A friend assured me that Pillars of Creation was the only stinker in this series to date. He was wrong. This is - by far - the worst book I've read up to this point.A trilogy's first book isn't always the best. You lay out the rules, and set up the conflict. That's the way it goes. But the fact of the matter is that setting up the rules - and the conflict - didn't need to stretch on for 600+ paperback pages. Man, what a tedious book this was; if Richard wasn't reiterating his frustration in monologue, he was beating the same old dead horse with various characters.I have a bachelor's degree in philosophy, and hadn't really taken issue with Mr. Goodkind's thinking until this book. Zedd's ramblings regarding contradiction and faith are ridiculously juvenile, and Goodkind did a startlingly wonderful job of making a wise character turn in to a stupid fool.Here's to hoping Phantom isn't this burdensome.