The Third Kingdom: A Richard and Kahlan Novel

Terry Goodkind

Aug 2013 · Richard and Kahlan Book 2 · Sold by Tor Books

About this ebook

Terry Goodkind returns to the lives of Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell—in The Third Kingdom, the direct sequel to his #1 New York Times bestseller The Omen Machine.

Richard saw the point of a sword blade sticking out from between the man's shoulder blades. He spun back toward Richard after throwing the woman out the opening, ready to attack. It seemed impossible, but the man looked unaffected by the blade that had impaled him through the chest.

It was then, in the weak light from the fire pit off to the side, that Richard got his first good look at the killer.

Three knives were buried up to their brass cross-guards in the man's chest. Only the handles were showing. Richard saw, too, the broken end of a sword blade jutting out from the center of the man's chest. The point of that same blade stuck out from the man's back.

Richard recognized the knife handles. All three were the style carried by the men of the First File.

He looked from those blades that should have killed the big man, up into his face.

That was when he realized the true horror of the situation, and the reason for the unbearable stench of death.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

The Third Kingdom feels like a second draft that hasn't been hewn down yet. It has so much potential, but the lack of a strong editorial hand to counter the writer's whims is obvious at the turn of every page. Goodkind still has a lot of vivid scenes and descriptions, but gets mired down more than ever in repetition. Characters regularly spend three pages repeating the same four paragraphs, and many scenes feel like they were almost copied and pasted from his previous works. Those characters also blur together, all speaking in the same voice, but at least this problem isn't new Goodkind's readers. Occasional bursts of new clarity are a delight, too often obscured in a forest of chaff. Someone get this man an editor with heavy boots and a steel pen.

So..several times in the book they talk about how magic doesn't work against the Shun-tuk. One of the reasons Zedd, and so on left Richard and Kahlan in the wagon and ran for it, only to end up captured, was because their magic didn't work. But then once they all to get out of the caves. Suddenly everyone's magic works. Even Samantha's mother is casting magic about with no trouble . There is no explanation, no one seems surprised, nothing. It made no sense. Half the problem they where in was because they couldn't use their magic. Also, like some others said, a lot of repeat paragraphs and such through out the book. And way too many pages of Richard in the cave with Sam. Maybe should have had the other chars in the book a bit more. Spent a lot of time getting to know and love the other chars.. and they where barely in this book. And can we please get back to "heros" Seems like the bad guys provoke more of a response than anyone. I get so mad at the jerks, but then so let down because our heros never really seem to dish out the justice befitting their crimes, or even some good ole fashioned revenge. Let the weakness be losing temper instead of just getting weak.

Better than the Omen Machine, but not great. This has got to be the most repetitive book I've ever read. The author will literally write a scene, then have a character on the next few pages explain what happened in full detail. Too many parts in this book is the writer and the characters just repeating what happened. A lot of the dialogue is just bad. The new characters are pretty weak and the plot is all over the place with so many holes. Everything is made worse by how repetitive the writing is. The story was somewhat interesting, though most events happening in the world felt forced for the sake of the outcome the author wanted — most of the events did not occur naturally, if that makes any sense. For example, and I'll be vague as to avoid spoilers, a character was imprisoned for an extended period of time. The reader would assume they're only getting enough food and water to just barely survive and that they'd be extremely weak. Why is it that the second this character is free that they're able to overcome easily odds that would have overwhelmed them had they been fully rested? Also, it seems like there is no proper sense of time passing. Whenever characters travel anywhere, it's as if they arrive at their destination because it was convenient for the writer that they arrive at that time and not because it was logical. The same can be said about events happening in the background. They play out the way they do out of convenience and not because it actually makes sense in this world that was created. And a lot do behavior in this story just does not make any sense — such as how some characters are able survive or why some have some insight they shouldn't have. Just terrible, terrible writing. However, the story does pick up in the second half and it is a bit better than the Omen Machine, despite its repetitive delivery. The story and the motives driving it, though, are both weak. The only thing that kept me turning the pages is me wanting to conclude the story of Richard and Kahlan that I started when I was a kid. Not sure if the writing was always this bad or if I just grew up and was spoiled by better writers.

About the author

Terry Goodkind (1948-2020) is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. His books include the multi-volume epic fantasy Sword of Truth series -- beginning with Wizard’s First Rule, the basis for the television show Legend of the Seeker -- and related series Richard and Kahlan and The Nicci Chronicles.

Goodkind was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where he also attended art school. Alongside a career in wildlife art, he was also a cabinetmaker and a violin maker, and did restoration work on rare and exotic artifacts from around the world. In the 1990s he relocated to Nevada, where, when not writing novels, he was a racing-car enthusiast.