Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind is the 5th book in the Sword of Truth Series. Soul of Fire is a high fantasy epic adventure. This book is 50% more political than the other book so far, which the others have more of a mix of politics, adventure, romance and religion. This book toys with the reader, for the first time since the beginning of the series the three main characters are all together, Zedd, Kahlan, and Richard, and this moment last 20 -30 pages and their separated. I wanted this moment to last a lot longer. In Soul of the Fire the main characters of the series are side characters as Goodkind introduces three character we’ve never met before, and follow more than are main characters. These new character eventually grew on me but the needed to be broken up the with the characters we know especially when they get introduced, for the first 300 pages of the book we spent 90 pages with our heroes Kahlan, Zedd, and Richard, and spend the other 210 pages with completely new characters Beata, Fitch and Dalton. It wasn’t as bad as the Matrix following Kid, but it’s not great Beata and Fitch are pretty annoying. Dalton has one heck of an arc and my favorite of the new characters, his action in the finale are wild and really good writing. I liked the overall plots that we got with Richard and Kahlan. The plot will have some rolling of the eye’s I’m talking about you possessed chicken that’s not really a chicken. This was my least favorite book so far in the series, I hope it goes to concentrating on the central characters. Where the end of the book left off it seems like it will.

Below are the plots for the Sword of Truth series so far it could spoil plots of the whole series, be warned, but if you have read the series this mini – plots will remind you.

The Plot of Wizard’s First Rule: Richard Cypher is a wood guide that that has recently lost his father to a brutal murder with no suspects. His father and him had a code where one would leave an item in a jar my the door, the item is a rare vine that should not grow in his land. Richard is on a mission to find the vine and it takes him on the outskirts of the boundary of Westland. While investigating he finds a beautiful woman, Kahlan being chased by four big men. Richard knowing the trails can get to the woman first. He gets to the woman first and ends up defending her and defeating the men. they become fast friends as the woman in mystified by Richard and the way he treats her, it is revealed she is from the other side of the boundary, the Midlands, the boundary is protected by miles of border wall of the underworld, and not used to the kindness from men. Richard takes her to an old healer/ cloud reader friend, Zedd. Quickly Richard finds out that his old friend is not what he seems but a powerful wizard, one of the last of his kind. Kahlan is very important to the cause and Richard is special and anointed the Seeker of Truth, which comes with a powerful weapon the Sword of Truth that is a powerful magical item that focuses emotion into the blade. Richard finds out the true nature of the world that there is a Threat in Darken Rahl that involves tearing down the boundaries and ruling the world. It is up to Kahlan, Zedd and Richard to stop him.

The Plot of Stone of Tears: The Plot: Two days after Richard defeated Darken Rahl. A creature from the underworld has escaped and it wants to mark Richard so he can open the underworld for the Keeper. Zedd deals with these creatures first and must find Richard and seek side in closing the veil to the underworld. Richard and Kahlan are returning a boy back to the mud people when a creature from the underworld comes for them. They defeat the creature but Richard gets migraines that make it feel like his head will explode they keep getting worse and worse. He meets 3 Sisters of Light that day they can help him but they must collar him and own him to teach him to control his new magic. He refuses and the sister creates suicide right then and there, saying that was chance one you will have two more chances to get help of you do note, you will die.

The Plot for Blood of the Fold: A funeral is held at the Palace of the Prophets for the Prelate and the Prophet. They were burned by Sisters of the Dark who have infiltrated the Sisters of the Light. Sister Verna who is the a good Sister of the Light and a friend to Richard Rahl the Seeker of Truth, is set up to be the new Prelate she doesn’t know if this is for real or a trick of the Sisters of the Dark, the prophesies foretold that the false Prelate will destroy the Palace of the Prophets. She believes this to be free when she unravels a conspiracy that makes the prophesy come to pass. Richard having just came from seeing Kahlan and confirming she is alive when the world thinks she is dead. Richard waits at the Mother Confesser’s temple and fights the Mriswith a deadly snake like creatures that he saw and killed in the old world but has never seen one in this world. The Mriswith have now started to plague the land, they are being lead by something Richard must find out. Richard has started to embrace the Rahl part of his name he believes that the only way to unite the Midlands is be the supreme ruler, with all of Midland under his rule. He tries for peace by strong arming The Blood the Fold leader, the very same man who thinks he murdered Kahlan, but the Mriswith help him as their ruler wants him to live, and has a purpose for him. The ruler is known as the Dreamwalker and quickly takes over the Sister of the Dark and the Blood of the Fold, he wants Richard defeated and the Palace of the Prophets to be his especially the slow aging spell attached to it. Richard and Verna must fight the Dreamwalker on to different fronts.

The Plot for Temple of the Winds: Richard and Kahlan are finally reunited and talking wedding. They get three very special visitors One is a man claiming to be Richard’s brother an illegitimate son of Richard’s father Darken Rahl. The second visitor is Nadine a girl from Richard’s village who was sent by the witch woman Shota to marry Richard. The final visitor is an assassin who’s job it is to kill Richard. Through interrogation of the assassin they find that he was not alone, and with a sister of the dark that work for the Dreamwalker. The Sister has started a plague which starts a prophesy for Richard if he does nothing millions will die, if he wants to fight Kahlan will betray him . and Ricard will be no more. When the first victim of the plague dies his spirt takes over his body and talks about the winds This leads them to find out of a spiritual place called the Temple of the Winds that could hold the key to the cure and stop the plague. The price to enter the Temple of the Winds might be too high?

The Plot for this book Soul of the Fire: Richard and Kahlan are finally married by the Mud People and has reunited with Zedd. The wedding bliss does not last long as Richard feels something not right…with a chicken. This isn’t the only thing two of the Mud People children has died by mysterious circumstances, and everyone with magic has started to lose it. Zedd ask Richard and Kahlan about the Chimes, the beings from the underworld that saved the world from the dark magical plague, the Chimes manifest in water, air, and fire . Zedd fraked out that Kahlan said them out loud, but in his research the Chimes can only stay in this world if called by the third wife, Kahlan is Richard’s second since he was married to Nadine in the last book and did not last. Zedd with prelate Ann knows that somehow the Chimes are here but he knows Ricard will be safe in the Wizards Keep, so he makes up a creature the Lurk and fakes an illness so Richard and Kahlan will race off to the Keep while Zedd can defeat it. On Richard’s way to the keep he runs into Du Chaillu a slave girl he was chained to and saved, she comes to Richard pregnant and calls him her husband, with her rules they are married. The Chimes are in this world.

What I Liked: There’s is one heck of an epically brutal battle that the reader is not expecting, and it is great. I liked the arc of Dalton’s character and what he does in the finale, I like how the reader finds out about it later and has to put it together. I liked what happened with Zedd’s character, I figured out the one twist but I liked it anyway. I liked the some of the politics over all I felt it was too much, but I liked what the politics were about. I did like the history between the Harkens and the Anders. I did like the humorous scenarios with the third wife revealed.

What I Disliked: The chicken that is not really a chicken is just dumb and the jump the shark moment for this series. Focusing on characters that we’ve never been introduced to before, and giving them what felt like more time than the heroes of the series. Too many politics, some was good but too much dedicated to the towns politics. The new character scenes were too long a lot of plot points ended up not mattering where the characters ended up.

Recommendation: This is the first book that has disappointed me, it is the second lowest rated in the series on Goodreads so hopefully this is a fluke and not a trend. I recommend the series but this book is not good but it is important to the story so or that reason I will recommend it. I rated Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind 3 out of 5 stars.