Faith of the Fallen
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| Author | Terry Goodkind |
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| Cover artist | Keith Parkinson |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Sword of Truth |
| Genre(s) | Epic fantasy |
| Publisher | Tor Fantasy |
| Released | August 2000 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 512 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-312-86786-7 |
| Preceded by | Soul of the Fire |
| Followed by | The Pillars of Creation |
Faith of the Fallen is the sixth book in Terry Goodkind's epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
The Imperial Order continues to bring unwanted war down upon the New World taking freedom and giving only slavery under the guise of good for all mankind. As Richard and Cara continue to nurse Kahlan back to health, Richard has a vision that if he leads the people of the New World into battle they will lose all. Richards’s vision reveals that only when the people understand what they are fighting for and that they are alone responsible for their lives will the people of the New World need him. He must withdraw and not lead people until they earn his leadership. Sister of the Dark Nicci frees herself from Jagang and goes to seize Richard. She will show Richard how wrong he is to fight for freedom and self. Employing an ancient magic spell to link herself to Kahlan, Nicci forces Richard to go away with her to the Old World not only to prove to him of the virtue and righteousness of the Imperial Order but secretly in search of what drives him, what secret he holds in his eyes.
[edit] Plot summary
Faith of the Fallen begins right where Soul of the Fire leaves off. Richard is taking Cara and an injured Kahlan to the high mountains of his homeland, Westland. At the end of the Soul of the Fire Richard realizes that he cannot win against Emperor Jagang until the people themselves want to fight for freedom. Because of this mindset Richard isolates himself in the woods, to allow Kahlan time to heal, and refuses to give orders to the D'Haran army. He insists that the fight against the Imperial Order is a doomed cause and further resistance can only result in the loss of more lives.
After Kahlan has made a significant recovery, the trio is reintroduced to Nicci, an impassive Sister of the Dark who was one of Richard’s instructors at the Palace of the Prophets in Stone of Tears. She provides great insight into the goals of the Order and about the Dreamwalker, Jagang himself. Nicci believes fully in the goal of the Order: to have everyone live in equality.
Nicci's goal is to capture Richard, something that she accomplishes using the rare and difficult maternity spell linking herself to Kahlan. Anything that happens to Nicci now happens to Kahlan. Faced with a hopeless situation, Richard is forced to go with Nicci into the Old World, leaving behind Kahlan, Cara, and the Sword of Truth.
Kahlan and Cara despite knowing Richard's objections, leave the Upper Ven and leave in search of help from Zedd and Sister Verna. Seeing the plight of her troops fighting against the Order, Kahlan takes command of the combined armies of D'Hara and the Midlands in a desperate attempt to halt the Order's advance into the New World.
While Kahlan and Richard's friends do battle in the New World, Richard is put to work in the Old World capital of Altur'Rang, doing whatever he can to make ends meet for him and Nicci. Nicci, expecting Richard to finally understand how oppressive life for the poor in the Old World can be, and how the Imperial Order provides relief, begins to understand how wrong she is and the Order have been all these years when Richard independently rises above the hardships placed in his path and he begins to do what is necessary to survive. Richard's freely helps others, shows that one can take pride in his work; himself and his surroundings people begin to take notice and soon find purpose in life. They find that it is only they who can make things better. Soon the people around Richard change their lives and their out look for the better. When Richard is ordered as punishment for unnamed crimes to carve a massive stone statue for the Emperor's Palace, he does as he is asked. When Richard reveals the statue, however, it is not the design given to him by Brother Narev, the self proclaimed leader of the order; it is an inspirational work of art depicting mankind, free and beautiful, in all its glory.
When Brother Narev orders Richard to destroy his own statue, the people of Altur'Rang rise up in rebellion and attack the Imperial Order. Kahlan and Cara, who having heard of Richard's plight issue orders to the Troops and journey to Altur'Rang to rescue Richard no matter the cost. They arrive just in time to see the uprising. When the dust settles, Richard, Kahlan, and Cara are reunited, Nicci pledges fealty to Richard after realizing the truth of his gospel, and the people of Altur'Rang have a new spirit, having tasted freedom.
[edit] Characters in "Faith of the Fallen"
- Richard Rahl
- Kahlan Amnell
- Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander
- Cara
- Nicci
- Emperor Jagang
- Sister Verna
- Warren
- Prelate Annalina
- Adie
- Brother Narev
[edit] Major themes
The major underlying theme in this novel is the nobility and dignity of the human spirit. This is shown most obviously through Richard's carvings of the statue 'Spirit' and in the sculpture that he creates for Emperor Jagang's palace, depicting a man and a woman standing strong and defiant against the world. It is also evident in Richard's indomitable spirit and will, even after being separated from Kahlan for a year and forced to live with Nicci in the heart of the Imperial Order. No matter the challenge, he never sacrifices his beliefs or his dignity to those who would strip him of it.
Of all the books in the Sword of Truth series, Faith of the Fallen most closely pays homage to Ayn Rand and has major plot parallels to her breakthrough objectivist novel The Fountainhead. Both books feature a climactic segment in which a statue of a human figure in a pose of exaltation is unveiled within a temple, triggering great public agitation in the wake of the event. Nicci's internal conversion upon beholding the statue which Richard sculpted is strikingly similar to Dominique Francon's conversion upon beholding Howard Roark's masterpiece. Antagonists in both books, Jagang and Ellsworth Toohey respectively, vocally advocate the philosophy of equality for all mankind, the opposite of the relentless rational individualism exhibited by the protagonists.
The book also examines and puts to test many of the conflicting ideas of communism and capitalism. It shows the laziness tendencies of Communism and the inequality that stems from. It is as Jesus said "If a man tells you to run a mile with him, run two."
[edit] Wizard's Sixth Rule
In this volume we discover the Wizard's Sixth Rule: "The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason."
| The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind | |
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Prequel: Debt of Bones |
Book 6: Faith of the Fallen |
| List of the Wizard's Rules | |
