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lacrimaeignis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
To begin with, for those that may not know, this book is considered by many to be the first to read in the Witcher series because it introduces the reader to the world and the concepts of the Witcher. Rather than being a full novel, it is a collection of short stories that set up the plot for the series. If you like epic fantasy with lots of action and magic and high stakes you should give this series a try (and remember the books are different than the videogames and tv series).
I bought this book back in 2010 and forgot I owned it until the Netflix show first aired. I had played the videogames and so naturally I was curious as to how the show would be. Then I found my copy of The Last Wish once more and immediately began reading. Life threw me in for a loop and unfortunately, this book got put on the back burner for a while. But I restarted it a few months ago and have finally finished it! I only wish I had finished it sooner!
Although I genuinely enjoy all versions, out of the three, I like the book the best and I cannot wait to continue reading this series. It's so interesting seeing the different versions of Geralt but book Geralt is definitely the most intriguing and sympathetic iteration to me. He is just as formidable and gruff and sarcastic but he comes across as kinder and more soft-hearted and he truly treasures those he deems friends. He's one of the best morally gray characters that I have had the pleasure to see written.
I love getting more into his mind and I love that in the book, he is actually quite the scholar in many ways. He's just as intelligent (although does make some dumb decisions on occasion) as he is talented with his swords. Book Geralt is also more open-minded and willing to challenge his own beliefs by learning and taking into consideration others' viewpoints than his counterparts tend to.
But what I love most about the book is the prose. At times, the descriptions are so poetic and beautiful that I wouldn't be surprised if Dandilion/Jaskier had written them for a ballad. The lines that made me absolutely fall in love with this writing style was, ' It had taken a long time, he thought, before this dance on the edge of an abyss, this mad, macabre ballet of a fight, had achieved the desired effect, allowed him to psychically become one with his opponent, to reach the underlayers of concentrated will which permeated the striga.'
I truly enjoyed joining Geralt on his many adventures and I will definitely be continuing the journey.
I bought this book back in 2010 and forgot I owned it until the Netflix show first aired. I had played the videogames and so naturally I was curious as to how the show would be. Then I found my copy of The Last Wish once more and immediately began reading. Life threw me in for a loop and unfortunately, this book got put on the back burner for a while. But I restarted it a few months ago and have finally finished it! I only wish I had finished it sooner!
Although I genuinely enjoy all versions, out of the three, I like the book the best and I cannot wait to continue reading this series. It's so interesting seeing the different versions of Geralt but book Geralt is definitely the most intriguing and sympathetic iteration to me. He is just as formidable and gruff and sarcastic but he comes across as kinder and more soft-hearted and he truly treasures those he deems friends. He's one of the best morally gray characters that I have had the pleasure to see written.
I love getting more into his mind and I love that in the book, he is actually quite the scholar in many ways. He's just as intelligent (although does make some dumb decisions on occasion) as he is talented with his swords. Book Geralt is also more open-minded and willing to challenge his own beliefs by learning and taking into consideration others' viewpoints than his counterparts tend to.
But what I love most about the book is the prose. At times, the descriptions are so poetic and beautiful that I wouldn't be surprised if Dandilion/Jaskier had written them for a ballad. The lines that made me absolutely fall in love with this writing style was, ' It had taken a long time, he thought, before this dance on the edge of an abyss, this mad, macabre ballet of a fight, had achieved the desired effect, allowed him to psychically become one with his opponent, to reach the underlayers of concentrated will which permeated the striga.'
I truly enjoyed joining Geralt on his many adventures and I will definitely be continuing the journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
khymihr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Violence
Moderate: Death, Gore, Rape, and Classism
msalishajane's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content
ellahoward_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
4.75
This book throws you in at the deep end, immersing you in magic, mystery and monsters. It helped having context from the Netflix show, but I just loved the sarcastic one liners from Geralt. I would note that you should be aware that at some points there are references about sexual objectification of women that were uncomfortable, but overall was an interesting start to the Witcher world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Rape, and Sexual content
miss_hva's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
very 'women are evil or whores' :/
i don’t get the hype
but I tried to read it with a grain of salt since it was written in the 90s, is Polish, and at least the fantasy world is fun.
collection of short stories of Geralt of Rivia the Witcher. First a story about a 'striga' who could only be cured/defeated by spending the night with her in the castle, then thee was a beauty and the beast-esque story, then a snow-white-esque demon slayer, and then a quick story about a beast who terrorized a town to trade with elves, and finally the story of Yennifer a witch who he falls in love with who asks to heal his bard friend.
i don’t get the hype
but I tried to read it with a grain of salt since it was written in the 90s, is Polish, and at least the fantasy world is fun.
