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The Witcher #1
Blood of Elves
The New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher.
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.
Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world - for good, or for evil.
As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all - and the Witcher never accepts defeat.
The Witcher returns in this sequel to The Last Wish, as the inhabitants of his world become embroiled in a state of total war.
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.
Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world - for good, or for evil.
As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all - and the Witcher never accepts defeat.
The Witcher returns in this sequel to The Last Wish, as the inhabitants of his world become embroiled in a state of total war.
398 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
24.8k people are currently reading
164k people want to read
About the author
Andrzej Sapkowski
171听books18k听followersAndrzej Sapkowski, born June 21, 1948 in 艁贸d藕, is a Polish fantasy and science fiction writer. Sapkowski studied economics, and before turning to writing, he had worked as a senior sales representative for a foreign trade company. His first short story, The Witcher (奥颈别诲藕尘颈苍), was published in Fantastyka, Poland's leading fantasy literary magazine, in 1986 and was enormously successful both with readers and critics. Sapkowski has created a cycle of tales based on the world of The Witcher, comprising three collections of short stories and five novels. This cycle and his many other works have made him one of the best-known fantasy authors in Poland in the 1990s.
The main character of The Witcher (alternative translation: The Hexer) is Geralt, a mutant assassin who has been trained since childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters. Geralt exists in an ambiguous moral universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler's signature character Philip Marlowe. The world in which these adventures take place is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology.
Sapkowski has won five Zajdel Awards, including three for short stories "Mniejsze z艂o" (Lesser Evil) (1990), "Miecz przeznaczenia" (Sword of Destiny) (1992) and "W leju po bombie" (In a Bomb Crater) (1993), and two for the novels "Krew elf贸w" (Blood of Elves) (1994) and "Narrenturm" (2002). He also won the Spanish Ignotus Award, best anthology, for The Last Wish in 2003, and for "Muzykanci" (The Musicians), best foreign short story, same year.
In 1997, Sapkowski won the prestigious Polityka's Passport award, which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success.
In 2001, a Television Series based on the Witcher cycle was released in Poland and internationally, entitled 奥颈别诲藕尘颈苍 (The Hexer). A film by the same title was compiled from excerpts of the television series but both have been critical and box office failures.
Sapkowski's books have been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. An English translation of The Last Wish short story collection was published by Gollancz in 2007.
The Polish game publisher, CD Projekt, created a role-playing PC game based on this universe, called The Witcher, which was released in October 2007. There is also a mobile version of the game which has been created by Breakpoint Games and is being published by Hands-On Mobile in Western Europe,Latin America and Asia Pacific.
The English translation of Sapkowski's novel Blood of Elves won the David Gemmell Legends Award in 2009.
The main character of The Witcher (alternative translation: The Hexer) is Geralt, a mutant assassin who has been trained since childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters. Geralt exists in an ambiguous moral universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler's signature character Philip Marlowe. The world in which these adventures take place is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology.
Sapkowski has won five Zajdel Awards, including three for short stories "Mniejsze z艂o" (Lesser Evil) (1990), "Miecz przeznaczenia" (Sword of Destiny) (1992) and "W leju po bombie" (In a Bomb Crater) (1993), and two for the novels "Krew elf贸w" (Blood of Elves) (1994) and "Narrenturm" (2002). He also won the Spanish Ignotus Award, best anthology, for The Last Wish in 2003, and for "Muzykanci" (The Musicians), best foreign short story, same year.
In 1997, Sapkowski won the prestigious Polityka's Passport award, which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success.
In 2001, a Television Series based on the Witcher cycle was released in Poland and internationally, entitled 奥颈别诲藕尘颈苍 (The Hexer). A film by the same title was compiled from excerpts of the television series but both have been critical and box office failures.
Sapkowski's books have been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. An English translation of The Last Wish short story collection was published by Gollancz in 2007.
The Polish game publisher, CD Projekt, created a role-playing PC game based on this universe, called The Witcher, which was released in October 2007. There is also a mobile version of the game which has been created by Breakpoint Games and is being published by Hands-On Mobile in Western Europe,Latin America and Asia Pacific.
The English translation of Sapkowski's novel Blood of Elves won the David Gemmell Legends Award in 2009.
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August 5, 2023
This review can be found on .
Considering how well-written and quick-paced the short story prequel collection The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski was, this was ridiculously disappointing and underwhelming. We have the same characters as was to be found in The Last Wish, and we had their personalities expanded and explored further, but we had none of the excitement or fantasy that was found there.
Blood of Elves is very slow and very closed-off. We spend far too much time in one place alone, and we follow conversations at a snail's pace to the point where what they're saying is no longer important but pointless chit-chat. It takes over half the book for us to leave Geralt and Ciri, who have taken up most of the book doing pretty much nothing in one place. The narrator is supposed to be omniscient, but it feels more like first-person narrative with just one or two dips elsewhere to move the rather vague plot along.
It's such a huge disappointment because the inclusion of our own folklore and fairytales in The Last Wish was a very good idea and following Geralt as he went about the countryside tackling monsters and demons (which is the job of the Witcher) was exciting, refreshing and kept the stories moving along. In Blood of Elves we meet one monster and little else.
It is mostly full of political intrigue, none of which is that interesting, nor does it deviate from the generic fantasy trope of races warring with races, crossing borders and sacking cities. But even then, with the generic fantasy tropes, we barely even get in to them because the characters are too busy having inane conversations whilst, presumably, just standing about being targets.
There was, however, a better set of female characters in this, though it was a bit too James Bond-esque how they all seemingly dropped their knickers are the mere sight of Geralt of Rivia. If one can get past this obvious High Fantasy trope and author-projection, we see some female characters that are developed beyond their breasts, but only just.
It's a relatively fun fantasy day-out. A quick read, won't challenge you much and will give you a good dose of non-YA fantasy goodness if that's what you're looking for (it's why I gravitated toward it) but it is by no means anything brilliant or ground-breaking. I will, however, finish the series, maybe pick up the other short story collection I haven't gotten around to and possibly play the game that was inspired by it.
(It's worth pointing out that this book is the first of a series, despite GoodReads naming it the third. This book is the first full-length novel and makes up the series of full length books, with two anthologies of short stories taking up 1st and 2nd in the series.)
Considering how well-written and quick-paced the short story prequel collection The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski was, this was ridiculously disappointing and underwhelming. We have the same characters as was to be found in The Last Wish, and we had their personalities expanded and explored further, but we had none of the excitement or fantasy that was found there.
Blood of Elves is very slow and very closed-off. We spend far too much time in one place alone, and we follow conversations at a snail's pace to the point where what they're saying is no longer important but pointless chit-chat. It takes over half the book for us to leave Geralt and Ciri, who have taken up most of the book doing pretty much nothing in one place. The narrator is supposed to be omniscient, but it feels more like first-person narrative with just one or two dips elsewhere to move the rather vague plot along.
It's such a huge disappointment because the inclusion of our own folklore and fairytales in The Last Wish was a very good idea and following Geralt as he went about the countryside tackling monsters and demons (which is the job of the Witcher) was exciting, refreshing and kept the stories moving along. In Blood of Elves we meet one monster and little else.
It is mostly full of political intrigue, none of which is that interesting, nor does it deviate from the generic fantasy trope of races warring with races, crossing borders and sacking cities. But even then, with the generic fantasy tropes, we barely even get in to them because the characters are too busy having inane conversations whilst, presumably, just standing about being targets.
There was, however, a better set of female characters in this, though it was a bit too James Bond-esque how they all seemingly dropped their knickers are the mere sight of Geralt of Rivia. If one can get past this obvious High Fantasy trope and author-projection, we see some female characters that are developed beyond their breasts, but only just.
It's a relatively fun fantasy day-out. A quick read, won't challenge you much and will give you a good dose of non-YA fantasy goodness if that's what you're looking for (it's why I gravitated toward it) but it is by no means anything brilliant or ground-breaking. I will, however, finish the series, maybe pick up the other short story collection I haven't gotten around to and possibly play the game that was inspired by it.
(It's worth pointing out that this book is the first of a series, despite GoodReads naming it the third. This book is the first full-length novel and makes up the series of full length books, with two anthologies of short stories taking up 1st and 2nd in the series.)
December 24, 2021
Blood of Elves is chronologically the 3rd entry within The Witcher saga. Whereas previously all the short stories followed Geralt of Rivia working on certain monster assassination assignments, within Blood of Elves he is one of 3 or 4 main characters that we share the minds of. For the novels, you can start here but I wouldn't recommend it. I found that I completely loved the groundwork I'd put in with the previous narratives and then hearing about the past stories mentioned of which I'd already read such as recollecting thought regarding meeting the Golden Dragon and about the macabre events that happened at the downfall of Cintra. It was also an excellent feeling meeting familiar characters (often a bit too spontaneously) that we'd briefly crossed paths with within the previous books. I can't state it enough that this book is so much deeper and more enjoyable if you've read what comes beforehand. The important side characters from the recent stories are more prominent here, most notably Ciri and Yennefer. I'm gutted we don't see more of one of my favourite characters, the womanising troubadour Dandelion.
The tale starts at a safe haven underneath a giant tree where Dandelion and his apprentice tell the epic poem of Geralt. We know the stories if we've read the previous entries but the poetry and the action is accentuated for the audience and is more picturesque, beautiful, and heightened in this form. Dandelion is the finest bard in the land who causes the ladies to swoon, the lords to be jealous and the brothel owners to panic! The ensemble of all assembled then discuss what happened at the end of the depicted action. Was Geralt murdered? Did the Child of Destiny, the Princess Ciri escape? Did her and Geralt meet up as was prophecised? It's a really intriguing beginning and sets the action up expertly. Geralt is an extremely famous Witcher whose name is world-renowned. Everyone claims to know him and his exploits but he's not been witnessed in two years so how much is a mere fabrication to attract the attention of revelers in a bar on a weekend evening?
In this outing, Ciri, the child of Destiny is essentially the main character with Geralt being more of a shadowy father figure who aids her development as an upcoming Witcher although she also has magical capabilities she does not understand. He is the infamous Witcher, Yennefer is an enchantress and "will they-won't they" love interest and although not the biological child of the aforementioned she seems like a perfect mix of arguably the other two main characters.
This tale was much deeper than what had come beforehand and as I've previously mentioned I wish to read all of these before the Netflix series is released. The first 30% is mainly focused on Ciri's training at the Witcher halls of Kaer Morten under the watchful gaze of the remaining handful of Witchers but also sorceresses Triss and Yennefer who are both former love interests of Geralt. Geralt does love Ciri as a father would and their relationship is complex, loving in a lack-of-emotion way from Geralt's perspective. He's a complex character as he's been genetically mutated to be a heartless monster killer but he has extreme morals and will not take sides in any sort of debacle. One person's right is another's wrong and he shouldn't take sides and that's not what he has been manipulated for.
