Recommendation: Legend of the Seeker

Disclaimer: This is pretty nerdy. Do not continue reading if you want to keep thinking of me as really cool. If you've already had the veil torn from your eyes, by all means, read on.

If you are fan of fantasy, I must recommend Legend of the Seeker. This is a two-pronged recommendation, as Legend of the Seeker is both a short-lived television series and a book series, on which the TV show was based. Well, to be more precise, the book series is called the Sword of Truth series, but its main character is, you guessed it, the Seeker.

I watched the show first. The two seasons it ran are available to watch on Netflix, and it won my heart. It has elements of several shows I've liked over the years, particularly Xena: Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It combines a "chosen one"-type hero with all the cheesy special effects you expect from a made-for-TV adventure series. Magical powers, fantastical beasts, evil warlords, occasional zombies. What more could you ask?

It's a really enjoyable time, and after I finished the second season of the show, I found myself wanting more from these characters. I really loved their relationships in particular (because I am a woman), and it was then that I discovered the whole thing was based on a book series.

The first book follows the first season of the TV show pretty closely. There are some minor differences, some places where the action of the book was altered slightly to fit a more serial format, and some things that are just downright different. But I think the TV show captured the spirit of the books well, and anything that was changed during the adaptation only serves to make the book more interesting to me, as I'm not sure exactly what will happen. It keeps things exciting.

The first Sword of Truth book is called Wizard's First Rule, and last I checked, Legend of the Seeker is available for streaming on Netflix. I recommend starting with the show, but that's just me. Also be warned that the love story is played up a lot more in the book than in the show, but then again, I think the book is also more violent, so I guess it balances out.

*****

As a bonus, here is an interview with the main characters from the show. It answers a few questions about what the show is about. Also they talk about New Zealand and wanting to hug sheep.

Oh and just so you are not confused if you watch the show after watching this video, note that the Richard character does not speak with an Australian accent. That threw me a bit when I heard Craig Horner (the actor) speak.