When I first read this book, it wasn't one of my favorites in the series. I recently re-read it, and I liked it a lot better after the second reading. Unlike the previous books, Richard and Kahlan do not make a tremendous amount of progress in uniting the Midlands and restoring order. However, Richard does prove his qualities as a leader, earns the loyalty of his followers, and shows them what a real leader is all about. This is the primary purpose of the book, and it also serves as an introduction to the Imperial Order, which will dominate the rest of the books. ( )

A plague has been unleashed that only Richard can stop. This is again a quick moving read. I found the elements about prophesy and the history of the world particularly interesting. ( )

I continue to make my way through a series which demands completion. The characters presented make all the difference; they inspire either complete loving adoration or, in some cases, disgusted ire. While at times the author becomes bogged down in inconsequential description of detail (do we really need to know from what stone every individual surface in the palace is constructed of?), the story flows in such a way that putting the book down becomes a test of will.
Beyond all this, Goodkind seems to have invoked in his writing a healthy mix of philosophical insight. For example... if saving the lives of everyone on the planet required the sacrifice of one live, would you willingly accept the death? The general opinion at this point in the argument is one of approval. What happens when the person to die becomes the one you hold most dear? Would the approval still hold? It is a rare person that can still say yes. Most of the questions presented in the books are not quite this dire in nature, but still increased my enjoyment in reading.
I am, however, a little floundered my the sheer number of editing errors residing between the pages which, at times, force a pause to consider what the attempted sentence is. Who exactly has been editing these books? Epic fail. ( )

again an awesome book. Well rounded characters, lots of action. ( )

after the 4th book it`s getting litte old, a lot of repetitons-wars, tortures- misunderstandings..... it seem the don`t get forward at all, but it`s still exciting to read ( )

A plague has broken out all around the New World killing hundreds of thousands. Richard Rahl has to find a place that no one has heard of before and must destroy the plague, but in the end it will destroy him. This book is very suspensful with the things Richard and Kahlan must do to save everyone and it gives a taste of what Richard is capable of doing with his gift. As with all of Goodkind's books, this book is a great book for fantasy lovers.

This is the fourth book in the Sword of Truth series, and it had the double whammy challenge of being the fourth very long book in a very long series, and of being the book I was reading just before my comprehensive exams for grad school. These challenges made me move through this book a little more slowly than the previous three, and the beginning was a bit more slow moving than I would have liked, so it took me a bit longer to read than I expected. Nevertheless, The last 200 pages or so absolutely flew by. I read them in a matter of a few hours, sacrificing some precious precious sleep on the night before comps to finish it. Again, Terry Goodkind messed with my mind and made me despair that things would turn out the way I wanted them to, or thought they should. But, as always, he managed to give me the ending I wanted in an unexpected way and with the promise of lots of new conflict and heartache to come. I swear I don't know why I like these books. They just stress me out! If only I could stop... ( )

Richard and Kahlan are at it again in this sequel. Trying to find time to get married is hard when you have a witch woman sending would be lovers to your soon to be spouse, a plague starting, and a dream walker making a nuisance of himself.
Full of mystery, magic, betrayal, and love, Temple of Winds delivers what Goodkind fans have come to expect. A read that will keep you reading until the end. ( )

Fourth in the "Sword of Truth" series, and by many accounts the best of the lot. This one introduces us to Drefan Rahl, Richard's half-brother, and lets us see what happens to the world when Emperor Jagang attempts to unleash a plague. Nathan has a much bigger role in this one than he has in the last two, and every word is a joy. Oh, Nathan! There's also quite a bit of Cara, Berdine, and Raina, the Mord-Sith, which is very welcome. ( )

ook 4 in the Sword of Truth series reads a bit more like a “who done it” type of mystery than a pure fantasy novel. This works nicely and progresses the story line nicely. I enjoyed this one the character development, which focused mostly on Richard and Kahlan this time. It did get a bit tedious reading over and over how much they loved each other, but it was actually important to the story so I can understand. Most annoying thing about this book is again the page long explanations of what happened in the previous books. This is truly annoying and is getting worse with each book. At this pace, book 10 will be mostly a rehash of the previous 9 books. But still a great story and I really do want to see how this all plays out, so onward we go to book 5. ( )

From the very first page I was drawn into the book, and could not put it down. I cried, I cried some more and still left the book with a warmed heart and a smile. Amazingly written. I love the characters, and cannot wait to read the next one. ( )

I'm glad he finally married off Richard and Kahlan. I couldn't stand the cheap soap opera tactic. I get really distracted by Richard's lame mood swings "She betrayed me" Give me a break. I don't know if I can continue with this series. It seems be loosing a little with each new book ( )

Many people say that the first part of the book is slow. They are right that there is not much action in the beginning of the book, but there is still a great deal of conflict and drama.
About halfway through the book, when the plague picks up steam and the prophecy is revealed, I had a hard time putting the book down. Terry Goodkind did a horrific but wonderful job at revealing how the plague damages the world. When I got to the last 200 pages I couldn’t have put the book down if I had wanted it. It was incredibly intense. I found my eyes were constantly watering, just ready to stream tears down my face, which they did quite a lot in the last 200 pages.
The book is very unpredictable, and when it catchs you by surprise, your breath will catch in your throat. The ending though recompense for the horror of the book.

This is my second favorite book in the series. Temple of the Winds beautifully combines tension from a number of subplots so that there are no portions of the book where you want to stop turning pages. There are not just one, but two mysteries that must be solved, and I adore mystery plots inside fantasy novels. I have also come to appreciate the research that must have been involved. WHile doing my own research on Europe's Black Plague about a year ago, it dawned on me what a thorough job Terry Goodkind did with this element in Temple of the Winds. A very good book. ( )

My least favorite sword of truth novel so far. The "traitor in our midst" character was recognizable as such the moment he entered the story, and I hate it when the good guys in a book are this stupid that they can be so easily trapped. This took most of the wind out of the story ( "wind", get it?) as you lost all of your respect for the characters as well as your interest in the story.

It did have one quote that I liked, though (Forgive my poor memory the exact quote):

Zed:"What did you lose?"

Richard:"Knowledge."

Zed:"And what did you gain?"

Richard:"Understanding."

I used this quote on my mom once when she asked why I spent the evening playing videogames instead of studing for a test I had the next day.

She cracked up, and I was saved a painful tongue-thrashing. Thank you Terry Goodkind, you have saved my life.

Also the cover art of this book has to be the cheesiest ever, he looks like the "I can't believe it's not butter" guy posing for a commercial or something. ( )

Once again I found his work to be excellent. I shall continue to read on ( )

Another fairly predictable, one-dimensional, typical fantasy romp through Goodkind's Middle Earth (or whatever he calls it) this novel is still enjoyable for all its many faults.
Although obviously fraught with your typical male fantasies (A woman who can devour you with her orgasm, and a couple of sado-masochistic dominatrix type women in skin-tight leather with pain giving "rods" who ohbytheway are also uber-sexy lesbians) this novel is still fun and still entertaining.

And I mean, the lesbians ARE hot. ( )

I read the first book. Then I read the second book. Then I read the third book. Then I got half way through the fourth book and I thought to myself, "Why the hell am I reading this?" It suddenly occurred to me that I really don't like the writing in these books. The only reason that I gave all these books two stars rather than one is because I have to give the author some credit for getting me to read four books. I'm still not sure why or how I got that far. ( )