Product Description

From internationally bestselling author Terry Goodkind, comes an outstanding epic adventure set in the captivating world of his classic "Sword of Truth" novels. On the day she awoke remembering nothing but her name, Kahlan Amnell became the most dangerous woman alive. For everyone else, that was the day that the world began to end. As her husband, Richard, desperately searches for his beloved, who only he remembers, he knows that if she doesn't soon discover who she really is, she will unwittingly become the instrument that will unleash annihilation. But Kahlan learns that if she ever were to unlock the truth of her lost identify, the evil itself would finally possess her, body and soul. If she is to survive in a murky world of deception and betrayal, where life is not cheap but fleeting, Kahlan must find out why she is such a central figure in the war-torn world swirling around her. What she uncovers are secrets darker than she could ever have imagined.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #205306 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 589 pages

About the Author
Goodkind was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where he also attended art school, one of his many interests on the way to becoming a writer. Besides a career in wildlife art, he has been a cabinet maker, violin maker, and he has done restoration work on rare and exotic artifacts from around the world -- each with its own story to tell, he says. In 1983 Goodkind moved to the forested mountains he loves. There, in the woods near the ocean, he built the house where he and his wife, Jeri, live, and came at last to tell his own stories.

Customer Reviews

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Well, firstly, I must say that it has been amusing to see the number of reviews written about this book before it was even released....

Anyway, so I got my hands on a copy this morning, and have spent the entire day reading it. I have to applaud Terry Goodkind on a thoroughly gripping new novel involving my favourite fantasy world.

His last few books have caused a lot of divide amongst his fans, some have been disappointed. I am, however, convinced that Phantom will see them all back hungering for more.

I assume that if you are considering purchasing this book, then you already have a good background knowledge (having read the previous 9) and would hate for me to spoil your enjoyment by telling you what happens. Just feel confident that you are really going to have a good read with this one!

I wonder where Terry will lead us into next?

Enjoy it, but maybe try not to race your way through it like I have, because now I wish I still had a few days worth of reading to enjoy.

Too much padding
I have ploughed my way through the whole series of books and this one just reinforces my view that inside this ten (so far)book series is a really great five book story. I like the characters and the story lines but Goodkind takes such a long time to move the story along. I do find myself skimming over yet another long winded passage.
One thing I did dislike in this book are the lenghty sections detailing the torure and abuse of prisoners, both men and women. Yes, I know that we have to understand the brutality of the enemy but do we really need so much detail, and do we need to be told so often? The nasty and explicit descriptions of rape and sexual abuse really did seem to be unnecessary.
I will read the next book but to be honest, I do hope that it's the final chapter and that Richard and Kahlan at last ride off into the sunset. Or maybe Richard and Nikki?

Couls have skipped the last 4 books and gone straight to here
For me, this book gets the story moving again. It starts to head towards it's conclusion and some things start to come together.

Because of the winding way that he got here, the author has to make some leaps in believability in order to find some rational reason to bring us back to where it all started (a bit like Bobby Ewings death being a dream in Dallas). No dreams here but I found some of the plotline links to previous stories incredulous.

But having said all that I found this book to have a strong pace and I always wanted to know (and cared) about what happened to each character next. If there hadn't been the previous "fillers" I think everyone would be giving this 5 stars.

So if you've stuck with the series you'll love it for getting things moving forwards again, if you got put off by books 6/7 then skip those and come back to what you know.