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pemdas97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
incontiguously's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, very dull. The only reason I persisted with it is because it was a Christmas gift. Reynevan is a very unlikeable character and I had no sympathy with him. Most of the book is just following him wandering around the forest and getting out of scrapes just in the nick of time because for some inexplicable reason everyone wants to help him out. It picks up a bit towards the end, particularly the witches' sabbath, but the tower of fools itself is only in it very briefly, and I can't help but feel that this particular part of the book was over-hyped/mis-sold in the cover synopsis.
sofijakryz's review against another edition
5.0
Before I begin my review of Andrzej Sapkowski’s “Narrenturm”, I have to thank Gollancz.
I first read Sapkowski’s saga on the witcher Geralt way back in 2007. When I finished the series, I went to check with the local publisher if they had more Sapkowski. They didn’t. “But,” they reassured me, “There’s more that Sapkowski has written. Trilogija husycka. It’s more historical than fantasy, though. No, there’s no Lithuanian translation yet…”
Little did I know that “yet” was going to last. None of the publishing houses in Lithuania has chanced a risk of publishing the Hussite Trilogy. I ended up waiting. And waiting… And waiting… Thirteen. Years.
Thirteen bloody years! And they still haven’t even approached translating the Hussite Trilogy. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, though. Maybe. One day. If not me, maybe my descendants will live to see the Hussite Trilogy in Lithuanian one day. Maybe.
So I must thank Gollancz. And David French – him especially, for doing a great job with translating “Narrenturm”. These guys simply don’t realise what they did. Based on how frequently Google aligned my search for Latin idioms and aphorisms with queries for translation to Hungarian and other mid-/east European languages, I understand that they did a service to the whole region of mid-/east Europe.
Thank you, you crazy Brit publishers!
Let‘s get back to the review.
Before reading “Narrenturm“, I told myself to get rid of any presumptions, refuse any premature expectations, pretend that this is some other book written by somebody else. And I failed, for I still ended up expecting for Andrzej Sapkowski, for his Witcher. And yet, there are two things I have to tell: 1) this is not “The Witcher“ and you won‘t get any Geralt here; 2) if you haven‘t done so, read the main saga about the Witcher first.
So what‘s the story about? Well, imagine a young guy, one of those normal, lovely dudes that haven‘t yet been wrecked by life. A guy who would gladly enjoy it were it not that he‘s unlucky: he had the misfortune of having been born during the Medieval Ages. The times, when Inquisition is on rampage. When crussades against so called „heretics“ and pagans are common. When mass slaughtering as a means of making a point on whose interpretation of Christianity is the most righteous, virtuous and acceptable to the Almighty. When, if you‘re unlucky to make a hobby of magic, charms and herbs, your life can finish in smoke. When, if your knowledge of medicine exceeds that of prayers, bloodletting and leeches, someone can accuse you of witchcraft, and you end up losing your life in smoke. When it is dangerous to be a learned man, and more so, obtain your knowledge in a „wrong“ place. When, if you by accident end up in bed of a married woman, you may end up whipped, locked in a monastery or literally dismantled piece by piece. Just because. And if you‘re unlucky enough to be an open person and have an innate dislike for lies (adventures in bed don‘t count: for one thing, that‘s love, and who hasn‘t been in situation like that anyway?), and do not expect others to wring the hell out of you (maybe just because, maybe because they are afraid that it is them who will end up wrung out if they don‘t do that to others), and, against the warnings of friends and patrons, constantly blurt out something you shouldn‘t, you may end up running for your life.
This is exactly what happens to Reinmar of Bielawa, known as Reynevan by friends. Infatuation with a woman and desire to prove his truths to the world make him entangle in a chain of misadventures at a constant risk of losing his life. Head. Or other body parts. Though... would that those were mere misadventures.
On one hand, sharing so many character traits with Reynevan, I empathise with him strongly. Being gullible, too open, too trusting, expressing one‘s views, values and principles too loud, at a wrong place and wrong time, inability to foresee the circumstances, being stupidly stubborn... The list can go on and on. At the same time, when you consider the context (history), you facepalm and ask „Man, you‘ve just been hurt, and badly, will you learn?“
The story line itself oscillates. What I mean by that, is that when reading “Narrenturm“, you laugh at times. At times you creep the hell out. At times you cry out loud for fear of Reynevan and his companions. Yet, at times you wonder if there isn‘t a bit too much of running around from one horror to another. Also. Sapkowski has received some criticism from the fans of the Witcher saga for overusing destiny and its role. Here, the readers get even more lucky coincidences or jokes/traps of fate. However, once you near the end of the book and events big and small begin to fit the larger picture, you begin wondering what the hell (literally) Reynevan got himself into and how (or whether at all) will Sapkowski manage to get him out from all this.
However, what really impressed me most and what made me to carry on reading probably more than the story itself, was the historical and cultural background.
There are plenty of movies and books on the Medieval Ages, Inquisition, heretics or witches. However, compared to the general amount of those, literature on history of mid-/east Europe or crussades against movements requiring reformation of the Catholic Church (bear in mind this was at least a century before Marthin Luther‘s list nailed to the door of a church in Wittenberg), movements inspired by John Wycliffe‘s works or Jan Hus(s), are scarce. Maybe that‘s a regional/cultural thing (few things exist more political than history) but I remember only having read a few sentences on this during history classes. Yet here Sapkowski exploits extensive references to religious/cultural conflicts of the time and the events that led to them; texts of medieval intelectuals aiming to reform the Church; theological and philosophical debates on what is expected of a virtuous Christian or Catholic (including the medieval doublethink on biblical ideals and implementing those in practice); prophecies on who, when and under which circumstances will become the Pope of Rome, including the weird and twisted logic (so similar to that actually used in those days) on why one candidate or another fits the very obscure and symbolic metaphors mentioned in the prophecies (so reminiscent on „Gargantua and Pantagruel“ chapter on the ways to learn one‘s future by magic).