collection of short stories of Geralt of Rivia the Witcher. First a story about a 'striga' who could only be cured/defeated by spending the night with her in the castle, then thee was a beauty and the beast-esque story, then a snow-white-esque demon slayer, and then a quick story about a beast who terrorized a town to trade with elves, and finally the story of Yennifer a witch who he falls in love with who asks to heal his bard friend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Geralt is violent and fights a lot of people/monsters. The book is innately misogynistic and sexist. All women are either evil or whores and even the badass ones bend to his every beck and call.zeppolin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
chf1895's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Racism and Sexual violence
literatureleaf's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.5
Age: 15+
Reading time: 2 days
Difficulty level: 3/5
Overall Rating: 7/10
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski is the second novel in The Witcher series, but it serves as an excellent starting point into the world of the beloved Geralt of Rivia. Told in short story format, with hints of a longer, overarching plotline in between, this book introduces the reader to who Geralt is, what makes him tick, and the characters who will eventually come to play a much larger role in his story.
The bite-sized tales featured in this novel are entertaining, easy to follow, and manage to keep the focus on Geralt while honoring the uniqueness and differentiation of the other characters in the story. Each one feels distinctly separate from the rest but remains in keeping with the overall mood and tone of the book.
Sapkowski excels at taking the short story format and doing something larger than life within it. He maintains a masterful plot, that contains hints of mystery, romance, and an origin story, despite the appearance of a book that, at first glance, seems to be comprised of separate, contained stories that have little to do with one another, aside from the main character.
Where The Last Wish struggles is with dialogue. The conversation is often stilted and repetitive, and many of the side characters felt like carbon copies of one another because of this. Much of the dialogue gave off the impression that it was not well thought out, and that it was written because Sapkowski felt like it needed to be there, rather than for an actual literary need for conversation.
Repetition in general was an issue throughout this book. Lines of prose were repeated quite often, to the point that it made focusing on the story itself difficult. Many passages felt clunky and, much like with the dialogue, as if they were written simply to fill blank spaces on the page rather than to enhance the story. This book was originally written in Polish, so, admittedly, some of these gripes may result from things that were lost in translation.
At its core, The Last Wish is a beloved fantasy novel with cherished characters who have earned well-deserved video game and television adaptations. Packed with action, fight scenes, and fairy tale parallels, it weaves the riveting narrative of a being who is finding his place in a world where he was created to kill. Hidden within the gory battles and captivating fights are bits of perfectly timed sarcasm and dry humor, expertly penned political and class commentary, and not-so-gentle reminders that real evil can be found lurking within humanity, not monsters.
Reading time: 2 days
Difficulty level: 3/5
Overall Rating: 7/10
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski is the second novel in The Witcher series, but it serves as an excellent starting point into the world of the beloved Geralt of Rivia. Told in short story format, with hints of a longer, overarching plotline in between, this book introduces the reader to who Geralt is, what makes him tick, and the characters who will eventually come to play a much larger role in his story.
The bite-sized tales featured in this novel are entertaining, easy to follow, and manage to keep the focus on Geralt while honoring the uniqueness and differentiation of the other characters in the story. Each one feels distinctly separate from the rest but remains in keeping with the overall mood and tone of the book.
Sapkowski excels at taking the short story format and doing something larger than life within it. He maintains a masterful plot, that contains hints of mystery, romance, and an origin story, despite the appearance of a book that, at first glance, seems to be comprised of separate, contained stories that have little to do with one another, aside from the main character.
Where The Last Wish struggles is with dialogue. The conversation is often stilted and repetitive, and many of the side characters felt like carbon copies of one another because of this. Much of the dialogue gave off the impression that it was not well thought out, and that it was written because Sapkowski felt like it needed to be there, rather than for an actual literary need for conversation.
Repetition in general was an issue throughout this book. Lines of prose were repeated quite often, to the point that it made focusing on the story itself difficult. Many passages felt clunky and, much like with the dialogue, as if they were written simply to fill blank spaces on the page rather than to enhance the story. This book was originally written in Polish, so, admittedly, some of these gripes may result from things that were lost in translation.
At its core, The Last Wish is a beloved fantasy novel with cherished characters who have earned well-deserved video game and television adaptations. Packed with action, fight scenes, and fairy tale parallels, it weaves the riveting narrative of a being who is finding his place in a world where he was created to kill. Hidden within the gory battles and captivating fights are bits of perfectly timed sarcasm and dry humor, expertly penned political and class commentary, and not-so-gentle reminders that real evil can be found lurking within humanity, not monsters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was certainly fun to recognize scenes from the show and how they interpreted it. The Law of Surprise chapter in particular was a lot of fun. However, be forewarned that this book — as is common in a lot of grimdark adult fantasy — contains a lot of misogyny & violence against women (usually not on-page, but retold by men as either a joke or a way to explain the monster haunting their town). And because of that, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I’d hoped.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Violence
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence