Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind returns to the lives of Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell―in The Third Kingdom, the direct sequel to his #1 New York Times bestseller The Omen Machine.

Richard saw the point of a sword blade sticking out from between the man's shoulder blades. He spun back toward Richard after throwing the woman out the opening, ready to attack. It seemed impossible, but the man looked unaffected by the blade that had impaled him through the chest.

It was then, in the weak light from the fire pit off to the side, that Richard got his first good look at the killer.

Three knives were buried up to their brass cross-guards in the man's chest. Only the handles were showing. Richard saw, too, the broken end of a sword blade jutting out from the center of the man's chest. The point of that same blade stuck out from the man's back.

Richard recognized the knife handles. All three were the style carried by the men of the First File.

He looked from those blades that should have killed the big man, up into his face.

That was when he realized the true horror of the situation, and the reason for the unbearable stench of death.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Audiobook, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy

596 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 28, 2012

About the author

Terry Lee Goodkind was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines (2009), which has ties to his fantasy series. The Sword of Truth series sold 25 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages. Additionally, it was adapted into a television series called Legend of the Seeker, which premiered on November 1, 2008, and ran for two seasons, ending in May 2010.
Goodkind was a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of Objectivism, and made references to Rand's ideas and novels in his works.

Reviews

[Terry Goodkind · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you wanted Richard and Kahlan to have a happy ending, you should have stopped reading at CONFESSOR.

THE THIRD KINGDOM is a Richard and Kahlan novel that picks up where THE OMEN MACHINE left off and a short while after the conclusion of the Sword of Truth story arc. The purpose behind this distinction may be confusing at first. After finishing CONFESSOR, I felt I had told all that I needed to tell about Richard and Kahlan. I was prepared to move onto new stories and to introduce new characters. But in the recesses of my mind, I knew Richard and Kahlan's world was not safe. Their journey wasn't finished. Their lives together are, in some ways, just beginning. I could not leave their world so open ended, secretly knowing the promise of peace would be short-lived.

I tried with earnest to set aside those thoughts and to focus on my other work. I published a decidedly different kind of novel (THE LAW OF NINES) and I began eagerly writing another unannounced book. The more I wrote, the louder Richard and Kahlan's voices whispered to me. All at once, I stopped. I wiped my desk, cleaned shop and placed a fresh stone in my hands. As I turned this stone over in my mind, Hannis Arc revealed himself.

With a shudder, I began to write THE OMEN MACHINE.

OMEN is a faster-paced, snappier title written in a different style for me. It is a post-Sword of Truth novel that serves as the starting point for a new era. While this may seem disjointing at first, keep in mind it is a groundwork novel that sets the scene and aligns the pieces. Within OMEN are long glimpses at the terror that is hiding over the horizon.

The shadow of Hannis and the horror that is about to overtake Richard and Kahlan is beyond imagine.

After OMEN was finished, I wrote and published THE FIRST CONFESSOR myself with only the direct support of readers and fans. (Of particular note are the Collector's Edition buyers that have been patiently waiting for us to get their packages prepared.) THE FIRST CONFESSOR is the story of Magda Searus and the forging of the Sword of Truth. You could describe this book as a prequel, but it is so much more. It is the beginning of everyone and everything (the first Mother Confessor, the Great War, the forging of the Sword of Truth) and within its pages are clues as to the inevitable conclusion racing towards Richard and Kahlan.

You'll want to read Magda's story first, to prepare yourself for what is going to happen in THE THIRD KINGDOM.

It's difficult to describe THE THIRD KINGDOM without divulging spoilers, but suffice it to say Richard and Kahlan are in big trouble. With the scene set in OMEN, the writing has returned to a style more familiar to my earlier books and that of THE FIRST CONFESSOR.

The road beyond is unimaginably dark and fraught with danger. No life is guaranteed.

I know you will enjoy this book and I appreciate everything my fans and my readers have done to support me and my work. I hope you will continue to follow us on this journey.

THE THIRD KINGDOM will be available in English across North America on August 20th with the UK version on August 22nd. It will be available for traditional hardcover, audiobook, and ebook editions. International translations will follow some time after.

Your life is yours and yours alone rise up and live it.

[Eric Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Third Kingdom
By Terry Goodkind

A Review by Eric Allen

I was NOT looking forward to this book. I will freely admit that. The Omen Machine was boring, repetitive, laughably stupid, and it turned all of my favorite characters into brainless fools dancing on the strings of the plot rather than driving it forward as they used to in Goodkind’s previous works. I don’t want to hate books by Terry Goodkind. He used to be one of my favorite authors. He’s just had some really, really terrible books of late that are nothing even remotely like the passionate tomes of his early career. He used to be able to tell a good story, and to tell it well. But for the last decade or so, it seems as though his heart has not been in it. All of the emotion and passion seems leeched out of the writing, and the stories themselves have grown duller and duller. Fortunately, The Third Kingdom is a vast improvement in terms of both the quality of the story, and the quality of the writing than we’ve seen from Goodkind in a good long while. Please note that I meant that to be in comparison to everything he has published after Confessor. When compared to anything he wrote before, this book is utter garbage. A step in the right direction is still twenty steps BEHIND where he began. There are some minor spoilers ahead. I tried to be as vague as possible with them. You have been warned.

The Third Kingdom begins shortly after the ending of The Omen Machine. Richard and Kahlan have been infected by death, and must be taken to the People’s Palace to be healed of it. Richard awakens to find himself and Kahlan alone in the back of a cart whilst two men argue over which of them they should eat and which they should trade. After a bit of graphic violence unfit for network television ensues, the men are subdued, and our heroes are taken to a nearby village for healing.

A young boy at the village recounts what happened to Richard’s friends and personal guard, and why he was left alone with Kahlan in the back of that cart. This explanation, I feel, is very poorly done. I have to point this out. This is a CHILD telling this story. Read through this section of the book and ask yourself. Are these the words that a child would use to describe what happened? NO, THEY MOST CERTAINLY ARE NOT!!! This whole section is just very poorly thought out and executed.

Firstly. Show, don’t tell. It's practically the first rule of storytelling in any medium. It would have been so much more powerful to actually experience this firsthand rather than have it recounted to us. I don't want to get the Cliffnotes version of a horrific battle where people are being eaten alive by zombies second hand. I want to experience the horror of it as it unfolds. I understand what Goodkind was going for here, in that we are with Richard and have no idea what's going on or why. That COULD have been a very interesting spin on things, as Richard fumbles his way through, having no idea what has happened to himself, his wife, or any of his friends... if not for the fact that we're told exactly what happened a chapter later by this kid who talks like he's a forty year old college professor. I can see where Goodkind tried to inject a few aspects of Horror here, but he clearly doesn't understand that all of the fear, tension and drama in this situation comes from both Richard, and the reader, not knowing what happened, and he immediately dispels it all in the very next chapter. Why even bother? Just give us the scene in its entirety at the beginning of the book instead of this half-assed, and failed, attempt at horror.

