Posted: January 18, 2021
Soul of the Fire
"Soul of the Fire" has two main story arcs. The first one is about the Chimes and the second one is about Anderith. Ann’s quest to rescue the Sisters of the light forms a minor story arc while Zedd’s quest to deal with the Chimes himself is an even shorter arc.
The description of the Chimes that I liked best from the book was their being compared to holes in a beer barrel. The ale draining out the holes were likened to magic draining out of the world. The Chimes in the world signaled the approaching death of magic and this was shown in the book as every single magical person and artifact and creature began losing power - from Zedd, to Cara, to the Sisters of the Light.
Aside from being the bane of magic the Chimes are also revealed as evil creatures bent on murder. They have mastery over air, fire, and water.
It is unfortunate that Terry Goodkind chooses to introduce us to the Chimes by portraying a chime as a chicken at the start of the book. Yes, a chicken.I can’t help but wish that Goodkind didn’t go with this kind of beginning.
Richard is faced with a daunting task in this book: To solve a magical problem using magic. It is the fifth book in the Sword of Truth and Richard Rahl remains a war wizard full of potential but with no skills. In "Soul of the Fire" he has to somehow equal the feats of Joseph Ander, a brilliant wizard from the golden age of Aydindril. And this without the guidance of Zedd. I’m just happy that our woods guide has a bookish, scholarly side.
Dominating this book is the sovereignty of Anderith. Terry Goodkind really dwells on the political structure and social makeup of this Midlands country. A country that is the objective of both D’Hara and the Imperial Order. Surrounding Anderith is the Dominie Dirtch, a magical bulwark powered by the Chimes.
The Anderith official Dalton Campbell nearly eclipses Richard with how interestingly he was portrayed. Thoroughly amoral, ruthless, and ambitious, Terry Goodkind also reveals a more tender side to this man. He’s the best Goodkind creation so far outside of the three main characters.
This is the second consecutive Sword of Truth book that starts badly but ends strong. Once again I stayed up till the wee hours to finish the last hundred pages because I just could not drop the book at that point.
Anderith is a welcome expansion to the world of the Sword of Truth. Speaking of that world, at this point the Mud People village is really over exposed - I hope we don’t keep coming back. My big ask is that Richard gets some guidance on how to use his power, it’s book five, he needs to sling some spells.
This book, together with the previous book "Temple of the Winds", marks a step down in quality for the series.