Chainfire - Hardcover

Goodkind, Terry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765313073 ISBN 13: 9780765313072

Publisher: Tor Books, 2005

Synopsis

Richard struggles to find his missing wife Kahlan in spite of the bizarre fact that no one else seems to believe she actually exists or that he is married to her.

About this title

Review:

Chainfire is the ninth book in Terry Goodkind's grimly inventive Sword of Truth fantasy saga, which began in 1994 with Wizard's First Rule.

It's a tradition of long-running drama series that sooner or later, some character will suffer from amnesia. Goodkind gives this a neat paranoid twist when everyone except our hero Lord Richard Rahl forgets the existence of his beloved wife Kahlan. The more he protests that she was real, the more his sorceress and Amazon-warrior friends nervously humour him.

Meanwhile the apocalyptic background story continues, with evil Emperor Jagang's vast, fanatical armies moving to devastate cities and countries liberated by Richard's forces. The Emperor's latest terror weapon is an invincible, unkillable, many-shaped monster whose sole purpose is to find and destroy Richard.

Additionally, something has gone badly wrong with the prophetic books--whole libraries of them--that foretell a Last Battle where only Richard can save the world. Now, with Armageddon imminent, the prophecies have developed a rash of blank pages, as though some vital person has been erased from reality ...

Tough choices confront Richard when he abandons the defence of a key city to seek out a very unreliable authority and ask what's happened to Kahlan. All he's offered is cryptic advice with a high price tag, roughly equivalent to handing over the One Ring to Gollum. And what could "Chainfire" mean?

Of course there are many exciting action set-pieces en route. That nemesis monster strikes again and again, in horrifically random ways. The top sorceress confronts an entire wizard-led Imperial army. Closely guarded boxes of doomsday magic, locked away in Richard's own impregnable palace, come under unexpected threat.

Eventually we learn what happened to Kahlan and why. But there's no final closure in this installment, and Sword of Truth fans must wait in suspense for volume ten. Goodkind continues his mixing of adventure fantasy with dark moral complexity. --David Langford

Review:

"Wonderfully creative, seamless, and stirring."
--"Kirkus" on "Wizard's First Rule"
"Wonderful."
--"Kliatt" on "Stone of Tears"
"Each volume of the Sword of Truth...proves more difficult to review than the last. There are only so many was of heaping praise on a series that gets better and better."
--"SFX" on "Blood of the Fold"
..".outstanding work...adrenaline and characters who actually behave like adults. Highly recommended."
--"San Diego Union Tribune" on "Temple of the Winds"
..".thoroughly enjoyable."
--"VOYA" on "Soul of the Fire"
"Mr. Goodkind's compelling prose weaves a magic spell over readers."
--"Romantic Times" on "Faith of the Fallen"
"Near-perfect pacing, well-realized settings, and superior descriptive narrative."
--"VOYA" on "The Pillars of Creation"
"Everything one could ask for in an epic fantasy."
--"Publishers Weekly" on "Stone of Tears"
Wonderful.--Kliatt on Stone of Tears

Wonderfully creative, seamless, and stirring. "Kirkus on Wizard's First Rule"

Wonderful. Kliatt on Stone of Tears

Each volume of the Sword of Truth . . . proves more difficult to review than the last. There are only so many ways of heaping praise on a series that gets better and better. "SFX on Blood of the Fold"

. . . outstanding work . . . adrenaline and characters who actually behave like adults. Highly recommended. "San Diego Union Tribune on Temple of the Winds"

...thoroughly enjoyable. "VOYA on Soul of the Fire"

Mr. Goodkind's compelling prose weaves a magic spell over readers. "Romantic Times on Faith of the Fallen"

Near-perfect pacing, well-realized settings, and superior descriptive narrative. "VOYA on The Pillars of Creation"

Everything one could ask for in an epic fantasy. "Publishers Weekly on Stone of Tears""

Wonderfully creative, seamless, and stirring. Kirkus on Wizard's First Rule

Wonderful. Kliatt on Stone of Tears

Each volume of the Sword of Truth . . . proves more difficult to review than the last. There are only so many ways of heaping praise on a series that gets better and better. SFX on Blood of the Fold

. . . outstanding work . . . adrenaline and characters who actually behave like adults. Highly recommended. San Diego Union Tribune on Temple of the Winds

...thoroughly enjoyable. VOYA on Soul of the Fire

Mr. Goodkind's compelling prose weaves a magic spell over readers. Romantic Times on Faith of the Fallen

Near-perfect pacing, well-realized settings, and superior descriptive narrative. VOYA on The Pillars of Creation

Everything one could ask for in an epic fantasy. Publishers Weekly on Stone of Tears

"

"Wonderfully creative, seamless, and stirring." --Kirkus on Wizard's First Rule

"Wonderful." --Kliatt on Stone of Tears

"Each volume of the Sword of Truth . . . proves more difficult to review than the last. There are only so many ways of heaping praise on a series that gets better and better." --SFX on Blood of the Fold

." . . outstanding work . . . adrenaline and characters who actually behave like adults. Highly recommended." --San Diego Union Tribune on Temple of the Winds

..".thoroughly enjoyable." --VOYA on Soul of the Fire

"Mr. Goodkind's compelling prose weaves a magic spell over readers." --Romantic Times on Faith of the Fallen

"Near-perfect pacing, well-realized settings, and superior descriptive narrative." --VOYA on The Pillars of Creation

"Everything one could ask for in an epic fantasy." --Publishers Weekly on Stone of Tears

About this edition

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0765313073
• ISBN 13: 9780765313072
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 672