And secondly. What child talks like this? Seriously. If the person telling the story was an adult, sure, it would probably fit, but holy crap dudes and dudettes, these are clearly the words of the author, giving us a brief summary of a scene he was too lazy to write out in its entirety, and not the words of a frightened child telling the story of something terrible and horrifying that happened. It was a very lazy, and frankly boring way to introduce the enemy army, the main conflict of the book, and to recap what happened between books.

When the walking dead attack the village, Richard knows that something horrible is going on, and enlists the help of the young Sorceress Samantha to help him figure it out. At this point the book slams headlong into a brick wall with over a third of the page count devoted to recaps of things we already know, and the Reader’s Digest version of the Ancient War with the Old World. And by Reader’s Digest version, I actually mean the entire freaking Reader’s Digest Version, all hundred pages of it or so. And all of this is told by Richard reading it boringly off of a wall rather than through experience, self-discovery, or a billion other far more interesting ways of expositing other than a dozens of pages long wall of text that is about as entertaining to read through as having your wisdom teeth pulled. This single scene, by the way, is broken up, pointlessly, into about twenty-five chapters, for no visible reason whatsoever. The book starts out great, with real tension and horror, which is then immediately dispelled before slamming into this. It took me the longest time to get through it, and it repeats itself so many freaking times that it actually made my head hurt. The first third of this book is pretty dull, and very hard to get through, because instead of making the back story interesting in any way, Goodkind just infodumps it all on us at once in a wall of text that just keeps going, and going, and going without end. Infodumping is never interesting or exciting, it's just plain boring, lazy, and painful.

Richard knows that without his grandfather Zedd, he is going to die, and so he sets off to the dark and terrible Third Kingdom where life and death overlap upon each other, and an ancient evil was once sealed away. Upon arriving he comes face to face with Hannis Arc, a man who has devoted his life to utterly destroying the House of Rahl, and who commands the zombie hoards of the ancient emperor that once threatened the world of life thousands of years ago.

The Good? After The Law of Nines, and the Omen Machine, which were both boring, pointless, and terribly written additions to Goodkind’s library, this book is, thankfully, not all that bad. Whatever funk Goodkind was in, he seems to slowly be coming out of it, with The First Confessor, and now The Third Kingdom. The story has purpose and direction, and a goal to be achieved right from the beginning. These are things that were lacking and sorely missed in The Omen Machine. The focus narrows mostly to Richard’s desperate quest to rescue his grandfather so that his wife will not succumb to the illness that is killing her. The story is simple, but effective, and offers a bit of a nostalgic throwback to the first book where Richard and Kahlan are fleeing through the Boundary Pass, without feeling as though it’s simply copying over scene for scene as was the case with The Law of Nines.

For once, Goodkind did not take it upon himself to spend half the damn book preaching to us. And that is always a plus. The theme of this book was very subtle, and, for the most part, he didn’t try to beat us over the head with it.

The story of this book has very little to do with that of The Omen Machine, when you get right down to it. These are events that happen after that book, this is true, however, there’s some disconnect between them. This book feels more a continuation of The First Confessor, than one of The Omen Machine, and frankly, the less we’re reminded of The Omen Machine, the better, in my opinion. There are some small continuity errors and minor plot holes between this book and The Omen Machine that lead me to believe that Goodkind had other plans for it and changed his mind about where it was going to go, and what was going to happen, sometime in the two years between their releases. Any change is good, whatever continuity errors or plot holes it may create. because that last book was dreadful. Or maybe this was always the way it was to be, and simply no one caught the errors. Who knows for sure, save Goodkind himself?

The quality of writing is quite a bit higher than that of either The Omen Machine, or The First Confessor. That is not to say that it is up to the standards that Goodkind, himself, set with his earlier works. However, any improvement is a positive. I only wish that Goodkind could go back to the glory days when he used to tell good stories, and tell them well.

Goodkind, for once, laid off of the Deus Ex Machina for the ending. Richard was stripped of his magic for the entire book, and had to work through solutions without its aid. This led to him having to rely more on the strength of others and on his own wits and experience, and ultimately make a wild leap of faith that could have cost him his life if his hunches were wrong. There is a terrible sacrifice to be made to escape with his life, and the villain still won in the end. This ending is so much more powerful than an ending where Richard would wave his hand and magically everything was fixed, as he seems to do an awful lot at the end of many of Goodkind's books. I want to see a character struggle, and grapple emotionally with a dilemma, and do everything he can to win, but still fall short in the end, finding himself in a position that he can only run away at great cost. It makes for a lot more tension and drama than when he waves a hand and everything is fixed by inexplicable powers.

The Bad? This book suffers from a lot of the same problems that The Omen Machine had, just not as bad. Though it is nowhere near as terrible as it was in the previous book, there are still some issues with the characters’ personalities. More often than not they seem like one-dimensional stereotypes of themselves rather than the characters bursting with personality and life that I adventured through high school and college with. Perhaps I am simply looking back through nostalgia goggles, true, but I don't remember these characters being so wooden and emotionless. They were always expressive and emotive to the point that Goodkind rarely had to flat out tell us what they were feeling. We could feel it ourselves in the way it was written, and how they spoke.

There is quite a bit of repetition in this book, to the point that it's maddening and painful. Mostly it’s the dialog than anything else, though there are a few sections where Goodkind is giving descriptions and they seem to go on for pages saying the same things in different ways over, and over, and over again. There are conversations in this book that are, say, twenty pages long, with about a page and a half of actual content in them. The characters just keep asking the same questions in different ways, and giving the same answers. Most of this is in the first third or so of the book. Goodkind does lay off it a bit after Richard and Samantha leave on their journey to the Third Kingdom, but there are still one or two patches later on where it’s teeth-grindingly bad. I don’t know if Goodkind thinks he just really, really, really needs to get his point across to the readers, or if he just needed to pad the word count, or if he thinks we’re all idiots and need to be told things a thousand times before they sink in. Whatever the reason he feels the need to repeat himself so much, it really is distracting from any enjoyment in the story, and really breaks up the tension and the dark mood that hangs over the rest of the book. Take this book, and compare any page in it, side by side with any page in Wizard's First Rule, and you can very plainly see a difference in the way that they are written, and not a positive one. This book reads almost like something written by a completely different author than that first book, one who has forgotten the passion he once had for telling a story, and telling it well.

It is to be expected that a Goodkind book will have a certain amount of blood and gore in it, but this one turns the carnage up to 11 almost from page one. It is a very dark and gruesome tale, that seems cruel and spiteful in its extreme graphic violence simply for the sake of it. A lot of the violence is really mean spirited, with a cold cruelty that lacks emotion or passion, as opposed to earlier books that Goodkind published where the violence served a purpose to the plot, or to the development of the characters, and was never excessive to the extreme, or uncomfortable to sit through. Those with aversions to such things may find this a very uncomfortable book to read through. I'm usually pretty desensitized to that sort of thing, and even I was a little shocked by it. What makes things worse, is that the tone and pacing of the book are pretty screwy. On one page you’ll have a character cracking a joke, and on the very next, someone will be eaten alive by rage zombies. It’s very jarring when there’s no transition between things like that, especially when the violence is so extremely graphic, and really over the top into cringe-worthy territory. With an imagination like that, I certainly never want to meet Goodkind in a dark alley after having pissed him off.

This book ties in heavily with the events in the latter half of The First Confessor, the e-book that Goodkind released last year. Having read that book, I may not be the best judge of how well he recaps in The Third Kingdom. He does recap, but it may be a good idea to pick up The First Confessor first before starting this one, just in case he missed something vital. The Third Kingdom really does seem more like a sequel to The First Confessor rather than one of The Omen Machine. It deals far more heavily with events in that book than it does to the one it actually is a sequel to. I find this to be a rather dick move on Goodkind's part, due to the fact that The First Confessor was only released in e-book and audio formats, and there are many people out there without access to an e-reader, or the funds to purchase a book they would normally get from the library if it had a physical edition.

After Darken Rahl, and Emperor Jagang, two extraordinary villains that this series has seen, I just don’t find Hannis Arc all that threatening. In fact, he’s pretty laughable. He seems like a petty Bond villain, and not in one of the good Bond movies either. There’s a scene where the undead ancient emperor is just totally schooling him on how to be evil, because he’s so incompetent at it, and it had me laughing my ass off. I was reminded of the scene in Austin Powers where Seth Green is questioning why the stupidly elaborate deathtrap rather than just shooting him in the head and making an end to it. Some villains just need sharks with lasers on their heads to compensate for their incredibly small dicks. You’re not supposed to laugh at the villain in a story this dark and serious. See what I mean about the tone of the book being erratic? You’ve got all these terrible, world-changingly evil things going on, and the author threw a comedy bit right out of a Mike Meyers movie into the mix. The guy was so irrelevant to The Omen Machine that you could have removed him from it completely and not even noticed. And here, he's more a cliche stereotype of a comedic villain than anything really threatening. Even the writer seems to think of him more as a joke than a real threat. I gotta tell ya, I'm really not feeling it.

There is a LOT of inconsistency with the level of intelligence that the zombies possess. At times, they seem as intelligent as people. They talk amongst themselves, discussing their options and what to do next. At others, they seem like mindless, rabid animals, screaming and growling and incapable of human speech. Others, they seem somewhere in between. I mean, I'm not asking for a lost Shakespearean sonnet here or anything, but holy crap man, can you keep things consistent at the very least? It's almost as if Goodkind watched a whole bunch of zombie movies, and just tossed in scenes he liked here and there that go completely against things that he has previously established with his zombies. I'm not asking for a masterpiece here, but you know what would be nice? If the villains in the first chapter, were the same as the villains in the second chapter, and then, in the middle of the book, they were still the same, and kept on being the same until the ending. You know, consistency? Where a villain retains the same motives, abilities, and intelligence from start to finish, instead of changing drastically to fit the scene.

The Subtitle "A Richard and Kahlan Novel" is a little misleading. It's a Richard novel. Kahlan has about a chapter and a half devoted to her, spending the vast majority of the page count unconscious. In fact, Richard is, pretty much, the ONLY character in this book. None of our old favorites do much more than make cameo appearances, which may actually be a good thing after how harshly they were lobotomized in The Omen Machine. I'd rather the characters not be included than they be completely ruined the way they were in the previous book. Anyone looking for Zedd, Nicci, Nathan, Kahlan, Cara, and half a dozen other oldies but goodies will likely be disappointed by their lack of screen time. The resolution of Kahlan's situation feels rather tacked on, and almost superfluous, as though Goodkind was trying to work her into a story that she really didn't have much business being a part of.

In conclusion, while this book may not be up to the standards of Goodkind’s earlier works, it is a far cry better than the soulless Omen Machine, and the fun but terribly written First Confessor. It is a very dark and gruesome tale that is excessively graphic in its violence, but moves along at a good speed once it gets past all of the soul-crushingly dull exposition. There is a great deal of pointless repetition, mostly in dialog scenes, and a few places where it would have been nice to have been shown things rather than told them, but for the most part it is a pretty enjoyable book, and should be well received by most, if not all Goodkind fans. It still feels as though Goodkind has traded a lot of his fire and passion for writing with needless cruelty and hyper violent distractions that seek to draw the eye away from a lot of the problems the book has with tonal shifts, and repetition. That being said, I haven’t said this in about ten years, but I’m actually looking forward to Terry Goodkind’s next book. The Third Kingdom is a vast improvement over the previous few books Goodkind has published, but he could still use a little work before he’s back up to the level where he began. Just get past the extremely boring first third of the book, and the rest of it moves along pretty quickly and painlessly. But, holy crap, brace yourself for a lot of boring, lazy and clunky exposition at the beginning of this thing. The book does pick up afterward, but for the first third its even more boring than The Omen Machine was. Of course, I would always take Wizard's First Rule, Stone of Tears, or Faith of the Fallen over The Third Kingdom, but this book was quite entertaining despite its flaws. The good outweighs the bad, in my opinion. Sorry to anyone who wanted to see me flip out over this one, but honestly, I don't like to hate books. I would rather be entertained by them, and The Third Kingdom delivered on that. Is it a great book? No, not by any means. It has some pretty major flaws in it. Is it still entertaining despite those flaws? Yes, I think that it is. And let no one say that I can't give a Terry Goodkind book a positive review.

Check out my other reviews.

[Drew · Rating 1 out of 5]

*****This review is intended for Fans of the series only.*****


Terry Goodkind had numerous contests with the release of The Third Kingdom. I entered most of them. One of the contests was to name who your favorite character was in the series. Expectedly, everyone had different opinions posted and I could tell no clear winner. Richard and Kahlan of course were listed, but so were many of the other great and powerful characters like Zedd, Nicci and Cara we have come to love. (And of course there is the angry Sword of Truth.) How many of these great characters are in the first half of the book? One. How many are in the first two thirds of the book? Two.

The first half of the book is Richard (or let us just call him Rich since I don’t know who this person is anymore – he isn’t the old Richard who would walk into a room full of sorceresses as a prisoner and tell them, “ I will kill you all”. ) Rich was wandering around a cave, marveling at how narrow steps can be, chastising a new young sorceress, reading a wall for about 20 pages discussing the Third Kingdom which basically puts a magical spin on zombies (maybe it seemed tired because they are the same creatures in The First Confessor), but answers no questions as to why no one has ever heard of this place. Nor is it answered how all our great and powerful friends were captured – not a spoiler; the book opens up with this. The dialogue made me cringe. And as noted in other reviews very repetitive. It was more the Richard in the TV series than the real Richard who rides a horse to death and as it dies and suddenly drops beneath him, he leaps off and keeps running. This Richard seems to be confused and perplexed by everything. He's like my Mom trying to figure out Facebook. Even when the book finally picks up, Richard is still talking like some junior high kid to Hannis Arc, not a badass War Wizard who has centuries of battle wisdom whispering to him through the Sword of Truth.

With all of this said, the last two thirds of the book was fun, like a quick walk through a crowded mall on a Friday night, but not the kind of fun of riding a motorcycle high speed through a crowded mall on a Friday night like some of the other books were. The dialogue did recover (Both Richard and Kahlan had some good things to say) and many of the players are back, although all impotent and propy. Nothing about the battle is smart; it’s like a little kid playing with toys making a swooooosh mouth sound imitating magic knocking all the other toys down. I had too many images from WWZ in my head for the soul less (soulless?) zombies to be interesting, but the Sword was angry again and finally doing damage. I did really like the new wise and Machiavellian grandpa bad guy. Looking forward to his character in the next edition.

By the end I had completely gotten the TV Richard out my head and was enjoying myself again. (Miss the cool cover art though. The last couple of books since the Confessor have been uninteresting. I still love the covers of the early (Tor?) books and they are still how I picture Richard and Kahlan.)

Overall, how can I not recommend this book or Goodkind? We love Richard and Kahlan. Then again, is having Richard not milling about in an uninteresting cave for half a book too much to ask our favorite author?

[Garry · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, So far I am about halfway in this book.. to this point its very easy to put down and walk away.

There is a lot and I mean ALOT, of repetitive conversation..

"what do you mean by alot"?

"I mean it repeats itself alot"

"Are you sure that's wot u meant"?

"Yes, its very repetitive"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean"

"Well, I mean it asks the same question over and over in a different manner and repeats the subject matter several times, like its just a page filler"

" Are you sure you read it right"?

"ARE you kidding ME!, How many times are you gonna ask me the same question"? !!


"Hmm, about fifty pages worth, HAHA!"


Now, read the book and you will understand why I just wrote this review while only being halfway thru the book.

utter disappointment so far......... if it changes , I will change this

edit: ok, I guess this has bothered me. I read where Mr goodkind is upset and disagrees with the poor reviews of this book. Surely to god, don't you see, the ppl that bought the first books, bragged and shared with friends are the same ppl you seem to think don't have a clue.

shame that you don't understand that

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved The Third Kingdom. I was itching to write a review for the past few days, since i first started TTK, but i felt I would not be able to do the book (or anyone reading the reviews) justice until I had finished it! Having said that, once again, Terry Goodkind takes the reader on a magical and emotional journey. The depth and emotion, the detail and dialogue, bring every character to life enabling the reader to truly become fully immersed in the world created for us. As is always the case with TG, not everything is what it seems. Any twists or turns you might expect cannot prepare you for the journey you are about to take. I would recommend reading The First Confessor (which is fabulous as well) prior to reading The Third Kingdom, but this is not a book that should be missed!! Terry Goodkind, is not just an author or story teller, he is an artist, and anyone who has the depth and capacity to appreciate fantastic art and masterful literature, will be able to appreciate this work of art. I can't wait for the next book!!! READ IT!!

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truly disappointed in this new series. I don't know what all these rave reviews are about but I for one have lost my faith in Goodkind. The sword of truth series was the first fantasy series that really got me into the fantasy genre, and for the longest time Goodkinds books were the standard by which I judged all other series. I used to wait In almost unbearable anticipation for his next book to come out, now I find myself cringing. Why does he feel the need to repeat himself every other paragraph going over the exact same concepts and ideas? At points I thought I had accidentally re-read sections of the book. I also couldn't stand how Richard is a totally different person in these books, almost an idiot having trouble understanding simple things. Goodkind also did not utilize some of the skills and abilities that Richard had developed in previous novels, such as the dance with death or the partitioning of the mind with respect to handling torture. All in all I hope Terry gets back on track with these characters I have grown to love. For now ill re-read his sword of truth series and relive the glory days.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

(updated August 20, put most behind the spoiler tag, but they're not detailed spoilers).

Two years after The Omen Machine, Terry Goodkind returns with the second novel in the "Richard and Kahlan" series.

If you’re not familiar with The First Confessor, you may want to read this novel before reading TTK. Note that The First Confessor was only released as an e-book in English-speaking countries.

I was lucky enough to be able to read this book 1.5 weeks before the official release date. I read The Omen Machine and The Third Kingdom straight after another, and was rather surprised by how different the two novels are. While TOM felt a bit out of place among the author’s previous works, TTK is a classic Goodkind: lots of drama and action with great characters and philosophy in a fantasy frame.

TOM is obviously the introduction to a larger story, but it wasn’t until reading TTK that I realized this new Richard and Kahlan series may very well turn into another 10+ book series. Story-wise, the potential is definitely there. Let’s hope the author thinks so, too.

Whereas TOM is mostly set in one place, carefully laying down the foundations of the new saga, TTK takes Richard into the wild outdoors, to the Dark Lands, and the story expands fast and furiously. His companion on the perilous journey is young sorceress Sammie, and this is where the book shines. Goodkind’s female characters are always a joy to read, young women coming into their own. 15-year-old Sammie quickly grows into a strong lady, Samantha, and there is a great dynamic between her and Richard. The downside to this, of course is that if you’re desperate to see Richard and Kahlan spending more time in each others’ company, like in TOM, you’re out of luck. In fact, if you’re hoping to see a lot of Kahlan, this book probably won’t rank among your favorites.

