Unfortunately, this book was mediocre. The first 5 books were great ... but then Faith of the Fallen, Pillars of Creation, and now Naked Empire are here. I don't know what happened, but it appears that Goodkind has become more interested in writing about philosophy and sociology, and has forgotten to write a good story. I didn't say HOW TO write a good story.... I just said he's leaving it out. At least I hope.... Naked Empire, although some cool stuff happens, is lacking in good writing, and full of explainations about how, as cincibookworm puts it, dogma on how bad collectivisim is. This is what I was saying to myself:Ok. I get it ... collectivism can be bad. Ok. I get it. No really. I get it. Ohhh ... I see. No, but really, I had it about 400 pages ago.Honestly, if you're into the series, go ahead and pick up a copy, or borrow one, as I did. Read it. Skim it. Get the gist. And pray for the 9th book... :-/