Cultural-geographical background was a killer. Events depicted in „Narrenturm“ occur in Silesia, the lands once ruled by the Polish Piast dukes, a family with royal blood. Over the last millenium, those lands exchanged hands mutiple time, existing as parts of nearby duchies or kingdoms of Bohemia, Poland and later – Prussia. Yet, at some point they enhoyed existence as independent duchies. The history of these lands is interesting to say the least. And that is reflected in the book, especially the cultural mixture in that region. Names of the characters (and their family/location names) are various combinations of German and Polish and the permutations of names they choose to present to other characters can often vary depending on situation. When reading “Narrenturm“, I had to improve my knowledge on Polish and German heraldry despite the characters (assumingly) communicating mostly in German and Latin. Or French or Italian (turns out that Sapkowski and his characters like Dante). Because inserts in these languages are often untranslated, I was made to improve my non-existent knowledge of Latin and other languages :)
Regarding languages and untranslated excerpts, I would so much love to learn what the original exchange between Reynevan and the Water Pole on the Odra river was :) Poor David French, put into a... situation by Sapkowski, creatively exploited English tongue twisters maintaining the joke. I understand why he chose to do so and compliment him on a clever way he found to get around it, although it had a cost – the readers are momentarily torn out from their immersion in medieval Silesia. There were a few other minor things, though. I wonder about justaucorps - was it that Sapkowski did not have a medieval description for that type of clothing, or was it something else? I also wonder why a Lithuanian name for Jogaila was used instead of Polish Jagiełło? Was it Sapkowski emphasising that our poor Jogaila never found his place in Polish history, or is it an artefact of translation? And the final thing: why was “Narrenturm“ and why will “Lux perpetua“ be anglicised? If it's counting orens had versus orens not yet had rather than patronising the reader, it‘s fine. Sapkowski must have approved it, after all...
Minor curiosities aside, I have to say David French did a wonderful job of translating “Narrenturm“ and I really enjoyed reading it in English.
Back to the review.
I so enjoyed the details. When reading the Witcher saga, I counted some 15-20 types of weapons, including all sorts of varieties of swords, war axes, maces, pikes and pike-like thingies that have to be googled out just to know what they are. They are also present in „Narrenturm“ and are supplemented with, it turns out, already existing firearms. There is bunchloads of information on all sorts of shields and armour and their pieces. Information on the orders of knights. In general, on (sub)culture of knights. I have always imagined that was sort of western European thing, only familiar in our region through the orders of militant monks or the crussaders. Turns out that the Poles also had their knight culture, including knights that became legendary heroes! And so little is known about that! Or about such phenomena as Raubritters…
There is plenty of information on the clothing and fashions of the time as well. Detalised to the level of who wore underwear of which fabric… Diet… From ducal dinner table the advent fasting of the commoners…
In other words, this book is not for a lazy reader. You will have to google a lot. I do recommend to keep your smartphones charged or keep power banks at hand. Of course, you can laze out and choose not to google. However, in that case, you are going to lose a lot.
I have to conclude: when doing research for ”Narrenturm”, Sapkowski must have been reading like a blasting animal.
To be fair, I have a feeling that, in a way, Sapkowski wrote this book for himself. Or for his most dedicated readers. He constantly plays around with his readers, trolling them mildly. Not only through “Do you know this? But then you won’t know this! Or that! And that was anachronistic, gotcha! By the way, how’s your Latin?”
Check the excerpt from the caption on Chapter Two: „Meanhile, Reynevan himself is wandering around the woods near Oleśnica. The author is sparing in his descriptions of that trek, hence the reader – nolens volens – will have to imagine it.“ And what do you think? I ended up having to.
Or Chapter Fourteen: „Which describes events happening the same evening as those in the preceding chapter, but in a different place: in a city about eight miles away in a north-easterly direction as the crow flies. A glance at a map of Silesia, which the author warmly encourages the reader to take, will reveal which city is being discussed.“
Because he just could not name the city, could he? |-(
Oh Sapkowski, you old devil. This is exactly why we love you.
He plays around with the genre, too. Or experiments, more like. ”Narrenturm” is a very serious historical book. Its prologue is superb. Detalisation, too. And I love Sapkowski undertaking the role of a historian, of a thinker seriously. However, we should not forget that he is a very serious fantasy writer, too. He actually goes an extra mile doing the seemingly impossible: he pulls off the high literature with its deep, emotionally heavy ideas off a high horse and combines it with lowly fantasy. So it is possible after all. It’s just that other fantasy writers rarely take upon eclecticism and punk-like rebelling.
So don’t expect the Witcher. Though there are some potential overlaps. Unconventional, interesting characters. Exorcisms :) And… I'm curious what was the original name of Hans Mein Igel. I really wonder if he is a reference to the Witcher, or not.
Apart from that, some fantasy elements at first looked weird. I wondered, why. Was it because the historical background set a very un-magical atmosphere? But… when you come to think on all sorts of bullsh*t real, physical people would conjure up for the Inquisition, say, something about their neighbour flying out the chimney astride a pestle to bewitch your cow so it stops giving milk (random, unrelated example), those elements come up in completely different light. Coincidentally, by accident, when reading “Narrenturm”, I came across a book on witch trials in Lithuania. Check the equivalents in your countries and you will be surprised by these elements used by Sapkowski.
Magic used by the characters of The Hussite Trilogy is absolutely different from that used by the characters in the Witcher saga. Mostly because they are either real, recorded practices or creation based on those (try the bookstore on Store Street in London – they have immense literature collection on magic, witchcraft, charms and arcanum - and you will see). Because magic in real life is a bit… limited at best, so is magic in ”Narrenturm”. Except for when Sapkowski decides to enhance its potential (see Reynevan’s “Wirfe Saltze…” or Circulos’s diagrams).
I am awed at how many years of careful research had to be spent to collect all this information and then read and think it through to turn it all into this book.
