Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind

A short novel of immense scope that shows Terry Goodkind's story telling powers at their very best. An essential curtain raiser to the bestselling SWORD OF TRUTH series. In the days of the war against Panis Rahl, a young woman presents the first wizard with an intractable choice and forces him into an encounter that could unleash a maelstrom of magic. Terry Goodkind's skill at showing characters struggling with free will and facing nightmarish dilemmas as their spirits are tested is shown to its best effect in DEBT OF BONES, as is his consummate world building.

This was my first Terry Goodkind novel. I know he is very popular fantasy writer, yet somehow I've never read anything by him until now.

I originally picked this up because I wanted a short novel to read. I finished it in under a day. While it was thought provoking, it wasn't a favorite. There were good moments. I liked the pacing and suspense, but the end killed it. Every other page was a plot twist. I see where he was going. Wizards are supposed to be unpredictable. There were just too many twists. I even began to roll my eyes and skim the final pages.

In summary, it was ok for an afternoon, but wasn't that great.

This is a prequel novella to the Sword of Truth series. I haven't read the series before, but I saw free audible fantasy, and I said yes.
Firstly, I think this would have been more enjoyable (and made more sense) if I had read any of the series before. This is one of those novellas that came out after the series was releasing (a lot like The Wheel of Times ‘New Spring'), so it's not written with too much of the lore or world building in mind. It's really only setting out to tell a singular tale. I'm pretty curious if this is mentioned in the series itself and then the author later wrote it out as a novella?
Secondly, the thing that this one does the best is tell a single concise tale. It's only 150 pages (or 3.5hrs audio) and that really worked for me here. I didn't feel bogged down by series references or name drops (although I'm sure there are some) and I actually think this adds up to a good starting point for the story chronologically.
Thirdly, if you're wondering if this is for you...it has heart, love, anger, and twists all packed into a little storyline. Family ties, kidnappings, war, and magic all wrapped up into one. The only reason I think I'll hold off on the series is my mind, body, and soul are not ready to start another 12+ book series right now.