Naked Empire
Book Eight of The Sword of Truth
Terry Goodkind
Voyager, a division of HarperCollins
Hard cover, 660 pages
Reviewed by Kyle Brunette, 3 March 2004
The magical barrier separating the D'Haran Empire from the evil clutches of
the old world's Imperial order has fallen. In order to save his homeland,
Prince Richard Rahl must trek across the land with his companions to find a
way to destroy the Order from within. His journey takes a somewhat different
path, however.
This is the first book I have read by Terry Goodkind, and I am very
impressed. This book is also not the first in the Sword of Truth series -
in fact I am not even sure which number it is. It was very interesting and a
good read in spite of the fact that I have not read any of the other
books in the series, which to me is a sign of a very good book.
Magic plays an interesting role, but not a large one. The interesting part
of Terry Goodkind's magical world is that there are people known as the
"Pillars of Creation" - people born without the ability to interact with magic,
or even the ability to see it. Understandably, these people are
a big threat to wizards and the like as their magic is useless against them.
Interesting ideas . . ..
The book also takes an interesting view on a completely non-violent society
called the "Bandakaran Empire" where no violence is committed by its citizens
whatsoever. This leads to problems when the brutal Imperial Order moves in.
I was barely able to put this book down. Terry Goodkind has a writing style
that is clear, concise and completely entertaining. I recommend reading
this book regardless of whether or not you have read the rest of the series -
although of course that's always a bonus.
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