Review of Severed Souls

Book #43. Severed Souls, by Terry Goodkind. Unabridged audio. 

I am a big fan of Terry Goodkind’s epic “Sword of Truth” series. After the 11^th and final book in that series, Goodkind wrote a mainstream thriller as a way to “break away” from his fantasy career. For whatever reason, he returned to epic fantasy a few years later, with a new “Richard and Kahlan” series, taking place after the event of “Sword of Truth,” but definitely a separate series from the former novels. 

Severed Souls is the third novel in this new series. I have reviewed the prior books, The Omen Machine and The Third Kingdom, in prior posts.

Picking up after the events of the prior novel, Richard and Kahlan find themselves just a few days away from death, victims of a deadly spell put upon them by Jit the Witch Woman. But standing between them and the only place that they can receive healing are the troublesome Bishop Hannis Arc and the ancient Emperor Sulachan. Recently brought back from the dead, Sulachan leads an army of the half-dead into the heart of D’Hara.

Our heroes hear of another nearby location where they may able to be healed, and begin a journey in that direction. Along the way, Kahlan meets a prophetess, but doesn't believe the prophecy and ignores the advice she is given. And consequences occur.

Over the course of the novel, all three of the major characters (including the Wizard Zedd) are killed. But since this is a fantasy novel, not all of them remain dead by the end of the book. I imagine that the next novel will involve the attempt at reviving any who may remain dead at the end of this book.

This second series of Goodkind began with a shorter novel, which I took as an intentional choice. As he continues on in this series, the books are more closely resembling (in length, in style, and in action) of his prior novels. And like all of Goodkind’s work, themes of self-sufficiency and individualism are clear. I am a fan of Godkind’s works, and a fan of these characters. I am finding the books in these second series entertaining and thoughtful.

source: public library