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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: Violence and Misogyny
Moderate: Classism, Death, Rape, and Gore
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: Violence, Death, 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: Murder and Violence
Minor: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Sexual content
amelianotthepilot's review
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: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexism, and Violence
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.brittni_in_ink's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
I enjoyed this more than I expected! The episodic format and time jumps were interesting, and I liked getting to know Geralt and his main circle through the short stories that make up the book. The "monsters" had nuance to them, and the action sequences were very well written. Having fairy tale references throughout was also interesting! Also props to the translation team - the quality of the writing really shone through.
I'd played a little of the Witcher 3 before reading this, so I was familiar with the characters and the kinds of stories I'd encounter. But I didn't expect the book to be so funny. There were some legit laugh out loud moments. Geralt does say "hmmm" a lot.
Overall, the lore and the characters were compelling, and I'll definitely continue reading through the series.
I'd played a little of the Witcher 3 before reading this, so I was familiar with the characters and the kinds of stories I'd encounter. But I didn't expect the book to be so funny. There were some legit laugh out loud moments. Geralt does say "hmmm" a lot.
Overall, the lore and the characters were compelling, and I'll definitely continue reading through the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Medical content, Misogyny, Blood, Infertility, Sexism, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Body horror, Gore, and Murder
literatureleaf's review
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: Rape, Murder, Death, Sexism, Misogyny, Incest, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
casdelvo's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Death
Minor: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, and Sexual harassment
warlockdorian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Drug use, Kidnapping, Slavery, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Infertility, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, and Sexism
jmeyers888'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Blood, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Rape
stwriter92's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I wanted to watch the series (I'm always late to the party) but I wanted to read a bit about the original lore first. I absolutely loved this book! I feel like it gave me a really good introduction to the characters and world of the Witcher. I'm always a bit apprehensive when starting a new fantasy (especially one that has as much lore as this one). However, the format of this book and the gradual introduction to each part of the worldbuilding and magic system made things a lot less intimidating. I adore Geralt as a character. He is so gruff and puts on this "I'm-only-in-it-for-the-money" persona. However, his actions continuously show that he has a kind and compassionate heart. I also really enjoyed the Slavic influences when it came to the world and the mythology surrounding it.
I look forward to continuing with the series!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, Sexual content, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Rape