Honestly, there isn't too much action throughout this novel, but that's fine. This is the foundation of what will no doubt be an exceptional next five books. The main drama is caused by a fire-scarred magical-wielding individual who has an unknown vendetta against Geralt and wants Ciri. Imagine if the Queen on a chessboard was infinitely more valuable and in the eyes of the soon to be warring nations this (even though they don't know if she's alive) 12-year-old young lady has a very important part to play. Child of Destiny isn't a title that everyone is able to flaunt after all.
Blood of Elves is very conversation heavy. Sometimes, with players having similar and confusing names it does get a bit over-bearing. Often a conversation will have eight contributors but it doesn't always make it obvious who is saying what so in these scenes I found my mind bouncing around thinking... "who said that?" - "who was that to?" etc? The vibe and the point of the scene are expressed well but it's not always easy to keep a perfect picture of progression.
I loved the majority of the short stories and only a few remain weak and uninteresting in my mind. This seemed like a well constructed but quite safe progression to the novel side of things. It didn't really have an exciting finale. The only event that could be considered as such was a confrontation at the eighty percent mark and then we were gifted a Ciri training session to conclude. This series isn't perfect yet. However, I am really enjoying following this interesting and multi-layered cast. This could go on to being one of my favourite fantasy series. At this point I believe I've only witnessed the tip of the iceberg and Ciri's destiny and the Witcher's influence is amazingly intriguing. I can't wait to read the next one.
The tale starts at a safe haven underneath a giant tree where Dandelion and his apprentice tell the epic poem of Geralt. We know the stories if we've read the previous entries but the poetry and the action is accentuated for the audience and is more picturesque, beautiful, and heightened in this form. Dandelion is the finest bard in the land who causes the ladies to swoon, the lords to be jealous and the brothel owners to panic! The ensemble of all assembled then discuss what happened at the end of the depicted action. Was Geralt murdered? Did the Child of Destiny, the Princess Ciri escape? Did her and Geralt meet up as was prophecised? It's a really intriguing beginning and sets the action up expertly. Geralt is an extremely famous Witcher whose name is world-renowned. Everyone claims to know him and his exploits but he's not been witnessed in two years so how much is a mere fabrication to attract the attention of revelers in a bar on a weekend evening?
In this outing, Ciri, the child of Destiny is essentially the main character with Geralt being more of a shadowy father figure who aids her development as an upcoming Witcher although she also has magical capabilities she does not understand. He is the infamous Witcher, Yennefer is an enchantress and "will they-won't they" love interest and although not the biological child of the aforementioned she seems like a perfect mix of arguably the other two main characters.
This tale was much deeper than what had come beforehand and as I've previously mentioned I wish to read all of these before the Netflix series is released. The first 30% is mainly focused on Ciri's training at the Witcher halls of Kaer Morten under the watchful gaze of the remaining handful of Witchers but also sorceresses Triss and Yennefer who are both former love interests of Geralt. Geralt does love Ciri as a father would and their relationship is complex, loving in a lack-of-emotion way from Geralt's perspective. He's a complex character as he's been genetically mutated to be a heartless monster killer but he has extreme morals and will not take sides in any sort of debacle. One person's right is another's wrong and he shouldn't take sides and that's not what he has been manipulated for.
Honestly, there isn't too much action throughout this novel, but that's fine. This is the foundation of what will no doubt be an exceptional next five books. The main drama is caused by a fire-scarred magical-wielding individual who has an unknown vendetta against Geralt and wants Ciri. Imagine if the Queen on a chessboard was infinitely more valuable and in the eyes of the soon to be warring nations this (even though they don't know if she's alive) 12-year-old young lady has a very important part to play. Child of Destiny isn't a title that everyone is able to flaunt after all.
Blood of Elves is very conversation heavy. Sometimes, with players having similar and confusing names it does get a bit over-bearing. Often a conversation will have eight contributors but it doesn't always make it obvious who is saying what so in these scenes I found my mind bouncing around thinking... "who said that?" - "who was that to?" etc? The vibe and the point of the scene are expressed well but it's not always easy to keep a perfect picture of progression.
I loved the majority of the short stories and only a few remain weak and uninteresting in my mind. This seemed like a well constructed but quite safe progression to the novel side of things. It didn't really have an exciting finale. The only event that could be considered as such was a confrontation at the eighty percent mark and then we were gifted a Ciri training session to conclude. This series isn't perfect yet. However, I am really enjoying following this interesting and multi-layered cast. This could go on to being one of my favourite fantasy series. At this point I believe I've only witnessed the tip of the iceberg and Ciri's destiny and the Witcher's influence is amazingly intriguing. I can't wait to read the next one.
Shelved as 'fantasy-wishlist'
October 14, 202010/10 would fuck the Witcher on the back of a unicorn
Currently on sale for $2.99 for Prime Day. YISSSS
Currently on sale for $2.99 for Prime Day. YISSSS
Want to read
January 24, 2020D*mm.
Never thought I'd see Amazon go out of stock like this... and for a book over a decade old! So cool that it's in such high demand!
But... what's not cool is the stunning lack of hardcover options.
Don't they know I'm addicted to a beautiful book jacket?
Never thought I'd see Amazon go out of stock like this... and for a book over a decade old! So cool that it's in such high demand!
But... what's not cool is the stunning lack of hardcover options.
Don't they know I'm addicted to a beautiful book jacket?
July 11, 2023
It's an interesting book that I liked more because I love the universe from the games. But not much happens and it all kind of feels a bit bland.
May 28, 2024
Blood of Elves is the first real novel in the Witcher series. The previous 2 volumes were interconnected short stories which included creatures inspired from different mythologies and fairy tales. They were pretty light and loved the humorous writing. And Geralt, of course.
With this novel, the story becomes more serious and starts to have structure and epic-ness.
Everybody is looking for Siri, the prophesied child. Gerald takes her to his training grounds, where we get to meet other Witchers. They all start training her to fight, which will prove to be in her advantage. At one point, Triss arrives to help them deal with the girl鈥檚 prophecies. Yennefer, will also make an appearance.
There are more characters, more intrigue, more relationships and less chopping. There is the specter of a new war looming over all the events in the novel.
I listened to the audiobook in Romanian and it just flew. I did not even realized that I was nearing the end of the book. I love Ionut Grama鈥檚 narration but, unfortunately, this is the last one he recorded so I will have to switch to English.
With this novel, the story becomes more serious and starts to have structure and epic-ness.
Everybody is looking for Siri, the prophesied child. Gerald takes her to his training grounds, where we get to meet other Witchers. They all start training her to fight, which will prove to be in her advantage. At one point, Triss arrives to help them deal with the girl鈥檚 prophecies. Yennefer, will also make an appearance.
There are more characters, more intrigue, more relationships and less chopping. There is the specter of a new war looming over all the events in the novel.
I listened to the audiobook in Romanian and it just flew. I did not even realized that I was nearing the end of the book. I love Ionut Grama鈥檚 narration but, unfortunately, this is the last one he recorded so I will have to switch to English.
December 13, 2024
[Redacted]
January 16, 2020
"The era of the sword and axe is nigh, the era of the wolf鈥檚 blizzard. The Time of the White Chill and the White Light is nigh, the Time of Madness and the Time of Contempt: Tedd Deire谩dh, the Time of End. The world will die amidst frost and be reborn with the new sun. It will be reborn of the Elder Blood, of Hen Ichaer, of the seed that has been sown. A seed which will not sprout but will burst into flame. Ess鈥檛uath esse! Thus it shall be! Watch for the signs! What signs these shall be, I say unto you: first the earth will flow with the blood of Aen Seidhe, the Blood of Elves..."
Cintra is burning.
The legions of the Nilfgaardian Empire have crossed the Yaruga again, and the independent future of the Northern Kingdoms is in grave peril. It is against this backdrop that the story opens. The story of Cirilla, Ciri, the orphaned princess with a mysterious destiny. Of the great struggle between the free kingdoms of the north and their overwhelming imperial adversary. And of the lone mutated witcher known as Gwynbleidd, the White Wolf.
And so it begins.
After introducing Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf himself, in a set of stunning short stories, Sapkowski kicks the main story off with a bang as Blood of Elves introduces a somewhat different, yet astounding, fantasy epic.
I first read Blood of Elves many years ago now, after having played the first game and read the absodamnlutely amazing short story collection The Last Wish. While I would seriously consider that book a masterpiece of the fantasy genre, this one is more of a traditional series novel. It focuses more on the actual storyline, which is quite fortunately intriguing enough to pull you in and never let go.
The world of the Witcher, most recently broadcasted by Netflix after having been stunningly presented in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, undoubtedly one of the most immersive and beautiful video games ever presented to the public, is shown just as enchantingly on the pages of the Witcher books, as they take the reader from the burning city of Cintra to the ancient Witcher fortress of Kaer Morhen and beyond.
While it is still relatively unknown by comparison to the giants of the genre (as a result of coming from a non-English-speaking country), I would not hesitate to call this one of the most impressive series in fantasy. And with the rise in Witcher adaptations in recent years, it appears more and more people are finding their way to it.
Witcher reviews:
#1 The Last Wish
#2 Sword of Destiny
#3 Blood of Elves
#4 Time of Contempt
#5 Baptism of Fire
#6 The Tower of the Swallow
#7 Lady of the Lake
#0 Season of Storms
Cintra is burning.
The legions of the Nilfgaardian Empire have crossed the Yaruga again, and the independent future of the Northern Kingdoms is in grave peril. It is against this backdrop that the story opens. The story of Cirilla, Ciri, the orphaned princess with a mysterious destiny. Of the great struggle between the free kingdoms of the north and their overwhelming imperial adversary. And of the lone mutated witcher known as Gwynbleidd, the White Wolf.
And so it begins.
After introducing Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf himself, in a set of stunning short stories, Sapkowski kicks the main story off with a bang as Blood of Elves introduces a somewhat different, yet astounding, fantasy epic.
I first read Blood of Elves many years ago now, after having played the first game and read the absodamnlutely amazing short story collection The Last Wish. While I would seriously consider that book a masterpiece of the fantasy genre, this one is more of a traditional series novel. It focuses more on the actual storyline, which is quite fortunately intriguing enough to pull you in and never let go.
The world of the Witcher, most recently broadcasted by Netflix after having been stunningly presented in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, undoubtedly one of the most immersive and beautiful video games ever presented to the public, is shown just as enchantingly on the pages of the Witcher books, as they take the reader from the burning city of Cintra to the ancient Witcher fortress of Kaer Morhen and beyond.
While it is still relatively unknown by comparison to the giants of the genre (as a result of coming from a non-English-speaking country), I would not hesitate to call this one of the most impressive series in fantasy. And with the rise in Witcher adaptations in recent years, it appears more and more people are finding their way to it.
Witcher reviews:
#1 The Last Wish
#2 Sword of Destiny
#3 Blood of Elves
#4 Time of Contempt
#5 Baptism of Fire
#6 The Tower of the Swallow
#7 Lady of the Lake
#0 Season of Storms
January 24, 2025
Geralt of The Last Wish, where art thou?!
