Death's mistress Sister of darkness

After a great victory comes rebuilding, and in a land under a new ruler and new constellations, the outlying lands must be informed of new leadership. Nicci, known as Death's Mistress, and the wizard Richard Rahl travel together, ambassadors of the D'Haran Empire. Their journey begins with a visit to the witch woman, Red. She tells them to travel to Kol Adair, somewhere to the south, where Nicci will save the world, and Richard will see what he needs to make himself whole again. Along the way they gain another traveling companion, a young man fleeing his awful childhood. Ultimately, they arrive at a valley drained of all life; this is the first time Nicci must save the world, from the slow death brought by the man called the Lifedrinker. There are broadly painted lessons here about ill-used and poorly comprehended knowledge, but ultimately our heroes are victorious, at great cost. Their story is not over yet, as they have only just discovered Kol Adair. The world is expansive, and fans of Goodkind's work should be well pleased with this new perspective exploring distant parts of it.--Schroeder, Regina Copyright 2016 Booklist

Goodkind's series launch, a tie-in to his well-known Sword of Truth series, is more of an episodic ramble than a classic fantasy quest. He begins this chronicle with two familiar characters going in search of Red, a witch woman. Nathan Rahl, kin to the new ruler of D'Hara, is tasked with spreading the news of the liberation of all peoples while the sorceress Nicci protects him and gathers information on the far reaches of the world. The pair learn from Red that Nicci "must save the world" and that Nathan needs to travel to Kol Adair, where he will "behold what he needs to make himself whole again." At Tanimura they board a ship heading south and meet Bannon Farmer, an eager, naive young sailor on his first voyage. The trio battle vicious selkies, boatloads of Norukai slavers, and assorted magic users. Along the way, Nathan loses his magic but not his taste for fine clothes. Little ties together the challenges that the three characters face. Goodkind's name guarantees an audience, but they'll find this installment unsatisfying. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.