Shadow and Bone, the prequel novel by Leigh Bardugo

Before becoming the Dark One, Eryk was just a kid on the run with his mother and his story was told by Leigh Bardugo in the graphic novel Demon in the Woods, prequel to Shadow and Bone.

The Grishaverse offers new inspiration for those who can’t help but wonder about certain details of Shadow and Bone. Before becoming a television series, Leigh Bardugo polished a trilogy chronicling the adventures of Alina, a courageous and sometimes reckless girl who discovers that she has unparalleled power. The first season, which aired on Netflix, was very popular. Credit, in part, also goes to the mix of several Leigh Bardugo novels.

shadow and bone

The streaming giant has promoted the merger between the Darkness and Bones trilogy and the two volumes of Six of Crows, giving the plot more action. Season 2 will arrive shortly but, to combat the wait, dedicated fans of Leigh Bardugo’s novels will be happy to hear that the author has a Shadow and Bone prequel in store. And it’s entirely dedicated to the Dark One’s past.

Shadow and Bone, the prequel novel tells the past of the Dark

The writer achieved incredible popularity with the Grishaverse, a universe that combines many different, strictly fantasy stories. And it is by paying homage to her world made of creatures with powers and splendid humans that Leigh Bardugo has found an agreement with Dani Pendergast by making a graphic novel. This volume is called Demon in the Wood and tells, also through images, a slice of the untold past of the Dark, the villain of Shadow and Bone.

shadow and bone

The character realized in the television series, with the features of Ben Barnes, is a man who no longer has the slightest ounce of empathy for humanity and is consumed by resentment, caused by a life in constant flight. In the previous novel, the writer delves into this aspect by talking about her youth. Eryk and his mother Lena (they know her as Baghra in the TV series) flee those who hunt them. The author, speaking to EW, explained, “When we meet him in Demon in the Wood, he’s not the same man as Shadow and Bone, but he’s craving friendship and a place to go. take root.”

demon in the woods

The prequel was born a long time ago. Leigh Bardugo wrote it after completing the Dark and Bones trilogy in 2014 because he thought he left an incomplete mark on the Dark One. “I realized that I had made this character horrible. He does terrible things and I wanted to give a sense of the forces that shaped him. As a child, he is vulnerable, a far cry from the powerful figure that fans know. “He’s spent his whole life traveling from place to place, trying to keep his unique identity and powers a secret. He desperately needs connection and belonging.” In Italy, the volume was released in late September 2022. and is called Demone nel bosco.