Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Kohtalon miekka

(Originally posted on Goodreads.)

I'd give it a 4.5 but I had enough fun that I'm willing to rate it higher.

Edit: The more I think about this book the angrier I get. Yennefer and Geralt are a dumbass couple and their romance was so rushed, you cannot convince me that they're good together. Just fucking marry Jaskier already, the guy would sacrifice a leg for you.

That aside, book's fun. I like Ciri and her hot grandma.

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villenview's review against another edition

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The author really had an extra dose of his woman-hating juice before penning this one. Casual sexism is dialed up considerably from this first book, and I had to stop reading after the main woman character was sexually assaulted, in public, which is then played off for laughs. Geralt is disgustingly ambivalent even as she's screaming for him to help her. Fucked up.

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taraltofrivia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.5

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Writing: 4.25⭐️/5

Much of this novel is beautifully written. I think I saved maybe 10-20 quotes throughout the book and that was without looking too hard for gorgeous passages. I do, however, draw an issue with some of the more misogynistic passages. I understand this is a part of the worldbuilding and is often used to demonstrate the bleakness of the world in which the characters live. However, these passages are often used in lieu of more interesting worldbuilding. I don’t really see the point of passively mentioning how a maid is getting SA’d and Geralt is annoyed by it. It just felt kind of lazy, but a laziness that was pretending to be clever.

Characters: 4.5⭐️/5

As far as well-written, thought-out, and developed characters go, it doesn’t get a lot of complaints from me. I would argue that several of the female characters relied heavily on tropes/stereotypes, which was a bit tiring at times as a reader given the depth of other characters. That being said, all the main characters were extremely well-fleshed out, which I really enjoyed reading.

Plot: 4.5⭐️/5

The short story format fit the material well. I found most of the plots just stunningly engaging and honestly really enjoyable. It was intriguing the way Sapkowski played off fairy tales in an entirely dark way. I really enjoyed it. This is what made it so confusing when he seemed to go out of his way to include a misogynistic side plot.

Post-Reading Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Who Should Read This?

Fans of Game of Thrones
Fans of bleak fantasy worlds
Fans of the Witcher show/game

CW: Sexual abuse, mentions of rape, sexual assault, murder, death

Final Rating: 4.75⭐️/5

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senjalaakso's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

3.0

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puzzle_ad's review against another edition

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2.5

I liked this less than the first one. Here are some random notes that were taken while listening to it:

• It's the casual sexual assault sprinkled in there for funsies for me.
• The story about Geralt and Istredd's dick measuring contest is absolutely ridiculous and I am so happy they cut that shit out in the show.
• The mermaid singing was fucking awful to listen to in the audiobook specifically my god.
• I don't buy Yennefer and Geralts epic love story I'm sorry. This goes for the show too tbh.
• When does Ciri come in on all of this?
•

It seems we said not today to the god of death

So those were overall my thoughts. Much the same as for the previous book, though this one feels much more disjointed and seems to have more random stories, which were cut from the show, understandably so. I just hate how often women are assaulted in fantasy and this series specifically I'm sorry. Did those people really need to stip Yennefer and grope at her, I really don't think so. Also seeing everything from only Geralt's POV is really hindering any character development on anyone and it definitely makes it harder to buy his epic love story with Yennefer. I am writing this review after having read Blood of Elves as well, and it definitely is much better.

I will continue on though. I am somewhat interested in how this story will play out.

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anni_swanilda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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