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thatbookishrookie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I don't really know how I feel about this book honestly. I recently finished watching the Netflix series, knowing nothing about the books, and I quite liked it, so I decided to delve into the books as well.
This is a series of short stories, basically supposed to be an introduction to the Witcher World. There was enough information about concepts that may be important to the story later on, and also explanations as to how certain characters become what they are (witchers, sorcerers, etc).
The characters were only okay. I didn't feel like Geralt had much nuance and character in this book, and hopefully he does in the further books. As of this point, and i know this is probably blasphemous to a lot of the fans, I like tv show Geralt more. I did like the character of the troubadour Dandelion the most. Although, there is a point in one of the chapters where he says something very very sexist.
Short Stories:
The Witcher - 4/5 This one was not bad, and felt like a fairly accurate representation of what a witcher does, as well as a window into Geralt's character, and how he's not like every other witcher.
A Grain of Truth - 2/5 Did not like this one. Mainly because of how much they try to justify the behaviour of Nivellin.
The Lesser Evil - 3/5 The story of the Butcher of Blaviken. Not much to say about this one. It was fine, nothing grand.
A Question of Price - 4/5 I liked how this story panned out. You get an insight to the witcher and his wanting to do something different. As in his own words, he's not a hired thug.
The Edge of the World - 3.5/5 This was the first story with Dandelion in it, and I liked the little bits of humour in it. Overall, pretty decent.
The Last Wish - 3.5/5 I honestly felt that this story dragged on for a bit, and could have done without a few chapters. Another story with Dandelion, and more humour. Also, I like how Geralt and Dandelion's relationship is portrayed in the books as one of mutual respect for each other as well as care.
The Voice of Reason - 2/5 I don't really get the point of this story apart from sort of tying the rest of the stories together.
Overall, it was an okay book. I'm really hoping the coming books are better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Rape
theladyjess's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Rape
daenby's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
puzzle_ad's review against another edition
3.0
So I watched the first season of The Witcher show when it came out (almost mostly because of Henry Cavill, that beautiful nerd) but I thought it was kinda weird and didn't like it all that much and then ya know shit happened and the world was on fire and I forgot about it. I have never played the video games. But I thought hmm I might read the books and I never did. And then the second season came out and I wasn't sure I would even watch it. But I got my booster shot and had a headache so I decided to spend the entire day watching the Witcher while my body did its thing and created all the antibodies. And I really enjoyed it. Listen Jaskier and Yennefer were the best part. I am not surprised they are my favourites. I am a theatre kid first, human second. The funny guy that sings will always own my heart.
So I decided to try the books. I was mostly hesitant because it's a fantasy written by an old Polish man the year I was born which doesn't bode well for many reasons. It very much does read like a fantasy written by an old Polish man the year I was born. Very very sexist and misogynistic. Very much a teenage boy's wish fulfilment fantasy of a strong man fighting monsters and having women constantly throwing themselves at him to sleep with him. But honestly, I expected it to be worse. Thankfully it wasn't as graphic as I thought it would be. Every single story featured rape, every single woman was sexually assaulted in some way. I hate this the most and it is why I hate medieval fantasy. The women were very very male-gazy written. Like, listen there is an entire fucking chapter of the woman that Geralt slept with that has very conveniently taken a vow of silence so she doesn't speak and she is just there for him to monologue at about his manpain^tm. If this isn't the most fucking sexist male fantasy of having a woman there just to fuck and her being literally unable to talk. Renfri's entire story was fucking disturbing as hell. And yes I do realise that he is pulling from Slavic mythology and fairy tales and her story was basically Snow White and his take of fairy tales is very close to the original Grimm tales it still left a bad taste in my mouth. And it reminded me how much I liked Renfri in the first episode and how mad I was at what happened with her so fast.
This is another point, I have seen so many people bitch about how the show is basically fanfiction and has nothing to do with the books so I expected to be you know surprised when reading the book. But the first season followed this book so so closely that I really don't know why people are bitching so much about it. This had the side effect of me being bored because I know what happens next. There just wasn't much Yennefer and it had very little of Jaskier/Dandelion ( I firmly believe fantasy names should not be translated literally in fantasy and it means Buttercup flower too) which was a bummer. They are mostly the reason I wanted to read the books.
The main problem I had with the show was the randomness of the timelines and how it took me until episode 7 to realise there are in fact different timelines, I think I was also not alone in this. The book's short stories since it is in fact a collection of short stories and in a different order than the show's stories but also not in chronological order. Now in retrospect, I do like how they did the first season with the timelines and it is a good adaptation but I didn't enjoy it at first. I think it is a nice storytelling element.
Despite all the problems I had with this I am already halfway through the second one. What I do enjoy is the worldbuilding and mythology. I am Eastern-European and so I do appreciate it a lot. It is much more authentic than when an American author tries to use Slavic mythology. (*cough* Leigh Bardugo *cough*) I wanted to read it translated into my language from Polish (it's probably way more accurate) but there are no audiobooks and I just don't have the time and don't want to sacrifice my vision for this honestly. The audiobooks are fine enough but the narrator singing for Jaskier/Dandelion has honestly scarred me. I feel like his humour is much better in the show but that might just be my bias. I also enjoyed the writing style, though I don't know how much of that is from the translator.
Overall it was fine if you go into it expecting the problems and prepare for reading them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility, Sexual content, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism
hazelmort's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
More a series of short stories, so a bit disjointed and all over the place. I haven't read the other novels yet but I'd imagine this works as a good supplement to the main story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Rape and Pregnancy
sharebear431's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape and Racism
inkfish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Sexual content and Rape
_masha's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
burnt_milk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Fun and interesting in places. However. I got up to Renfri and I adore her but I'm so sick of how they write female characters. In-between complex discussions of monsterhood it rly has the gall to say 'Renfri was silent for some time, fiddling with a string of pearls wound three times around her shapely neck before falling teasingly between her breasts, their curves just visible through the slit of her jacket.' like what the hell? it takes me out every time and is more often than not entirely unnecessary. Apart from that some cool folklore concepts explored and I love the base concept of witchers and their roles in society, just hard to stomach the misogyny.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Racism, Rape, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Incest