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GOODKIND VIII: It's Not Terrorism If We Do It!


Werthead

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Based on my experience with TG, and his wonderful works, I'm going to speculate that these brain-washed kids have one of two futures ahead of them:

1. Richard will give a long-winded speech, reminding them of who they were and condemning them and their deeds. The children will argue back, half-assed. Richard will give some sort of retort that displays his sole grip on moral clarity that everyone else lacks. The children become sad/remorseful, and are formed into some sort of stupid crack suicide squad to wreak havoc on the Imperial order. They all die, yet are somewhat redeemed in the reader's eyes (but probably not Lord Rahl's: after all, those dern kids strayed from the truth, regardless of the cause).

2. Richard will give a long-winded speech, reminding them of who they were and condemning them and their deeds. The children will argue back, half-assed. Richard will give some sort of retort that displays his sole grip on moral clarity that everyone else lacks. The children become angry, and attack Richard. They all die when Richard goes all raging Highlander on them and shit. The discerning reader feels sick to stomach, the TG fantard rejoices at the moral justice meted out.

I personally think it may end up being a combination, where some of them feel bad, and form a suicide squad to attack the Order, while the rest just get slaughtered by Richard and/or their old countrymen.

Stupid teenagers, joining the Order just to fit in and all.

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So in summary, Richard will make a long-winded speech.

then remorseless violence ensues.

:o

Yup, the best part is that it would be a total surprise. Nobody would ever see it coming.

But are children capable of the moral clarity that Richard espouses? The kid in Naked Empire seemed to figure it out after Richard threatened his life, so maybe that's the key. The kids will come around to Richard's way of thinking once they realize that the alternative is death.

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Not just remorseless violence...remorseless violence against people who don't know the Truth like Richard knows the Truth!

And as Naked Empire, Chainfire, and Phantom seem to prove with increasing regularity, the speeches get just more long-winded. Plus sometimes he'll have a farcical "debate" where someone asks a question, and Richard verbally commits remorseless violence all over their non-Truth-Lovin asses.

And yes, then the non-verbal remorseless violence ensues. I guess those 2 sentences sum up exactly what SoT is all about.

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“Well, from the very first, the boys had been gathered together and organized by age into groups of what I can only describe as boy recruits.

Won't someone think of the children? Why, oh why, won't an editor think of the readers??? :x

Moose, saw your Amazon review. Good stuff. I was struck that the following 2 reviews had a 4 and 5 stars respectively, but the person who gave it 4 stars did indicate they were a little upset that the book wasn't up to the standards they'd come to expect...it started out like it was gonna be a bad review, but ended with, "still LOVING it!"...I turned away then...

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The kids will come around to Richard's way of thinking once they realize that the alternative is death.

Cake or Death!

Ah, another Yeard antithesis (cross-dressing british comedian) speaks Yeardian truth-to-power years before the Yeard articulates it himself.

Moose -- can you help me out? How far are you into the book? And how much do these slices you've given us really integrate into the whole?

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Moose -- can you help me out? How far are you into the book? And how much do these slices you've given us really integrate into the whole?

I finished the book yesterday, then had a stiff drink.

Sadly there isn't that much more to say as far as the plot goes. There are still more stupid quotes to post, but basically the whole book breaks down like this:

- Richard is still looking for Kahlan

- everybody talks way too much

- Chase gets hurt and Rachel gets kidnapped

- a witch named Six (thats right, Six) makes an appearance (she's another bad guy)

- Kahlan gets captured by Jagang (but she still doesn't know who she is, but Jagang does)

- Richard loses his powers

- Richard finds a book

- the night wisps are dying

- Violet comes back, with a new tongue. She's still a spoiled brat.

- Richard gets captured by the Order, nobody there knows who he is.

- all of these events could have been interesting, but none of them were.

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Damn it...I really was terribly suprised that Phantom contained something like:

-Richard losing his powers

-Richard and/or Kahlan getting captured

-Richard finding a book

The depths of TG's boundless imagination...one hardly knows where he comes up with all these crazy scenarios! I'm kind of wondering, with only one more book on the way, what sort of deus ex machina, contrived way that Richard is going to use to bring down the Empire...if in fact he does.

