What do You think about Debt Of Bones (2004)?
I gave up on this series awhile ago because it's really not all that good. Entertaining enough to get you out of a book slump...but still...not good. Lately I've been addicted to Legend of the Seeker on Netflix, mostly because I think it's made by the same guy who did Xena. It's soooooo similar to that series so it plays on my nostalgia. Anyway, it made me wonder if I gave up on the books too soon. Not ready to commit myself to another 800 page epic I noticed there was a prequel novella. Perfect. And just like the rest of the series it was entertaining, but nothing to get excited about.It's a short story following a young Zedd and explaining how the barrier seperating the different lands went up. My only complaint is the narrator is kind of wimpy and annpoying. I didn't really care if things worked out for her or not.Now hopefully I have this out of my system and can go read something better now.
—Jayme
I tend to find it diffucult to rate short stories and novellas because it's hard to write something intriguing in the limited amount of space. I usually feel like I rated a short story/novella too high or too low, but this one was a solid 4 star for me. I wouldn't recommend this for someone who has not read most (if not all) of the Sword of Truth series, but it was fairly entertaining if you all ready have a solid foundation for the setting. This book presented the reader with an interesting quick background for some important events for the series.
—Artemas
Confused. So confused.But it's my own fault, I suppose, because I haven't read any of Goodkind's other works, and this, my library catalogue tells me, is the prequel to the series. So much of the confusion, I am sure, would be cleared up by reading the others, something I am not yet certain I wish to do. After all, "Debt of Bones" wasn't THAT good. But it had lovely pictures and it was short and I was going on vacation...how could I resist? Three stars for the book, for, disregarding some weak sentences that tend to all say the same thing five different ways and some questionable word choice ('tummy'?), I must say that Goodkind's descriptions of things are excellent. An aspiring writer myself, description is proving to be something of my Achilles heel and I appreciate a writer who knows how to create the contents of a room, the composition of clothing, and the features of a person in a clear, crisp fashion. So in this respect, the book was helpful and instructive. Yet as the counter-balance, I could have done without so much exposition. I get it, I'm ignorant about the world, but I can figure a lot out. Exposition purely through dialogue, through the eyes of an ignorant person who has to have everything explained to her starts to sound contrived after a while. These are, of course, praises and complaints for style, for, having not read the series preceding and following it, I cannot judge as to content. So take it for what it is.
—Katy Wilmotte
