The Pillars of Creation

This entry of The Sword of Truth opens with a young woman named Jennsen Daggett finding a message on a corpse, along with a knife adorned with the letter R, and quickly meeting an Old Worlder named Sebastian, whom she takes to her mother’s residence. Jennsen ultimately learns that the D’Haran Empire’s Lord Rahl is supposedly after her. Meanwhile, a young man named Oba who lives with his mother visits Lathea the sorceress for medicine, with he and Jennsen regularly hearing voices that tell them to “surrender,” both protagonists’ paths ultimately crossing, and Jennsen getting more chapters than Oba.

Jennsen and Sebastian ultimately meet the gilder Fredrich, whose wife Althea, Lathea’s sister, has important information for them, the rest of the book focusing on Jenn’s search for why Lord Rahl is after her, and Oba’s murderous tirade. Richard and Kahlan don’t actually appear until the latter portion of the book, which concludes with battles with the Imperial Order and events at the eponymous Pillars of Creation. Even so, this is another enjoyable book in Terry Goodkind’s fantasy series, with the change of main characters definitely a welcome break.