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literatureleaf's review
- 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
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.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape, Murder, Death, Sexism, Misogyny, Incest, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Misogyny and Violence
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
warlockdorian's review against another edition
- 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
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
caladbolg's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Rape
jmeyers888's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Blood, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Rape
sophiawithdiarrhea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Rape
shodank's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
But GOD, the absolute lack of sexual morals and the full objectification of women. WOW. Not only does this take place in a fantasy medieval period, it feels as though it was written in this period too. I'm going to need at least half a year to recover from all the misogyny.
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Incest, Sexual harassment, and Rape
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
noonanjohnc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Rape
stwriter92's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, Sexual content, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Rape
padme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
So I went in knowing what to expect. And I've got to admit, it was mostly a fun read! I liked getting more insights into Geralt and the other characters, and reading the original source material was really entertaining. But, unfortunately, the other side of it was also true. The female characters were not very well handled, which hampered my enjoyment as a female reader. I can see why guys (and plenty of girls) can read this series without any issue, but it took me aback after reading a lot of female-written fantasy novels over the past few years. There are sections of this book that are serious contenders for "she breasted boobily down the stairs" awards, not to mention the amount of unnecessary violence against women. Rape is mentioned in nearly every single one of the short stories, and that takes its toll on me mentally.
I have a lot more to say about each of the stories individually, but I think I'll leave it at this for now.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Incest, Sexism, and Rape