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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Past, present, and future are the tools with which Andrzej shows the inceptions, and after effects, of the actions and inactions of our protagonists. This is not a rabbit hole, it's a labyrinth that allows us to see, and feel what the heroes and villains experience, and what lays beyond their veil of reality.
adventurous
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A decent tome that brings Ciri into the spotlight rather than The Witcher, Geralt. I found it slow in parts and laden with a lot of superfluous details...but I also know know writers like Tolkien and Martin are prone to this as well. It did have a very satisfying ending despite my ability to put the book down for days and not consider reading it over other works in progress. Net result, a solid 3. Even a 3.5 if Goodreads would allow it, but not a 4 for me. I'll also take some time before picking the next up on the series.
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The nice thing about having covid is the abundance of time to read. So I read this bad boy pretty quickly, and I must say I enjoyed it much more than if I read it slowly. The story is cool, but the pacing is all over the place. We are constantly jumping all over the place in the timeline. Geralt is also getting less time to do important stuff than other major characters. I don't think he did anything worthwile in this book... This was more or less a story about Ciri. I really liked the worldbuilding though, such as the diplomatic mission in Kovir, the hermit in the marsh, the islands of Skellige and the cunning hunt in Nilfgaard. I just wanted to see the witcher do something impactful. Again, a lot of setup for a future payoff.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A lot better than Baptism of Fire but still, so much random stuff happened that didn't need that much detail or even mentioned at all. Chapter 8 (1 think?) could've been skipped entirely and don't think would've been confused at all. But there were also many exciting, well written scenes that they balanced each other out. More gruesome than a lot of the previous books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, War
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol