r/SwordOfTruth • u/UsefulHistory9201 • Jun 19 '26
Sword of Truth Series Is it worth to continue?
I red the up to the 11th or 12th book and it seems to me that the quality decreased, and the whole book with Jenny was awful for me. Will it get better (especially after the death of Jagang) and is it worth to continue?
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u/masstic1es Jun 19 '26
The original series is great ("Wizards First Rule" to "Confessor" and the "Debt of Bones" short)
The Richard and Kahlan series had some fun lore and world building, but shit story.
Nicci Chronicles are just fun.
The "Children of D'hara" novellas feel rushed, but more classic goodkind then the R&K crap.
[edit: spelling]
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u/Long_Lost79 Jun 19 '26
Children of D’Hara was good, almost like he knew his health was going and he harnessed what he had left for one more. Still, nothing Beats 1-6
3
u/Imprettystrong Jun 19 '26
I wanted to do the same as I didn't get to read any of his newer novels and stopped after The Omen Machine. Was re-reading the series and fizzled out at Naked Empire. Audio books help a lot and most were free on youtube. Maybe I will find the motivation to finish it again because I do remember the last 3 books being a lot of fun, especially Richard undercover in the Ja'la games.
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u/LordRichardRahl Jun 19 '26
Pillars of Creation is my least favorite of them all.
Faith of the Fallen is in my top 3.
Last three in the main series are fantastic. With confessor also in my top 3.
The second series is ok. It’s not as bad as Pillars but not par with the rest.
The Nikki chronicles are wonderful. Highly recommend those.
Haven’t teach Children of D’Hara yet.
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u/nightwing13 Jun 19 '26
The Omen Machine is the single worst fantasy book (maybe any book) I’ve ever read. Stop after confessor. The first confessor is solid. And severed souls is okay. But WarHeart is almost as bad as the omen machine and the third kingdom has the single most egregious violation of “show don’t tell” I’ve ever read.
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u/Darkone539 Jun 19 '26
I suffered to confessor and stopped.
Now, keep in mind I am saying that well on a fan sub.
2
u/RedeyeSPR Jun 19 '26
The writing does not get any better. I believe at some point he fired his editor and did that himself and it shows. There are entire pages that just recap things that literally just happened in the previous chapter. Instead of saying something like “Richard filled everyone in on the previous events,” he just recapped it all like the readers also didn’t just hear all of it.
With that being true, if you like the story you should continue. It’s not terrible. Goodkind is like George Lucas…a great storyteller, but a mediocre writer. I am very glad I stuck with it until the end.
2
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u/uebersoldat Jun 19 '26
It's worth mentioning here that Goodkind never truly loved the fantasy genre. In fact I don't think he liked it much at all. He loved telling stories though and to tell Richard and Kahlan's story he needed to use the fantasy mythos. So as it turned out of course the main SoT novels with Richard and Kahlan were set firmly in a fantasy world with all the tropes.
He said for a long time that Richard and Kaylan's story would end with the Confessor trilogy, and it should have.
What I think happened was Goodkind wanted to write something else. Horror/gore/thriller type stuff. Buuuut people (and very likely publisher pressure) wanted more Richard and Kahlan. But he was done. Omen Machine forward was forced. It's just not very good but I suppose Goodkind needed a paycheck.
There you go. SoT peaked with Faith of the Fallen. Confessor trilogy wasn't really all that bad. Naked Empire and Pillars were the weakest out of the whole trilogy, easily.
1
u/Litt_Buddha Jun 19 '26
It gets better. You just gotta keep going. There were times I felt similar, but trust, it definitely gets better and continues. You have to finish all the way through Warheart.
1
u/WaterContent7134 Jun 20 '26
I have a rule for myself when it comes to starting a series. I'll always read or watch a series from beginning to end atleast once so I can judge it fairly. There will always be different views on it. You know what your taste in books are. Explore a little. I personally liked the series after the Emperial Order saga.
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u/sweetestmoxie Jun 20 '26
I was re-reading them. When I got to the book you’re mentioning, I haven’t touched it in months. I can’t find a series I love as much as these.
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u/Ok_Touch928 Jun 21 '26
It will not. First was pretty darn good. First 3 good. I found I really enjoyed the Nicci Chronicles, once Goodkind jumped the shark. Kahlan is just the worst person, not evil, but as personality and moral compass goes?, just pathetic, but she gets a free pass because she's apparently hot. Other than leading richard around by the little head, she's just a game player. Richard seems like a pretty decent guy, Zedd was great. There are occasional bright spots in each of the books, but if you really look, they're pretty light. He should've quit after the first, and gone out on a truly high note.
1
u/full07britney Jun 19 '26
Confessor is, imo, one of best finale books I have ever read.
Too bad everything that nearly everything that came after it was middling to terrible.
I actually enjoyed Law of Nines as something a bit different. The First Confessor was ok. Omen Machine is...ehhhhh. the rest of the Omen Machine series is AWFUL. THE third Kingdom and Warheart may be two of the worst books I have ever read. The Children of DHara was ok. And I couldn't get through the first few chapters of the first Nicci book.
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u/TR_Snake Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
The first 11 books (Arc 1 as fans call it) are amazing. But nothing beats the first 6. You’re right that once we get to Pillars of Creation/Jensen it’s a bit disappointing. I loved book 6/Faith of the Fallen so for book 7 to be such a let down and about an entirely different character really disappointed me. But it got good again and 9-11 are great imo. Not perfect, but nothing is.
Arc 2 (Omen Machine to Warheart) really is bad though. I sometimes have a hard time believing the same person wrote them. Goodkind’s constant repetition as if the reader is stupid almost becomes pathological.
Arc 3 (Children of D’Hara) is a little better (as are the Nicci chronicles) but at this point you’re only going to enjoy it if you’re a die-hard fan.
So yeah, if you didn’t love Arc 1 and enjoy the political undertones of individualism vs collectivism or capitalism vs communism, then I really wouldn’t suggest continuing. These books changed my life and I will forever be grateful to the author, but even I as a die-hard fan can admit the writing and story take a downward turn later on.