Not to mention the themes it covers. Betrayal; love; blind, foamy revenge; false righteousness; misdirected sanctification; fanaticism; culture of reporting on someone to save your arse; gap between ideals and reality… Plenty of parallels for everyday life, all effectively portrayed.
So how could I not enjoy it?
And yet, this book was something utterly different from what I expected. It is totally, absolutely different from the Witcher saga. Yet so complex, multi-layered, rich. I will definitely return to examine it. And it managed something ”Season of Storms” was unable to do: when reading ”Narrenturm”, I feel that after so many long years, the emptiness I’ve been feeling since closing the last page of “The Lady of the Lake”, is finally beginning to heal over.
My advice - give this book a chance. Read it slowly and carefully. Read around. And when reading, treat yourself to the soundtrack for the Polish version of “Narrenturm” audiobook, music created by talented composers Adam Skorupa and Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz.
I first read Sapkowski’s saga on the witcher Geralt way back in 2007. When I finished the series, I went to check with the local publisher if they had more Sapkowski. They didn’t. “But,” they reassured me, “There’s more that Sapkowski has written. Trilogija husycka. It’s more historical than fantasy, though. No, there’s no Lithuanian translation yet…”
Little did I know that “yet” was going to last. None of the publishing houses in Lithuania has chanced a risk of publishing the Hussite Trilogy. I ended up waiting. And waiting… And waiting… Thirteen. Years.
Thirteen bloody years! And they still haven’t even approached translating the Hussite Trilogy. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, though. Maybe. One day. If not me, maybe my descendants will live to see the Hussite Trilogy in Lithuanian one day. Maybe.
So I must thank Gollancz. And David French – him especially, for doing a great job with translating “Narrenturm”. These guys simply don’t realise what they did. Based on how frequently Google aligned my search for Latin idioms and aphorisms with queries for translation to Hungarian and other mid-/east European languages, I understand that they did a service to the whole region of mid-/east Europe.
Thank you, you crazy Brit publishers!
Let‘s get back to the review.
Before reading “Narrenturm“, I told myself to get rid of any presumptions, refuse any premature expectations, pretend that this is some other book written by somebody else. And I failed, for I still ended up expecting for Andrzej Sapkowski, for his Witcher. And yet, there are two things I have to tell: 1) this is not “The Witcher“ and you won‘t get any Geralt here; 2) if you haven‘t done so, read the main saga about the Witcher first.
So what‘s the story about? Well, imagine a young guy, one of those normal, lovely dudes that haven‘t yet been wrecked by life. A guy who would gladly enjoy it were it not that he‘s unlucky: he had the misfortune of having been born during the Medieval Ages. The times, when Inquisition is on rampage. When crussades against so called „heretics“ and pagans are common. When mass slaughtering as a means of making a point on whose interpretation of Christianity is the most righteous, virtuous and acceptable to the Almighty. When, if you‘re unlucky to make a hobby of magic, charms and herbs, your life can finish in smoke. When, if your knowledge of medicine exceeds that of prayers, bloodletting and leeches, someone can accuse you of witchcraft, and you end up losing your life in smoke. When it is dangerous to be a learned man, and more so, obtain your knowledge in a „wrong“ place. When, if you by accident end up in bed of a married woman, you may end up whipped, locked in a monastery or literally dismantled piece by piece. Just because. And if you‘re unlucky enough to be an open person and have an innate dislike for lies (adventures in bed don‘t count: for one thing, that‘s love, and who hasn‘t been in situation like that anyway?), and do not expect others to wring the hell out of you (maybe just because, maybe because they are afraid that it is them who will end up wrung out if they don‘t do that to others), and, against the warnings of friends and patrons, constantly blurt out something you shouldn‘t, you may end up running for your life.
This is exactly what happens to Reinmar of Bielawa, known as Reynevan by friends. Infatuation with a woman and desire to prove his truths to the world make him entangle in a chain of misadventures at a constant risk of losing his life. Head. Or other body parts. Though... would that those were mere misadventures.
On one hand, sharing so many character traits with Reynevan, I empathise with him strongly. Being gullible, too open, too trusting, expressing one‘s views, values and principles too loud, at a wrong place and wrong time, inability to foresee the circumstances, being stupidly stubborn... The list can go on and on. At the same time, when you consider the context (history), you facepalm and ask „Man, you‘ve just been hurt, and badly, will you learn?“
The story line itself oscillates. What I mean by that, is that when reading “Narrenturm“, you laugh at times. At times you creep the hell out. At times you cry out loud for fear of Reynevan and his companions. Yet, at times you wonder if there isn‘t a bit too much of running around from one horror to another. Also. Sapkowski has received some criticism from the fans of the Witcher saga for overusing destiny and its role. Here, the readers get even more lucky coincidences or jokes/traps of fate. However, once you near the end of the book and events big and small begin to fit the larger picture, you begin wondering what the hell (literally) Reynevan got himself into and how (or whether at all) will Sapkowski manage to get him out from all this.
However, what really impressed me most and what made me to carry on reading probably more than the story itself, was the historical and cultural background.
There are plenty of movies and books on the Medieval Ages, Inquisition, heretics or witches. However, compared to the general amount of those, literature on history of mid-/east Europe or crussades against movements requiring reformation of the Catholic Church (bear in mind this was at least a century before Marthin Luther‘s list nailed to the door of a church in Wittenberg), movements inspired by John Wycliffe‘s works or Jan Hus(s), are scarce. Maybe that‘s a regional/cultural thing (few things exist more political than history) but I remember only having read a few sentences on this during history classes. Yet here Sapkowski exploits extensive references to religious/cultural conflicts of the time and the events that led to them; texts of medieval intelectuals aiming to reform the Church; theological and philosophical debates on what is expected of a virtuous Christian or Catholic (including the medieval doublethink on biblical ideals and implementing those in practice); prophecies on who, when and under which circumstances will become the Pope of Rome, including the weird and twisted logic (so similar to that actually used in those days) on why one candidate or another fits the very obscure and symbolic metaphors mentioned in the prophecies (so reminiscent on „Gargantua and Pantagruel“ chapter on the ways to learn one‘s future by magic).
