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Pillars of Creation

by Terry Goodkind

Reviewed by Coral


Jennsen is a woman who has lived with fear every single day of her life. She is an ungifted daughter of Darken Rahl, secreted away by her mother. They have been running from his quads ever since. Living in near isolation, they believed they may have finally found a place hidden enough to be safe. Unfortunately, Jennsen's discovery of a body of a D'Haran soldier suddenly brings the truth home, there isn't a place she can truly be safe, from any Lord Rahl. At least, that's what the voice tells her, the one telling her to claim her vengeance.  

Oba is not a very smart young man, but he shares something in common with Jennsen. He too is an ungifted child of Darken Rahl, and he too was secreted away by his mother. There is no dead soldier to disrupt his life, only a voice telling him that he is invincible, egging him into violence.  

Now, Oba and Jennsen both become unknowing pawns in the Order's war on D'Hara. Are either of them strong enough to see the truth behind the Order's lies? Or will their respective fear and greed cost Kahlan and Richard their lives?

I was not looking forward to reading this book again. I hated it the first time round. Surprisingly I didn't hate it as much the second time. It's definitely a book that improves with a second reading, because this time you know what you're in for. Last time I was waiting for the story to get to Richard and Kahlan, this time I knew they weren't going to be a part of the story until the very end, so I was less annoyed with the book.

Despite that, I still found it hard to care about Jennsen and Oba's stories. They're not the characters I'm reading this series for. I think their stories might have worked better if they weren't so self-contained, if it had been introduced a few books back. Then more time could have been spent building up Jennsen's character, so her revelations aren't so rushed, that everything isn't discovered in a murder-mystery like monologue/confrontation scene.

Grade: C