Temple of the Winds - Sword of Truth Book 4 by Terry Goodkind

'On the red moon will come the firestorm. The one bonded to the blade will watch his people die... To quench the inferno he must seek the remedy in the wind...'

So says the jacket blurb of Temple of the Winds, the fourth book in the Sword of Truth series!

The one bonded to the blade is Richard Cypher, the Seeker, also know as Richard Rahl, the Caharin or Richard with the Temper (as called by the Mud People), the blade is the Sword of Truth.

The prophecy in italics at the beginning suggests that a Red Moon brings a fatal plague to the Midlands and that Richard will have to find the Temple of the Winds, hidden in another dimension 3,000 years ago, if he is to have any chance of stopping the plague.

The book starts interestingly with an assisination plot on Richard Rahl's life, orchestrated by Emperor Jagang, and the arrival of a woman, Nadine, from Richard's past, claiming that she is Richard's betrothed and intends to marry him. All of which is news to Kahlan Amnell, the Mother Confessor, and the love of Richard's life.

There is an outbreak of illness in the army, dysentery, and itis feared that this would a) leave Aydindril (where Richard and Kahlan are) defenceless and b) spread to the population. Naturally the thought is that this is the plague, and Richard comes up with a solution to cure this malady. Problem overcome.

We are also introduced us to Drefan Rahl, a half brother to Richard and a healer. This is regarded as good news by Richard as he did not believe that any children of Darken Rahl had ever been allowed to live.

And then, people in the city start dying! Plague has arrived, and nothing they try can cure or contain it. They have one ally, a 3,000 year old journal written bya wizard 3,000 years dead, in a dead language - and it might just hold a clue if they can translate it.

The Red Moon arrives, and its significance is not fully known initially. And this is just one strand in many interwoven strands in the book, including a whodunnit - there is a murdering serial killer on the loose!

It turns out the plague is magical, and the answer to the cure lies in the lost Temple of the Winds, which Richard must get to. Of course he does, after many a twist, and he does manage to cure the plague, but the price exacted on him, when he returns to thenormal world, is his own life.

However, Kahlan is prepared for this, through some knowledge she gained, and manages to save Richard's life, but at a very high price.

This price is the basis of the next book, Soul of the Fire, book five in the Sword of Truth series.

The Wizard's Fourth Rule is given in Temple of the Winds

There is magic in sincere forgiveness, the magic to heal. In forgiveness you grant, but more so, in forgiveness you receive.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot - Richard and Kahlan finally get married! By the Mud people, in the Mud People's village.

Book 5, Soul of the Fire is reviewed here.

UK readers can buy the books in the Sword of Truth Series here.