Naked Empire
Book Eight of The Sword of Truth
Terry Goodkind
Voyager, a division of HarperCollins
Hard cover, 660 pages
Reviewed by Al du Pisani, 13 January 2004
I have not read the previous novel in this series, The
Pillars of Creation, which told the story of Richard Rahl's half
sister, Jennsen, and her encounter with the Imperial Order, and later, her
half brother. So I am not that familiar with some of the events
alluded to in this book. And this book follows on from the previous one. In
fact, while there are some continuity problems within the series, every
book have followed on to, and build on, events in the previous book. Because
this in a world in which actions have consequences, and Richard and his wife
Kahlan are still dealing with some of the consequences of events that took
place three books ago.
As they travel back from the Pillars of Creation, Richard's party are being
followed by races, predatory birds shaped like hawks, but significantly bigger,
and only flying at night. And as they get close to the edge of the desert,
people come to meet them. Some to demand help. Some to kill them.
So Richard's party is diverted into the mountains, where there are people
to be freed from tyranny, bad guys to be killed, and a source of
people with a significant skill to be denied the enemy. But what if the people
does not want to be saved? And they think that fighting is so morally
wrong that you must always submit to evil? What if the Imperial Order have
created a new version of a very old, and at that time, unstoppable, (except
under very exceptional circumstances,) human weapon, and he is waiting eagerly
for you to enter his lands so that you can fall into his power?
Meanwhile, in Aydindril, Zedd has to confront the Imperial Order, coming to
loot the Wizard's Keep, and to keep the treasures and weapons of the
past from their hands. The armies of the Imperial Order must be withstood,
while the people in D'Hara must try as best they can to figure out how to keep
a flame of hope burning, some people free, and how to help Richard in his task
of trying to save the world.
For the Wizard's Eight Rule is Deserve Victory, yet another of those
seemingly simple rules that have devastating impact on the lives of wizards who
are trying to live by them.
And although a resolution is reached, some of the problems set in motion in
previous books remain unresolved, and have to be tackled when this series
is continued . . ..
I had two reasons why I did not anticipate reading this book: I had not
read the previous one, and knew that some things will not be as clear, due to
that fact. I had also become used to the author's style, habits and
idiosyncrasies, and were aware that I could be disappointed with the
direction and nature of the book. The story told was however so interesting,
and so fluently written, that I could read with pleasure. However,
this did not mean that this book is without flaws.
For, as much as it pains people, Terry Goodkind is currently, in my opinion,
one of the top five writers of fantasy in the world. And I base this
statement on sales and influence. For I think that Terry Goodkind, by
examining what makes a hero, how should he behave, and by what rules he should
live, is currently one of the most moral writers, for a generation that have
newly discovered the lack in morality in their own environment.
Some of the questions he examine include: How do you save somebody who does
not want to be saved? How do you protect somebody from evil, if he does not see
the evil? How do you help somebody whose system of morality differs so much
from your own, that what you see as good, he sees as evil? And how do you
live a moral life, if your actions differ from your words and intentions?
Unfortunately, there are two reasons why I cannot recommend this book
unreservedly: For one, this is the eighth book in a reasonably tightly plotted
series, where knowledge of what had gone before is a prerequisite. For another,
if you disagree with the vision of morality and behaviour the author
have made the cornerstone of his work, you will not like this book.
(My top five list of fantasy authors currently reads Terry Goodkind, Robert
Jordan and Steven Erikson in Epic/Epic-Heroic Fantasy, David Gemmell
in Heroic Fantasy, and Terry Pratchett in Comic Fantasy. Except for Steven
Erikson, of which I have so far read only four books, each of these authors
have flaws that irritate me, and each of them have delivered at least one dud
book.)
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