If you’re expecting answers about the omen machine and other questions raised in the first book, you may be disappointed as well. The novel pretty much ignores the omen machine, and in fact it isn’t until later in the novel that the ties to the first novel start to become clear. Some questions are answered, but the mysteries surrounding the omen machine aren’t among them (unless, like the omen machine, they are so deeply buried I missed them!). It’s strongly hinted at that the omen machine is being saved for the next book (if the characters actually manage to get there, with Terry Goodkind you never know!). On the upside, without the omen machine around, the strong focus on prophecy from TOM is rather toned down in TTK, as well, which makes for a nice change.

The blood and violence in TTK, too, are in stark contrast to TOM. It may not be any worse than in the Sword of Truth novels, but Richard and Samantha’s journey certainly isn’t a nice stroll through the park, and the other characters don’t have an easy time of it, either. Kids, this isn't for you!

The one major issue I had with the novel is the author’s tendency to repeat information. Even after having read all his novels, and most a number of times, this is one aspect that still manages to annoy me, and always has me wonder why some of it isn’t just edited out. These are not books meant to be read by children, and I’d like to think the average adult doesn’t need to be fed the same information as often as the author seems to think necessary. It’s clearly part and parcel of the author’s writing style, though, and the stories he tells are still utterly mesmerizing, so it would never be enough to make me want to stop reading.

Another couple of minor points that made me frown: young Henrik’s tale about the attack felt a bit off. It was too long and far too detailed for the boy to be able to recount all that. Also, there is a MordSith wielding an Agiel who has pledged her allegiance to someone other than Richard. Hannis Arc does not appear to be a Rahl, so how come her Agiel is working?

In short, another worthy addition to the long-running-but-still-highly-entertaining saga of Rahls, Confessors and the now D’Haran Empire. Already eagerly awaiting the next one!

A final note, the HV edition is 500+ pages, not 400 as suggested above.

[Erica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oooh boy, where to even start with this one. First of all, this was by far the most repetitive book ever. If you took out every repetitive conversation and idea, this book would be about 3 chapters long. 3/4 of the book were just blah blah blah, and I don't even know what else. I can't even remember what the hell I read, it was that boring and unimportant.

Then, Kahlan gets kidnapped AGAIN and has the crap beaten out of her AGAIN. And Richard gets kidnapped AGAIN, and then figures out how to use his own little prophecy to get out of the situation at the last minute AGAIN (when the whole time, the audience was like 'duh! We saw that coming 30 chapters ago'. Plus for some reason Zed and the gang can't seem to use their powers, but the bad guys have no problems using theirs... which is never explained. :eyes rolling yet again:

Lets see, what else... OH!! There are Zombies! Yes, thats right, and not just one kind of zombie, but 2 kinds of zombies! :Face palm:

And besides the ongoing plot holes, the characters just aren't the same as they used to be. They are all worthless. Everything I loved from Wizards First Rule is gone. Kahlan is pretty much worthless nowadays, which I absolutely hate, because she used to be one of the strongest female characters out there. People used to fear the Mother Confessor; now she is just a nobody. I used to love her, and I cannot stand what Goodkind has turned her into.

Nicci and Zed are two of the most powerful people in this world, and their powers are worthless. The enemy is always stronger and they can never outsmart or out-power them. Stop writing these books Goodkind, until you can keep your original characters strengths. :shaking finger yelling :bad Terry Goodkind, bad!": Ugh!!! The last bit of the book was decent enough. One good thing I will say is he is pretty good at writing intense action and intrigue bits. And I did find the black Mord'Sith costumes quite cool. But overall, you could probably just skip this book, because nothing happens! (Well except for the last couple chapters)

[Jude Buffum · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Third Kingdom is an outstanding story and a return to the magic that made Goodkind books some of the best fantasy reads. The dialogue is strong, the story arc is sharp, the characters are rich, and the action is fierce. This is much more than I had expected. I like The Omen Machine well enough, but this book surpasses it by every measure. I'm thrilled that Goodkind is digging deeper into his stories again. I did not read The First Confessor but now that one is next on my list. Magda's story sounds interesting and I'd like to have known more before reading The Third Kingdom. Good book by a good author. If you haven't read Goodkind before you should start with Wizard's First Rule. If you've already read him, you think you know what to expect but you're in for a nice surprise.

[Roberta Otis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won an early release copy. Upon reading it, the first thing that comes to mind is it is much more engaging than the Omen Machine. The ideas and the direction of the book are interesting and breathe new life into the series. I like the introduction of new characters, and the foreshadowing that occurs. The ending is also very "in the moment" and I could not put it down. The only reason I would not give this 5 stars is that some of the dialogue and sentences are repetitive, and its a pet peeve of mine. But story wise its amazing. Character wise, I love the new characters, and the old ones are back and it makes me happy. I was also pleased with how this book ended, and am very excited to see how the next one goes....I just wish the next one was out already!!!
Overall Rating: I love it!

[Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always Terry Goodkind does not disappoint and yet again I find myself waiting for the next book in this amazing series.

[Lane Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

TG's on a roll again. The First Confessor was awesome and so is The Third Kingdom. Now I understand why The OMen Machine read like it did. He was just getting warmed up. The zombie stuff is creepy as hell and I love where this story is going. It helps if you read some of the earlier books to understand where this book is going. Other than that, read on friends. You will be glad you did.

Is it possible to get a signed copy of this book? I looked but the editions I found were not signed.

The only books I read are the Goodkind!!

[Tatev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a troublesome book in many ways. It is both discouraging and exiting for me as a long time Richard and Kahlan fan.

I was very exited when I picked up the Omen Machine, but most of you know how that turned out. I was less exited to read The Third Kingdom for that very reason. And for the first 200 pages I struggled. And struggled hard. Repetitiveness (completely unnecessary to my view) made the good half of the book boring and long and extremely disappointing. At some point I figure that Goodkind views his audience as remarkably stupid, so he feels necessary to repeat the idea 4000 times so that we get it.

And then suddenly something marvelous happened. I (as a reader) got Richard back. I saw a woodsmen from the First Wizard Rule all over again. The Bringer of Death was back!

But Mother Confessor never did. Who is this lady? I do not know her. This typical damsel in distress is not the last leaving confessor who led armies and ruled kingdoms. This is not the women to whom kings bow. This little lady is not even her shadow. And this was my main problem with TTK. I can withstand long dialogs, I can cope with small plot faults. But I refuse to accept this circumcised version of Kahlan.