Do I need to call the puny human authorities and tell them to issue an AMBER alert? Have the obnoxious aliens abducted you again, as I suspect they did in book 2? Or is it that the Evil Russians鈩� are holding you hostage until I surrender my East Siberian Sea dominion? That very well could be. The Fluffy Siberian Bunnies (FSB鈩�) can get bloody shrimping devious like that sometimes. Then again, I don't think that this is what happened here. You know what I think, my Little Barnacles? I think Geralt decided to bolt. Why, you ask? Seems pretty obvious to me: the previous installment nearly did him in. First things first, the guy's Monster Slaying Quota (MSQ鈩�) dropped dramatically. Second things second, he was viciously attacked by brutal waves of utter boredom and blah blah blah. And third things third, he had to endure some major Lovey Dovey Drama Crap (LDDC鈩�). I'm telling you, my Lovely Arthropods I would have pulled the Now You See Me Now You Don't Stint (NYSMNYDS鈩�) too, had I been in his place.
Yes, that is indeed my little self very discretely pulling a NYSMNYDS鈩�.
Okay, I know what you Annoying Decapods are going to tell me: "but,gloriously nefarious Sarah we are in such awe of, Geralt hasn't gone anywhere! Geralt is right here! In this book!" Na茂ve, na茂ve, Little Barnacles. I'm afraid you've been had like a bunch of provincial krill. It's not Geralt we're dealing with in this installment! It's gErAlT, his duplicitous, evilly evil twin! You have no idea how shrewd and calculating the guy is. And bloody shrimping presumptuous, too! He actually had the nerve to come up with his very own precepts for this book! Don't believe me? Check this out:
The Outrageously Outrageous Witcher Commandments According toGarp gErAlT (OOWCAtG骋鈩�)
:
馃拃 Violently butcher monsters you shall refrain from.
Yes, this is kinda sorta awkward when supernatural beast slaying is kinda sorta your calling and day job. But what's a guy to do to get PETA off his back? See the tiny predicament here? The only solution is obviously for you to do the Pest Control Thing (PCT鈩�) oncein a while per book tops, so that your street cred doesn't get thoroughly ruined and stuff. Your life will no longer have a meaning, but that really is quite an insignificant price to pay in the grand scheme of things, is it not?
See, the Libidinously Mustached Duo (LMD鈩�) doesn't think it's a big deal, either.
馃拃 Only a few pages told from your POV yourslightly hysterical fans you shall provide with.
Because you are of the erroneously wrong opinion that absence makes the black, withered heart grow fonder and stuff. Well, some People of the Forever Right Opinion (PofFRO鈩�) happen to think absence makes the pincers get sharper. But hey, to each their own and all that fish.
馃拃 Much needless blah blah blah crap let your fellow cast members gleefully indulge in you shall.
In the meantime a well-deserved nap most joyfully you will enjoy (while thinking "mwahahahaha and stuff" to your smug little self).Bored Slightly uninterested readers be damned and all that. If they can't appreciate coma-inducing goodness kindly brought to them by a bunch of queens/kings/rulers/whatever, it's their problem, not yours. Besides, if they think this book is the cure to insomnia, they should try and read . If they're lucky they'll only end up with an acute case of narcolepsy. So QED and stuff. It's time for a little Smug gErAlT Muahahahaha-ing (SGM鈩�) again.
馃拃 Deceitfully bring in a disgustingly kidnap-worthy little kid to sneakily soften the tougher shrimps out there you shall:
Make her all sorts of revoltingly cute with huge ass-kicking potential and wondrous smartass abilities to weaken your intended victim's reinforced, titanium-coated exoskeleton. Cunningly hint at the possibility that said brat might one day be a greater character than your little self. This is far from the truth, of course. No one is, or ever will be, greater than your astonishingly fabulous (and yet so humble) little self. This is naught but a diabolically Machiavellian scheme to make sure some crustaceans will continue readingCiri's your most fascinating adventures. Hook, line and sinker, the bloody shrimping shrimps are bloody shrimping done for. Mission accomplished and stuff.
Told you gErAlT was nothing like Geralt. Ha.
鉃� And the moral of this What the Fishing Fish is Fishing Going On with this Series I Demand Both and Explanation and a Formal Apology Crappy Non Review (WtFFiFGOwtSIDBaEaaFACNR鈩�) is: dear Mr. Sapkowski, give Geralt back NOW. And I don't mean gErAlT, I mean bloody shrimping Geralt. As in my super hot sexey badass monster slaying boyfriend from The Last Wish. Puny humans might get hurt somewhat painfully (and also suffer a slightly excruciating fate, by the way) if you don't comply. But hey, no pressure and stuff.
路 Book 1: The Last Wish 鈽呪槄鈽呪槄鈽�
路 Book 2: Sword of Destiny 鈽呪槄鈽�
路 Book 4: The Time of Contempt 鈽�
[Pre-review nonsense]
Geralt, Geralt, Geralt...What to do with you? I hope you do realize that I've only ever kicked one boyfriend out of my High Security Harem before. Surely you do not want to suffer the same fate? Especially since the boyfriend in question was Wimpish Happy Dresden (WHD鈩�) *shudders* Pretty sure you'd hate to receive the same treatment as this substandard puny human, huh?
Yep, that's what I thought. Well you know what? If you want to stay safely locked up in the Harem, you're going to have to work for it. I'm giving you one last bloody shrimping chance, so don't screw things up in , or else...
鉃� Full Not Even A Full Chapter Written From Geralt's POV This is Outrageous This is Unacceptable This Cannot Be This Will Not Do We are Not Amused Crustaceans at the Ready and Stuff Crappy Non Review (NEAFCWFGPOVTiOTiUTCBTWNDWaNACatRaSCNR鈩�) to come.
P.S. Geralt dear, butchering monsters is always a plus. Think about that for a minute or two, will you?
Do I need to call the puny human authorities and tell them to issue an AMBER alert? Have the obnoxious aliens abducted you again, as I suspect they did in book 2? Or is it that the Evil Russians鈩� are holding you hostage until I surrender my East Siberian Sea dominion? That very well could be. The Fluffy Siberian Bunnies (FSB鈩�) can get bloody shrimping devious like that sometimes. Then again, I don't think that this is what happened here. You know what I think, my Little Barnacles? I think Geralt decided to bolt. Why, you ask? Seems pretty obvious to me: the previous installment nearly did him in. First things first, the guy's Monster Slaying Quota (MSQ鈩�) dropped dramatically. Second things second, he was viciously attacked by brutal waves of utter boredom and blah blah blah. And third things third, he had to endure some major Lovey Dovey Drama Crap (LDDC鈩�). I'm telling you, my Lovely Arthropods I would have pulled the Now You See Me Now You Don't Stint (NYSMNYDS鈩�) too, had I been in his place.
Yes, that is indeed my little self very discretely pulling a NYSMNYDS鈩�.
Okay, I know what you Annoying Decapods are going to tell me: "but,
The Outrageously Outrageous Witcher Commandments According to
馃拃 Violently butcher monsters you shall refrain from.
Yes, this is kinda sorta awkward when supernatural beast slaying is kinda sorta your calling and day job. But what's a guy to do to get PETA off his back? See the tiny predicament here? The only solution is obviously for you to do the Pest Control Thing (PCT鈩�) once
See, the Libidinously Mustached Duo (LMD鈩�) doesn't think it's a big deal, either.
馃拃 Only a few pages told from your POV your
Because you are of the erroneously wrong opinion that absence makes the black, withered heart grow fonder and stuff. Well, some People of the Forever Right Opinion (PofFRO鈩�) happen to think absence makes the pincers get sharper. But hey, to each their own and all that fish.
馃拃 Much needless blah blah blah crap let your fellow cast members gleefully indulge in you shall.
In the meantime a well-deserved nap most joyfully you will enjoy (while thinking "mwahahahaha and stuff" to your smug little self).
馃拃 Deceitfully bring in a disgustingly kidnap-worthy little kid to sneakily soften the tougher shrimps out there you shall:
Make her all sorts of revoltingly cute with huge ass-kicking potential and wondrous smartass abilities to weaken your intended victim's reinforced, titanium-coated exoskeleton. Cunningly hint at the possibility that said brat might one day be a greater character than your little self. This is far from the truth, of course. No one is, or ever will be, greater than your astonishingly fabulous (and yet so humble) little self. This is naught but a diabolically Machiavellian scheme to make sure some crustaceans will continue reading
Told you gErAlT was nothing like Geralt. Ha.
鉃� And the moral of this What the Fishing Fish is Fishing Going On with this Series I Demand Both and Explanation and a Formal Apology Crappy Non Review (WtFFiFGOwtSIDBaEaaFACNR鈩�) is: dear Mr. Sapkowski, give Geralt back NOW. And I don't mean gErAlT, I mean bloody shrimping Geralt. As in my super hot sexey badass monster slaying boyfriend from The Last Wish. Puny humans might get hurt somewhat painfully (and also suffer a slightly excruciating fate, by the way) if you don't comply. But hey, no pressure and stuff.
路 Book 1: The Last Wish 鈽呪槄鈽呪槄鈽�
路 Book 2: Sword of Destiny 鈽呪槄鈽�
路 Book 4: The Time of Contempt 鈽�
[Pre-review nonsense]
Geralt, Geralt, Geralt...What to do with you? I hope you do realize that I've only ever kicked one boyfriend out of my High Security Harem before. Surely you do not want to suffer the same fate? Especially since the boyfriend in question was Wimpish Happy Dresden (WHD鈩�) *shudders* Pretty sure you'd hate to receive the same treatment as this substandard puny human, huh?
Yep, that's what I thought. Well you know what? If you want to stay safely locked up in the Harem, you're going to have to work for it. I'm giving you one last bloody shrimping chance, so don't screw things up in , or else...
鉃� Full Not Even A Full Chapter Written From Geralt's POV This is Outrageous This is Unacceptable This Cannot Be This Will Not Do We are Not Amused Crustaceans at the Ready and Stuff Crappy Non Review (NEAFCWFGPOVTiOTiUTCBTWNDWaNACatRaSCNR鈩�) to come.
P.S. Geralt dear, butchering monsters is always a plus. Think about that for a minute or two, will you?
February 15, 2022
Quite different from the drama, and also much better in execution.
March 23, 2022
Blood of Elves sets the stage; it pulls back the curtain and begins to tell a story that is clearly going to develop into something quite grand.鈥�
鈥塎ake no mistake this is Ciri's novel, and this is very much the start of her story. Breaking the mould of the episodic short stories of The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny, which follow the adventures and monster killing contracts carried out by Geralt of Rivia, this is about the growth of Ciri and the trials she faces as she attempts to discover exactly who (and what) she is.鈥堿fter seeing Geralt in action, she wants to be a Witcher too; however, she has the potential to be something much more. Learning exactly what this and why she is so important drives the story forward.
鈥塈 really like how well described the magic systems are and how each character has their own limitations. Although Ciri is still learning, Geralt and Yennefer are very much aware that she has the potential to be greater than both of them in terms of magic skill and fighting prowess.鈥塆eralt trains her with the sword and Yennefer with magic. Again, we are just beginning to see the possibilities of what she can do. Her elder blood has determined her destiny, she just needs to discover it once she has finished learning.
