The Pillars of Creation

Book 7 of the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind is quite different than any that have come before. It is the first in his series that does not make the slightest pretense at being focused on his primary hero. Instead he built a story that was only tangentially related to his primary hero, but focused on a completely new character. In fact, he does not have a single scene in the book for the first 550 pages. The most interesting thing about the way the story is built is that his new character is good, but is at odds with the primary hero. Thus it becomes the most interesting type of conflict: that of the good against the good.

If you expect this book to be about the hero Richard, it will disappoint you. But if you take the book on its own merits, it's still a pretty good story. Not one of Goodkind's best, but still good by any standard.