The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Heart of Black Ice is the fourth book in the Sister of Darkness cycle by Terry Goodkind. Released 21st Jan 2020 from Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 528 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
One of several series in the Sword of Truth universe, this cycle is an epic campaign fantasy completing (at least for the time being) Nicci, Nathan, & Bannon's story arc. There is no spoon feeding of backstory and as such, it's emphatically not a standalone. This series (one of several) contains over 2100 pages by itself and the entire world arc probably contains well over 10,000 pages of content at this point.
Terry Goodkind is a powerhouse of a writer. He's prolific, pumping out an amazing oeuvre in the 2.5 decades since Wizard's First Rule dropped in 1994. The books have proven to be solidly popular since then with a body of work that is impressive by any standards.
For readers who have gotten to this point in the series, this is more of the same (and better than the previous book which was sadly a low-hurdle exercise). For readers unfamiliar with Goodkind or this universe and magic system, I recommend starting with Wizard's First Rule.
I recommend it to fans of "hard" campaign fantasy books shaped like bricks who are already invested in the series. The books are written for them. The book (indeed the series) is full of harsh objectivist philosophy and shades-of-evil which grated on me after a while. I found the experience grueling. There are graphic descriptions of body horror, torture, threatened sexual abuse, cannibalism, etc which I found I needed to skim over (yes, it's mostly done by the really bad guys, but in nauseatingly detailed descriptions).
Three stars for me, likely four+ for fans who are already invested. I've been around since book one in 1994, but I honestly don't know if I'll continue with the author.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
Heart of Black Ice is the fourth book in the Sister of Darkness cycle by Terry Goodkind. Released 21st Jan 2020 from Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 528 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
One of several series in the Sword of Truth universe, this cycle is an epic campaign fantasy completing (at least for the time being) Nicci, Nathan, & Bannon's story arc. There is no spoon feeding of backstory and as such, it's emphatically not a standalone. This series (one of several) contains over 2100 pages by itself and the entire world arc probably contains well over 10,000 pages of content at this point.
Terry Goodkind is a powerhouse of a writer. He's prolific, pumping out an amazing oeuvre in the 2.5 decades since Wizard's First Rule dropped in 1994. The books have proven to be solidly popular since then with a body of work that is impressive by any standards.
For readers who have gotten to this point in the series, this is more of the same (and better than the previous book which was sadly a low-hurdle exercise). For readers unfamiliar with Goodkind or this universe and magic system, I recommend starting with Wizard's First Rule.
I recommend it to fans of "hard" campaign fantasy books shaped like bricks who are already invested in the series. The books are written for them. The book (indeed the series) is full of harsh objectivist philosophy and shades-of-evil which grated on me after a while. I found the experience grueling. There are graphic descriptions of body horror, torture, threatened sexual abuse, cannibalism, etc which I found I needed to skim over (yes, it's mostly done by the really bad guys, but in nauseatingly detailed descriptions).
Three stars for me, likely four+ for fans who are already invested. I've been around since book one in 1994, but I honestly don't know if I'll continue with the author.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
xaryon's review
3.0
The story by itself was good and would have been better if it hadn't been told twice before. Yet another ancient army of overwhelming odds rising up to continue a war that was started over a thousand years ago. This army only had two sorceresses as their main magic while the defenders had many more... with experience fighting against a larger force (that seemed to have forgotten their tactics) which should have been able to make short work of the larger force who had never seen such tactics in their own war (as they were stone statues for a thousand years).
By itself, it was a great story and written rather well. As part of a series, it just felt like Terry ran out of ideas, like a television series that has run longer than it should have.
By itself, it was a great story and written rather well. As part of a series, it just felt like Terry ran out of ideas, like a television series that has run longer than it should have.
haenri's review against another edition
3.0
Without any doubt, the weakest of the series so far.
At times, down right boring. Which is a first for me with T. GOODKIND work.
I feel like it was a deep error to manage so many narration threads at a time.
Plus, so far, the tandem Nicci/Nathan was the charm of this spinoff.
Making them spend so much time appart, diminishing Nicci’s presence, multiplying action of tertiary characters didn’t pay off at all.
And at last, the villains, the umpteenth villains of the saga are weak sauce. The previous ones were archetypal big bads but T. GOODKIND succeeded in giving each one a special trait, reinventing their villainy. Whereas Utros, and the twins, are just meh. Grieve is a slaps-head...
Too bad. I needed a good read to escape the political turmoil of these days...
At times, down right boring. Which is a first for me with T. GOODKIND work.
I feel like it was a deep error to manage so many narration threads at a time.
Plus, so far, the tandem Nicci/Nathan was the charm of this spinoff.
Making them spend so much time appart, diminishing Nicci’s presence, multiplying action of tertiary characters didn’t pay off at all.
And at last, the villains, the umpteenth villains of the saga are weak sauce. The previous ones were archetypal big bads but T. GOODKIND succeeded in giving each one a special trait, reinventing their villainy. Whereas Utros, and the twins, are just meh. Grieve is a slaps-head...
Too bad. I needed a good read to escape the political turmoil of these days...
ocean_the_reader's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't like that Verna was killed off. I thought that was unnecessary. And the ending wasn't realistic because Richard sent the Imperial Order and anyone who held that belief to another world. It was well written and well paced.
haenri's review against another edition
3.0
Without any doubt, the weakest of the series so far.
At times, down right boring. Which is a first for me with T. GOODKIND work.
I feel like it was a deep error to manage so many narration threads at a time.
Plus, so far, the tandem Nicci/Nathan was the charm of this spinoff.
Making them spend so much time appart, diminishing Nicci’s presence, multiplying action of tertiary characters didn’t pay off at all.
And at last, the villains, the umpteenth villains of the saga are weak sauce. The previous ones were archetypal big bads but T. GOODKIND succeeded in giving each one a special trait, reinventing their villainy. Whereas Utros, and the twins, are just meh. Grieve is a slaps-head...
Too bad. I needed a good read to escape the political turmoil of these days...
At times, down right boring. Which is a first for me with T. GOODKIND work.
I feel like it was a deep error to manage so many narration threads at a time.
Plus, so far, the tandem Nicci/Nathan was the charm of this spinoff.
Making them spend so much time appart, diminishing Nicci’s presence, multiplying action of tertiary characters didn’t pay off at all.
And at last, the villains, the umpteenth villains of the saga are weak sauce. The previous ones were archetypal big bads but T. GOODKIND succeeded in giving each one a special trait, reinventing their villainy. Whereas Utros, and the twins, are just meh. Grieve is a slaps-head...
Too bad. I needed a good read to escape the political turmoil of these days...
andydcaf2d's review against another edition
3.0
Sad to see that series end, even though some of the writing was getting rather repetitive. Be interesting to see if he picks it up from another POV.
More...