Temple of the Winds

Richard is finally reunited with his love, Kahlan, but their life together is soon threatened once again by the Imperial Order. An assassin arrives a the Confessor's Palace bearing a portentous message from Jagang. A prophecy has been set in motion that will end in Richard's death. On the same day, a mysterious woman from Richard's past arrives hoping to marry him. Yet another arrival is Richard's half-brother who is now an accomplished healer. Richard and Kahlin's love will be challenged by jealousy, plague, and prophecy. Will they overcome all and learn the magic of forgiveness.

Wow, the series really lost me in this book. I enjoyed the first three books, they aren't amazing literature or anything, but I loved them as a teenager and show more there's a bit of a nostalgia factor there. But geez, all the characters I loved were being worthless throughout. Kahlin does nothing in this book but cry. She cries maybe fifty times. In the last book she was leading an army into battle naked in the snow. What the hell happened to that BAMF?

Beyond that, the book just dragged. After book two, Goodkind spends at least half of his words reminding us of stuff that already happened in previous books. He also has this annoying habit of describing a complex scene in detail, and then when another character arrives, he RE-DESCRIBES the entire scene from this new character's perspective. The whole book felt like he was looking for any and all opportunities to pad out the action. Awful. show less

Okay, what to say without spoiling?

This was a great story. I was never really sure what was going to happen next and whose side some characters were on, which is not easy to do. I can usually figure out characters' motivations and where the loyalties will eventually lie. This time I was flip-flopping. I love the journey and growth in Cara, Raina, and Berdine. They learned that they could love and be loved and yet maintained all of their power and confidence. Cara is by far my favorite Mord-Sith and I think she is the perfect protector for not only Richard, but Kahlan as well. And even though a lot of the story revolved around Richard and Kahlan's relationship, it wasn't all about the romance. Their romance didn't overtake the whole show more story, which can happen in a lot of books that feature romance between the main characters.

I also liked that Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor didn't take over the whole book, there were other subplots led by other characters that were important to the overall story and very interesting to read. I enjoyed how all of the other stories connected and were important to the main plot.

This was full of surprises as we lost some characters and some that we thought were lost returned to the story. And while I feel like there was a clear ending, at the same time there wasn't. Kahlan and Richard are finally together and reunited with the people most important to them, and Jagang's plan was thwarted. But Jagang himself hasn't been stopped. He's still out there and he's been made aware of some prophecies and we have no idea what he knows or what he plans to do with the knowledge. My guess is, he's still coming for Richard and the New World, but how and when? show less

This is an outing of the series back when I still found it tremendous fun. (Alas, that would not remain so, although once-fans of Sword of Truth widely disagree about when the series jumped the shark, even this novel has its detractors and there are some entertained to the end of the series.) I remember when I first picked up the book I was a bit cheesed at yet another series of obstacles placed in the way of Richard and Kahlan getting together. How long was Goodkind going to stretch it out? But Goodkind's strengths in world-building, inventive magic and memorable characters are still in play, and I was sucked in. I particularly loved Nathan as well as Cara and the other Mord-Sith in this. And the "Temple of the Winds" is itself almost show more a character. show less

Book 4 in the Sword of Truth series, and the best so far. This is a big/long book but my interest never sagged at any point. The same characters from the first three books, but a complex and involved story line that just keeps getting better and better. The audiobook goes for almost 29 hours. The narrator does a better job than the guy who narrated book 2, but unfortunately he mispronounces Kahlan's name throughout the book. According to all the previous books and the TV series based on the books, it should be pronounced 'Kay-Lin' but this narrator consistently pronounces it like it was 'Collin'. It takes some getting used to. The world is being over run by a plague and the only solution involves Kahlan and Richard each marrying someone show more they do not love instead of each other. LOTS of twists and turns in this book and you won't be able to put it down. show less

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 show more 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... show less

I think this is the book where the Sword of Truth series went finally and irrevocably off the rails for me. This book highlights Goodkind’s worst faults as a writer. His total lack of complexity when drawing out his female characters. It seems that in Goodkind’s universe women fall into two categories; Madonna/whore. Goodkind’s preachiness also beings to grate. After reading the entire series, I can safely say that this is the book where it all comes apart.

Whew! I'm done with the travails of Richard and Kahlan, but what a ride. If you can read Blood of the Fold to the end, read Temple of the Winds. Fold is just the intro to the end of the Richard/Kahlan marriage story. Like any conventional soap opera, you know Kahlan will finally wed Richard in her blue dress. Just like you were promised in the first book. However there will be a few more obstacles in the way...long-lost half brothers and an old girlfriend for instance. Darken Rahl has been replaced by an even more depraved enemy, Emperor Jagang who unleashes a deadly plague on the Midlands. The Mord Sith change from being torture queens to Richard's and Kahlan's bodyguards and relationship therapists. Cara and her Mord Sith sisters add show more needed humor to the torture/destruction theme of the series. When the Mord Sith misbehave, Richard punishes them by having the ladies feed chipmunks. show less