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bookwormpages 's review for:
Blood of Elves
by Andrzej Sapkowski
Thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Blood of Elves is the first full-length novel in the Witcher universe. It follows Geralt of Rivia as he tries to navigate taking care of Ciri, the girl who is his destiny. On top of that, tension is thick as war threatens the land.
Unfortunately, I struggled with this book. I felt as if there was no clear plot line, and a lot of the events felt disjointed, which led to me often not being sure what was happening. I do understand that all of these threads will eventually come together in the later books, but I wanted this book to be a bit stronger in its own right, whereas in reality it felt as though it was simply setting up plots for future books.
That being said, there is no denying that it the writing was good, as was the translation. Even though Geralt is the main character, I cared more about the other characters – Dandilion, Triss, Yennefer, and especially Ciri. I was much more invested whenever we were following one of their stories. The world was also fascinating to read about.
I didn’t care much about the politics, but I did enjoy seeing how the different races (dwarves, elves, humans, witchers, etc.) interacted with each other. I don’t think I will be continuing with the series, but I do think it’s worth giving it a shot if you enjoy fantasy books.
Overall, while it wasn’t a particularly enjoyable read for me and I have mixed opinions about it, I am glad that I read it.
Blood of Elves is the first full-length novel in the Witcher universe. It follows Geralt of Rivia as he tries to navigate taking care of Ciri, the girl who is his destiny. On top of that, tension is thick as war threatens the land.
Unfortunately, I struggled with this book. I felt as if there was no clear plot line, and a lot of the events felt disjointed, which led to me often not being sure what was happening. I do understand that all of these threads will eventually come together in the later books, but I wanted this book to be a bit stronger in its own right, whereas in reality it felt as though it was simply setting up plots for future books.
That being said, there is no denying that it the writing was good, as was the translation. Even though Geralt is the main character, I cared more about the other characters – Dandilion, Triss, Yennefer, and especially Ciri. I was much more invested whenever we were following one of their stories. The world was also fascinating to read about.
I didn’t care much about the politics, but I did enjoy seeing how the different races (dwarves, elves, humans, witchers, etc.) interacted with each other. I don’t think I will be continuing with the series, but I do think it’s worth giving it a shot if you enjoy fantasy books.
Overall, while it wasn’t a particularly enjoyable read for me and I have mixed opinions about it, I am glad that I read it.