Because of the political power Ciri possesses, the world is out to remove her from the existence because she is too powerful a pawn if the wrong hands got hold of her. She is the heir to the mighty kingdom of Cintra, and it is a prize many seek to conquer. As such, Ciri finds herself much sought after for not only the political advantages her hand possesses but also because of her innate abilities. Although the plot is slow moving in this regard, focused only on the perusal of Ciri, I feel like the ground has been laid for some interesting developments over the next few books.
So, this is a very good start to a series that I am very excited to read more of. I particularly like how it has built upon the foundations the short stories laid, adding depth to a world that was already very intricate with a large amount of careful world building established. The monsters in all their variety gives the world a bit of a unique feel and when combined with the magic, factions and guilds it has a very strong sense of identity. And this is important because I鈥檝e found that the genre, for all its brilliance, can start to feel very samey when you a read a lot of it.
To conclude here though, I'm expecting great things from this series and from Ciri.
Short Story Collections
1. The Last Wish - 4.25 stars
2. The Sword of Destiny - C/R
The Witcher Series
1. The Blood of Elves - 4.0 stars
__________________________________
You can connect with me on social media via .
__________________________________
鈥塎ake no mistake this is Ciri's novel, and this is very much the start of her story. Breaking the mould of the episodic short stories of The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny, which follow the adventures and monster killing contracts carried out by Geralt of Rivia, this is about the growth of Ciri and the trials she faces as she attempts to discover exactly who (and what) she is.鈥堿fter seeing Geralt in action, she wants to be a Witcher too; however, she has the potential to be something much more. Learning exactly what this and why she is so important drives the story forward.
鈥塈 really like how well described the magic systems are and how each character has their own limitations. Although Ciri is still learning, Geralt and Yennefer are very much aware that she has the potential to be greater than both of them in terms of magic skill and fighting prowess.鈥塆eralt trains her with the sword and Yennefer with magic. Again, we are just beginning to see the possibilities of what she can do. Her elder blood has determined her destiny, she just needs to discover it once she has finished learning.
鈥夆€夆€淩emember,鈥� she repeated, 鈥渕agic is Chaos, Art and Science. It is a curse, a blessing and progress. It all depends on who uses magic, how they use it, and to what purpose. And magic is everywhere. All around us. Easily accessible.鈥�
Because of the political power Ciri possesses, the world is out to remove her from the existence because she is too powerful a pawn if the wrong hands got hold of her. She is the heir to the mighty kingdom of Cintra, and it is a prize many seek to conquer. As such, Ciri finds herself much sought after for not only the political advantages her hand possesses but also because of her innate abilities. Although the plot is slow moving in this regard, focused only on the perusal of Ciri, I feel like the ground has been laid for some interesting developments over the next few books.
So, this is a very good start to a series that I am very excited to read more of. I particularly like how it has built upon the foundations the short stories laid, adding depth to a world that was already very intricate with a large amount of careful world building established. The monsters in all their variety gives the world a bit of a unique feel and when combined with the magic, factions and guilds it has a very strong sense of identity. And this is important because I鈥檝e found that the genre, for all its brilliance, can start to feel very samey when you a read a lot of it.
To conclude here though, I'm expecting great things from this series and from Ciri.
Short Story Collections
1. The Last Wish - 4.25 stars
2. The Sword of Destiny - C/R
The Witcher Series
1. The Blood of Elves - 4.0 stars
__________________________________
You can connect with me on social media via .
__________________________________
March 3, 2020
Maybe I'm a slave to TV after all. I watched the Witcher production before picking up any of the short stories or the novels. Even before playing the games! (And I admit I still haven't played the games.)
So obviously, my opinion is going to be somewhat SKEWED from the rest of the hoards of fans of Sapkowski. Or maybe improved. Who knows?
The fact is... I had a wonderful time reading this.
At no point did I ever feel underwhelmed, think that the pacing was off, or want to complain about the lack of huge battles or epic whatnot.
I knew this whole series was a character study first, a social commentary second, and a delightful worldbuilding/epic fantasy extravaganza third. And so, since I already loved the characters, I continued to love the characters, get awed about the full ramifications of the elves, the brewing war that would bring about much more than self-destruction, but the end of so much that was good in this flawed world, and was properly horrified by the other wars that had already happened.
One could say that these novels are the effects and substance of massive amounts of Aftermath. And the TV show reflects that. We know things are all about to end. Spectacularly. And it is this over-story that keeps me at the table that is still, primarily, a delicious feast of characters.
So I repeat. :) I loved this. I love them. :)
So obviously, my opinion is going to be somewhat SKEWED from the rest of the hoards of fans of Sapkowski. Or maybe improved. Who knows?
The fact is... I had a wonderful time reading this.
At no point did I ever feel underwhelmed, think that the pacing was off, or want to complain about the lack of huge battles or epic whatnot.
I knew this whole series was a character study first, a social commentary second, and a delightful worldbuilding/epic fantasy extravaganza third. And so, since I already loved the characters, I continued to love the characters, get awed about the full ramifications of the elves, the brewing war that would bring about much more than self-destruction, but the end of so much that was good in this flawed world, and was properly horrified by the other wars that had already happened.
One could say that these novels are the effects and substance of massive amounts of Aftermath. And the TV show reflects that. We know things are all about to end. Spectacularly. And it is this over-story that keeps me at the table that is still, primarily, a delicious feast of characters.
So I repeat. :) I loved this. I love them. :)
April 18, 2017
For anyone who's played The Witcher games, or anyone who has not but is interested in dark fantasy, I encourage you to consider reading , which is the first of The Witcher books, an anthology of short stories. Read it before this, and too. They're good, and you'll thank yourself for it later when you're not trying to decipher the backstory behind this one. The Blood of Elves is the first full-length novel in the series, and I was not disappointed. It's even made it onto my "favourites" shelf.
The general concept is that Geralt, a Witcher created through elixirs and brutal mutilation as a child, hunts and kills monsters for pay. This volume is about the child Ciri, who we meet in the short stories of The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny, and her training in both magic and witching (I don't know if that's what the Witcher craft is called but hey I used it). The other part of this is the brewing war between the Nilfgaardians and the countries on the other side of the river.
Character relationships are complex and full of history. They're so tied together by destiny, yet so emotionally stunted towards each other that at some point it's just sad. Poetic and lovely, and not pathetic enough to become angsty and melodramatic. Ciri is kind of the light in the dark, probably to her detriment. She's the one to which Triss's longing for Geralt, and Yennefer's pain over him, is actually put into words. This is the first book in which Triss appears and while I was geared up to immediately feel bitterness towards her, none of Sapkowski's characters end up deserving that. All that said, this isn't a sappy romance love-fest, and is very much story-oriented.
Sapkowski's sense of humour is exactly within my tastes too: cynical and quippy, as well as a little mean. Yennefer and Triss both have that sharp tongue that made me laugh out loud a few times, and Ciri is just comical by nature.
And here's a less reviewy part and more of a collection of my thoughts. At this point, I'm not sure if Ciri being "destined" for Geralt means she's meant to eventually be his partner, or more of a daughter, and I have not played the games to know. Also no spoilers, please. Yennefer's initial resentment towards Ciri would be justified either way, either as a woman with a past with Geralt, or as a woman unable to bear her own children. In this volume at least, Ciri is his ward, and he trains her in Kaer Morhen to be a witcher. Her early training in magic (and how to survive puberty, let's be honest) is carried out by Triss Merigold, whom I adored for being one of the only characters who just said what they were feeling, and later by Yennefer. Yennefer's interactions with Ciri were my favourite part of the book, ultimately. In my opinion, Sapkowski writes the relationships between a young girl and her older female mentors with sincerity and impressive believability.
I usually struggle with fantasy not making me truly feel things, but there's plenty of heart torture for me in these!
The general concept is that Geralt, a Witcher created through elixirs and brutal mutilation as a child, hunts and kills monsters for pay. This volume is about the child Ciri, who we meet in the short stories of The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny, and her training in both magic and witching (I don't know if that's what the Witcher craft is called but hey I used it). The other part of this is the brewing war between the Nilfgaardians and the countries on the other side of the river.
Character relationships are complex and full of history. They're so tied together by destiny, yet so emotionally stunted towards each other that at some point it's just sad. Poetic and lovely, and not pathetic enough to become angsty and melodramatic. Ciri is kind of the light in the dark, probably to her detriment. She's the one to which Triss's longing for Geralt, and Yennefer's pain over him, is actually put into words. This is the first book in which Triss appears and while I was geared up to immediately feel bitterness towards her, none of Sapkowski's characters end up deserving that. All that said, this isn't a sappy romance love-fest, and is very much story-oriented.
Sapkowski's sense of humour is exactly within my tastes too: cynical and quippy, as well as a little mean. Yennefer and Triss both have that sharp tongue that made me laugh out loud a few times, and Ciri is just comical by nature.
And here's a less reviewy part and more of a collection of my thoughts. At this point, I'm not sure if Ciri being "destined" for Geralt means she's meant to eventually be his partner, or more of a daughter, and I have not played the games to know. Also no spoilers, please. Yennefer's initial resentment towards Ciri would be justified either way, either as a woman with a past with Geralt, or as a woman unable to bear her own children. In this volume at least, Ciri is his ward, and he trains her in Kaer Morhen to be a witcher. Her early training in magic (and how to survive puberty, let's be honest) is carried out by Triss Merigold, whom I adored for being one of the only characters who just said what they were feeling, and later by Yennefer. Yennefer's interactions with Ciri were my favourite part of the book, ultimately. In my opinion, Sapkowski writes the relationships between a young girl and her older female mentors with sincerity and impressive believability.
I usually struggle with fantasy not making me truly feel things, but there's plenty of heart torture for me in these!
February 6, 2014
I "feel" (note the use of the word "feel" rather than "think") I should (have) like(ed) this book better. The plot sounds very interesting. The girl Ciri, child of promise and prophecy (yes a common motif in fantasy and folklore) who was promised to the Witcher before she was born. (Evil faeries and so on used to claim that promise). The story of her "education", training, change and all the people around who want to protect or use her.
But I just found the book a sort of yawner. It opens with a really "grab ya" scene of an attack on a city that turns out to be a partial and suppressed memory of Cir coming out in a dream... and jumps to a bard singing about "someone" or "some people" that all the listeners "just know" are Ciri, Geralt etc. But it rolls on so slowly.
The races here a a little different than we find elsewhere but not greatly. The magic folk, druids, priests who populate the book never grab me and I just couldn't get into the story. I found myself skimming the book going from Triss' memories to Ciri's training, from events to visions and all along I was just losing interest.
Maybe it's me and my own taste. I see a lot of people like this book and I'm certainly glad you found a volume you like. I liked the first book or prequel to this one (The Last Wish) pretty well, but this one just never drew me in. I really don't care for it all that much.
