Once upon a time I loved this series. If you've got this far, either you still loved it, or like me at the time this book came out you were a completest. (Goodkind and LK Hamilton cured me of that with their series.) If you still loved the series thus far, I doubt this will disappoint. If you've been hanging on hoping Goodkind would somehow redeem himself, abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
Take Ja'La. A game that reminds me of ulama, played in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica to the death. Yes, it's cool, and if this were the first I'd read of Richard I'd probably find the game and Richard's role in it awesome, even if too reminiscent of the film Gladiator. But Richard-fatigue set in for me after he became the master-sculptor in Faith of the Fallen. OK, master tracker, natural leader, magical genius, but c'mon! Can we say Marty-Stu? I know we can! Not even Leonardo da Vinci was this multifaceted. On the other hand, I rather did like the ending. Goodkind painted himself into an ethical and plotting corner with The Pillars of Creation and I did like the neat way Goodkind resolved that--and tied his world to ours.
Someday I'm going to have to reread Wizard's First Rule though and see if It's still as awesome and enjoyable as I remember. Because I can't believe the same author produced something I found so good, only to wind up with something so annoyingly mediocre.
