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A review by carlyxdeexx
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
5.0
After watching the Netflix series, I had to give the books a read, especially after hearing a friend’s thoughts on the key differences between the book characters and the TV show’s characters. Full disclosure, I’m definitely a fan of the show, so I wasn’t sure how the book would measure up.
In my opinion, it’s just as good, and when it comes to the overall tone and mood, the two are identical. It’s surprising how close the book and the series are in terms of nitty gritty content and plot points! Each chapter of the book contains its own brief story about Geralt (the main character, the titular witcher, and he whomst is just my type) prefaced by consecutive parts of a frame-story that takes place in what we can assume is “the present” relative to the other stories which take place in “the past.” Every chapter’s individual tale of the witcher is like a memory, an anecdote, typically referred to in the frame-story, and as you read, the current circumstances and all of the references being made in the frame-story become more and more clear as more of Geralt’s past is revealed. You need the past to understand the present.
My friend was of the opinion that the characters are different in the books than they are in the series. I guess this is still only book one, so they have a lot of time to differ, but for now I’ve honestly discerned no great difference! There is markedly less background on characters other than Geralt, most notably Yennefer and Ciri, but also Tryss. Unlike the series and its interest in three main players, this book clearly centers around Geralt and only Geralt. He is stoic as ever and simultaneously so deeply caring (the entire djinn tale is my favorite example of this), and though he has most of the limelight, both Dandelion (Jaskier) and Yennefer make their appearances. Dandelion is as Bard™️ as ever, and maybe a touch less naive-seeming than he is in the series, while Yennefer is essentially spot-on, just without much of the context the series gives us. I could have sworn the series pulled some sentences of dialogue straight from the book—though they definitely did take some liberties with the material and its organization, I think they stayed remarkably true to their source, and the changes they did make felt seamless. I think an adaptation is good when it’s not necessarily identical to its source material, but it captures the essence of it, the overall ~vibe~. The Netflix series does just that—I like it and this book just the same, though I guess in the end I like the series’s ability to include more context over the book’s comparatively sparse introduction to Geralt, Yen, and Dandelion.
I also love the writing style, and thought the translation was stellar—every word fit the tone and mood perfectly, except perhaps the Force, which inevitably brings STAR WARS to mind no matter where you see it mentioned like that. But that’s incredibly minor. I’m excited to devour more of this book series and eventually see how it connects and diverges to Season 2 of the Netflix series.
In my opinion, it’s just as good, and when it comes to the overall tone and mood, the two are identical. It’s surprising how close the book and the series are in terms of nitty gritty content and plot points! Each chapter of the book contains its own brief story about Geralt (the main character, the titular witcher, and he whomst is just my type) prefaced by consecutive parts of a frame-story that takes place in what we can assume is “the present” relative to the other stories which take place in “the past.” Every chapter’s individual tale of the witcher is like a memory, an anecdote, typically referred to in the frame-story, and as you read, the current circumstances and all of the references being made in the frame-story become more and more clear as more of Geralt’s past is revealed. You need the past to understand the present.
My friend was of the opinion that the characters are different in the books than they are in the series. I guess this is still only book one, so they have a lot of time to differ, but for now I’ve honestly discerned no great difference! There is markedly less background on characters other than Geralt, most notably Yennefer and Ciri, but also Tryss. Unlike the series and its interest in three main players, this book clearly centers around Geralt and only Geralt. He is stoic as ever and simultaneously so deeply caring (the entire djinn tale is my favorite example of this), and though he has most of the limelight, both Dandelion (Jaskier) and Yennefer make their appearances. Dandelion is as Bard™️ as ever, and maybe a touch less naive-seeming than he is in the series, while Yennefer is essentially spot-on, just without much of the context the series gives us. I could have sworn the series pulled some sentences of dialogue straight from the book—though they definitely did take some liberties with the material and its organization, I think they stayed remarkably true to their source, and the changes they did make felt seamless. I think an adaptation is good when it’s not necessarily identical to its source material, but it captures the essence of it, the overall ~vibe~. The Netflix series does just that—I like it and this book just the same, though I guess in the end I like the series’s ability to include more context over the book’s comparatively sparse introduction to Geralt, Yen, and Dandelion.
I also love the writing style, and thought the translation was stellar—every word fit the tone and mood perfectly, except perhaps the Force, which inevitably brings STAR WARS to mind no matter where you see it mentioned like that. But that’s incredibly minor. I’m excited to devour more of this book series and eventually see how it connects and diverges to Season 2 of the Netflix series.