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A review by nadia_wishforfreedom
The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski
I can't ratee this. I think I would rate it rather badly though if I did. I need to get a few words off my chest about the whole series:
Like probably many people, I started reading the books because I enjoyed Witcher 3 so much and wanted to learn more about the world and all the characters in it. If you haven't played it yet - let's just say, I don't know of anything, movie, book or game that compares to the experience. It sounds like I'm exagerating, but I'm honestly not.
So, I came off that huge game, that amazingly detailed storyline, that colorful and hopeful experience and started reading. I read the short stories, I watched the series (up to a point). An then, last week, I hunkered down and read the main series, the books that started it all. Maybe I shouldn't have?
There's still a lot I learned and loved. But so much that was badly written, overfilled, boring, heartbreakingly sad that I would not recommend anyone to read the series. Stick to the short stories.
The Witcher series makes me honestly question why people write and read books like these. It's horror - honestly, bone-chilling horror. And I've had enough of it. The way destiny and life is portrayed in these books is so fucking bleak. And Lady of the Lake is the worst offender.
I've put myself through this story, I've suffered along the characters, and I'm done with this. I'm done with people who have this world view and philosophy. I understand horrible things happen, have happened, but I want it to stop. So why are we still doing this?
Worst of all; there's dark fantasy lovers that would answer to my review with sentences like "It was clear from the beginning that it would end like this", "what did you expect, it's a dark series", "if you can't handle it, you should't read stuff like this"... Implying I'm weak for finding series like this badly written. What moral obligations do writers have? None. I'm not saying that The Witcher should be the next target for book burning. I don't think it spoils innocent minds. But it does make me question... Why is unreflected trauma such a bestseller?
The Witcher series has turned out to be a tale of evilness, of the absolute rottenness of all living things. And how nothing good or even neutral can survive it. I choose not to believe in fairytales like that. Oh, how sullen I sound, but how earnest I am.
Like probably many people, I started reading the books because I enjoyed Witcher 3 so much and wanted to learn more about the world and all the characters in it. If you haven't played it yet - let's just say, I don't know of anything, movie, book or game that compares to the experience. It sounds like I'm exagerating, but I'm honestly not.
So, I came off that huge game, that amazingly detailed storyline, that colorful and hopeful experience and started reading. I read the short stories, I watched the series (up to a point). An then, last week, I hunkered down and read the main series, the books that started it all. Maybe I shouldn't have?
There's still a lot I learned and loved. But so much that was badly written, overfilled, boring, heartbreakingly sad that I would not recommend anyone to read the series. Stick to the short stories.
The Witcher series makes me honestly question why people write and read books like these. It's horror - honestly, bone-chilling horror. And I've had enough of it. The way destiny and life is portrayed in these books is so fucking bleak. And Lady of the Lake is the worst offender.
I've put myself through this story, I've suffered along the characters, and I'm done with this. I'm done with people who have this world view and philosophy. I understand horrible things happen, have happened, but I want it to stop. So why are we still doing this?
Worst of all; there's dark fantasy lovers that would answer to my review with sentences like "It was clear from the beginning that it would end like this", "what did you expect, it's a dark series", "if you can't handle it, you should't read stuff like this"... Implying I'm weak for finding series like this badly written. What moral obligations do writers have? None. I'm not saying that The Witcher should be the next target for book burning. I don't think it spoils innocent minds. But it does make me question... Why is unreflected trauma such a bestseller?
The Witcher series has turned out to be a tale of evilness, of the absolute rottenness of all living things. And how nothing good or even neutral can survive it. I choose not to believe in fairytales like that. Oh, how sullen I sound, but how earnest I am.