I do apologize to you who like this book greatly, as I've noted many times it's simple a matter of taste.
But I just found the book a sort of yawner. It opens with a really "grab ya" scene of an attack on a city that turns out to be a partial and suppressed memory of Cir coming out in a dream... and jumps to a bard singing about "someone" or "some people" that all the listeners "just know" are Ciri, Geralt etc. But it rolls on so slowly.
The races here a a little different than we find elsewhere but not greatly. The magic folk, druids, priests who populate the book never grab me and I just couldn't get into the story. I found myself skimming the book going from Triss' memories to Ciri's training, from events to visions and all along I was just losing interest.
Maybe it's me and my own taste. I see a lot of people like this book and I'm certainly glad you found a volume you like. I liked the first book or prequel to this one (The Last Wish) pretty well, but this one just never drew me in. I really don't care for it all that much.
I do apologize to you who like this book greatly, as I've noted many times it's simple a matter of taste.
November 6, 2018
鈥淏lood of Elves鈥�, the third book in 鈥淭he Witcher鈥� series, is the first full length novel. I recommend reading the two short story collections first (鈥淭he Last Wish鈥� and 鈥淭he Sword of Destiny鈥�) as they are linked together to form the background for this book. It will also give you a feel of the writing style and pacing of the whole series. This is not an action pack, high stakes thriller. This is a very slow, character driven tale where the enjoyment is taken from world-building escapism. I'm not saying it's boring, but if you're use to modern western fantasy stories, you may not enjoy the slow pace.
Though there is plenty of Geralt to go around, you鈥檒l realize that this is really Ciri's story. It primarily offers some insight to her childhood after she's taken in by Geralt, showing the early relationships she had with the other characters. The backdrop, of course, is a distinctly sociopolitical tragedy. It mostly sets the scene of two enemy countries, on the brink of war, and how Geralt of Rivia is stuck in the middle, with both countries and numerous independent guilds after him and those he loves. I won't spoil anything but there's a scene that speaks loudly to the futility and toll of war: that very little is gained from killing in the end.
Like the previous books, 鈥淏lood of Elves鈥� is mostly based on dialogue -- using the characters words or thoughts to set the scene. This does, at times, make it feel a bit rushed and shallow but not enough to detract you from the story. The characters are memorable, the prose is far more sophisticated than in most fantasy, and the world Andrzej Sapkowski created is deeply compelling. I loved almost everything about it: from the sharp dialogue to the complex and multifaceted treatments of racism, sexism, colonialism and other socio-political issues that affect us in the real world. I particularly appreciated the way the book managed to operate simultaneously as serious fantasy and as a tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of the genre's tropes and cliches.
That, of course, is in part because the characters are just ridiculously good! I think Geralt is one of the most fully realized protagonists in fantasy. He's powerful, but reluctant to use his power in a way that might play into the world's terrible politics. He'd like nothing more than to opt-out completely and go about his business killing monsters for coin, but he can鈥檛, and is inevitably dragged into affairs of war and peace. He's quiet, yet thoughtful; violent yet only hesitantly so; hard yet shows a greater capacity for empathy than anyone else in his world.
The powerful enchantresses he is romantically involved with, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Triss Merigold, are no less compelling. Any scene with Yennefer is pure gold! She's prideful, antagonistic and fierce. Yet, beneath the hard exterior -- undoubtedly caring and sympathetic--exactly the kind of complex, independent female character that male writers often have trouble writing. Her tortured relationship with Geralt is one for the ages, and works because she is his equal in every way.
鈥淏lood of Elves鈥� serves more as an introductory chapter to the overall story arc, and while it isn't the most exciting or plot driven story I've read -- it excels in delivering interesting, fleshed-out characters that you can't help but want to learn more about and sets the stage for the rest of the series. The ending is not an ending at all, but more of a lead into "A Time of Contempt鈥�. Patience is required! If you ever want a more realistic approach to a fantasy world where politics of the realms have a larger impact on the world than a single character -- 鈥淭he Witcher鈥� is worth the effort.
Though there is plenty of Geralt to go around, you鈥檒l realize that this is really Ciri's story. It primarily offers some insight to her childhood after she's taken in by Geralt, showing the early relationships she had with the other characters. The backdrop, of course, is a distinctly sociopolitical tragedy. It mostly sets the scene of two enemy countries, on the brink of war, and how Geralt of Rivia is stuck in the middle, with both countries and numerous independent guilds after him and those he loves. I won't spoil anything but there's a scene that speaks loudly to the futility and toll of war: that very little is gained from killing in the end.
Like the previous books, 鈥淏lood of Elves鈥� is mostly based on dialogue -- using the characters words or thoughts to set the scene. This does, at times, make it feel a bit rushed and shallow but not enough to detract you from the story. The characters are memorable, the prose is far more sophisticated than in most fantasy, and the world Andrzej Sapkowski created is deeply compelling. I loved almost everything about it: from the sharp dialogue to the complex and multifaceted treatments of racism, sexism, colonialism and other socio-political issues that affect us in the real world. I particularly appreciated the way the book managed to operate simultaneously as serious fantasy and as a tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of the genre's tropes and cliches.
That, of course, is in part because the characters are just ridiculously good! I think Geralt is one of the most fully realized protagonists in fantasy. He's powerful, but reluctant to use his power in a way that might play into the world's terrible politics. He'd like nothing more than to opt-out completely and go about his business killing monsters for coin, but he can鈥檛, and is inevitably dragged into affairs of war and peace. He's quiet, yet thoughtful; violent yet only hesitantly so; hard yet shows a greater capacity for empathy than anyone else in his world.
The powerful enchantresses he is romantically involved with, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Triss Merigold, are no less compelling. Any scene with Yennefer is pure gold! She's prideful, antagonistic and fierce. Yet, beneath the hard exterior -- undoubtedly caring and sympathetic--exactly the kind of complex, independent female character that male writers often have trouble writing. Her tortured relationship with Geralt is one for the ages, and works because she is his equal in every way.
鈥淏lood of Elves鈥� serves more as an introductory chapter to the overall story arc, and while it isn't the most exciting or plot driven story I've read -- it excels in delivering interesting, fleshed-out characters that you can't help but want to learn more about and sets the stage for the rest of the series. The ending is not an ending at all, but more of a lead into "A Time of Contempt鈥�. Patience is required! If you ever want a more realistic approach to a fantasy world where politics of the realms have a larger impact on the world than a single character -- 鈥淭he Witcher鈥� is worth the effort.
November 22, 2017
Boring. After reading The Last Wish, short story prequels, I was expecting fairy tale influenced monster hunting and adventuring. What I got was endless discussions about kings and politics, who wants to marry who and who wants to take over who's country.
I didn't like the way the women were written. They all lost all sense at the sight of Geralt, falling head over heels for him for no apparent reason because he has about as much personality as a stick. And the author appears to understand nothing about girls' puberty and periods and should really stay away from writing about them. Why should the use of magic cause cramps for women? What was the point of that? And why should they not exercise when they have their period?
I ended up putting this down and reading other books and just struggling to finish it.
It was just about getting good at the very end. It was just a generic training montage with Yennifer teaching Ciri the way of the magicians but the magic system was interesting.
The translation is good but even that can't fix the fact that it's just a book about politics, people arguing and jockeying for power. Add in the lack of decent female characters and this is just not for me.
I didn't like the way the women were written. They all lost all sense at the sight of Geralt, falling head over heels for him for no apparent reason because he has about as much personality as a stick. And the author appears to understand nothing about girls' puberty and periods and should really stay away from writing about them. Why should the use of magic cause cramps for women? What was the point of that? And why should they not exercise when they have their period?
I ended up putting this down and reading other books and just struggling to finish it.
It was just about getting good at the very end. It was just a generic training montage with Yennifer teaching Ciri the way of the magicians but the magic system was interesting.
The translation is good but even that can't fix the fact that it's just a book about politics, people arguing and jockeying for power. Add in the lack of decent female characters and this is just not for me.
September 1, 2009
I loved it like I knew I would. It was well worth the wait, and I can not wait until the next installment. For some reason, my wife and I were possessed by the title and now run around the house doing some ridiculous call and response thing-
Me(from downstairs, yelling black metal voice): "BLOOD OF ELVES"
Her (from upstairs, shrieking black metal voice): "BLLLLLLLLLLOOOOD OF EELLLVVVVEEES"
There are worse reactions a book can inspire.
Me(from downstairs, yelling black metal voice): "BLOOD OF ELVES"
Her (from upstairs, shrieking black metal voice): "BLLLLLLLLLLOOOOD OF EELLLVVVVEEES"
There are worse reactions a book can inspire.
March 30, 2020
4,5 Sterne
Der erste regul盲re Band der Hexer-Reihe erf眉llt f眉r mich alle Erwartungen, die ich nach den ersten beiden Vorgeschichtenb盲nden an ihn hatte.
Sobald man sich einmal an den Schreibstil gew枚hnt hat, finde ich ihn ziemlich genial und passend, ist aber sicher nicht f眉r jeden etwas. Diese Geschichte lebt aber einfach von ihren Dialogen und ich finde das gelingt dem Autor auch sehr gut.
Das Buch besteht nur aus 7 Kapiteln, 盲hnelt im Aufbau also irgendwie sehr den Kurzgeschichtenb盲nden, denn auch hier springen wir sehr viel in Zeit und Raum und Erz盲hlperspektive hin und her. Das hat meinen Lesefluss kurzzeitig etwas gest枚rt, daher musste ich auch ein halbes Sternchen abziehen. Au脽erdem fehlte mir an mancher Stelle einfach ein bisschen Spannung (wie bspw. bei der Szene mit den 5 K枚nigen). Trotzdem hatte ich stetig das Verlangen weiter zu lesen und habe mich nur aufgrund der Leserunde, in der ich dieses Buch gelesen habe, gebremst.
Dem Ende stehe ich etwas ambivalent gegen眉ber: einerseits h枚rt es zwar mittendrin auf und l盲sst uns mit vielen offenen Fragen und Vermutungen zur眉ck, aber andererseits ist es auch kein fieser Cliffhanger. Freue mich dennoch tierisch auf Band 2!
Der erste regul盲re Band der Hexer-Reihe erf眉llt f眉r mich alle Erwartungen, die ich nach den ersten beiden Vorgeschichtenb盲nden an ihn hatte.
Sobald man sich einmal an den Schreibstil gew枚hnt hat, finde ich ihn ziemlich genial und passend, ist aber sicher nicht f眉r jeden etwas. Diese Geschichte lebt aber einfach von ihren Dialogen und ich finde das gelingt dem Autor auch sehr gut.
Das Buch besteht nur aus 7 Kapiteln, 盲hnelt im Aufbau also irgendwie sehr den Kurzgeschichtenb盲nden, denn auch hier springen wir sehr viel in Zeit und Raum und Erz盲hlperspektive hin und her. Das hat meinen Lesefluss kurzzeitig etwas gest枚rt, daher musste ich auch ein halbes Sternchen abziehen. Au脽erdem fehlte mir an mancher Stelle einfach ein bisschen Spannung (wie bspw. bei der Szene mit den 5 K枚nigen). Trotzdem hatte ich stetig das Verlangen weiter zu lesen und habe mich nur aufgrund der Leserunde, in der ich dieses Buch gelesen habe, gebremst.
