Robert Jordan died.

[Bostaevski]

Sorry I wasn't attacking you personally

If you go on Amazon and look at the 1-star reviews, that's how I felt about this series. I would say read the first 3 or 4 books if you must.

Generally the stories have enough potential to keep the books interesting but the problem is how Goodkind goes about writing them.

Here's someone's review of Temple of the Winds and it pretty well sums up the things about these books that just infuriate me

[ QUOTE ]

To design characters: Make up names, give them different clothes and genders, and then make sure they all act the same. All should be incredibly stubborn, to the point of abandoning any sense of self-preservation.

For conversations that will flesh out your flimsy plot: All of your stubborn characters should argue with each other for as long as possible before any progress is made. For example:

"I intend to raid the castle."
"All by yourself? That's stupid!"
"Stupid it may be, but I plan to raid the castle."
"You'll be killed!"
"No, I won't. Stop trying to delay me."
"I have to delay you, because otherwise, you'll be killed!"
"No I won't!"
"Yes you will!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
[Two pages later:]
"Guards! Lock her up! I'm going to raid that castle now."
"Yessir!"

This works especially well if, like Goodkind, you seem to have some sort of power/control complex and an obvious interest in BDSM. No matter how pointless the argument, if you throw in some women in skin-tight leather with flails, you'll be guaranteed the "Gor" audience, at least.

Occasionally you may write something that seems profoundly emotional to you. It might not be so obvious to your readers, though, so make sure they understand emotional states by using repetition:
"I'm going to kill her. Just give me the chance, and I'll cut her to pieces. I am filled with wrath. I'll strike her down on this very spot. Her blood will flow across the floor, because I'm so angry, I'm going to kill her." Etc. This litany may be interrupted with dialogue, so make sure to resume and repeat it in different ways until the reader gets the point.

...

Plot twists: A really good plot twist requires lots of unnecessary confusion leading to things that would have happened anyway. (Seriously! Think about it!)


[/ QUOTE ]