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Product Description
Review
‘Few writers have Goodkind’s power of creation’
Publishing News
‘Goodkind’s greatest triumph: the ability to introduce instantly identifiable characters. His heroes, like us, are not perfect. Instead, each is flawed in ways that strengthen rather than weaken their impact.’
SFX
‘A real born storyteller'
Anne McCaffrey
'Everything one could ask for in an epic fantasy'
Publishers Weekly
Product Description
A new Kahlan and Richard fantasy novel from bestselling author, Terry Goodkind.
An accident leads to the discovery of a mysterious machine that has rested hidden deep underground for countless millennia. The machine awakens to begin issuing a series of increasingly alarming, if minor, omens. The omens turn out to be astonishingly accurate, and ever more ominous.
As Zedd tries to figure out how to destroy the sinister device, the machine issues a cataclysmic omen involving Richard and Kahlan, foretelling an impending event beyond anyone’s ability to stop. As catastrophe approaches, the machine then reveals that it is within its power to withdraw the omen . . . In exchange for an impossible demand.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Terry Goodkind, the marmite of fantasy fiction, returns back to the world of the Sword of Truth series with a new adventure revolving around the main protagonists Richard and Kahlan, as well as fan favourites Zedd, Nicci and Nathan, not to mention every sadomasochist's wet dream, the Mord-Sith. If you are even considering reading this then, like me, you have followed Richard and Kahlan through the previous 12 novels and at this stage you will probably read anything Terry Goodkind churns out without a second thought to its quality.
The Omen Machine takes place a day after the events of Confessor and marks the start of a new focus for the series following Richard and Kahlan's triumph over the Imperial Order. Shockingly enough, the book revolves around a newly discovered machine that spouts out increasingly dire prophecies that has everyone in a panic.
Looking firstly at what's good with the book, it is actually very readable and will have you finishing it within several hours. Terry has done away with the usual 20-page morality lectures and in it's place is a fairly well-paced novel that continually builds on the suspense. Additionally, we get to see and learn much more about D'Hara than ever before.
However, there is also the bad to contend with, and unfortunately there's a lot of it. Firstly, the book is frustratingly short and ends incredibly abruptly. Although this makes for a fast-paced novel and strongly indicates further sequels, the book loses that feeling of epicness that you'd find in the other books in the series especially the earlier ones. Additionally, almost 99% of the novel occurs in the People's Palace, further reducing that epic feeling. The Sword of Truth world is a fascinating place and it's a shame we aren't allowed to revisit some of our favourite places. Another problem is the problem with Terry's writing in general, he treats the reader as if they are mentally handicapped by having pages of dialogue where the characters continually repeat simple points until even Elmo off Sesame Street is up to speed. Finally, Nicci, the best character in my opinion, is criminally underused and gets little page time and Shota (another favourite) doesn't even get a mention.
If you've stuck with Terry Goodkind this long then a review won't really sway your mind. You already know his weaknesses and that at times he can't write to save his life (The Law of Nines anyone?), but you also know he is capable of excellent fantasy, as the early novels prove, and that on rare occasions he even shows real genius as seen with Faith of the Fallen. This is not one of those occasions, but like all fans we will keep funding his money-making scheme until we hit gold.
The Omen Machine takes place a day after the events of Confessor and marks the start of a new focus for the series following Richard and Kahlan's triumph over the Imperial Order. Shockingly enough, the book revolves around a newly discovered machine that spouts out increasingly dire prophecies that has everyone in a panic.
Looking firstly at what's good with the book, it is actually very readable and will have you finishing it within several hours. Terry has done away with the usual 20-page morality lectures and in it's place is a fairly well-paced novel that continually builds on the suspense. Additionally, we get to see and learn much more about D'Hara than ever before.
However, there is also the bad to contend with, and unfortunately there's a lot of it. Firstly, the book is frustratingly short and ends incredibly abruptly. Although this makes for a fast-paced novel and strongly indicates further sequels, the book loses that feeling of epicness that you'd find in the other books in the series especially the earlier ones. Additionally, almost 99% of the novel occurs in the People's Palace, further reducing that epic feeling. The Sword of Truth world is a fascinating place and it's a shame we aren't allowed to revisit some of our favourite places. Another problem is the problem with Terry's writing in general, he treats the reader as if they are mentally handicapped by having pages of dialogue where the characters continually repeat simple points until even Elmo off Sesame Street is up to speed. Finally, Nicci, the best character in my opinion, is criminally underused and gets little page time and Shota (another favourite) doesn't even get a mention.
