Witches Oath by Terry Goodkind
Picking up where Wasteland left off, Terry Goodkind’s Witch’s Oath (Head of Zeus) — the fourth installment of his “Children of D’Hara” series — finds familiar characters Richard and Kahlan in the middle of a moment of great distress (no spoilers for those who haven’t read episodes 1–3). This time, they’re deeply engaged in a battle against Moravaska Michec, the other-worldly witch man who seems intent on destroying any chance for happiness our pair of heroes may have. What’s worse — Kahlan is pregnant with twins, and the future of the realm might just depend on their ability to protect her unborn children.
Luckily for Richard and Kahlan, they each have a little magic of their own. Who knows how these special “gifts” could manifest in the moments of deepest need? Will these powers be enough to save them? Maybe not, but they are not alone. Alongside Richard and Kahlan, a rag-tag group of sorceresses, seekers, witch women and Mord-Sith are joining the battle to protect the unborn children of D’Hara. Their group of nine seems to possess a certain magic that none of them have access to individually and the power of nine might just be enough to help them succeed in their quest and defeat Michec for good.
Goodkind’s “Children of D’Hara” series is itself a follow-up to his previous “Sword of Truth” series. All in all, Goodkind has penned over 20 books following these characters in a fantasy world of his particular creation. The “Children of D’Hara” series focuses on the back story of Richard and Kahlan’s children, who, for the length of this particular installment, remain unborn. While this episode is certainly action-packed, readers may be wise to start elsewhere in the series if they want to understand the motivations of the characters in this book. Violent scenes are often described in vivid detail, but little space is devoted to the inner workings of the minds of our heroes beyond surface-level observations.
Female characters seem to be attributed especially little agency, as they obediently follow orders from Richard and are given nearly no recognition for their contributions to the quest of the group. For those readers seeking more insight into the minds of our magical heroes: don’t give up. The strongest moments of characterization are hiding near the end of the book. Pace yourselves and don’t expect too much resolution, however, as this is just one small part of an epic series … that will soon be continued with episode 5, Into Darkness.
Witch’s Oath is available for purchase now.
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