Some of the reviews already state that this is in many ways a zombi novel. Partly yes. And partly this is the Game of Thrones novel. Not necessary plagiarism, but definitely inspired (North Wall? Seriously Mr. Goodkind? Good thing "the winter was not coming"). And the bloodshed. I leave other similarities for you to spot.

I gave the book 4 stars solely for Richard and Cara. Her plot twist at the end of the book (no spoilers) is to my view appropriate and interesting if played well in the future.

I just want my Mother Confessor back. This cheesy sorry excuse for Kahlan has to go.

[Genevieve · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very disappointing read. I am a huge Goodkind fan but have been sincerely underwhelmed by his recent books. His writing is extremely repetitive and not captivating in the least. The story was weak in that the characters were dragged through a plot that wasn't in sync with previous events from the Sword of Truth series. Worst of all the strongest and most interesting characters came off as feeble minded, desperate and weak, as if all the development that had gone into them was suddenly irrelevant. If you enjoyed the Sword of Truth series I would strongly recommend not reading any of the Richard and Kahlan series.

[Kevin Xu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book after the last couple of books that the author, Terry Goodkind has written. It is certainly a change of pace in his writing. The book is not really that great until about 65% into the book. The book is about when Richard and Kahlan are both injured and needs healing. They are taking to a place where they have never been in the process they discover dark secrets that at the end ultimately will change Richard and Kahlan's live forever.

[Jonathan Cable · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Terry Goodkind book ever. There is not much more to say than that it is mind blowing awesome. Keep up the good work Terry. This book will kep you on the edge of your seat and not waning to put it down.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 rounded up to 2-stars.

I had a lot of problems with my attention span during reading this book. It wasn't a difficult read, I just kept finding that I wasn't invested.

In Goodkind's original series his characters were well-formed, his world was ready-made, and I found the plot was interesting and the characters complexedand memorable. In this book I didn't find the characters to be intriguing at all. He didn't enlarge much on anyone else's character except Richard's, and even that felt bland and wooden to me.

So I was disappointed in this book, and in The Omen Machine that came before it. I have the remaining books of the series (Severed Souls, and Warheart) on my shelf but I won't be in any great hurry to actually read them.

[Loryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was so fast paced it hit the ground running and didn't stop! I noticed the slight changes in writing style from the main series in The Omen Machine, and was a bit confused as to where it was going at the end until I read The First Confessor :)
Understand, any one of these books could be enjoyed on their own, but it just blows my mind how he connects these time frames, and if you read all of them, you will not be disappointed!
This novel really filled in a lot blank spots, but as is Terry's magical way, he left room for larger problems to be solved and much more room for exploration! I have also noticed how much all the characters continue to grow and mature, and I LOVE IT. I also love his new characters and locations.... Terry's imagination never fails to amaze me! The scenes in this book were so gritty and EPIC, it was almost like watching a well-made movie instead of reading! I can't wait to read the next book!

Read The Third Kingdom, you won't be disappointed! Loved it!

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Vannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so excited for this book! I can not wait! I found out about it literally 3 mins ago. I don't think I can wait the four days until it's release. Pre-ordering as we speak! Terry Goodkind is one of my top three favorite authors. He got me hooked on long series and fantasy books. I have every other book he has written including the ebook First confessor. I am so stoked for this book.


10/13/13:
Oh my. So while the story line was amazing, Mr. Good kind has gotten into this habit of over explaining things. It seems as if he is trying to just put more length into the book. Adding more pages by just over explaining things. I struggled through this book. I've noticed this development in the past few books but it's truly exploded in the third kingdom. I had to push myself in the first half of the book. Once I got past the half way point he seem to stop the long explanations and I couldn't put the book down. Took me 3 weeks to get through the first half and 2 days the second half. It's such a great idea but come on, I mean I am this far in the series you do not need to explain again about the grace... It's almost getting to the point of beating a dead horse. Please be careful with the next book. I hope to not struggle with the next.

Otherwise the story was amazing! Zombies and crazies! Right up my alley. However I was so sad to see Ben die. I was thoroughly upset. Poor Cara. My heart broke for her. Great tugging on the heart strings. I am still excited for the next book just hope writing style changes a bit.

[Izabella Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant work of art by Terry Goodkind. I did love the book but I will give an honest review because I know it is important to Terry as an author to have truthful reviews. With that being said the book started out slow for me personally. I received the book on the 20th (release day in the US and Canada) and started to read it. But I only got a couple of chapters in and put the book down. The next day I read a few more chapter and put it down again, I don't know but for me the book just hadn't grasped my interest enough to want to continue reading.

But that all changed about 8 or so chapters into the book. I will not post any spoilers so those that have not read it don't have to worry about them. When the book finally grabbed me it was quite the ride! Terry again has put together a riveting and in some places heart and soul shattering book. There are events that I thought might happen which did and completely caught me off guard even though I knew it was a possibility. But what happens in the very end completely flabbergasted me and I just can't believe it happened.

All in all the book was magnificent and I do suggest others to read the book. However before you do you may want to read or reread The Omen Machine and The First Confessor: Legend of Magda Searus. Both of these books will make things clear for you when you read The Third Kingdom. You might be able to read this before the ones I mentioned but you may not understand what is going on in this book.

[hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

What! Seriously? Cara? What?... Why.

I liked this book but I think there were two main flaws:

1. The repetitions. The dialogues in the first half are so frustrating. I love the philosophic vibes that The Sword of Truth always has had, but once I read a thing I swear I can understand and remember it, there's no need to repeat that these half people are after souls and whatever. I get it. The book could have been half its size without this dragging on.

2. The slowness. In the first half Richard is actually doing nothing at all in a cave with the people of Stroyza.

Anyway, I generally enjoyed reading this book. The last chapters were so good I had to read them super fast to know how everything was going to end.
I can't wait to read the next books. I just missed Richard and Kahlan so much.

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't review the book previous to this one in the series, at least not at the time of this writing. I had my reasons. Mostly, I was busy, but I was also kinda dissatisfied with the previous book. However, I didn't want to jump the gun, so I decided to wait, and let Mr. Goodkind get his mojo up and running. He's starting a whole new arc after all, and this takes some time and patience to set up. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. But, when I got to the end of this one, I just couldn't keep quiet any more. I don't think his mojo is going to manage anything more than a somewhat focused amble, nevermind a run.

