fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsbook review Terry Goodkind Sword of TruthNaked Empire by Terry Goodkind

The Sword of Truth, though a bit derivative, started off well and, while it has had its stops and starts, it has generally been well-worth reading.

Sadly, Naked Empire fails even the minimal standard of “if it’s in a series, you’ve gotta read it if only to know what happens.” So little of import happens here, and it’s so painful to get to what little does, that it simply isn’t worth it. The book is preachy, talkative, dogmatic, repetitive, one-sided, and simplistic, with the “arguments” ridiculously stacked. All of which possibly could have been forgiven if it weren’t only those things — if you could have been drawn in by strength of character or plot or ideas. But there are no new characters of interest introduced, the main characters have become in this book either uninteresting or unlikeable, and the action (what little there is) is predictable and not particularly exciting. Read a recap someplace of the few plot details you might need for the next one, skip this one completely, and hope Terry Goodkind writes the next one while awake.