Dem Ende stehe ich etwas ambivalent gegen眉ber: einerseits h枚rt es zwar mittendrin auf und l盲sst uns mit vielen offenen Fragen und Vermutungen zur眉ck, aber andererseits ist es auch kein fieser Cliffhanger. Freue mich dennoch tierisch auf Band 2!
October 24, 2021
Krew elf贸w = Blood of Elves (The Witcher #1), by Andrzej Sapkowski
Geralt, the witcher of Rivia, is back 鈥� and this time he holds the fate of the whole land in his hands ...
For more than a hundred years, humans, dwarves, gnomes and elves lived together in relative peace.
But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over and now the races once again fight each other and themselves: dwarves are killing their kinsmen, and elves are murdering humans and elves, at least those elves who are friendly to humans...
Into this tumultuous time is born a child for whom the witchers of the world have been waiting.
Ciri, the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe, the Lioness of Cintra, has strange powers and a stranger destiny, for prophecy names her the Flame, one with the power to change the world for good, or for evil ...
Geralt, the witcher of Rivia, has taken Ciri to the relative safety of the Witchers' Settlement, but it soon becomes clear that Ciri isn't like the other witchers.
As the political situation grows ever dimmer and the threat of war hangs almost palpably over the land, Geralt searches for someone to train Ciri's unique powers.
But someone else has an eye on the young girl, someone who understand exactly what the prophecy means and exactly what Ciri's power can do.
This time Geralt may have met his match.
鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮 乇賵夭 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 爻賵賲 賲丕賴 丕讴鬲亘乇 爻丕賱 2018賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
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毓賳賵丕賳: 禺賵賳 丕賱賮鈥屬囏ж� 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 丌賳丿乇蹖 爻丕倬讴賵賮爻讴蹖貨 賲鬲乇噩賲 賲賴丿蹖 賮蹖丕囟蹖鈥屭┷屫ж� 賵蹖乇丕爻鬲丕乇 賲乇蹖賲 賮乇賳丕賲貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賳卮乇 丕蹖噩丕夭貙 爻丕賱1396貨 丿乇367氐貨 卮丕亘讴9786009750597貨
毓賳賵丕賳: 禺賵賳鈥� 丕賱賮鈥屬囏ж� 丕孬乇 丌賳丿乇賴 爻丕倬讴賵賮爻讴蹖貨 亘乇诏乇丿丕賳 丕賲蹖乇丨爻蹖賳 禺丿丕讴乇賲蹖貨 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 讴鬲丕亘爻乇丕蹖 鬲賳丿蹖爻貙 爻丕賱1397貨 丿乇368氐貨 卮丕亘讴9786001823282貨 趩丕倬 爻賵賲 爻丕賱1399貨 趩丕倬 趩賴丕乇賲 爻丕賱1400貨
诏乇丕賱鬲貙 賵蹖趩乇 丕賴賱 乇蹖賵蹖丕貙 噩賳诏噩賵蹖蹖 丕爻鬲 讴賴 禺賵丿 爻倬讴賵賮爻讴蹖 丕賵 乇丕 賲丕賳賳丿 鬲蹖乇 丕夭 讴賲丕賳 乇賴丕卮丿賴 氐丕賮 賵 爻丕丿賴 賲蹖鈥屸€屫з嗀� 丕賲丕 丿賳蹖丕 賵 爻乇賳賵卮鬲蹖 讴賴 诏乇丕賱鬲 乇丕 丕丨丕胤賴 讴乇丿賴貙 趩賳丕賳 倬蹖趩蹖丿賴 丕爻鬲 讴賴 爻丕丿诏蹖 丕賵 亘賴 胤乇夭 丿蹖賵丕賳賴鈥屸€屬堌ж臂� 毓賲蹖賯 賵 亘丕 賲毓賳蹖 噩賱賵賴 賲蹖鈥屸€屭┵嗀� 卮丕蹖丿 丿乇 賳诏丕賴 賳禺爻鬲 鬲賳賴丕 亘丕 蹖讴 賴蹖賵賱丕讴卮 丨乇賮賴鈥� 丕蹖 讴賴 亘乇丕蹖 倬賵賱 讴丕乇 賲蹖鈥屸€屭┵嗀� 乇賵亘乇賵 亘丕卮蹖賲貨 丕賲丕 诏乇丕賱鬲 賲毓賲賵賱丕賸 亘丕 丕賳爻丕賳鈥屬囏й屰� 爻乇賵讴丕乇 丿丕乇丿 讴賴 賴乇 賴蹖賵賱丕蹖蹖 乇丕 卮乇賲賳丿賴 賵 丕蹖賳 丕賳爻丕賳鈥屸€屬囏� 賴爻鬲賳丿 讴賴 賲噩亘賵乇卮 賲蹖鈥屸€屭┵嗁嗀� 賯賵丕賳蹖賳 賴賲蹖卮诏蹖鈥屸€屫ж� 乇丕 夭蹖乇 倬丕 亘诏匕丕乇丿貨 夭亘丕賳 賳蹖卮鈥屸€屫ж� 賵 亘蹖鈥屸€屫ㄘи┷� 睾蹖乇胤亘蹖毓蹖 诏乇丕賱鬲 丕賵 乇丕 亘賴 卮禺氐蹖鬲蹖 賲丕賳丿诏丕乇貙 賮乇丕賲賵卮鈥屬嗀簇嗃� 賵 賲丨亘賵亘 亘丿賱 讴乇丿賴 讴賴 丨鬲蹖 丿乇 賱丨馗賴鈥屸€屬囏й� 丌睾卮鬲賴 亘賴 禺賵賳貙 亘賴 丕賵 丕丨爻丕爻 賳夭丿蹖讴蹖 賲蹖鈥屸€屭┵嗃屬呚�
賳賯賱 丕夭 賲鬲賳: (讴鬲丕亘 禺賵賳 丕賽賱賮鈥屬囏�: 賮氐賱 丕賵賱貨 卮賴乇 丿乇 賲蹖丕賳 卮毓賱賴 賴丕蹖 丌鬲卮 亘賵丿貨 丕夭 禺蹖丕亘锟斤拷賳賴丕蹖 賲賳鬲賴蹖 亘賴 禺賳丿賯 賵 乇丿蹖賮 丕賵賱 禺丕賳賴 賴丕蹖 卮賴乇 丿賵丿 賵 禺丕讴爻鬲乇 诏乇賲 賮賵乇丕賳 賲蹖讴乇丿貨 卮毓賱賴 賴丕 禺丕賳賴 賴丕蹖 亘賴 賴賲 趩爻亘蹖丿賴 賵 爻賯賮 卮丕賱蹖倬賵卮 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 賲蹖亘賱毓蹖丿 賵 亘賴 丿蹖賵丕乇賴 賴丕蹖 賯賱毓賴 夭亘丕賳賴 賲蹖讴卮蹖丿貨 丕夭 爻賲鬲 睾乇亘貙 丕夭 丿乇賵丕夭賴 蹖 賱賳诏乇诏丕賴貙 氐丿丕蹖 賮乇蹖丕丿貙 賴賲賴賲賴 蹖 噩賳诏蹖 賵丨卮蹖丕賳賴 賵 囟乇亘丕鬲 讴購賳丿 丿跇讴賵亘 讴賴 亘乇 丿蹖賵丕乇賴丕 讴賵賮鬲賴 賲蹖卮丿貙 賴乇 賱丨馗賴 亘丕賱丕鬲乇 賲蹖乇賮鬲
賲賴丕噩賲丕賳 亘賴 胤賵乇 睾蹖乇賲賳鬲馗乇賴 丕蹖 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 賲丨丕氐乇賴 讴乇丿賴 亘賵丿賳丿貙 爻賳诏乇賴丕蹖蹖 乇丕 讴賴 鬲賳賴丕 趩賳丿 爻乇亘丕夭貨 鬲毓丿丕丿蹖 丕夭 丕賴丕賱蹖 卮賴乇 賲爻賱丨 亘賴 賴丕賱亘賽乇丿 賵 趩賳丿 賳賮乇 丕夭 讴賲丕賳丿丕乇丕賳 乇爻鬲賴 丕夭 丌賳賴丕 丨賮丕馗鬲 賲蹖讴乇丿賳丿 丿乇賴賲 卮讴爻鬲賳丿貨 丕爻亘賴丕蹖卮丕賳 讴賴 亘丕 夭乇賴 賴丕蹖 亘賱賳丿 爻蹖丕賴 乇賳诏 倬賵卮丕賳丿賴 卮丿賴 亘賵丿賳丿貙 丕夭 亘丕賱丕蹖 爻賳诏乇賴丕 亘賴 倬乇賵丕夭 丿乇丌賲丿賳丿 賵 鬲蹖睾賴丕蹖 亘乇丕賯 賵 丿乇禺卮丕賳 卮賲卮蹖乇賽 爻賵丕乇丕賳卮丕賳 亘匕乇 賲乇诏 丿乇 賲蹖丕賳 賲丿丕賮毓丕賳 丿乇 丨丕賱 诏乇蹖禺鬲賳 賲蹖倬丕卮蹖丿