There's a lot missing from this, and I'm not sure where to even start. If I had to guess what the main problem is, it would be that there just isn't any story left. Richard and Kahlan are completely actualized humans according to Goodkind's philosophy, so there's no room for them to grow, which makes them kinda static and boring. They've already faced the worst of the worst, so another dire threat to the world of life is just another Tuesday evening to them. The only way this series can be saved at this point, is to take it in a whole other direction, put the characters in situations wholly unlike anything they've faced before. The author doesn't do this. It's another terrible monster who is out to take over the world because of his philosophical beliefs.

I wanted to see the characters covering new ground, dealing with something new. I wanted a monster that was more ambiguous, one that Richard wasn't going to just hit with a sword. I would be pretty happy to take literally anything else at this point: Richard raising kids, Richard dealing with diplomatic catastrophes (the previous books dipped its toe into this, but quickly set it aside) Richard having a freaking midlife crisis, something. Once again, I find myself wanting Goodkind to tackle some of the more substantial arguments to his philosophy, anything but another "find the bad guy and kill him because he's wrong" arc.

Okay, this book's main philosophical point is about prophecy. Terry thinks prophecy is bad, and I get his argument, but he kinda undermines himself in that he has created a world where prophecy is a real thing that actually predicts stuff. I can understand the idea of dismissing prophecy because it's a bunch of BS, and that makes an interesting real world correlation, but in a world where prophecy is a viable tool, why is it so bad? I understand that it's complex, and that it's easy to misinterpret and misuse, but so is magic and he seems to be fine with people using that. The only real objection I can seem to have to the villain's actions is their methods. Despite that, Richard has elected to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and has resolved to end all prophecy.

It's like, if some guys made a bakery but instead of selling their baked goods, they just threw them at passersby, getting everyone messy and maybe some people slip and fall on the sidewalk and the city council reacted by banning all pastry. That's stupid. Danishes are freaking delicious and make people happy. I shouldn't write reviews while I'm hungry, but that's beside the point. Prophecy, in Goodkind's world is even BETTER than muffins. It allows people to avoid terrible catastrophes and stuff, which as far as I am aware, desserts have never done. I mean, shoot, Richard is himself using prophecy to know that he has to end prophecy. What the actual hell? How does that work? Basically what I'm saying is that this plot kinda makes no sense.

Also, the writing leaves a lot to be desired. It wasn't as prevalent in the first book of this new arc, but this one feels really padded. I want to have a serious talk with whoever edited this, they should have done a lot more to cut the redundant sentences and the paragraphs explaining stuff that happened 50 pages ago. I guess this kind of thing is really great for people who take three months to read a book, but for those of us who only take a few days, it's intensely annoying and distracting. At least we didn't see too many of those pages long flashbacks to events from previous books, because I just skim those nowadays, which is also annoying. I didn't get a book so that I could NOT read it, you know?

There are a few interesting things, here. I'm eager for the writer to get back to Regula, as that has a lot of potential to make a serious point about... something. I'm not sure what, but there are some serious possibilities there. I'm also really interested to see what Nathan has to say about all of this "ending prophecy" stuff as well. I hope it's actually amusing, and not "oh, well if you say prophecy is bad, well then you must be right, Richard", because that will anger me.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worthy of Sword of Truth series. This is the second "Richard and Kahlan" book and like the first one, the Omen Machine, it just doesn't cut it. I've been a big fan of the SoT series since I read the first one years ago, and like most readers I have become increasingly less impressed with each new addition. The Third Kingdom follows this trend. If you were hoping for a comeback after the disappointment that was the omen machine this book is not it. 2.5/5. And that's generous due to my love of his earlier work.

All of the criticisms of the omen machine are still present: repetitive, characters are pale shadows of their former personalities, weak plot.

Every paragraph is one sentence paraphrased multiple times and then repeated two pages later for good measure, just in case you forgot. Give your readers more credit! We're not having trouble understanding or keeping up so there's really no need for the redundancy. The book could be 1/4 the length without losing any content. For example, Richard's conversation with Samantha is painful. You know the one I mean; it only takes up about the first quarter of the book. "Wait, you mean it's urgent that we get on the road and find Zedd and Nicci so we can heal Kahlan before the touch of death kills us both? Perfect. Let's sit and talk some more, I don't think you've been quite annoying enough." She asks inane, obvious questions and he answers with triple the amount of words necessary. I was having trouble paying attention due to boredom.

None of the characters have their own voice; they all sound just like the author. Like Henrik's recounting of what happened while Richard was unconscious: what child speaks like that? "I saw some of the soldiers get a better grip on their lances while others touched their swords, all of them making sure that their weapons were ready."... "At the same time, other men, in an inner ring behind the lancers, drew their swords. Yet others pulled battle-axes from hooks on their weapon belts." Um, Terry, if you want to tell the story in your own words, go for it. But children speak like children. Just sayin.

Now, the plot. The poor, tired plot. Whoops, another barrier holding back dangerous people that have been sealed away for thousands of years have been set free to wreak havoc and mayhem. Shocking. An entire old world of people we didn't know about? Nope, done that. Pristinely ungifted people who will eventually eliminate all magic? Nah, we got those guys. This time it's zombies. Yes, the walking dead. Aaaand go.
So there's 189 pages of 'splainin then when Richard finally gets moving, he decides to take a journey days and days in the opposite direction through the most treacherous land possible on a random hunch that his friends are in there. No other option is even considered. His friends could have been 2 miles from where they were taken, but no, Richard, don't start there. I've got a wild goose chase for you. Why would people freed after thousands of years capture a handful of victims and then keep hunting for more? Isn't it more likely they would just go straight home? - I guess the joke's on me since Richard was right. Convenient. It's almost like he knew exactly what the author was planning.
Now, I will admit, the second half is much better. Until you get to the end, that is. The entire story went day by day without skipping a single one, even if it was super boring, then suddenly entire days are skipped and summed up by one sentence? They escape the tunnels then suddenly they are saving Kahlan days later? What did we miss? "We were so worried when we got back to the village and Henrik told us where they took you." Oh. So that's what happened. Why painstakingly go over every single minute detail in the first 3/4 of the book to skim lightly past the rest? The interesting, fighting for their lives part?

Was the writing always this bad? Juvenile, immature, with none of the descriptive power I remember in the old books. Something got me hooked on the series, and whatever it was, it's absent in this instalment. Is nostalgia clouding my memory? I don't think so. I think someone else is writing these latest books in his name. Does Terry Goodkind have a niece?

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have followed Terry since I was 16--I have read every book he has put out there, and loved the series as a whole.

