The Omen Machine

Disappointing Return to a Great Series

Warning: Some spoilers

I have read all of the Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind as they have been released and was pleasantly surprised that a new book continuing the adventures of Richard and Kahlan was to be released. I felt the series ended very well in the last book Confessor and felt it complete. I have to say that after reading the new book The Omen Machine, I still feel the same. It should have stopped.

I am not sure what specifically about this book that led me to feel this way. My favorite characters are all back, but they seemed changed. Is it that I am remembering them in a different light? I do not know, but found myself thinking during the reading that I just want to get it done and over with. Not due to the performance of the reader, but the story.

The power of the previous books was the grandness of it all, the adventure, the travel, the new and exciting twists and turns and here in The Omen Machine you feel stuck in one place with a bunch of stupid characters. Not stupid as in useless, but stupid as in brainless. And the most sad is Zed. He is reduced to either not believing what Richard says or repeating what Richard says back to Richard. A smart, powerful character minimized to a shadow of who he use to be. Everytime Zed spoke, my eyes rolled in my head. Sad.

Another disappointment is that with 11 previous books, that there would be some reference to the experiences in which they have had to make decisions now. We are but products of our past experiences. However, it is like the previous adventures did not happen other than the "war is over". With all that has happened to them previously, why would they ever not take something seriously, especially if they have a "feeling". And all the conversations of doubt was mind numbing. And it was really strange that the whole affair with Kahlan forgetting all and the aftermath of what happened in the 3 Chainfire series are not even hinted at. This book takes place right after those books! It is like it never happened to Kahlan.

Overall I feel let down. I will continue to read the series, but the excitement and grandness has been lost.

28 of 31 people found this review helpful

Ok, but...

I have read everything by Goodkind and have been looking forward to more stories in the "Seeker" series. It was nice to see the continued development of the story, but this book really needs some editing. The author repeats word images over and over with only slightly different phrasing. I will continue to buy Goodkind stories, but I would really like to see them tightened up. Enjoyed the narration very much.

20 of 22 people found this review helpful

Different

This novel was not at all what I expected. Terry Goodkind's writing style has really matured with this novel, and it is extremely evident. The story line starts in an entirely different direction than where I thought it would and travels a path I didn't expect. While it is clearly a fresh start on a new series I am extremely hopeful as to where it will go from here.

40 of 47 people found this review helpful

Still Suffering...

I am 3/4 through this story and determined to finish it. But, it won't be easy. This is probably the worst of the series, and there have been a few I didn't care for. The characters are so flat, tedious, inconsistant. The Protags are supposed to be wise and clever, but everything they do is so amazingly obvious. The masses are more stupid then the masses could ever be in real life. Everyone is reactionary, and once again this entire book is about prophecy. AGAIN. Anyway. I think I am done with Richard and Kahlan. I have read 12 or so of these and I should have stopped with the last one.

22 of 26 people found this review helpful

Great followup to the rest of the series

Where does The Omen Machine rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top ten percent

What other book might you compare The Omen Machine to and why?

the gathering storm. Of course you would have to listen to the whole series to understand.

What about Sam Tsoutsouvas’s performance did you like?

He made me see what he was telling.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes it made me laugh, cry and want to scream in rage and terror.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Was a great listen.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Omen Machine to be better than the print version?

No never, only because I believe truly you get more out of reading than listening. Nothing against narrators. When you read yourself you also have the advantage of bringing the book to life at your own pace using your own imagination. Making characters sound the way you wish it, sometimes listening to others interpret the book tarnishes your own impressions.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Omen Machine?

I do not wish to spoil it for others but I always cherish when Zedd is proud of Richard much like my Grandfather use to for me.

Have you listened to any of Sam Tsoutsouvas’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have and the only thing I really didn't like before is the pronunciation of Nicci. I understand each narrator will have their own style and no one can fault them for that. However I believe the pronunciation of at least proper names should be consistent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I do smile often when I am able to discover the scheme of things before they are uncovered only because I have come to know the characters individually which only brings testament to Terry's ability to make people come to life.

Any additional comments?

I lot of people were upset over the longevity of the book with no plot. My only advice is to reread(listen) to the book once more like I have the others and you will find each time hints you missed before. This will help with understand how Richard comes to the conclusions.

Terry has a wonderful way of making magic both special and ordinary. Not every problems is solved with magic and sometimes magic is the problem.

Also some readers can't believe people are this stupid. If you haven't run into people of so low of caliber consider yourself lucky. I engage in such people everyday.

I hope I didn't ruin the book be exposing anything that should not have. It really is a good book that deserves the patience required to really receive the plot in whole.

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

I am really sorry I listened to this book

What would have made The Omen Machine better?

Move the story along. It was laborious. Way too much descriptive detail. Way too much. It didn't really contribute to the value of the story.

What could Terry Goodkind have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

This book could have been half the length. There was a great deal of repeating of the text within a few minutes. Sometimes the same idea was repeated three or more times. It was as though the author wanted to "catch the reader up".

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to like this book, but I really did not. If it's a sequel, I'll avoid companion works. Sorry.

Glenn L. Ladd

18 of 23 people found this review helpful

Could have been much better. Too much filler.

What would have made The Omen Machine better?

More of a plot. Less filler. I like what he was doing with prophecy but he could he gone much farther.

What was most disappointing about Terry Goodkind’s story?

This series used be so good, used to have so much depth. Now it seems like Goodkind has a page quota writes the book comes oujt 100 pages short and decides to go back and add things like, for example (not in the story but similar to what you hear)
Richard: I know! It is a raccoon.
Zedd: Scratches his head. "How do you know its a raccoon."
Cara: I dont see it.
Richard: Clearly its a raccoon because it has the same colored fur!
Zedd: So its a raccoon because it has the same colored fur?
Richard: Yes! And because walks on 4 legs and smells like a raccoon.

How could the performance have been better?

Sam Tsoutsouvas is okay he has a strong voice but that is it! He has little or no characterization. At times even with he strong voice he sounds monotonous and gets into the same vocal pattern. I love Stephen Rudnicki of all the Orson Scott Card books. He is great but Sam can I get some characterization please.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

expected better

Really expected better from Goodkind. The narrator is decent, but the story is frustratingly repetitive. It is slow, VERY repetitive and frankly boring.

Hardcore fans might be willing to suffer though, but I would recommend moving on. The popularity on Audible is riding off his previous work.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

The Omen Machine

I thought it was going to be a cool story,''but when the vampires got in it,'I turned the junk off..

11 of 14 people found this review helpful