If you've stuck with Terry Goodkind this long then a review won't really sway your mind. You already know his weaknesses and that at times he can't write to save his life (The Law of Nines anyone?), but you also know he is capable of excellent fantasy, as the early novels prove, and that on rare occasions he even shows real genius as seen with Faith of the Fallen. This is not one of those occasions, but like all fans we will keep funding his money-making scheme until we hit gold.
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This review will pain me as I love (and I mean LOVED) the original sword of truth book series... I'm sorry for what I'm about to say Mr Goodkind!
First off I must start by saying that this book is fairly short and is NOT worth the £9.99 I paid for the kindle verion (more on this later).
The book was ok, I managed to read it in just under an evening (4 ish hours with breaks etc).
I think its about 500 or so pages but the text is very large and in reality, I think this might push its luck to clock in at 300 pages.
Also while there are 60 ish chapters, they are very short.
The story itself is actually fairly generic as far as a SoT novel goes. It seems a little formulaic:
1) Something occurs that people can't figure out
2) Richard broods, raptor glares.
3) Generic bad guy who is the most dangerous person evaaar makes an appearance.
4) People say that the situation is impossible. Cue general hand wringing etc.
5) Richard figures everything out and makes the bad thing go away.
I would find this hard to reccomend to someone unless they are a hardcore fan of the series and then, they should show caution. The usual cast turn up but some of them do seem out of charector sometimes.
Regarding the kindle pricing, £9.99 is way too much for an ebook! I'm sorry I paid it, I should have waited a few weeks till my local library had it in stock!
First off I must start by saying that this book is fairly short and is NOT worth the £9.99 I paid for the kindle verion (more on this later).
The book was ok, I managed to read it in just under an evening (4 ish hours with breaks etc).
I think its about 500 or so pages but the text is very large and in reality, I think this might push its luck to clock in at 300 pages.
Also while there are 60 ish chapters, they are very short.
The story itself is actually fairly generic as far as a SoT novel goes. It seems a little formulaic:
1) Something occurs that people can't figure out
2) Richard broods, raptor glares.
3) Generic bad guy who is the most dangerous person evaaar makes an appearance.
4) People say that the situation is impossible. Cue general hand wringing etc.
5) Richard figures everything out and makes the bad thing go away.
I would find this hard to reccomend to someone unless they are a hardcore fan of the series and then, they should show caution. The usual cast turn up but some of them do seem out of charector sometimes.
Regarding the kindle pricing, £9.99 is way too much for an ebook! I'm sorry I paid it, I should have waited a few weeks till my local library had it in stock!
28 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
... but I was surprised by the Omen Machine. Mainly pleasantly, but surprised nevertheless.
At first I thought it was shorter than Goodkind's Sword of Truth offerings. Having re-checked Confessor and Phantom, it would appear I was correct. At 525 pages of story (not sure where Amazon gets the 608 from), and with larger and wider spaced text, it is more compact than Sword of Truth novels. And you can tell.
Don't get me wrong - OM (Omen Machine) is a great novel. But in the rich deep world that Goodkind created for the SoT series, characters and relationships were built up - the gradual carving of characters in Wizard's First Rule was what turned me in to a raging fantasy fiction fan. All those core characters carry through in to OM, but something seems... wrong.
The core story is, as you can obviously surmise from the title, based around a machine that produces omens and, basically, causes havoc. With some Hamlet-esque witchery thrown in. Throughout the entire novel, there is an intense focus on prophecy which is unprecedented compared to SoT books, because "normal" people are asking about it - in previous books, people were too scared to. I couldn't understand if it was the guise of 'peace' that made the majority of normal people feel empowered to start back-chatting to the Lord Rahl and Mother Confessor, but Terry appears to be asking readers to take a lot of this new move in opinion / politics on strength, as opposed to carefully crafting the world like he did in previous books. The book is highly readable, so I suspect it's a move that is going to pay off - even if some of the language he uses in a fantasy world is quite modern (Kahlan saying "game on" ...)
I was also surprised by the heavy focus on the occult, but this is all based in D'Hara which has not been heavily explored in the SoT so it is interesting to see their characters and cultures examined more closely.
All in all the Omen Machine is a great page turner - I was delighted to have my hands on a Richard and Kahlan novel again, and literally did not put the thing down until I'd finished it. I will read it again, to appreciate the change of direction - but a change of direction there is. I was left mildly disappointed by the stunted finale, almost as if Terry Goodkind either a) rushed the ending or b) has left a *lot* of juicy stuff for the start of the next novel.
