At a glance, The Healer’s Rune is about a young human woman, Sabine, from a small village living under the rule of the Ruddan, a tyrannical race intent on wiping out humanity. After witnessing her friend’s execution at the hands of the Ruddan, Sabine seeks out the truth of what really happened in the history of her country and how the human race came to be controlled. In seeking out these truths, Sabine gains access to powerful players in what could become the political uprising of a lifetime.

The Healer’s Rune was an incredibly intense read, and it was the first book in years that I haven’t been able to put down. There was more than one night that I fell asleep with my face in the pages, but I couldn’t even bring myself to regret it in the morning. It was just that good! Sabine herself is a fun character with a sharp wit. As a healer, she has a strong sense of morality that lets her sympathize not just with her patients, but with her enemies and potential allies as well. Finally, I felt like I was reading a main character who was more than just a self-insert. Sabine has such a strong personality and commitment to her ideals, and both of those things helped move her character through the action of the plot flawlessly.

The politics of it all was really what kept me coming back to it, though. The power struggle between the Ruddan and the humans kept the atmosphere of the story tense with conflict, and the mysteries of what secrets Sabine was discovering had my brain itching to know what would come next.
All in all, an amazing read. I’m off to get my hands on the next volume!