the witcher series – The Pluviophile Writer

The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski

“That’s the role of poetry, Ciri. To say what others cannot utter.”

4/5 stars.
ebook, 336 pages.
Read from January 19, 2020 to January 28, 2020.

Have I mentioned how much I love the world of Geralt? Well, I do. Whether it’s from the books, the video games, and now the TV show there are many ways I can now indulge in this world. If you haven’t watched the TV series, you might be a bit lost for a few episodes if you haven’t read the books or played the games as the timeline jumps around a lot with no warning. Believe me when I say it’s worth it. The show is outstanding and much to my surprise Henry Cavill played Geralt absolutely perfectly, as I had serious doubts before.

This book picks up where Blood of Elves left off. Ciri has been training with Yennifer and they haven’t seen Geralt in a long time. Ciri is proving to be a promising student and the bond between Ciri and Yennifer grows deep. As Ciri ages, like most pre-teens, she doesn’t always want to listen to Yennifer and it gets her in some big trouble in this book. Yennifer wants to enrol Ciri in a school in Aretuza where she will be able to continue learning about sorcery and magic in safety but Ciri has other ideas and runs off in search of Geralt when she learns that he might be nearby. Ciri’s escape doesn’t go unnoticed by other sorceresses who mistaken her for a runaway from the nearby school. This leads to arguments during a mage’s conference that both Geralt and Yennifer end up attending. What neither of them know, is that a coup is brewing within the mages that threaten everyone’s safety, especially Ciri’s. Thanks to Geralt and Yennifer, Ciri manages to escape the coup but her journey is far from over.

‘I can’t leave— I can’t just leave her to her fate. She’s completely alone . . . She cannot be left alone, Dandelion. You’ll never understand that. No one will ever understand that, but I know. If she remains alone, the same thing will happen to her as once happened to me . . . You’ll never understand that . .”

This book finally starts to give you answers about why everyone is chasing poor Ciri which is what makes this book a lot more enticing than the previous book. On top of getting to know Ciri in more depth, a new cast of characters, there are also some amazing fight scenes as well as a steamy sex scene. Now that I feel that things are finally coming together, I can hardly wait to start the next book in the series.

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

3/5 stars.
ebook, 409 pages.
Read from November 9, 2019 to November 25, 2019.

I tried to do the responsible thing and wait to get this book from the library but after reading The Last Wish and the Sword of Destiny and loving them I decided I couldn’t wait to continue into this series and bought a copy for myself.

After finally accepting his fate, Geralt has found himself protecting and caring for Ciri, the orphaned princess and the only remaining royal bloodline of Cintra. Ciri is quickly becoming skilled with a sword under the Witcher’s guidance but an old friend and lover of Geralt, Triss, points out Ciri’s serious magical potential. Ciri then begins to learn the skills of a sorceress to ensure she can control her powers and hopeful stop the horrible nightmares that have been keeping her awake at night. However, Ciri is still being hunted. Rience, a powerful mage, tortures Geralt’s friend, Dandelion, to find the whereabouts of Ciri and ends up being saved by Yennifer. Geralt then pursues Rience while Ciri falls into Yennifer’s care in order to protect her.

The storyline in this book is not what I hoped it would be for the first official novel on Geralt. The short story style in the last two books seemed more concise and engaging whereas this book felt convoluted. Perhaps this novel is just laying a lot of detailed groundwork so that the next novel is seamless? I hope so. I still enjoyed the book, especially the character-building with Yennifer and Ciri and their bond, but the plot itself was lacklustre compared to the last two books. The focus of the previous books was more linear whereas this book the focus changes a few too many times between characters as well as on some uninteresting politics.

Here’s hoping that the focus in the next book is narrower and more concise as I am looking forward to seeing how Ciri and Geralt’s fate unfolds. Overall, this book is likely still a necessary book in the series and I’m hoping to see the rest of the books continue on the same track as the previous two.

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

“I manage because I have to. Because I’ve no other way out. Because I’ve overcome the vanity and pride of being different, I’ve understood that they are a pitiful defense against being different. Because I’ve understood that the sun shines differently when something changes. The sun shines differently, but it will continue to shine, and jumping at it with a hoe isn’t going to do anything.”

4/5 stars.
ebook, 288 pages.
Read from August 9, 2019 to August 13th, 2019.

I picked up all three Witcher games on a fantastic Steam sale this last summer when I found myself halfway through the first game and loving it, only to find out that the games are based off a book series! I was committing book blasphemy! And now, there is a Netflix series coming out this fall too. I had to read the books.

Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher. A mutant. An outcast. He is one of the few to pass the Witcher training and complete his mutation without dying giving him remarkable powers and strengths. His stark white hair has been stripped of its colour from the change and his eyes are slit like a cat. The tasks of a Witcher are to defeat the monsters of the world but as Geralt is coming to learn, sometimes the monsters aren’t what they seem. He questions his ethics and purpose as a Witcher as the world around him becomes more corrupt with not monsters, but people, who appear to be the evil ones.

2018-09-05-image-5 — Definitely crushing on this handsome gent.

This book is touted as a collaboration of short stories but it read more like a novel as the stories related to each other and followed a general chronological order, however, you could easily have read each chapter in and of its self. Geralt is a fantastically dynamic character and the writing paints the realm of Witchers so vividly. Even in translation, the writing is concise and engaging. The book lends itself well to the first Witcher game as you get to play out some of the more elaborate plot points from this book in the game itself.

I am ecstatic to have found another fantasy series that I’m in love with and I will definitely be devouring every book in this series. I would recommend this book to any fantasy lover and especially those who want to play the video games as you’re able to get the full pictures and scope on Geralt and his adventures. Needless to say, I don’t plan on leaving the Witcher world anytime soon.