All I know is that you *should* buy this - read for yourself and find out, and I can't wait for the next one to come out. If you haven't read the Sword of Truth series, then well, you should :) but major events which are key to this novel are explained, so you can buy and read this without feeling lost.
p.s a lot of the self righteous soliloquy is missing in this one. Maybe that's why it's shorter - and eminently more readable! :)
At first I thought it was shorter than Goodkind's Sword of Truth offerings. Having re-checked Confessor and Phantom, it would appear I was correct. At 525 pages of story (not sure where Amazon gets the 608 from), and with larger and wider spaced text, it is more compact than Sword of Truth novels. And you can tell.
Don't get me wrong - OM (Omen Machine) is a great novel. But in the rich deep world that Goodkind created for the SoT series, characters and relationships were built up - the gradual carving of characters in Wizard's First Rule was what turned me in to a raging fantasy fiction fan. All those core characters carry through in to OM, but something seems... wrong.
The core story is, as you can obviously surmise from the title, based around a machine that produces omens and, basically, causes havoc. With some Hamlet-esque witchery thrown in. Throughout the entire novel, there is an intense focus on prophecy which is unprecedented compared to SoT books, because "normal" people are asking about it - in previous books, people were too scared to. I couldn't understand if it was the guise of 'peace' that made the majority of normal people feel empowered to start back-chatting to the Lord Rahl and Mother Confessor, but Terry appears to be asking readers to take a lot of this new move in opinion / politics on strength, as opposed to carefully crafting the world like he did in previous books. The book is highly readable, so I suspect it's a move that is going to pay off - even if some of the language he uses in a fantasy world is quite modern (Kahlan saying "game on" ...)
I was also surprised by the heavy focus on the occult, but this is all based in D'Hara which has not been heavily explored in the SoT so it is interesting to see their characters and cultures examined more closely.
All in all the Omen Machine is a great page turner - I was delighted to have my hands on a Richard and Kahlan novel again, and literally did not put the thing down until I'd finished it. I will read it again, to appreciate the change of direction - but a change of direction there is. I was left mildly disappointed by the stunted finale, almost as if Terry Goodkind either a) rushed the ending or b) has left a *lot* of juicy stuff for the start of the next novel.
All I know is that you *should* buy this - read for yourself and find out, and I can't wait for the next one to come out. If you haven't read the Sword of Truth series, then well, you should :) but major events which are key to this novel are explained, so you can buy and read this without feeling lost.
p.s a lot of the self righteous soliloquy is missing in this one. Maybe that's why it's shorter - and eminently more readable! :)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good Read, but Not What I'd Hoped For
Goodkind begins The Omen Machine like the other books in his series. Something crazy happens to the main characters to make the reader say, "Oh crap, not again! Read more
Published 29 days ago by Kirkus MacGowan
The Omen Machine
This book under the pen of Terry Goodkind is up to the normal standard expected fom this writer and I am looking forweard to reading the next episode in this series.
Published 3 months ago by des sturges
Unxpected Sword of Truth Continuation
(Review may contain spoilers, but I will attempt to keep them small)
The Omen Machine is effectively the twelfth novel in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, which... Read more
The Omen Machine is effectively the twelfth novel in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, which... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Adam Gardiner
felt like something was missing
The book was a good read but it didn't feel like it had the strength of his previous books. The ending felt rushed and didn't feel up to par when compared to his other books.
Published 4 months ago by steelman
Oh Dear Terry Not great
OK,have read the whole Sword of Truth series and was expecting considerably more from this latest offering, but what we received was a laboured effort to make a story out of a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by wilsosd
How much?
Why on earth is a Kindle book £3 more than the paperback? I know you have to pay VAT on eBooks but that does not make up the difference. Read more
Published 5 months ago by JB
Love the series But ...
I love love love the Sword of Truth Series, and when i heard Terry Goodkind had written another Richard and Khalan novel i was over the moon. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ms. J. Moss
should it have ended in the garden of life?
if you've spent your time reading the 11 books then you know terry goodkind is a brilliant author who was able to produce amazing characters and a story that seemed to go on... Read more
Published 6 months ago by dydey
Not his best, but its a step forward.
Well what can i say about this book. I can start by saying it is not his worst. It did stimulate lengthly debate in a circle of us TG readers, and this is collectively what we came... Read more
Published 7 months ago by David Birse
Good start to a new Series
Great to read more about Richard & Kalhlan and the rest of the Gang. Though I was a little disappointed to realise this is not a stand alone novel, but the beginning of another... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Fil
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