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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Overall another good instalment in the series and a good start to the main plot. It explores interesting relationship dynamics between Tris, Ciri, Yennifer and Geralt. Also the need for female guidance in Ciri's life through Triss I think was well executed. My only major issue with the book was that we sometimes get dropped into political meetings which are not as well developed as they should be as the stakes, the characters involved and importantly the geography is not explained. The lack of map adds to the latter's issue. The listing of a slew of names of monarchs and kingdoms without explanation or development as to their location, motivations, part interactions... proved confusing at best and pointless at worst. Overall however very enjoyable.
Awesome series. 3rd book I’ve read in a row. Yen’s character is really starting to fuck me off though. Can’t wait to finish the series as it’s very addictive!
"And the girl?" Yarpen indicated Ciri with his head as she wriggled under the sheepskin. "Yours?"
"Mine," he replied without thinking. "Mine, Zigrin."
Auuughh, my feelings!!
I'll say it again, though: you should definitely start this series with [b:The Last Wish|1128434|The Last Wish (The Witcher, #1)|Andrzej Sapkowski|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1181224890s/1128434.jpg|2293675], because the short stories do a much better job of worldbuilding and getting you interested in this universe; plus, characterwise, you'll care so much more about Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri, and even background characters like Yarpen, Dandelion, and Calanthe.
Like I mentioned in status updates, this world dovetails nicely with Dragon Age's, in which elves are an oppressed minority (alongside halflings and dwarves). Blood of Elves consciously echoes pogroms and internment camps when it discusses how humans rail against The Other (despite, as characters have pointed out, that elves have been mingling with humans for ages and a lot of people have some elven ancestry). It's a dark world on the brink of civil and international war, and there are shades of Game of Thrones when you see royals politicking and scheming and struggling to come up with the best solution for their kingdoms, and how they rationalise themselves into doing something awful -- for reasons of state.
It is a bit of a readjustment going from the fast, punchy short story collections to this book: it's more slow-paced and there's less of a sense of climax. So, one star mainly docked because it really does feel like lead-up/build-up to the next book rather than a story in its own right with a beginning, middle, and end; it also slows down a bit after leaving Kaer Morhen (but then picked up for me when it got back into Ciri's training).
Which, speaking of: I LOVE HER TRAINING. Sapkowski communicated so much with so little, these sparse dialogue-only sections, which are funny and fun and a little silly. Plus I cracked up at the beginning, when you realise that the badass witchers are actually a bunch of clueless men who are completely baffled by female puberty. (It's a great example of the author's tongue-in-cheek approach to high fantasy, and I just love that the misery & cramps are talked about and dealt with! Because otherwise, in most fiction, you'd think that periods never exist.) Ciri is a ray of light, just brightening up the others around her; her effect on the witchers and Yennefer is just. A sight to behold. (Did I get a tear in my eye when
Spoiler
Yennefer called her daughterGeralt and Dandelion and Yennefer are held at a far more distant remove compared to the previous books, though, in favour of Ciri and her development. So Sapkowski's subversive fairytales are swapped out for a Chosen One trope instead -- which, I'm not super enamoured with that aspect of the arc because it's one of those well-trodden storylines that gets on my nerves, but in this case I don't mind because I just have so many feelings about these characters, found family, and two frigid people learning how to parent an orphan.
[Credit & credit.]
Awful book, whole lot of nothing happens. The first two books, the ones made up of short stories, were great. This novel is just boring.
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first foray into the Witcher in novel form is solid. I personally prefer the short story format, but the transfer was more exciting and enjoyable than expected