Easy.
It's book six of his Sword of Truth series: Faith of the Fallen
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This is the cover art, it depicts Richard and a statue he carved out of marble as an act of rebellion. It's a beautiful, evocative image that comes at a crucial point of the story, and I know exactly why the artist chose this particular scene to depict on the cover. But, is it so powerful that you need a constant, permanent reminder of it?
You'd have to read books one through five to understand it, but it is worth it.
In book one, Richard is fighting an evil tyrant. Tyrant gets killed, world moves on. In book two, he fights against evil itself (literally the undoing of the world), which is really just a plot device to show a LOT of backstory and introduce a whole plethora of side characters and subplots that will come into play later on.
Book three introduces us to the main villain of the series: Jagang, the emperor and brutal leader of the Imperial Order. The Imperial Order is (basically) a political/religious organization from another nation that has made it their mission to take over all free lands, bend their will to match that of the Order and put all their natural and human resources to use in the Order's work.
The Order believes that all men MUST be equal in EVERYTHING. So they set mandates about EVERYTHING. You must sell your wares for the specific price determined by the Order, regardless of whether or not you can afford to sell at that price or whether or not anybody can afford to buy at that price. You live in the house they tell you to live in, regardless of whether or not you can afford the rent (a character loses his job and is not allowed to vacate his home, he is forced to stay, go into debt and eventually debtor's prison).
Book three actually introduces the Order and their ideals via a minor villain, books four and five show Richard fighting the Order, though often indirectly while he deals with other things. Book six is where Richard goes deep into the Order's homeland and fights the Order from within while living among its citizens.
The Order has been embedded in this nation for generations, and nobody in this land knows any other way of living. They've become accustomed to living in squalor without the ability to make decisions for themselves. Entrepreneurship is a capital offense; executions are long, painful and public. The people have not been taught to work for themselves, but to simply put a hand out and take what is necessary to survive. They don't thrive, they don't even really live. They merely get by. But, hey, at least it's all "fair" and they don't have to make any difficult decisions.
Richard shows them the power of a work ethic, the strength of utilizing one's agency, the rewards of ingenuity and the true meaning of self-sacrificing work. He, and he alone, saves multiple business owners from starvation by putting himself to work in ways that no other man in that nation had dreamed of. He works hard, day in and day out and shows the people of the Order that "Your life is yours alone; rise up and live it."
I will admit, that sentence: "Your life is yours alone, rise up and live it." is a powerful mantra. But, again, is it so powerful that you need a permanent reminder?
This is the book that made me move from "liking" the Sword of Truth series to "obsessively loving" the Sword of Truth series. Yes, it's violent. Yes, it's high fantasy, and it has all the elements that high fantasy always has. But it also has a powerful message about agency and politics, and I think it can serve as an excellent breeding ground for discussions about these topics.
A blogging friend of mine posted a bookish meme, after reading it on another blogging friend's site. I can't not participate! This post was written in response to the 30 Days of Books.
The full list:
Day 01 – The best book you read last year
Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times
Day 03 – Your favorite series
Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 05 – A book that makes you happy
Day 06 – A book that makes you sad
Day 07 – Most underrated book
Day 08 – Most overrated book
Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 10 – Favorite classic book
Day 11 – A book you hated
Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore
Day 13 – Your favorite writer
Day 14 – Favorite book of your favorite writer
Day 15 – Favorite male character
Day 16 – Favorite female character
Day 17 – Favorite quote from your Favorite book
Day 18 – A book that disappointed you
Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie
Day 20 – Favorite romance book
Day 21 – Favorite book from your childhood
Day 22 – Favorite book you own
Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t
Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read
Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 – Favorite title
Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 – Your Favorite book of all time
