How many books have you eaten in the past year?

[CanuckAmok]

Well, fatso?

[Occulus]

1. All of Goodkind's

Sword of Truth series, and MAN do I gotta poop....

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

2. You mean you made it through "Naked Empre" without gagging?

I couldn't get through his anti-socalist rhetoric.
I barely made it through that book, and I used to LOVE his books.

[Occulus]

3. You just gotta put the Bandarkan Empire

into context with the history of his world.

Those people are/were victims in a particularly horrible way. There are real-world synonyms for their situation.

Socialist? Well, yes, but in a mutated, twisted way. Their absolute nonviolence in every conceivable fashion rendered them vulnerable to the Order, who predictably started smashing their culture out of existence. The Bandarkans wouldn't even fight for their own survival. Any of us would do that in a heartbeat.

I do find it veeeerrrrry peculiar, however, that there was a fourth barrier. I hope he solves that continuity conflict.

Remember, Zedd said, in Soul of the Fire, p. 43 (Tor paperback), "I used the first of the three to learn how to work the spell, how it functioned, and how to unleash it. The second I used to seperate the Midlands and D'Hara- to stop the war. The last of the three I used to partition off Westland, for those that wanted a place to live free of magic, thereby preventing an uprising against the gifted."

<snip>

"No more boundaries." Zedd threw his hands up. "That's that."

Now, how does he explain the fourth bifurcated boundary that focused the banished of the Bandarkan Empire (because, remember, they would not kill for any reason) toward the Pillars of Creation? Well, he doesn't. And that's a big continuity issue for me.

Being unable to set up another boundary is the main reason they can't easily win against Jagang. I hope Goodkind realizes this, and explains it. The way a 'spell of threes' is described, it can only be cast one time in time.... that is, a spell of threes is unique and cannot ever be cast again by anyone.

At least, that's how he made Zedd describe it.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

4. I'm sorry if I didn't get my point across.

I meant the whole New World against the Imperial Order.
The sixth book "Faith of the Fallen" showed the "evils" of the Order, which was merely another corrupt governmnet masquerading as a socialist society.
Zedd's long musing about the evils of the Order while he was wandering the Wizard's Keep told me that this would be a looong book.
I didn't mean the Bandarkan Empire. They were victims.
Apologies for not clearing up my post.

[Occulus]

7. Ah! I see what you're talking about

now.

The Imperial Order is the brainchild of one man: Emperor Jagang. Is it any coincidence that both the first dream walker and the first war wizard in three thousand years have been born into the world again at roughly the same time? I think not.

In Goodkind's world, magic must exist; as is stated in Blood of the Fold, even a newborn baby of a mother without the gift is still touched by magic, even if only for a moment. Magic is 'the force' in his world, sent by the Creator to both hold together the fabric of Creation and imprison the Keeper.

The Order wishes to extinguish all magic, and the Order's ideaology stems from the preaching of Jagang. Jagang himself takes his cues from his ancestors, those ancient dream walkers from three thousand years ago.

The war wizards and the dream walkers were really two halves of the same coin, as I understand it; after Alric Rahl cast the spell of the bond, the dream walkers were less of a threat and the war wizards as well as other wizards in the New World were able to construct the Towers of Perdition.

I don't really see a parallel between the New and Old Worlds of Goodkind's realm and our own humble little nonmagical planet. Goodkind is describing an ancient evil in the form of an ideaology rising again, and it's a threat that could tip the balance into the favor of the Keeper, and thus cast all into the underworld.

That's a bit more extreme that any socialism comparison ;)

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

9. Well, yeah.

I'm not talking about Jagang's (how do you pronounce his name?) core ideals.
I got most of that feeling from when I read "Faith of the Fallen" where Nicci was showing Richard the Imperial Order from the inside. It felt very much like a propaganda film about the Soviet Union.
That's where I get the socalism-style comparison.

[Occulus]

10. go to this thread

and we can continue there...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=422272

[Occulus]

5. seperate response because it's a different thought

I'm looking at his whole world here, the whole story, and I think the critics are going to eat crow before it's over.

Goodkind is a fantastic author. He's building an entire world, and he's currently only focusing on one continent. Maybe that's all there is to his world, but if not.... he has novel after novel after novel ahead of him.

As I was saying, my concern is the whole storyline, from Rule to Empire and on into the future. I very much want to see his magic systems and his characters tell the whole] story. I've already accepted the downpoints in the storyline as a matter of course; one must do so when consider this many books in context with the overall epic novel. And that's what this really is- a hugely detailed epic novel.

I really do hope he can complete this series. I want to see who prevails; the Order- or the House of Rahl. Only time will tell.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

6. So do I.

But I miss the fantastic world that I was introduced to. I loved the story in Wizard's First Rule and how he weaved a story with compelling characters, and a new take on magic in a fantasy world that I'd never read before.
Lately, it seems like he's running out of steam. I have two friends who've read the book and they both agree with me. We all hope he can complete the series, and we all hope it's good.
But the anti-socalist rhetoric he's starting to flood the book with is taking a toll on my paitence.

Back to the topic: Books I've eaten? Franken's "Lies...", Conasons, "Big Lies", and Moore's "Dude..."
Now I gotta go to the bathroom. Too much fiber.

[Occulus]

8. I'm starting a "Sword of Truth" thread.

I don't want to hijack this one.

[HEyHEY]

11. just got home and that post made me chuckle as soon as I saw it

:-)