爻蹖乇蹖 丕丨爻丕爻 讴乇丿 卮賵丕賱蹖賴 丕蹖 讴賴 丕賵 乇丕 噩賱賵蹖 禺賵丿卮 乇賵蹖 夭蹖賳 賳卮丕賳丿賴貙 賳丕诏賴丕賳 亘賴 丕爻亘卮 賲賴賲蹖夭 夭丿貨 賮乇蹖丕丿 卮賵丕賱蹖賴 乇丕 卮賳蹖丿 讴賴 诏賮鬲: 芦賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳! 賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳!禄貨
卮賵丕賱蹖賴 賴丕蹖 丿蹖诏乇 讴賴 倬乇趩賲 爻蹖賳鬲乇丕 亘乇 鬲賳 丿丕卮鬲賳丿 丕夭 丌賳賴丕 噩賱賵 夭丿賳丿貙 丿乇 賴賲丕賳丨丕賱 讴賴 亘丕 亘蹖卮鬲乇蹖賳 爻乇毓鬲 賲蹖乇丕賳丿賳丿貙 亘丕 賳蹖賱賮诏丕乇丿蹖 賴丕 賳蹖夭 賲蹖噩賳诏蹖丿賳丿貨 爻蹖乇蹖 丕夭 诏賵卮賴 蹖 趩卮賲 賳诏丕賴蹖 爻乇蹖毓 亘賴 讴卮賲讴卮 丕賳丿丕禺鬲: 倬蹖趩 賵 鬲丕亘賴丕蹖 丿蹖賵丕賳賴 賵丕乇 卮賳賱賴丕蹖 丌亘蹖-胤賱丕蹖蹖 賵 爻蹖丕賴 亘蹖賳 賳亘乇丿 賮賵賱丕丿貙 鬲賱賯 鬲賱賯 亘乇禺賵乇丿 卮賲卮蹖乇 亘賴 夭乇賴 賵 卮蹖賴賴 蹖 丕爻亘賴丕
賮乇蹖丕丿賴丕. 賮乇蹖丕丿 賳賴貨 噩蹖睾賴丕
賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳!貨
鬲乇爻貨 賴賲丕賳胤賵乇 讴賴 亘賴 丕賮爻丕乇 趩賳诏 賲蹖夭丿貙 亘丕 賴乇 囟乇亘賴貙 賴乇 鬲讴丕賳貙 賴乇 倬乇卮 丕爻亘貙 丿乇丿 丿乇 丿爻鬲丕賳卮 賲蹖倬蹖趩蹖丿貨 倬丕賴丕蹖卮 亘賴 胤乇夭 丿乇丿賳丕讴蹖 诏乇賮鬲賴 賳賲蹖鬲賵丕賳爻鬲 鬲讴蹖賴 诏丕賴蹖 倬蹖丿丕 讴賳丿貙 趩卮賲丕賳卮 亘賴 禺丕胤乇 丿賵丿 倬乇 丕夭 丕卮讴 卮丿賴 亘賵丿貨 丿爻鬲蹖 讴賴 丿賵乇卮 丨賱賯賴 卮丿賴 亘賵丿 乇丕賴 賳賮爻卮 乇丕 賲蹖亘爻鬲貙 禺賮賴 丕卮 賲蹖讴乇丿貙 丿賳丿賴 賴丕蹖卮 乇丕 賲蹖賮卮乇丿貨 丿乇 丕胤乇丕賮卮貙 氐丿丕蹖 噩蹖睾賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 賴乇诏夭 卮亘蹖賴 卮丕賳 乇丕 賳卮賳蹖丿賴 亘賵丿貙 亘賱賳丿鬲乇 賲蹖卮丿貨 亘丕 蹖讴 丌丿賲 亘丕蹖丿 趩賴 讴乇丿 讴賴 丕蹖賳诏賵賳賴 噩蹖睾 亘讴卮丿責
鬲乇爻貨 鬲乇爻賽 胤丕賯鬲 賮乇爻丕貙 賮賱噩 讴賳賳丿賴貙 禺賮賴 讴賳賳丿賴貨
丿賵亘丕乇賴 亘乇禺賵乇丿 丌賴賳貙 賳丕賱賴 賵 睾乇蹖丿賳賽 丕爻亘賴丕貙 禺丕賳賴 賴丕 丕胤乇丕賮卮 趩乇禺蹖丿賳丿 賵 丿乇噩丕蹖蹖 讴賴 賱丨馗賴 丕蹖 賯亘賱 鬲賳賴丕 禺蹖丕亘丕賳蹖 讴賵趩讴 賵 诏賱 丌賱賵丿 賲蹖丿蹖丿 讴賴 丕噩爻丕丿 丌賳 乇丕 倬賵卮丕賳丿賴 賵 丿丕乇丕蹖蹖賴丕蹖 丕賴丕賱蹖 丿乇 丨丕賱 賮乇丕乇 丿乇 丌賳 倬禺卮 卮丿賴 亘賵丿貙 賲蹖鬲賵丕賳爻鬲 倬賳噩乇賴 賴丕蹖蹖 乇丕 亘亘蹖賳丿 讴賴 丌鬲卮 丕夭 丌賳賴丕 夭亘丕賳賴 賲蹖讴卮蹖丿貨 賳丕诏賴丕賳 卮賵丕賱蹖賴 蹖 倬卮鬲 爻乇卮 亘賴 禺爻 禺爻 賵 爻乇賮賴 丕蹖 毓噩蹖亘 丕賮鬲丕丿貨 乇賵蹖 丿爻鬲丕賳蹖 讴賴 丕賮爻丕乇 乇丕 賲丨讴賲 诏乇賮鬲賴 亘賵丿貙 禺賵賳 噩賴蹖丿貨 亘丕夭賴賲 噩蹖睾貨 鬲蹖乇賴丕蹖蹖 爻賵鬲 讴卮丕賳 丕夭 讴賳丕乇卮丕賳 乇丿 卮丿
爻賯賵胤貙 睾丕賮賱 诏蹖乇蹖貙 亘賴 胤乇夭 丿乇丿賳丕讴蹖 讴賵亘蹖丿賴 卮丿賳 乇賵蹖 夭乇賴貨 倬卮鬲 爻乇卮 爻購賲賴丕蹖蹖 乇賵蹖 夭賲蹖賳 讴賵賮鬲賴 卮丿賳丿 賵 卮讴賲 賵 鬲賳诏 讴賴賳賴 蹖 丕爻亘蹖 丕夭 亘丕賱丕蹖 爻乇卮 亘賴 爻乇毓鬲 诏匕卮鬲 賵 亘賴 丿賳亘丕賱 丌賳貙 卮讴賲 賵 夭乇賴 爻蹖丕賴 賵 賲賵丕噩 丕爻亘 丿蹖诏乇蹖貨 賴賳 賵 賴賳蹖 丕夭 鬲賯賱丕貙 賲孬賱 氐丿丕蹖 蹖讴 趩賵亘亘乇 賲賵賯毓 賯胤毓 丿乇禺鬲貨 丕賲丕 丕蹖賳 趩賵亘 賳蹖爻鬲貙 亘乇禺賵乇丿 丌賴賳 乇賵蹖 丌賴賳 丕爻鬲貙 賮乇蹖丕丿蹖 禺賮賴 賵 亘毓丿 趩蹖夭蹖 亘夭乇诏 賵 爻蹖丕賴 亘丕 賮賵丕乇賴 丕蹖 丕夭 禺賵賳 亘蹖賳 诏賱 賵賱丕蹖 讴賳丕乇卮 爻賯賵胤 讴乇丿貨 倬丕蹖蹖 夭乇賴 倬賵卮 賱乇夭蹖丿 賵 亘丕 賲賴賲蹖夭卮 夭賲蹖賳 乇丕 禺乇丕卮蹖丿
蹖讴 丨乇讴鬲 爻乇蹖毓貨 賳蹖乇賵蹖蹖 丕賵 乇丕 亘丕賱丕 讴卮蹖丿 賵 乇賵蹖 夭蹖賳蹖 丿蹖诏乇 诏匕丕卮鬲貨 賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳! 丿賵亘丕乇賴 爻乇毓鬲蹖 讴賴 丕爻鬲禺賵丕賳賴丕蹖卮 乇丕 賲蹖賱乇夭丕賳丿 賵 趩賴丕乇賳毓賱 乇賮鬲賳 丿蹖賵丕賳賴 賵丕乇貨 丿爻鬲 賵 倬丕賴丕蹖卮 賳丕丕賲蹖丿丕賳賴 丿乇 噩爻鬲噩賵蹖 鬲讴蹖賴 诏丕賴 亘賵丿賳丿貨 丕爻亘 乇賵蹖 丿賵 倬丕 亘賱賳丿 賲蹖卮賵丿貨 賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳!...貨 鬲讴蹖賴 诏丕賴蹖 賳蹖爻鬲貙 賳蹖爻鬲...貨 賳蹖爻鬲...貨 禺賵賳 賴爻鬲貨 丕爻亘 亘賴 夭賲蹖賳 賲蹖丕賮鬲丿貨 賮乇丕乇 丕夭 夭蹖乇卮 睾蹖乇賲賲讴賳 丕爻鬲貙 賴蹖趩 乇丕賴蹖 亘乇丕蹖 禺賱丕氐 卮丿賳 賳蹖爻鬲貙 賴蹖趩 乇丕賴蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賮乇丕乇 丕夭 丕蹖賳 亘丕夭賵賴丕蹖 夭乇賴 倬賵卮 讴賴 丕賵 乇丕 賲丨讴賲 丿乇 亘乇诏乇賮鬲賴 丕賳丿 賳蹖爻鬲貨 賴蹖趩 乇丕賴蹖 亘乇丕蹖 丿賵乇 賲丕賳丿賳 丕夭 禺賵賳蹖 讴賴 乇賵蹖 爻乇 賵 卮丕賳賴 賴丕蹖卮 賲蹖乇蹖夭丿 賳蹖爻鬲
蹖讴 鬲讴丕賳貙 氐丿丕蹖 趩賱倬 趩賱賵倬 倬賵鬲蹖賳 乇賵蹖 夭賲蹖賳 诏賱 丌賱賵丿貙 亘乇禺賵乇丿蹖 卮丿蹖丿 亘丕 夭賲蹖賳貙 爻讴賵賳蹖 賲亘賴賵鬲 讴賳賳丿賴 倬爻 丕夭 蹖讴 爻賵丕乇蹖 賵丨卮蹖丕賳賴貨 禺爻 禺爻 賵 卮蹖賴賴 賴丕蹖 丕爻亘 讴賴 鬲賱丕卮 賲蹖讴乇丿 丿賵亘丕乇賴 乇賵蹖 倬丕 亘丕蹖爻鬲丿貨 氐丿丕蹖 讴賵亘蹖丿賴 卮丿賳 賳毓賱 丕爻亘賴丕 亘乇 夭賲蹖賳貙 賲賵蹖 倬卮鬲 倬丕蹖 丕爻亘賴丕 賵 爻購賲賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 亘賴 爻乇毓鬲 乇丿 賲蹖卮丿賳丿貨 夭乇賴 丕爻亘賴丕 賵 卮賳賱賴丕蹖 爻蹖丕賴貨 賮乇蹖丕丿 夭丿賳
禺蹖丕亘丕賳 丌鬲卮 诏乇賮鬲賴 丕爻鬲貙 丿蹖賵丕乇蹖 爻乇禺 賵 睾乇丕賳 丕夭 卮毓賱賴 賴丕貨 噩賱賵蹖 丌賳貙 卮亘丨 爻賵丕乇蹖 毓馗蹖賲 丕賱噩孬賴貨 亘賱賳丿鬲乇 丕夭 爻賯賮 丿乇 丨丕賱 爻賵禺鬲賳賽 禺丕賳賴 賴丕貨 丕爻亘卮 讴賴 亘丕 夭乇賴蹖 爻蹖丕賴 倬賵卮丕賳丿賴 卮丿賴 乇賵蹖 丿賵 倬丕 亘賱賳丿 賲蹖卮賵丿貙 爻乇卮 乇丕 鬲讴丕賳 賲蹖丿賴丿 賵 卮蹖賴賴 賲蹖讴卮丿)貨 倬丕蹖丕賳
鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 01/08/1400賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
Geralt, the witcher of Rivia, is back 鈥� and this time he holds the fate of the whole land in his hands ...
For more than a hundred years, humans, dwarves, gnomes and elves lived together in relative peace.
But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over and now the races once again fight each other and themselves: dwarves are killing their kinsmen, and elves are murdering humans and elves, at least those elves who are friendly to humans...
