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readbyella_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content
pikitat's review against another edition
3.0
It was alright. I might read go on to read the next book because it was a pretty interesting read at some points. The book is broken into sections that have chapters within them, and I thought the first and second sections were really engaging. The rest of the book was alright, but I definitely enjoyed the style of the first two sections the most. I found the characterization of Geralt a little inconsistent, although I did like the dynamic between him and Dandilion. I wasn't crazy about Yennefer so I hope she doesn't show up a lot in the next book lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia and Infertility
Minor: Sexual content and Misogyny
idajoh's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
It's a good fantasy book and it kept me engaged the entire time. However, all the stories were adapted into the TV-show (which is a good thing), but I wish there were some fresh stories for me to enjoy honestly.
The story is mainly told through dialogue which makes it a pretty quick and easy read. The action sequences, although few, are also very good at creating suspense while being believable. I will admig that I was a bit confused throughout most of them, but I just chalked it up to me being tired while I read most of the book.
The major downfall of this book is the extreme misoginy. No women in this book, except maybe Nenneke, is seen as something other than a sex object by all the characters. That includes Geralt. It was extremely off-putting and I'm glad that aspect was toned down in the TV series. At least Yennefer in the TV series had other redeeming qualities except her want of a child.
The story is mainly told through dialogue which makes it a pretty quick and easy read. The action sequences, although few, are also very good at creating suspense while being believable. I will admig that I was a bit confused throughout most of them, but I just chalked it up to me being tired while I read most of the book.
The major downfall of this book is the extreme misoginy. No women in this book, except maybe Nenneke, is seen as something other than a sex object by all the characters. That includes Geralt. It was extremely off-putting and I'm glad that aspect was toned down in the TV series. At least Yennefer in the TV series had other redeeming qualities except her want of a child.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Murder, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Infertility
bluejayreads's review
3.0
This was a weird reading experience because I'm already fairly familiar with the Witcher settings, concepts, and characters from the video games (I've never played them myself, but I've watched my husband play through The Witcher III twice). I think if I didn't have that context, it would have been a lot harder to follow this book. (Although to be fair, a large part of that is audio is not a good format to read this and the audiobook narrator was not the greatest.) The internet recommended I read this short story collection before jumping into the first novel because chronologically they're set before the novels, but they seem to be written for people who already at least a little bit understand what's going on. I'm still going to give the first book a shot, but I'm not sure The Last Wish is really the best place to jump into the Witcher books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Blood, and Sexism
Minor: Body horror and Incest
jessthanthree's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Animal death, and Violence
leona's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I feel very, very mixed about The Last Wish.
For the most part, I really enjoyed these stories. I did watch the show first, which made me want to read the books, and these stories are all in the show other than one I believe. I actually really enjoyed the short story format, and I think they were well connected and structured together. I definitely preferred the stories from the second half of the book (which I will probably explain more later.)
I enjoyed most of the characters in this book, Dandilion was one of my favourites but I also liked Calanthe. Geralt is an interesting lead.
I enjoyed the worldbuilding and magic, although I'm hoping this magic will be expanded on in later books. I found myself really enjoying these stories.
But I would be remiss if I didn't mention The Last Wish's glaring flaw (although people will probably complain that I just 'didn't get it' or am wrong, this is an OPINION): this book - especially the first half - was so blatantly sexist and 'male-gaze(y)' at times that I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. I, like an idiot, bought the whole series because I was sure I would love it and it's cheaper to buy them all at once than individually, but I felt like I was dreading reading the others if they were all going to be sexist nonsense. Now, where's the proof?
Here's a cracker from Geralt, as he monologues to a woman who has taken a vow of silence:
'I wanted this girl, sobbing with gratitude, to kiss her saviour on the hands, and her father to thank me on his knees. In reality her father fled with his attackers, and the girl, drenched in the bald man's blood, threw up, became hysterical and fainted in fear when I approached her.'
Yep. This is Geralt's first kill after leaving Kaer Morhen, after he saves a young girl from being raped. And he's disappointed that she didn't thank him for his 'kindness' and hail him like a hero. Not to mention the sexualisation of a 14 year-old in the first story, as well as so many other random women walking around with their boobs out, or completely naked for literally no reason. Not to mention the sympathising of rapists like Nivellen . But the Iola scene was probably the worst one to me and it made it hard for me to really sympathise or like Geralt as much as I did in the show.
