Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.
About the book
In the mountains of Westland, Richard Rahl has withdrawn from war to help his wife, Kahlan Amnell, recover from her injuries. Nicci, a Sister of the Dark, magically binds Kahlan's life to her own and forces Richard into the Imperial Order's homeland, intending to convert him to its doctrine of sacrifice. While he lives under the Order's rule, Kahlan and their bodyguard Cara rejoin the army resisting Emperor Jagang's invasion.
Reader notes
Sixth in The Sword of Truth, the epic fantasy alternates graphic battlefield violence with extended arguments about work, individual freedom and government. The political instruction occupies considerable room, interrupting the action. Richard and Kahlan's marriage remains a major emotional thread, though sexual intimacy is implied rather than graphically described.
How it reads
Writing style
Descriptive · Direct · Essayistic
Tone
Dark · Earnest · Philosophical · Tense
Structure
Braided
Driven by
Character · Ideas · Plot
Point of view
Multiple viewpoints
Setting
Military · Workplace
Reading complexity
Writing
3 / 5
Ideas
4 / 5
Structure
3 / 5
Background knowledge
3 / 5
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
Writing
How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas
How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure
How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge
Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity
Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Yes, starting earlier in The Sword of Truth is advisable: this is the sixth entry, with Richard and Kahlan already married and the war against Emperor Jagang underway.
Is it hard to read?
The prose is direct and descriptive, but extended political arguments demand attention. Multiple points of view and braided storylines add complexity as Richard and Kahlan follow separate paths.
How much does the philosophy interrupt the action?
Arguments about work, individual freedom and government occupy considerable space and interrupt the action. The pace is moderate, with battlefield conflict alternating with Richard’s experience under the Imperial Order’s doctrine of sacrifice.
How graphic is the violence?
Strong violence includes graphic battlefield fighting as the army resists Emperor Jagang’s invasion. The tone is dark and tense; abuse and strong language are mild.
How explicit is the romance?
The content notes flag mild sexual content.
How long is it?
800 pages in the Tor Books 2001 mass market paperback edition.
Which edition is shown here?
Tor Books · 2001 · Mass Market Paperback. ISBN 9780812576399.
How long does it take to read Faith of the Fallen?
About 16 hours at 50 pages an hour, based on the 800-page Tor Books edition. Dense books can take longer.
About the author
Terry Goodkind
Terry Goodkind was an American novelist whose career centered on The Sword of Truth, an expansive fantasy series that joins quest plotting to sustained arguments about freedom, coercion, personal responsibility, and political power. His prose is direct and descriptive, with dialogue often carrying ideological conflict and action organized around deadlines, captivity, pursuit, and converging threats. Wizard's First Rule establishes his characteristic scale by moving Richard Cypher from a murdered father's mystery into a journey across magical borders, while the Boxes of Orden impose urgency on the wider struggle. Later novels expand that structure through parallel military, political, and supernatural plots. In Soul of the Fire, a threat to magic unfolds beside economic pressure, oppression, and covert invasion. Faith of the Fallen makes Goodkind's philosophical method especially explicit, placing Richard among laborers in an authoritarian society and allowing work, debate, and daily conduct to bear as much weight as battlefield action. He also carried elements of this fictional world into the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines.
