Reviews tagging 'Incest'

The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski

59 reviews

booksthatburn's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

THE LAST WISH is a prequel to the Witcher main series, a collection of stories from Geralt’s life before the events of THE BLOOD OF ELVES. Each story is based or at least inspired by a fairy tale or bit of folklore.

I didn’t get much of a sense of Geralt from these stories alone, but having read the first book of the main series his characterization here seemed consistent with that. The titular story, “The Last Wish” had really strong characterization with an early meeting of Yennifer. She’s really well-written here, and that story alone is enough for me to recommend this to anyone interested in the broader series.

As a collection of fairytale retellings, I enjoyed this. It approaches most of them from strange angles which meant they felt great and fresh as stories. My favorite is the one which is clearly inspired by Beauty and the Beast. Given the blend of magic and corrupted desires already present in the series, the fairy tales fit right into the world of the Witcher.

Because this a collection of short stories from Geralt’s life before the main series of books, it doesn’t quite work to analyze the ending or an overall plot. I suspect a re-read might make it clearer, but the framing between stories was confusing to me and it wasn’t until several stories in that I figured out that the start of each chapter strung together to create an narrative distinct from the individual stories. 

This is good for anyone looking for additional Witcher content, but I don’t work it works well on its own or as a first introduction to the character and the world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Ableism, Confinement, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Body horror, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Rape, Animal death, and Child death

Minor: Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, Incest, Torture, Suicide, and Animal cruelty

touchegiantsquid's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

tarynwanderer's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Sexual content

Moderate: Incest and Ableism

thrntnja's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape and Sexism

Minor: Incest

ok7a's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Sexism, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Incest, and Rape

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Death, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Ableism, Incest, Infertility, and Rape

horizonous'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Murder, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, and Torture

graceless_grace's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content

Minor: Incest, Infertility, Rape, Vomit, and War

vjov's review against another edition

adventurous medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest

mrsdarcylynn's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I loved the narrator for this audiobook! His monster voices, accents, and pacing was top tier. I also love that Dandelion was misspelt as Dandilion, which is such a great way to say his name. 
Overall, I was super impressed with the author’s ability to take a well known folk tale or fairy tale and turn it on its end without being overt about it. The nods to fairy tales felt fun! (And are even made fun of in the book). For a darker fantasy world with darker themes, this book is surprisingly funny! If you’re expecting GoT, this series is not that and in a really good way. Can’t wait to get into the rest of the series!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Sexual violence and Rape