Can anyone else picture SoT ending with Richard and friends losing/dying, as an object lesson to everyone that communism will win unless we force our moral clarity on others immediately?

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Yup, it all came completely out of left field and left me stunned at the twists and turns. A real roller coaster ride of thrills, chills, and kills.

I predict that the final book will have Richard being revealed to the world as the Creator within the first hundred pages, everybody in both the new and old worlds will bow down before him, and the remaining 500 pages will be Richard giving one long speech justifying everything he's ever done as being moral, and commanding everyone to be like him. An Objectivist Utopia ensues.

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I finished the book yesterday, then had a stiff drink.

Sadly there isn't that much more to say as far as the plot goes. There are still more stupid quotes to post, but basically the whole book breaks down like this:

- a witch named Six (thats right, Six) makes an appearance (she's another bad guy)

So, to recap: we have a character named Baraccus, yes? And now we have a character named Six. Dare I ask if she's really tall and blonde? Can we expect characters named Riker, Mal and Apu any time soon?

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Actually Xray, Six is a more stereotypical witch. Long stringy black hair (no pointy cap or warts though) parched skin, creepy eyes. A nasty piece of work. Unlike Shota who is always described as lush and beautiful. Apart from the sexual violence, this is the only other way to tell who the bad guys are. The good guys are all good looking.

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I like Shota. Not only does she look like Jessica Rabbit, but she's maybe the only one who doesn't play by TG's rules, even in his own story .... like she has a life of her own, you know, a true book character <gasp>

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I wouldn't give Shota's character too much credit. All she really does is show up to give her little prophecies (which always turn out differently than expected *gasp*), flirt with Richard, make a few threats, and go home. The reason she doesn't get more involved is because her prophetic ability is always clear that only Richard can save the world. So she tells him that and leaves him to it.

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- Violet comes back, with a new tongue. She's still a spoiled brat.

Query: Who do you think forgot first that Violet lost her tongue to the fury of Richard's thing? Terry himself or his editor? Or did they both just see a wall papered with Benjamin Franklins and they just didn't care?

And I'm also struck, every time I see her name, to call her "Violence" not "Violet"...

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Well, compared to the rest, it's pretty awesome. Besides she's neither "evil" nor on Richard's side; I'm of course talking about the series, not compared to real books at all, obviously.

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Dammit, I thought this was supposed to be the last book! I was expecting a great and glorious deus ex machina to come and save Richard's paltry army from utter destruction, while they revelled in the burning piles of infidel corpses - like, Richard suddenly finds out he is the great-grandson of the Creator or something and ascends to godhood. Now feel my wrath! etc. This doesn't happen? Just some lame cliffhanger with Richard being captured? Boo-oring.

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Query: Who do you think forgot first that Violet lost her tongue to the fury of Richard's thing? Terry himself or his editor? Or did they both just see a wall papered with Benjamin Franklins and they just didn't care?

And I'm also struck, every time I see her name, to call her "Violence" not "Violet"...

Its hard to say, since her return is absolutely pointless. It does nothing for the story except create a lame way to introduce Six. Typical hamfisted stunt by Terry (BBNC). I was sure that she was going to be killed by Richard, but it doesn't happen, he doesn't finish the job. Sorry folks.

I also want to call her Violence without really thinking about it.

Just some lame cliffhanger with Richard being captured? Boo-oring.

The cliffhanger is even lamer than you can imagine, but you'll have to wait for it in the QotD. :D

Well, compared to the rest, it's pretty awesome. Besides she's neither "evil" nor on Richard's side; I'm of course talking about the series, not compared to real books at all, obviously.

Fair enough, compared to the rest of the characters she has a bit of depth (a tiny bit), but only compared to them. Maybe she stands out because she doesn't blab on and on about life and liberty etc. ad nauseum.

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I could be wrong about this, but I believe Mystar said a while back that the Chainfire Trilogy wraps up the 'story arc' ( :o ) begun in WFR. There will be more books set in the same world (shivers).

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