Phantom [Mass Market Paperback]

 

 

Create your own review

I picked up Wizard's First Rule when it was first published and found it to be an enjoyable fantasy novel. I have stuck with the series far longer than I should have, but by now I have too much time invested in it to stop. The story as it was has now devolved into little more than a political manifesto, a propaganda piece extolling a vile philosophy. If Faith of the Fallen had been the worst offender for characters endlessly prattling on about their love of life and liberty that would have been fine, if boring. But it has altered course in a significant way. Where once the only absurdities in these books were (to name a few) a wise-cracking dragon, a heroic talking wolf, and a chuckling chicken that is evil manifest, Mr. Goodkind has sunk to new depths. His main characters - Richard and Kahlan - are held up as paragons of virtue, and great champions of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But one sees as the story progresses that they repeatedly betray such virtues and participate enthusiastically in the very atrocities that they so boldly (and endlessly) claim to be fighting against.

What Mr. Goodkind has done in his latest installment of the Sword of Truth series is a new low. Facing insurmountable odds, our hero Richard decides that the only path to victory lies in visiting the same atrocities upon the enemy citizenry, as have been committed upon Richard's own people. Whereas some might say the plotline (such as it is) in Phantom is particularly relevant to current world events, the fact is that what the heroes in this story are engaging in on behalf of all that is good, is exactly what would be universally condemned here in real life.

The prose in Phantom is long-winded enough to destroy the New Orleans levees all over again. Goodkind has one character spend twenty pages in a row describing what she saw in the camp of the Imperial Order, and another character follows immediately with a ten page explanation of how they got that way. If the characters in these books spoke like normal people do then it would be the size of a pamphlet one could read while waiting for a bus. The action that one could previously depend on is almost non-existent in Phantom, as the characters do very little other than talk each other (and the reader) to death. The twenty page description of life with the Order could have been done much easier, for example: "Jebra spoke of the horrors she had seen in the camp during the months she had labored there. The squalor, the endless rapes of screaming women, the torture and brutality. Richard's mind reeled at what he was hearing." I make no claim to be a great writer, but I don't need twenty pages to explain that the "bad guys" are evil. Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. Mr. Goodkind has fallen into the bad habit of treating his audience like dimwitted children who must have an idea repeatedly pounded into their heads for them to grasp it. I found myself on several occasions wishing I had simply skipped an entire chapter, if only because the entire time I was reading it I kept muttering to myself "yes, I know life is good. Yes, I know the Order is evil. Get on with it." Mr. Goodkind's prose acts as a bulldozer, piling tons of rubble on top of you, distracting you from realizing that almost nothing is happening to move the plot along.

Soon this series will come to an end, and that is for the best since anything worthwhile in the story came to an end for me long ago. All I look forward to in the final installment is to see whether Richard finally realizes that he has become something no better than the evil he claims to fight against, and falls on his magic sword. Or if he will be found at the end of the story with his shiny Sword of Truth held high while standing upon a mountain of the corpses of his innocent victims.

Goodkind's first few books we're quite impressive, his characters felt human, mortals. In the last few books, I feel I'm losing interest with these peons. I'm sick of Kahlan being constantly threatened just to be saved at the last second. She's all powerfull, everyone is afraid of the mother confessor, damnit, send 5 guy's to kill her, she might get one with her power but once she's drained, beat her to death. Not going to happen, thats obvious. The characters talk too much and fail to really evolve. Goodkind should learn from authors like Steven Erikson and George R.R. Martin, you get to love someone just so you find out they die a book later, it keeps you on the edge of your seat and you never know what will actually happen.
I hoped this last issue would re-ignite my interest into the serie, but just like the 3 previous novels, its just the same old, with a slightly different plot. You want to know how this will end? Richard will slay all the bad guys and go hunting with kahlan the next day, just laffing and laffing like silly gooses they are, Carla will raise a family with lots and lots of children. By now, any other ending would satisfy me, hell, abduct them all by aliens, giraffes could take over the world, D-hara could invade the whole continent claiming weapons of mass destruction... anything
My advice, if you're tired of the serie, don't waste your cash on this, it won't rekindle the flames. An epic storyline gone sour.

Phantom is the 2nd installment in a 3-volume arc involving the abduction of Richard Rhal's wife. The author continues to excel at presenting an exciting story-line along with sympathic characters. Long-time readers of the Sword of Truth series will not be disappointed. They will, no doubt, look forward to the next, and final, tome of the long-running series.

Readers must be forwarned, however, that their enjoyment of the story will very likely be marred by a number of notable flaws. As other reviewers have mentioned, Goodkind continues to belabor his text with lengthy and repetitive sermons on his philosophy of free will and personal responsibility. Similar objections can be raised with regards to overly detailed descriptions of magical symbology and effects. The novel also contains a lengthy and distracting dipiction of the Imperial Order's sacking of a city (some things are best left to the immagination of the readers). These sections can be skipped without injury to the main narrative.

Phantom is a great story that risks being obscured by its dull and unecessary baggage. Like its predecessor volume, it would have benefited immensely from extensive editorial cuts. Indeed, it is not too hard to imagine that the 3-volume arc could have been better rendered as an entertaining single novel.

For die-hard Sword of Truth readers only.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 12 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

2.0 out of 5 stars Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, ...
To start things off, I think Terry Goodkind is a talented writer (as evidenced by his earlier works). But this book is SO wordy. Read more

Published on Mar 1 2008 by C. Toth

1.0 out of 5 stars The horse is dead, but Goodkind is still flogging
Terry Goodkind is not a terrible author, but his story lost its way books ago. The first three novels were wonderful and I have reread them each several times. Read more

Published on Jan 31 2008 by Matt

2.0 out of 5 stars As frustrating as ever
If you have gotten all the way to this book, then you are either a masochist (like me) or you consider Ayn Rand to be your personal saviour. Read more

Published on Sep 21 2007 by A reader

2.0 out of 5 stars Oh Terence - More Filler than a Hillman Imp Restoration Job
I've read each book in the Sword of Truth series and loved them all but this is by far the worst example of how Authors give in to pressure from the publishers to turn one story... Read more

Published on Aug 20 2007 by Gavin Hardcastle

4.0 out of 5 stars Best since the first titles.
I started Phantom without much enthusiasm because I really had to force my way through Chainfire, but I was pleasantly surprised. Read more

Published on Jan 7 2007 by Barxrockingm

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait for the final book!
Terry's 10th book in his Sword of Truth series adds new twists to a seemingly hopeless situation. As in all of his books, you really feel a connecion with the characters. Read more

Published on Jan 3 2007 by Charlie Flight

4.0 out of 5 stars Picked the pace back up in the series
For a series that started with the amazing Wizard's First Rule, pulled me back in with Faith of the Fallen and has gone on and on and on (not as long as Robert Jordan's Wheel of... Read more

Published on Nov 11 2006 by Larry Ketchersid

4.0 out of 5 stars Terry Goodkind's Phantom
Waited with bated breath for this book. Thought it was the last in the series, its not. Had a lot of problems with Goodkind's preachiness in this book and felt banged over the... Read more

Published on July 24 2006 by Lyn

5.0 out of 5 stars That Haunting Quality
Terry Goodkind has done a spectacular job picking up the pieces of his flagging Sword of Truth series. Read more

Published on July 12 2006 by S. Peters

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 12 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!