And quite honestly, this book could have been really good. Like 4-5 stars good (like the others)...the problem was the repetition. The constant recapping. It almost killed the book for me.

So why a 3? It was still a descent story, and the potential is there if you are willing to do acrobatic mind-flips over the unnecessary reviews of what was learned. Round about the 75th chapter, it finally seems to slide closer to Mr. Goodkind's original voice that we heard in all the previous books. I think the take on the half-people and undead is interesting, there is a lot to think about in this book--a lot of undertones that may truly be there or not. There are topics laid open for thought and contemplation, which is one reason why I love his work so much.

I really hate giving Mr. Goodkind a 3 star rating...but I can not justify anything higher for this book. I am sorry. :(

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Within the first few chapters I found a typo. Not classy at all. You'd think with the success and amount of people involved with the Terry Goodkind novels that they would have an adequate spell checker.

The book picked up where it left off and got to the point in a timely fashion. I love to read but want to get to the point of things while I am reading.

I think the ending was weirdly placed. I feel like it should have either ended sooner or later then where it did.


**Spoiler Alert**
All in all I enjoyed the book. I don't mind that there may not be a happy ending for Richard and Kahlan. In life we aren't always guaranteed a happy ending either. I am looking forward to the next book and hoping that "Magda and company" leave more information along the way for Richard as it would be unfortunate if the half people weren't contained.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the whole Sword of Truth series (and with that I'm including, First confessor, anything that includes Richard and Kahlan, and Law of Nines b/c in my head they are all revolving around the same world). I was so ready for the next book because Omen Machine wasn't my favorite, but at least it meant that world wasn't over in my literary adventures. Overall, it wasn't bad. I felt like I had to slog through some of it, and I'm dying for the next one to come out, but it sure wasn't as great as most of his writing of this world.

*Spoilers Below*






The first 1/3 of the book is spent moving so incredibly slowly with repetitive recaps (don't get me wrong, I needed recaps as the last time I read Omen Machine was the weekend it came out - but I dont want them in drips and drabs repeated dripping and drabbing for a full 1/3 of the book while present time moved INCREDIBLY slowly with very very little plot development). This was my slogging through only sticking around because I love the whole series.

After that it picks up and goes skipping through time in a rush so that I am still unclear where days or weeks went and some of them don't seem to match up in time covered when they meet up again in person. It was as though the first 1/3 of the book was in super slow motion, the next third was in "normal" time, and the last third was in triple fast forward.

My biggest gripe is that he went for the zombies. Zombies. REALLY!? I appreciate the in depth take on how the occult powers are bringing them to be etc... but ZOMBIES!? Its like the first mention of zombies in Game of Thrones - I nearly threw the book at the wall. Are there going to be vampires now too?? Is Dracula really Darken Rahl's second cousin???? Terry had created so many unique types of powers and magic and that development of things I had never heard or thought of just further pulled me in to this fictional world and I loved it.... now ZOMBIES!? Someone grab a shotgun and call Woody Harrelson! OK, rant over.

Still hanging on and anxiously waiting for the next book since this one was a cliff hanger!

[Brigitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, and love the cover art too. When Terry showed us the green covers that made more since after reading the story. I'm still a little confused as who is on the cover, because when you look at the persons lips they look like they're sewn together like the hedge maid was. He told us why they couldn't print the green covers because it messes with the printing so they went with red flames instead, which is actually pretty. I love the cover it perks my curiosity.

The story kept me in suspense like certain body parts when you have the fear of falling and it synchs up. You get to learn about new races and new characters in this book. And even a new kind of magic they used, Richard learns helpful things from the past to help him along in his journey and he finds a young gifted girl that is stubborn and wont take no for an answer until he takes her along, I'm starting to think she is my new favorite character. Something happened and I see what kind of power she is developing and yet she is so young, I'm am very curios as to what her future holds in Terry's new story's. She is starting to develop these new powers and learn how to use them, we hope.

A lot of people said they had these 'feels' at the end of the book but for some reason I didn't nor did I cry, but Terry put this burning in my tummy so to speak, to want more and to find out what happens to the characters, I can hardly contain myself, I want to know so bad what happens next. I'd love to know how Terry comes up with all these stories. They're amazing, like he pulled them out of thin air! His books to me are so good I feel like I'm sitting right behind Richard and watching everything he does.

And my advice to new readers... you can't judge a book by its cover or by what others say, only way to really know is to read it yourself and judge for yourself. But hey! If you do go by others thoughts I say buy Terry Goodkind's books, you will never regret it! :)

[Jackie - Fire & Ice Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This review is originally posted on my blog" http://jackiecrazyworldofbooks.blogsp...


After the Sword of Truth series, I was expecting more from Goodkind. The Omen Machine and The First Confessor weren't very good books. I thought The Third Kingdom would be just as bad. However, I was shocked. No, it is not as good as the SOT series, but it has its own flavor. The Third Kingdom eplains some things that are not in TFC. Richard was the main POV in this book. Goodkind through in a POV from Kalen as if he forgot about her. She was uncontious for most of the book. I thought Goodkind would show us what was going on with Zed and the gang, but that never happened. We learn about a new kingdom. Hints the title The Third Kingdom, or the north wall. If you have not read The Omen Machine and The First Confessor. I highly recommend you check those books out before you read The Third Kingdom. So, lets just say over all, I really enjoyed this book. I some of the old Richard from SOT, but don't get me wrong he wasn't a bad as like he was in SOT. Goodkind brings in a new character named Sam or Samantha. She is how we find out about the Third Kingdom. So, make sure you pick up your copy of The Third Kingdom.

[Bree Pearsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Omen Machine, I had no idea where the story of Richard and Kahlan was going to take me next. Mr. Goodkind absolutely blew me away with this book. After reading The Sword of Truth Series, and watching an amazing 7,460 page story unfold before me, I had no idea what could top that. What could he throw at Richard now? He just defeated an army of millions of pissed off people headed by an equally pissed of Dreamwalker. What could be worse?
Zombies. Soulless people. Cannibals.
Oh.
This book will have your eyes glued to the pages. And the end will have you looking up Mr. Goodkind's address on the internet so you can go and demand to know what's next. He shows us these wonderful people, and not so wonderful people, that we grow to love and hate. In this book you get surprises come up from The First Confessor. (Read The First Confessor and The Omen Machine before you pick this bad boy up to read. They're essential.)
Seriously, I laughed, I cried, laughed and cried some more. I made this face a lot too :O
You should read this book, because it's amazing. And because Terry Goodkind is amazing.
Talga Vassternich.