Andrzej Sapkowski
Completed 5/30/2016, reviewed 6/1/2016
4 stars
I’m totally out of order reading the Witcher series. Having read Books 3, 4, and 5, I’ve now read
the first book. It was the first to be
published in Poland
as well as here. Fortunately, the first
book is a collection of stories about the Witcher that act as a prequel, or at
least sets up the background for the Saga that begins in Book 3. It introduces Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher,
taking a break to recover from injuries in the Temple of Melitere
Being a collection of stories, I must point out my
favorites. The very first story is
great. It is the explains the nature of
the Witcher and what he does best, fighting monsters. I also liked the last story, where he meets
the lovely, scary, and snarky sorceress Yennifer, who plays a big role in the
Saga. With her, he must defeat a
powerful djinn before he destroys a whole town.
In another, we first meet his sometimes travelling companion Dandelion,
a poet, troubadour, and storyteller whose mouth gets them into loads of trouble. There’s also a story which is a sort of
deconstruction of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
Most importantly, the book introduces us to the background
story from which the Saga which begins with Book 3 generates. It tells the story of a Geralt dealing with
the monster who comes to claim as his bride the daughter of the Queen of
Calanthe. This union is what spawns the
sorcersess/witcher prodigy Ciri, who becomes the main character and source of
all conflict in the Saga.
Like the Saga itself, this book is a fun, easy read. It focuses more on Geralt and monsters, which
is what I had been craving through the Saga.
Again, I give this book four stars out of five because it is so
fun. It’s not great literature, but it’s
a dark, high fantasy with snarky humor and swashbuckling action.
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