Warheart

*major spoilers for Severed Souls*

In the conclusion of the Richard and Kahlan tetralogy following the main Sword of Truth stories, Richard Rahl is dead, having sacrificed his life to save the last Mother Confessor’s. His cremation is imminent, although Kahlan is reluctant to give the order to incinerate her late husband, given her belief that there may still exist a chance to save his soul from the netherworld, alongside her own recent salvation from death. Thus, she makes it a point to see the witch woman Red, with former Sister of Darkness Nicci and a few Mord-Sith accompanying her.

Kahlan’s animal friend Hunter shows the way to Red, with the resurrected Emperor Sulachan and Hannis Arc’s half people battled along the way. The witch woman herself insists that she can do nothing for the late Lord Rahl, and if she could do something, she wouldn’t want to affect the balance of power in the world. Red eventually reverses her position and thinks something can be done, although a spiritist, an order of magicians long deceased, is necessary, and she suggests that Nicci, having once been a servant of the underworld, might help.

Red accompanies Kahlan and company to the citadel where Ludwig Dreier and Hannis Arc had held them hostage, and the resurrection process for Richard commences, Nicci having to battle the spirits of her former victims en route to Lord Rahl’s soul. The Mord-Sith Cara is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for her late master, with one of her order’s technique known as the breath of life potentially able to do something for Richard. The young sorceress, Samantha, who had killed Kahlan in retribution for her mother’s death, has her loyalties settled once and for all as the conclusion progresses.

Warheart features a few callbacks to earlier Sword of Truth books, with Hannis Arc, for example, having had some dealings with the long-deceased Darken Rahl in the past, and the transportation mode sliph playing part as well. The action culminates in a final showdown at the People’s Palace by the half people, with some surprises towards the end accounting for an enjoyable conclusion to series’ chief storyline, although some may find the resolution to involve a little deus ex machina. Regardless, those who read and enjoyed the final entry’s precursors will likely appreciate the grand finale.