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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've watched the tv series, and I'm already familiar with most of the content up until here. I already really like the characters, and I'm very invested in the story, that's why this was a 4-star experience for me. If this wasn't the case, I think this counts as a 3-star book, which, for me it normally means I won't continue with the series because there are so many 4/5-star books I'd rather read. But in this case, I'm happy I watched the show to make me want to continue with it.
When I watched the series, I didn't think I'd read the books, but I missed it so much, and I terribly wanted something that felt like watching The Witcher. With Henry Cavill leaving the show, I don't have much hope for the rest of it, so I thought the best thing to do was to read the books.
The show is not perfect, and I get people's issues with it. But it has a special place in my heart because it gave me all the nostalgic tingly feeling I got when I first watched Harry Potter, LOTR all those years ago. To be honest, I always crave that feeling, I constantly chase that high, but they hardly ever make movies/series like that. Adaptations are either so bad that you want to gouge your eyes out for having watched even one episode (Shadowhunter
When I watched the series, I didn't think I'd read the books, but I missed it so much, and I terribly wanted something that felt like watching The Witcher. With Henry Cavill leaving the show, I don't have much hope for the rest of it, so I thought the best thing to do was to read the books.
The show is not perfect, and I get people's issues with it. But it has a special place in my heart because it gave me all the nostalgic tingly feeling I got when I first watched Harry Potter, LOTR all those years ago. To be honest, I always crave that feeling, I constantly chase that high, but they hardly ever make movies/series like that. Adaptations are either so bad that you want to gouge your eyes out for having watched even one episode (Shadowhunter
medium-paced
I do really enjoy the world of The Witcher but this book moved so slowly that it bordered on unbearable.
This book is mostly dedicated to two topics: Ciri and politics. It's actually quite surprising how much of an on-and-off presence Geralt is in Blood of Elves! Of course, a lot of this is because the novel is setting up A LOT for the future, but I can't help loving The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny just a little more, mainly because Geralt is a much more dominant character in those two books. That being said, I really enjoyed reading about Ciri and her training, seeing her build relationships with people around her, while also struggling with her own insecurities—I'm definitely looking forward to watching her grow. And of course, there still is some fun action and weird magic mixed in here!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
We move onto the true Witcher series as it stands—gone are the short story formats and the monster-of-the-week hunts interspersed with an overarching narrative. And I don't know how to feel about it, really; on one hand, the politics is an easy draw to my attention (you know me and fantasy politics, hoo boy) and I love the court intrigue of war and the discussions of prejudice. But on the other hand, the pacing suffers so much from that lack of purpose and immediate introduction of theme and narrative that was present in the short stories, which is probably intentional as we go along to the true meat of the series. But man, Geralt's parts were almost always a slog to get through because of it. We're in one location for too long, talk to the same people for both too much time and not enough to really get to know them (shoutout in particular to Philippa Eilhart who was in the story for all of five seconds, really) , walk about listlessly through the plot (much like Geralt) until something forces him into action. Which isn't a bad way to go about fantasy, but when I'm reading a part, I often wish I'm in another, and when I'm that one, I wish I was back where I started instead.
Ciri is what really saved this book; she remains that clear focus and a very fun protagonist to go along with.Also, I love that last chapter of her with Yennefer, which almost made me forgive some of the horrific pacing issues this book has. Almost.
Ciri is what really saved this book; she remains that clear focus and a very fun protagonist to go along with.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
tense
slow-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