Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Last Wish

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

28 reviews

salma__m's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

3.0

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arachan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Honestly not sure what to make of this book.

It's grimdark fantasy which is not my preferred genre. If I was asked to describe it, I would say noir fantasy with all that implies. There's a lot of "The world is horrible and shitty and the main character sees all the horrible underside of people but he's repulsed so he's the good guy!" which reminded me (unpleasantly) of GRR Martin. It also falls into the Slavic tradition of "the world is shit but what can you do?" which is hard to read in pandemic times.

All that being said, I was genuinely surprised. There were some genuinely human moments. The writing treats women as dangerous and unpredictable but does also treat that dangerous unpredictablity as a natural response to a world that's just flat out shitty to them. I did like Geralt.

There are some interesting parallels to the Netflix series but the book's characters are different in interesting ways.
Geralt is the obvious one; Netflix!Geralt is a brooding loner who still keenly feels the injustice of his treatment, he's like a younger Sam Vimes who still believes there is an objective justice out there and holds the world to it. Book!Geralt is older and both more and less cynical. He understands human foibles and mostly just tries to live with them.

Yennefer is less fleshed out (I presume her backstory happens in the other books) but the core of the character and her attitude that the world fucked her over so she's going to fuck it back twice as hard is intact.

Dandilion/Jaskier is a very different character. Again, the Netflix version is younger, rawer and more eager to prove himself. Dandilion is comfortable in his role and his life. The biggest difference here is that while Netflix!Geralt spends most of the show being an asshole to Jaskier, Book!Geralt not only cares for his Dandilion's well-being, he actually likes him. There's a comparable amount of insults but in the book, it's clearly a reflection of a very long and close friendship. Netflix!Geralt just comes across as an asshole.

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touchegiantsquid's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

4.0

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mrsdarcylynn's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

I loved the narrator for this audiobook! His monster voices, accents, and pacing was top tier. I also love that Dandelion was misspelt as Dandilion, which is such a great way to say his name.
Overall, I was super impressed with the author’s ability to take a well known folk tale or fairy tale and turn it on its end without being overt about it. The nods to fairy tales felt fun! (And are even made fun of in the book). For a darker fantasy world with darker themes, this book is surprisingly funny! If you’re expecting GoT, this series is not that and in a really good way. Can’t wait to get into the rest of the series!!

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