“Debt of Bones”
The Sword of Truth series
By Terry Goodkind
Collected in Legends
Edited by Robert Silverberg
The war between D’Hara and the Midlands has become desperate when the First Wizard Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander discovers a way to end the fighting. Meanwhile, Abby, a refugee from one of the outer villages comes to the First Wizard begging for help to rescue her family from the D’Haran invaders. Zed finally agrees to help, but only because of a life debt made between his father and Abby’s mother.
When they reach Abby’s village, she poses as a dreaded Mord-Sith and infiltrates the enemy camp. Unable to find her family, Abby discovers Zed’s daughter among the D’Harans’ captives.
I first became acquainted with the Sword of Truth series about two years ago when I discovered the books’ television adaptation, The Legend of the Seeker, on Netflix. Debt of Bones, later published as a standalone novella, takes place a few decades prior to the main series. It is well written, and because of its prequel nature it requires no prior knowledge of the universe.
To those not acquainted with the series Debt of Bones is probably just an interesting read, but to fans of the books it tells the story of a crucial event in the history of the Midlands. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the series and anyone who is a fan of good fantasy, although it does have a few scenes not suitable for younger audiences.
This review originally appeared 27 October 2012 on fantasyreviewer.com