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It is SO nice to see a fantasy author who is not providing us readers with simply yet another plagiarism of Tolkien's work (are you listening, Terry Brooks?). Andrzej Sapkowski provides us, instead, with a very grim and dark world based more in reality in that its morality is presented in shades of gray instead of black and white, and this adds an immense amount of depth to his stories. What's more, the characters are plausible, and his main character, the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, is far from invincible or indestructible despite his training and obvious power level. In fact, he's nearly killed in the first story due to an oversight on his part that results in disaster. Geralt is far from perfect, and this lends him credibility in spades. That said, he is a compelling antihero who always strives to do what is right regardless of the consequences. The stories almost always feature a moral of some kind, though it be twisted and somewhat perverse at times, but that's life for you, isn't it? On a more minor note, another aspect of his world, Temeria, that I really like is that Sapkowski's elves are not pretentious, tree-hugging, poetry-spewing flower children; they are mean, unpleasant sorts who actively dislike and even arbitrarily attack humans based on the fact that humans in this world hate, fear, and persecute their kind. The fact is, like in the real world, humans are more untrustworthy as the monsters they hate and fear so much for being "different", whether the monsters are inhuman...or not. Sapkowski's writing is fresh and vigorous, and it flows very well, in a manner worthy of the great Robert E, Howard--a high compliment, in my book. His action scenes explode with intensity, his dialogue is natural-sounding and comes off like real people talking instead of forced and unnatural "high fantasy" drivel, and overall his world is a very believable facsimile of a Dark Ages era realm. Speaking as a history major with an interest in that era, this is a high compliment. He doesn't rely on huge, Hollywood style magic to propel things along, the sorcery comes off as what is needed at the moment to assist Geralt (like when he makes the Sign of Igni to protect himself against attacking creatures), and I like this; it comes off as natural instead of huge and dramatic, if such a thing can be said about such a subject. In short, if you are looking for a different and more believable take on fantasy that is relatively original and exciting as well, do get this. I think you will not be disappointed. Support Sapkowski, and scope out the TV series online while you're at it; it's really low budget, but it's nice to see Geralt, portrayed by renowned Polish actor Michal Zebrowski, in person on the screen. Well worth your time.Read full review
The is an excellent collection of short tales about the Witcher, translated from the Polish stories by Andrzej Sapkowski. These stories have been out for a while in Europe and translated into Russian, French, German, Spanish, and many other languages. It has also been made into a TV series for most of Europe and a few movies based on the series, and one fantastic computer game - The Witcher. All have captured the imaginations in those countries and now we have it here. These stories introduce us to the Witcher, a famous monster slayer set in the medieval fantasy realm of Temeria. A loner who travels from town to town, taking pest control to a whole new level, and occasionally romancing the local ladies. I found the stories entertaining and a good read, and am looking forward to the release of the Blood of Elves, the next to be translated into English.Read full review
I very much enjoyed all of these short stories, and how they blended into each other. Having observed the games for years, and now the Netflix series, it’s so fun to read some of these stories right at their source. They are well written, have colorful and imaginative characters, and the content of the stories is compelling and makes it hard to put the book down and do anything else. Love it!
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Truly a masterpiece to accompany all 3 of the equally amazing games. I don't read many books, almost exclusively video games. But this really renewed my interest in books. Geralt appears as a passive and calm headed individual that will cut your legs off if need be. Characters like Dandelion and Yennefer are found in The Last Wish and this book gives an amazing insight into the characters that appear in the games. Often times as I've been reading these books the lore I learn affect the choices I make in the games themselves. Giving this experience that much more immersion.
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The book has large font so its easy to read and you turn pages quickly like you are actively reading. Its great. Glad I bought it. 359 pages long.
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