The Last Wish is a book with strong female characters, Calanthe and Yennefer, for example, but it is also a book with so much random crap. However, I must say that I feel like the later stories did improve significantly, with still a bit of iffiness here and there.
I'm kind of nervous about reading the other books because I have seen such mixed reviews. Some people say Sword of Destiny gets worse, then I saw some reviews saying Blood of Elves is actually quite modern in terms of female representation. I also know that the series is meant to get considerably darker around the middle, which I'm a bit nervous about (yes I am a bit sensitive, sorry?). This is the first grimdark thing I have read really. Despite this, I am interested and do really want to carry on.
So yes, overall I'm rating this 3 stars.
For the most part, I really enjoyed these stories. I did watch the show first, which made me want to read the books, and these stories are all in the show other than one I believe. I actually really enjoyed the short story format, and I think they were well connected and structured together. I definitely preferred the stories from the second half of the book (which I will probably explain more later.)
I enjoyed most of the characters in this book, Dandilion was one of my favourites but I also liked Calanthe. Geralt is an interesting lead.
I enjoyed the worldbuilding and magic, although I'm hoping this magic will be expanded on in later books. I found myself really enjoying these stories.
But I would be remiss if I didn't mention The Last Wish's glaring flaw (although people will probably complain that I just 'didn't get it' or am wrong, this is an OPINION): this book - especially the first half - was so blatantly sexist and 'male-gaze(y)' at times that I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. I, like an idiot, bought the whole series because I was sure I would love it and it's cheaper to buy them all at once than individually, but I felt like I was dreading reading the others if they were all going to be sexist nonsense. Now, where's the proof?
Here's a cracker from Geralt, as he monologues to a woman who has taken a vow of silence:
'I wanted this girl, sobbing with gratitude, to kiss her saviour on the hands, and her father to thank me on his knees. In reality her father fled with his attackers, and the girl, drenched in the bald man's blood, threw up, became hysterical and fainted in fear when I approached her.'
Yep. This is Geralt's first kill after leaving Kaer Morhen, after he saves a young girl from being raped. And he's disappointed that she didn't thank him for his 'kindness' and hail him like a hero. Not to mention the sexualisation of a 14 year-old in the first story, as well as so many other random women walking around with their boobs out, or completely naked for literally no reason. Not to mention the sympathising of rapists like
The Last Wish is a book with strong female characters, Calanthe and Yennefer, for example, but it is also a book with so much random crap. However, I must say that I feel like the later stories did improve significantly, with still a bit of iffiness here and there.
I'm kind of nervous about reading the other books because I have seen such mixed reviews. Some people say Sword of Destiny gets worse, then I saw some reviews saying Blood of Elves is actually quite modern in terms of female representation. I also know that the series is meant to get considerably darker around the middle, which I'm a bit nervous about (yes I am a bit sensitive, sorry?). This is the first grimdark thing I have read really. Despite this, I am interested and do really want to carry on.
So yes, overall I'm rating this 3 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Sexism, Rape, and Misogyny
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Blood
Minor: Incest
angelica02's review against another edition
adventurous
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Sexual content
carlyoc's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was worried it wouldn't live up to the show, but they are very similar. I still found the character of Geralt likeable and amusing, and I had fun noticing which monster encounters were lifted directly into the show, but with different characters present (i.e. here Geralt meets Nivellen, a man cursed to look like a monster and who is in love with a striga, alone, whereas in the show, he has Ciri in tow). The chapters are very episodic, often leaving me wishing for more detail about what happens in between. But once I realized that they were originally published as short stories, that made a lot more sense. We also get to see more of the character Nenneke than we do in the show, as Geralt rests at her temple between many of his adventures, and tells a number of the chapters as flashbacks during an extended stay there.
I was also worried about how a book originally written in the 90s would depict its female characters, but I found Nenneke, Yennifer, Renfri, and Queen Calanthe to be interesting and well-rounded characters.
Overall, this has served its purpose of keeping me immersed in the Witcher world while I await Season 3 of the tv show, and I will likely continue the series.
I was also worried about how a book originally written in the 90s would depict its female characters, but I found Nenneke, Yennifer, Renfri, and Queen Calanthe to be interesting and well-rounded characters.
Overall, this has served its purpose of keeping me immersed in the Witcher world while I await Season 3 of the tv show, and I will likely continue the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Sexual content
aominechichi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Alcohol, Incest, and Sexual content
mirandanoel's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, Sexual content, and Misogyny
Minor: Incest