Cultural-geographical background was a killer. Events depicted in „Narrenturm“ occur in Silesia, the lands once ruled by the Polish Piast dukes, a family with royal blood. Over the last millenium, those lands exchanged hands mutiple time, existing as parts of nearby duchies or kingdoms of Bohemia, Poland and later – Prussia. Yet, at some point they enhoyed existence as independent duchies. The history of these lands is interesting to say the least. And that is reflected in the book, especially the cultural mixture in that region. Names of the characters (and their family/location names) are various combinations of German and Polish and the permutations of names they choose to present to other characters can often vary depending on situation. When reading “Narrenturm“, I had to improve my knowledge on Polish and German heraldry despite the characters (assumingly) communicating mostly in German and Latin. Or French or Italian (turns out that Sapkowski and his characters like Dante). Because inserts in these languages are often untranslated, I was made to improve my non-existent knowledge of Latin and other languages :)
Regarding languages and untranslated excerpts, I would so much love to learn what the original exchange between Reynevan and the Water Pole on the Odra river was :) Poor David French, put into a... situation by Sapkowski, creatively exploited English tongue twisters maintaining the joke. I understand why he chose to do so and compliment him on a clever way he found to get around it, although it had a cost – the readers are momentarily torn out from their immersion in medieval Silesia. There were a few other minor things, though. I wonder about justaucorps - was it that Sapkowski did not have a medieval description for that type of clothing, or was it something else? I also wonder why a Lithuanian name for Jogaila was used instead of Polish Jagiełło? Was it Sapkowski emphasising that our poor Jogaila never found his place in Polish history, or is it an artefact of translation? And the final thing: why was “Narrenturm“ and why will “Lux perpetua“ be anglicised? If it's counting orens had versus orens not yet had rather than patronising the reader, it‘s fine. Sapkowski must have approved it, after all...
Minor curiosities aside, I have to say David French did a wonderful job of translating “Narrenturm“ and I really enjoyed reading it in English.
Back to the review.
I so enjoyed the details. When reading the Witcher saga, I counted some 15-20 types of weapons, including all sorts of varieties of swords, war axes, maces, pikes and pike-like thingies that have to be googled out just to know what they are. They are also present in „Narrenturm“ and are supplemented with, it turns out, already existing firearms. There is bunchloads of information on all sorts of shields and armour and their pieces. Information on the orders of knights. In general, on (sub)culture of knights. I have always imagined that was sort of western European thing, only familiar in our region through the orders of militant monks or the crussaders. Turns out that the Poles also had their knight culture, including knights that became legendary heroes! And so little is known about that! Or about such phenomena as Raubritters…
There is plenty of information on the clothing and fashions of the time as well. Detalised to the level of who wore underwear of which fabric… Diet… From ducal dinner table the advent fasting of the commoners…
In other words, this book is not for a lazy reader. You will have to google a lot. I do recommend to keep your smartphones charged or keep power banks at hand. Of course, you can laze out and choose not to google. However, in that case, you are going to lose a lot.
I have to conclude: when doing research for ”Narrenturm”, Sapkowski must have been reading like a blasting animal.
To be fair, I have a feeling that, in a way, Sapkowski wrote this book for himself. Or for his most dedicated readers. He constantly plays around with his readers, trolling them mildly. Not only through “Do you know this? But then you won’t know this! Or that! And that was anachronistic, gotcha! By the way, how’s your Latin?”
Check the excerpt from the caption on Chapter Two: „Meanhile, Reynevan himself is wandering around the woods near Oleśnica. The author is sparing in his descriptions of that trek, hence the reader – nolens volens – will have to imagine it.“ And what do you think? I ended up having to.
Or Chapter Fourteen: „Which describes events happening the same evening as those in the preceding chapter, but in a different place: in a city about eight miles away in a north-easterly direction as the crow flies. A glance at a map of Silesia, which the author warmly encourages the reader to take, will reveal which city is being discussed.“
Because he just could not name the city, could he? |-(
Oh Sapkowski, you old devil. This is exactly why we love you.
He plays around with the genre, too. Or experiments, more like. ”Narrenturm” is a very serious historical book. Its prologue is superb. Detalisation, too. And I love Sapkowski undertaking the role of a historian, of a thinker seriously. However, we should not forget that he is a very serious fantasy writer, too. He actually goes an extra mile doing the seemingly impossible: he pulls off the high literature with its deep, emotionally heavy ideas off a high horse and combines it with lowly fantasy. So it is possible after all. It’s just that other fantasy writers rarely take upon eclecticism and punk-like rebelling.
So don’t expect the Witcher. Though there are some potential overlaps. Unconventional, interesting characters. Exorcisms :) And… I'm curious what was the original name of Hans Mein Igel. I really wonder if he is a reference to the Witcher, or not.
Apart from that, some fantasy elements at first looked weird. I wondered, why. Was it because the historical background set a very un-magical atmosphere? But… when you come to think on all sorts of bullsh*t real, physical people would conjure up for the Inquisition, say, something about their neighbour flying out the chimney astride a pestle to bewitch your cow so it stops giving milk (random, unrelated example), those elements come up in completely different light. Coincidentally, by accident, when reading “Narrenturm”, I came across a book on witch trials in Lithuania. Check the equivalents in your countries and you will be surprised by these elements used by Sapkowski.
Magic used by the characters of The Hussite Trilogy is absolutely different from that used by the characters in the Witcher saga. Mostly because they are either real, recorded practices or creation based on those (try the bookstore on Store Street in London – they have immense literature collection on magic, witchcraft, charms and arcanum - and you will see). Because magic in real life is a bit… limited at best, so is magic in ”Narrenturm”. Except for when Sapkowski decides to enhance its potential (see Reynevan’s “Wirfe Saltze…” or Circulos’s diagrams).
I am awed at how many years of careful research had to be spent to collect all this information and then read and think it through to turn it all into this book.
Not to mention the themes it covers. Betrayal; love; blind, foamy revenge; false righteousness; misdirected sanctification; fanaticism; culture of reporting on someone to save your arse; gap between ideals and reality… Plenty of parallels for everyday life, all effectively portrayed.
So how could I not enjoy it?
And yet, this book was something utterly different from what I expected. It is totally, absolutely different from the Witcher saga. Yet so complex, multi-layered, rich. I will definitely return to examine it. And it managed something ”Season of Storms” was unable to do: when reading ”Narrenturm”, I feel that after so many long years, the emptiness I’ve been feeling since closing the last page of “The Lady of the Lake”, is finally beginning to heal over.
My advice - give this book a chance. Read it slowly and carefully. Read around. And when reading, treat yourself to the soundtrack for the Polish version of “Narrenturm” audiobook, music created by talented composers Adam Skorupa and Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz.
otnand_menmann's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-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? Yes
5.0
webjoram's review against another edition
4.0
Cuando decidí leer esta novela me espera una historia distinta a lo que había leído hasta ahora de este autor y no porque no me gustara la saga de Geralt de Rivia que me parece una de las grandes sagas de literatura fantástica de los últimos años pero me apetecía ver como lidiaba con una novela histórica clásica que en principio era lo que esperaba encontrarme con Narrenturm.
En principio la novela cumple con los cánones del estilo histórico; el autor nos pone en situación ubicándonos geográfica y cronológicamente en el lugar de los hechos, incluye ademas en la narración a un conjunto de personajes históricos relacionándolos con nuestros protagonistas y dota al conjunto de una trama conspirativa que debe servir de hilo conductor de la historia. Continuando con este estilo “realista” ajusta la forma de la narración a la historia que pretende contar salpicando el texto con textos y frases en diferentes idiomas utilizados en la época en estos territorios (latín, alemán, francés o checo) e igualmente sus personajes hablan de acuerdo a su condición social lo cual aunque parece una cosa evidente no es tenido en cuenta por muchos autores de novela histórica que no dudan en hacer que un pordiosero hable como un marqués ;-).
Dicho esto no nos encontramos con una novela histórica típica, en primer lugar porque el autor no duda en relatar ciertos hechos y personajes históricos con una gran dosis de humor, a esto se añade que muy discretamente se van introduciendo en la historia personajes sacados directamente de la cultura popular de tal manera que llega un momento que no sabes si te encuentras ante una novela histórica, ante una novela fantástica o ante una rara avis, pero en cualquier caso, el resultado es perfecto.
En definitiva, si eres un asiduo lector de novela histórica exclusivamente esta novela te mostrara que existe algo más en la vida ;-) y si eres un apasionado de la literatura fantástica quizás descubras que no há musho (sic) tiempo las brujas, hombres lobos y otros engendros de la oscuridad eran tema común entre el pueblo llano ;-)
Por último quisiera hacer una mención especial a la traducción de esta novela para indicar que posiblemente muchas de las sutilezas de la narración original se hubieran perdido de no ser por la fantástica labor realizada por el traductor de la misma (Jose Maria Faraldo). Yo he sido uno de los muchos lectores que en su momento nos quejábamos por la lentitud con la que se llevaban a cabo las traducciones de Geralt de Rivia realizadas por el el mismo traductor pero he de reconocer que tanto en aquella saga como en esta su labor es simplemente maravillosa y que merece mucho la espera.
En principio la novela cumple con los cánones del estilo histórico; el autor nos pone en situación ubicándonos geográfica y cronológicamente en el lugar de los hechos, incluye ademas en la narración a un conjunto de personajes históricos relacionándolos con nuestros protagonistas y dota al conjunto de una trama conspirativa que debe servir de hilo conductor de la historia. Continuando con este estilo “realista” ajusta la forma de la narración a la historia que pretende contar salpicando el texto con textos y frases en diferentes idiomas utilizados en la época en estos territorios (latín, alemán, francés o checo) e igualmente sus personajes hablan de acuerdo a su condición social lo cual aunque parece una cosa evidente no es tenido en cuenta por muchos autores de novela histórica que no dudan en hacer que un pordiosero hable como un marqués ;-).
Dicho esto no nos encontramos con una novela histórica típica, en primer lugar porque el autor no duda en relatar ciertos hechos y personajes históricos con una gran dosis de humor, a esto se añade que muy discretamente se van introduciendo en la historia personajes sacados directamente de la cultura popular de tal manera que llega un momento que no sabes si te encuentras ante una novela histórica, ante una novela fantástica o ante una rara avis, pero en cualquier caso, el resultado es perfecto.
En definitiva, si eres un asiduo lector de novela histórica exclusivamente esta novela te mostrara que existe algo más en la vida ;-) y si eres un apasionado de la literatura fantástica quizás descubras que no há musho (sic) tiempo las brujas, hombres lobos y otros engendros de la oscuridad eran tema común entre el pueblo llano ;-)
Por último quisiera hacer una mención especial a la traducción de esta novela para indicar que posiblemente muchas de las sutilezas de la narración original se hubieran perdido de no ser por la fantástica labor realizada por el traductor de la misma (Jose Maria Faraldo). Yo he sido uno de los muchos lectores que en su momento nos quejábamos por la lentitud con la que se llevaban a cabo las traducciones de Geralt de Rivia realizadas por el el mismo traductor pero he de reconocer que tanto en aquella saga como en esta su labor es simplemente maravillosa y que merece mucho la espera.
deyph's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zaczytaga's review against another edition
4.0
4/5⭐
Styl Sapkowskiego ma w sobie coś takiego, co niesamowicie mnie wciąga i działa na wyobraźnię. Fantastyczny sposób opowiadania historii sprawia, że od razu przenosimy się do XV wieku na Śląsk. W wykonaniu tego autora nawet opisy potrafią być dynamiczne i wciągające i nie wyobrażam sobie ich omijać. Poza genialnie przedstawionym tłem historycznym bardzo intrygujący jest wątek fantastyczny, który wprowadza element grozy i tajemnicy. Dziękuję, panie Sapkowski, za to połączenie.
Jednak tutaj, w odróżnieniu od Wiedźmina mam problem z głównym bohaterem, do którego nie mogłam się przekonać. Może i taki był zamysł. Trochę przypomina Don Kichota, trochę D'Artagnana. Reinmar z Bielawy jest strasznie zadufany w sobie, a większość jego (jakże genialnych) pomysłów i działań prowadzi go w tarapaty. Z których wychodzi zazwyczaj jakimś dziwnym, cudownym zbiegiem okoliczności. Szczerze mówiąc dużo bardziej odpowiadają mi bohaterowie, którzy może i czasem są naiwni i popełniają błędy, ale potrafią się też wykazać jakąś inteligencją i sprytem. Reynevan za to ma się za najmądrzejszego i wszystko robi po swojemu. Jest bardzo gwałtowny, wszystko robi za nim pomyśli. Ten jego młodzieńczy zapał jest z pewnością zamierzony, ale sprawiło to, że zdecydowanie nie należy do moich ulubionych bohaterów. Ale ciekawa jestem, czy jego postać rozwinie się jakoś w kolejnych częściach.
A jak już przy bohaterach jesteśmy to zdecydowanie najbardziej się polubiłam z Samsonem Miodkiem, którzy nie dość, że jest po prostu bardzo sympatyczną postacią, to wiąże się z nim też tajemnica, która sprawia, że jest bardzo interesującym bohaterem.
Tego, czego mi jeszcze zabrakło był jakiś wyraźniejszy cel bohaterów. Cel podróży był jakoś tam określony, ale przez humory Reynevana cały czas to się zmieniało, co sprawiało, że nawet jakbym bardzo kibicowała głównym bohaterom, to w sumie nie wiedziałam do czego oni dokładnie dążą.
Po zastanowieniu stwierdziłam, że ta książka składa się z takich epizodów, przez które przewijają się różni bohaterowie i miejsca. Sprawia to, że faktycznie czujemy się jakbyśmy podróżowali razem z Reynevanem.
Ale żeby nie było, że mi się nie podobało, bo naprawdę uważam, że ta książka jest świetna i żałuję, że z Sapkowskim jest kojarzony jedynie Wiedźmin.
Moimi ulubionymi elementami tej książki były przeróżne nawiązania. Do wydarzeń historycznych i takich, które patrząc na czas akcji jeszcze nie miały miejsca, a są fajnym mrugnięciem okiem do czytelnika. Pojawiały się też czasami postacie, które znamy z historii. O i jeszcze to cudowne nawiązanie do Makbeta!
"Narrenturm" jest świetnym rozpoczęciem trylogii, łatwo było mi się połapać, mimo że bohaterów pojawia się tu ogromnie dużo. Zdecydowanie bardzo mi się podobała i mam nadzieję, że kolejnę tomy będą jeszcze lepsze.
Prawie bym zapomniała wspomnieć o fenomenalnym słuchowisku! Podobnie jak w przypadku Wiedźmina, uważam, że jest świetnie wykonane i pomaga wczuć się w przedstawianą fabułę. Właściwie "Narrenturm" w większości (ale nie w całości) przesłuchałam i nie żałuję ❤
Styl Sapkowskiego ma w sobie coś takiego, co niesamowicie mnie wciąga i działa na wyobraźnię. Fantastyczny sposób opowiadania historii sprawia, że od razu przenosimy się do XV wieku na Śląsk. W wykonaniu tego autora nawet opisy potrafią być dynamiczne i wciągające i nie wyobrażam sobie ich omijać. Poza genialnie przedstawionym tłem historycznym bardzo intrygujący jest wątek fantastyczny, który wprowadza element grozy i tajemnicy. Dziękuję, panie Sapkowski, za to połączenie.
Jednak tutaj, w odróżnieniu od Wiedźmina mam problem z głównym bohaterem, do którego nie mogłam się przekonać. Może i taki był zamysł. Trochę przypomina Don Kichota, trochę D'Artagnana. Reinmar z Bielawy jest strasznie zadufany w sobie, a większość jego (jakże genialnych) pomysłów i działań prowadzi go w tarapaty. Z których wychodzi zazwyczaj jakimś dziwnym, cudownym zbiegiem okoliczności. Szczerze mówiąc dużo bardziej odpowiadają mi bohaterowie, którzy może i czasem są naiwni i popełniają błędy, ale potrafią się też wykazać jakąś inteligencją i sprytem. Reynevan za to ma się za najmądrzejszego i wszystko robi po swojemu. Jest bardzo gwałtowny, wszystko robi za nim pomyśli. Ten jego młodzieńczy zapał jest z pewnością zamierzony, ale sprawiło to, że zdecydowanie nie należy do moich ulubionych bohaterów. Ale ciekawa jestem, czy jego postać rozwinie się jakoś w kolejnych częściach.
A jak już przy bohaterach jesteśmy to zdecydowanie najbardziej się polubiłam z Samsonem Miodkiem, którzy nie dość, że jest po prostu bardzo sympatyczną postacią, to wiąże się z nim też tajemnica, która sprawia, że jest bardzo interesującym bohaterem.
Tego, czego mi jeszcze zabrakło był jakiś wyraźniejszy cel bohaterów. Cel podróży był jakoś tam określony, ale przez humory Reynevana cały czas to się zmieniało, co sprawiało, że nawet jakbym bardzo kibicowała głównym bohaterom, to w sumie nie wiedziałam do czego oni dokładnie dążą.
Po zastanowieniu stwierdziłam, że ta książka składa się z takich epizodów, przez które przewijają się różni bohaterowie i miejsca. Sprawia to, że faktycznie czujemy się jakbyśmy podróżowali razem z Reynevanem.
Ale żeby nie było, że mi się nie podobało, bo naprawdę uważam, że ta książka jest świetna i żałuję, że z Sapkowskim jest kojarzony jedynie Wiedźmin.
Moimi ulubionymi elementami tej książki były przeróżne nawiązania. Do wydarzeń historycznych i takich, które patrząc na czas akcji jeszcze nie miały miejsca, a są fajnym mrugnięciem okiem do czytelnika. Pojawiały się też czasami postacie, które znamy z historii. O i jeszcze to cudowne nawiązanie do Makbeta!
"Narrenturm" jest świetnym rozpoczęciem trylogii, łatwo było mi się połapać, mimo że bohaterów pojawia się tu ogromnie dużo. Zdecydowanie bardzo mi się podobała i mam nadzieję, że kolejnę tomy będą jeszcze lepsze.
Prawie bym zapomniała wspomnieć o fenomenalnym słuchowisku! Podobnie jak w przypadku Wiedźmina, uważam, że jest świetnie wykonane i pomaga wczuć się w przedstawianą fabułę. Właściwie "Narrenturm" w większości (ale nie w całości) przesłuchałam i nie żałuję ❤
wbharper's review against another edition
4.0
I have never really got into The Witcher. I’ve enjoyed the computer games, but the novels and short stories never drew me in - whether it was the translations, what appeared to me to be a fairly unoriginal fantasy world, some jarring plot decisions, or the nature of the main character. I dunno… it has been a while, but the one collection of stories I read did not make me want to read the rest. And the fact that has now drifted closer to the mainstream (via the Netflix series) does not help. My interest in A Song of Ice and Fire declined in an inverse relationship with its elevation to pop culture success.
However, I really enjoyed this book. It is set in an early fifteenth century with some light fantasy elements, amid the tumultuous Hussite rebellions in central Europe. It is a pure picaresque - in chapter after chapter, the flawed and naive main character Reinmar of Bieława has misadventure after misadventure. A young physician, a secret dabbler in sorcery, and an idealistic romantic, he stumbles across a war-torn and fearful landscape populated by brutal knights, eccentric wanderers, and a supernatural world waning due to the gradual encroachment of Christianity into Europe’s last pagan lands (1386 saw Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania baptized as Władysław and crowned as the Catholic king of Poland). The pattern of his escapades could have become monotonous, but the book is leavened by its unfamiliar Silesian setting and its best set-pieces - a hallucinogenic Witches Sabbath and Reinmar’s final encounter with the dreaded Narrenturm and the forces of the Inquisition. And the lead character does grow, too. His chivalric love for a Burgundian princess - what leads him into trouble in the first place - is not reciprocated, and he gradually comes to realize this truth and acquires a more mature outlook on the world. Time and time again he is saved from peril by random passersby, former classmates, or sheer good luck. This might just border on irritating, but I found myself drawn into the world and its cast of colorful characters. I would aver, at least from memory, that there is just one (rather stereotypical, if sympathetic) Jewish character in the novel. It will be interesting to see if the next two if there are more, given the importance religion has in this world and in this series.
I read online that the translator of this book (along with another) also worked on The Witcher series, so it can’t be the translation that is the difference. Perhaps it is the book’s grounding in what must have been at least some decent research into the political, religious, and intellectual history of this period saves it. Though, other than the setting, it isn’t too original - the basic concepts are familiar to any reader of fantasy or fantasy-adjacent historical fiction (I’m thinking here of Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles). But this is a stand-out to me in the year so far, and I look forward to the next installments. It’s at least a fun read and a considerable improvement on this writer’s previous work.
However, I really enjoyed this book. It is set in an early fifteenth century with some light fantasy elements, amid the tumultuous Hussite rebellions in central Europe. It is a pure picaresque - in chapter after chapter, the flawed and naive main character Reinmar of Bieława has misadventure after misadventure. A young physician, a secret dabbler in sorcery, and an idealistic romantic, he stumbles across a war-torn and fearful landscape populated by brutal knights, eccentric wanderers, and a supernatural world waning due to the gradual encroachment of Christianity into Europe’s last pagan lands (1386 saw Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania baptized as Władysław and crowned as the Catholic king of Poland). The pattern of his escapades could have become monotonous, but the book is leavened by its unfamiliar Silesian setting and its best set-pieces - a hallucinogenic Witches Sabbath and Reinmar’s final encounter with the dreaded Narrenturm and the forces of the Inquisition. And the lead character does grow, too. His chivalric love for a Burgundian princess - what leads him into trouble in the first place - is not reciprocated, and he gradually comes to realize this truth and acquires a more mature outlook on the world. Time and time again he is saved from peril by random passersby, former classmates, or sheer good luck. This might just border on irritating, but I found myself drawn into the world and its cast of colorful characters. I would aver, at least from memory, that there is just one (rather stereotypical, if sympathetic) Jewish character in the novel. It will be interesting to see if the next two if there are more, given the importance religion has in this world and in this series.
I read online that the translator of this book (along with another) also worked on The Witcher series, so it can’t be the translation that is the difference. Perhaps it is the book’s grounding in what must have been at least some decent research into the political, religious, and intellectual history of this period saves it. Though, other than the setting, it isn’t too original - the basic concepts are familiar to any reader of fantasy or fantasy-adjacent historical fiction (I’m thinking here of Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles). But this is a stand-out to me in the year so far, and I look forward to the next installments. It’s at least a fun read and a considerable improvement on this writer’s previous work.
ribeirofrio's review against another edition
3.0
That's a tough one. Uh, let's start with a fact: despite my immense enjoyment for Sapkoswi's first saga The Witcher, the last book, The lady of the lake, baffled due to its peculiar narrative structure. The same happened with The tower of Fools, where basically the plot is simplified to the point where it simply consists in connecting the first scene with the last.
As usual, Sapkowski's stile is pure magic. I deeply love the way in which he describes the worldbuilding, here drawn of course from historical sources. But you do feel the 15th century; even the prose is enriched with archaic terms, Latin (from both giuridical and religious books), Italian rhymes (Dante Alighieri!!!) and German lied. In fact, it's majestic, and I savored every page.
But, there is a but. I think that Sapkowski picked the wrong protagonist.
Reinmar of Bielawa is a young physician, who studied in Prague and experimented also with magic. So, after his unlucky affair with noble Adele of Stercza, he is forced to flee from the wrath of the wealthy husband, and in sum all he does is running away, first from this guy, and then from other characters who try to imprison him/turn him in/save him and then ask for a reward. In doing so, he is helped by a former penitent and also excellent warrior Scharley, and a former monk, Samson.
I didn't resist and compared this trio with The Witcher's characters, and in fact, Samson resembled Regis, Scharley is a merry version of a drunk Geralt of Rivia and Reinmar, undoubtedly, is the Dandelion of the book. However, Reinmar is not fascinating and interesting enough to carry the entire book on his back, it's more the accidental focus of the narration, without any particular characteristics.
This is why, after a couple of chapters, I felt rather bored to read all the ways in which Reinmar fled and Scharley and Samson found him short after. Reinmar is a flat character, barely switching his love interest from the beginning to the end, but primarily he doesn't listen to anyone, he doesn't learn anything new and offers little diversion in this waterfall of names that is every chapter (you thought Game of Thrones had too many characters to remember? Try to memorize castle names, family names, mountains, woods, town, cities, old Kingdoms, kings, princes, then monks, popes, antipopes, authors, saints, inquisitors, heretics, knights, pages, dames, dogs, ...).
The real deal was the supernatural subplot, which was criminally undersized: only a handful of scenes, when honestly it deserved the whole book. In this version of Europe, magic exists and there are special creature benefitting from it. One kind is the wallcreeper, a shapeshifter that assume the form of a man, and one of them is lurking in towns where people die in horrible ways. Another kind are magicians, ordinary people capable of doing magic, and witches, a bit trope-y but nevertheless valid characters.
And they are the true heirs of Sapkowski's usually bitter reflections on society: they are hunted by inquisitors, yet they stay true to their nature. They are genuinely The Other, in communion with nature and its seasons, failing to keep their place in a world that is slowly becoming inherently modern, where the incoming Renaissance is banishing the popular superstitions. In spite of their doomed fate, the witches are extremely generous and wise, and provide stunning paragraphs, one of which echoed the mesmerizing Walpurgis night of Faustus.
One example of the greatness of Sapkowski's witches:
"I'm very grateful to you. We don't even know each other. But you're helping me..."
"We're accustomed to helping each other" [...] "Few of us are left. If we don't help each other, we'll utterly die out"
"Thank you"
"But I wasn't thinking about you at all", drawled Quince.
I wish Sapkowski dedicated more pages to this topic, but alas, as it happened with non-human creatures in The Witcher, they exist at the margins of human societies, providing hopeless insights on the violent nature of men, but they are not bound to be protagonist of their own narratives: their time is almost up.
As usual, Sapkowski's stile is pure magic. I deeply love the way in which he describes the worldbuilding, here drawn of course from historical sources. But you do feel the 15th century; even the prose is enriched with archaic terms, Latin (from both giuridical and religious books), Italian rhymes (Dante Alighieri!!!) and German lied. In fact, it's majestic, and I savored every page.
But, there is a but. I think that Sapkowski picked the wrong protagonist.
Reinmar of Bielawa is a young physician, who studied in Prague and experimented also with magic. So, after his unlucky affair with noble Adele of Stercza, he is forced to flee from the wrath of the wealthy husband, and in sum all he does is running away, first from this guy, and then from other characters who try to imprison him/turn him in/save him and then ask for a reward. In doing so, he is helped by a former penitent and also excellent warrior Scharley, and a former monk, Samson.
I didn't resist and compared this trio with The Witcher's characters, and in fact, Samson resembled Regis, Scharley is a merry version of a drunk Geralt of Rivia and Reinmar, undoubtedly, is the Dandelion of the book. However, Reinmar is not fascinating and interesting enough to carry the entire book on his back, it's more the accidental focus of the narration, without any particular characteristics.
This is why, after a couple of chapters, I felt rather bored to read all the ways in which Reinmar fled and Scharley and Samson found him short after. Reinmar is a flat character, barely switching his love interest from the beginning to the end, but primarily he doesn't listen to anyone, he doesn't learn anything new and offers little diversion in this waterfall of names that is every chapter (you thought Game of Thrones had too many characters to remember? Try to memorize castle names, family names, mountains, woods, town, cities, old Kingdoms, kings, princes, then monks, popes, antipopes, authors, saints, inquisitors, heretics, knights, pages, dames, dogs, ...).
The real deal was the supernatural subplot, which was criminally undersized: only a handful of scenes, when honestly it deserved the whole book. In this version of Europe, magic exists and there are special creature benefitting from it. One kind is the wallcreeper, a shapeshifter that assume the form of a man, and one of them is lurking in towns where people die in horrible ways. Another kind are magicians, ordinary people capable of doing magic, and witches, a bit trope-y but nevertheless valid characters.
And they are the true heirs of Sapkowski's usually bitter reflections on society: they are hunted by inquisitors, yet they stay true to their nature. They are genuinely The Other, in communion with nature and its seasons, failing to keep their place in a world that is slowly becoming inherently modern, where the incoming Renaissance is banishing the popular superstitions. In spite of their doomed fate, the witches are extremely generous and wise, and provide stunning paragraphs, one of which echoed the mesmerizing Walpurgis night of Faustus.
One example of the greatness of Sapkowski's witches:
"I'm very grateful to you. We don't even know each other. But you're helping me..."
"We're accustomed to helping each other" [...] "Few of us are left. If we don't help each other, we'll utterly die out"
"Thank you"
"But I wasn't thinking about you at all", drawled Quince.
I wish Sapkowski dedicated more pages to this topic, but alas, as it happened with non-human creatures in The Witcher, they exist at the margins of human societies, providing hopeless insights on the violent nature of men, but they are not bound to be protagonist of their own narratives: their time is almost up.