Into this tumultuous time is born a child for whom the witchers of the world have been waiting.
Ciri, the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe, the Lioness of Cintra, has strange powers and a stranger destiny, for prophecy names her the Flame, one with the power to change the world for good, or for evil ...
Geralt, the witcher of Rivia, has taken Ciri to the relative safety of the Witchers' Settlement, but it soon becomes clear that Ciri isn't like the other witchers.
As the political situation grows ever dimmer and the threat of war hangs almost palpably over the land, Geralt searches for someone to train Ciri's unique powers.
But someone else has an eye on the young girl, someone who understand exactly what the prophecy means and exactly what Ciri's power can do.
This time Geralt may have met his match.
鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮 乇賵夭 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 爻賵賲 賲丕賴 丕讴鬲亘乇 爻丕賱 2018賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
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賳賯賱 丕夭 賲鬲賳: (讴鬲丕亘 禺賵賳 丕賽賱賮鈥屬囏�: 賮氐賱 丕賵賱貨 卮賴乇 丿乇 賲蹖丕賳 卮毓賱賴 賴丕蹖 丌鬲卮 亘賵丿貨 丕夭 禺蹖丕亘锟斤拷賳賴丕蹖 賲賳鬲賴蹖 亘賴 禺賳丿賯 賵 乇丿蹖賮 丕賵賱 禺丕賳賴 賴丕蹖 卮賴乇 丿賵丿 賵 禺丕讴爻鬲乇 诏乇賲 賮賵乇丕賳 賲蹖讴乇丿貨 卮毓賱賴 賴丕 禺丕賳賴 賴丕蹖 亘賴 賴賲 趩爻亘蹖丿賴 賵 爻賯賮 卮丕賱蹖倬賵卮 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 賲蹖亘賱毓蹖丿 賵 亘賴 丿蹖賵丕乇賴 賴丕蹖 賯賱毓賴 夭亘丕賳賴 賲蹖讴卮蹖丿貨 丕夭 爻賲鬲 睾乇亘貙 丕夭 丿乇賵丕夭賴 蹖 賱賳诏乇诏丕賴貙 氐丿丕蹖 賮乇蹖丕丿貙 賴賲賴賲賴 蹖 噩賳诏蹖 賵丨卮蹖丕賳賴 賵 囟乇亘丕鬲 讴購賳丿 丿跇讴賵亘 讴賴 亘乇 丿蹖賵丕乇賴丕 讴賵賮鬲賴 賲蹖卮丿貙 賴乇 賱丨馗賴 亘丕賱丕鬲乇 賲蹖乇賮鬲
賲賴丕噩賲丕賳 亘賴 胤賵乇 睾蹖乇賲賳鬲馗乇賴 丕蹖 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 賲丨丕氐乇賴 讴乇丿賴 亘賵丿賳丿貙 爻賳诏乇賴丕蹖蹖 乇丕 讴賴 鬲賳賴丕 趩賳丿 爻乇亘丕夭貨 鬲毓丿丕丿蹖 丕夭 丕賴丕賱蹖 卮賴乇 賲爻賱丨 亘賴 賴丕賱亘賽乇丿 賵 趩賳丿 賳賮乇 丕夭 讴賲丕賳丿丕乇丕賳 乇爻鬲賴 丕夭 丌賳賴丕 丨賮丕馗鬲 賲蹖讴乇丿賳丿 丿乇賴賲 卮讴爻鬲賳丿貨 丕爻亘賴丕蹖卮丕賳 讴賴 亘丕 夭乇賴 賴丕蹖 亘賱賳丿 爻蹖丕賴 乇賳诏 倬賵卮丕賳丿賴 卮丿賴 亘賵丿賳丿貙 丕夭 亘丕賱丕蹖 爻賳诏乇賴丕 亘賴 倬乇賵丕夭 丿乇丌賲丿賳丿 賵 鬲蹖睾賴丕蹖 亘乇丕賯 賵 丿乇禺卮丕賳 卮賲卮蹖乇賽 爻賵丕乇丕賳卮丕賳 亘匕乇 賲乇诏 丿乇 賲蹖丕賳 賲丿丕賮毓丕賳 丿乇 丨丕賱 诏乇蹖禺鬲賳 賲蹖倬丕卮蹖丿
爻蹖乇蹖 丕丨爻丕爻 讴乇丿 卮賵丕賱蹖賴 丕蹖 讴賴 丕賵 乇丕 噩賱賵蹖 禺賵丿卮 乇賵蹖 夭蹖賳 賳卮丕賳丿賴貙 賳丕诏賴丕賳 亘賴 丕爻亘卮 賲賴賲蹖夭 夭丿貨 賮乇蹖丕丿 卮賵丕賱蹖賴 乇丕 卮賳蹖丿 讴賴 诏賮鬲: 芦賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳! 賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳!禄貨
卮賵丕賱蹖賴 賴丕蹖 丿蹖诏乇 讴賴 倬乇趩賲 爻蹖賳鬲乇丕 亘乇 鬲賳 丿丕卮鬲賳丿 丕夭 丌賳賴丕 噩賱賵 夭丿賳丿貙 丿乇 賴賲丕賳丨丕賱 讴賴 亘丕 亘蹖卮鬲乇蹖賳 爻乇毓鬲 賲蹖乇丕賳丿賳丿貙 亘丕 賳蹖賱賮诏丕乇丿蹖 賴丕 賳蹖夭 賲蹖噩賳诏蹖丿賳丿貨 爻蹖乇蹖 丕夭 诏賵卮賴 蹖 趩卮賲 賳诏丕賴蹖 爻乇蹖毓 亘賴 讴卮賲讴卮 丕賳丿丕禺鬲: 倬蹖趩 賵 鬲丕亘賴丕蹖 丿蹖賵丕賳賴 賵丕乇 卮賳賱賴丕蹖 丌亘蹖-胤賱丕蹖蹖 賵 爻蹖丕賴 亘蹖賳 賳亘乇丿 賮賵賱丕丿貙 鬲賱賯 鬲賱賯 亘乇禺賵乇丿 卮賲卮蹖乇 亘賴 夭乇賴 賵 卮蹖賴賴 蹖 丕爻亘賴丕
賮乇蹖丕丿賴丕. 賮乇蹖丕丿 賳賴貨 噩蹖睾賴丕
賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳!貨
鬲乇爻貨 賴賲丕賳胤賵乇 讴賴 亘賴 丕賮爻丕乇 趩賳诏 賲蹖夭丿貙 亘丕 賴乇 囟乇亘賴貙 賴乇 鬲讴丕賳貙 賴乇 倬乇卮 丕爻亘貙 丿乇丿 丿乇 丿爻鬲丕賳卮 賲蹖倬蹖趩蹖丿貨 倬丕賴丕蹖卮 亘賴 胤乇夭 丿乇丿賳丕讴蹖 诏乇賮鬲賴 賳賲蹖鬲賵丕賳爻鬲 鬲讴蹖賴 诏丕賴蹖 倬蹖丿丕 讴賳丿貙 趩卮賲丕賳卮 亘賴 禺丕胤乇 丿賵丿 倬乇 丕夭 丕卮讴 卮丿賴 亘賵丿貨 丿爻鬲蹖 讴賴 丿賵乇卮 丨賱賯賴 卮丿賴 亘賵丿 乇丕賴 賳賮爻卮 乇丕 賲蹖亘爻鬲貙 禺賮賴 丕卮 賲蹖讴乇丿貙 丿賳丿賴 賴丕蹖卮 乇丕 賲蹖賮卮乇丿貨 丿乇 丕胤乇丕賮卮貙 氐丿丕蹖 噩蹖睾賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 賴乇诏夭 卮亘蹖賴 卮丕賳 乇丕 賳卮賳蹖丿賴 亘賵丿貙 亘賱賳丿鬲乇 賲蹖卮丿貨 亘丕 蹖讴 丌丿賲 亘丕蹖丿 趩賴 讴乇丿 讴賴 丕蹖賳诏賵賳賴 噩蹖睾 亘讴卮丿責
鬲乇爻貨 鬲乇爻賽 胤丕賯鬲 賮乇爻丕貙 賮賱噩 讴賳賳丿賴貙 禺賮賴 讴賳賳丿賴貨
丿賵亘丕乇賴 亘乇禺賵乇丿 丌賴賳貙 賳丕賱賴 賵 睾乇蹖丿賳賽 丕爻亘賴丕貙 禺丕賳賴 賴丕 丕胤乇丕賮卮 趩乇禺蹖丿賳丿 賵 丿乇噩丕蹖蹖 讴賴 賱丨馗賴 丕蹖 賯亘賱 鬲賳賴丕 禺蹖丕亘丕賳蹖 讴賵趩讴 賵 诏賱 丌賱賵丿 賲蹖丿蹖丿 讴賴 丕噩爻丕丿 丌賳 乇丕 倬賵卮丕賳丿賴 賵 丿丕乇丕蹖蹖賴丕蹖 丕賴丕賱蹖 丿乇 丨丕賱 賮乇丕乇 丿乇 丌賳 倬禺卮 卮丿賴 亘賵丿貙 賲蹖鬲賵丕賳爻鬲 倬賳噩乇賴 賴丕蹖蹖 乇丕 亘亘蹖賳丿 讴賴 丌鬲卮 丕夭 丌賳賴丕 夭亘丕賳賴 賲蹖讴卮蹖丿貨 賳丕诏賴丕賳 卮賵丕賱蹖賴 蹖 倬卮鬲 爻乇卮 亘賴 禺爻 禺爻 賵 爻乇賮賴 丕蹖 毓噩蹖亘 丕賮鬲丕丿貨 乇賵蹖 丿爻鬲丕賳蹖 讴賴 丕賮爻丕乇 乇丕 賲丨讴賲 诏乇賮鬲賴 亘賵丿貙 禺賵賳 噩賴蹖丿貨 亘丕夭賴賲 噩蹖睾貨 鬲蹖乇賴丕蹖蹖 爻賵鬲 讴卮丕賳 丕夭 讴賳丕乇卮丕賳 乇丿 卮丿
爻賯賵胤貙 睾丕賮賱 诏蹖乇蹖貙 亘賴 胤乇夭 丿乇丿賳丕讴蹖 讴賵亘蹖丿賴 卮丿賳 乇賵蹖 夭乇賴貨 倬卮鬲 爻乇卮 爻購賲賴丕蹖蹖 乇賵蹖 夭賲蹖賳 讴賵賮鬲賴 卮丿賳丿 賵 卮讴賲 賵 鬲賳诏 讴賴賳賴 蹖 丕爻亘蹖 丕夭 亘丕賱丕蹖 爻乇卮 亘賴 爻乇毓鬲 诏匕卮鬲 賵 亘賴 丿賳亘丕賱 丌賳貙 卮讴賲 賵 夭乇賴 爻蹖丕賴 賵 賲賵丕噩 丕爻亘 丿蹖诏乇蹖貨 賴賳 賵 賴賳蹖 丕夭 鬲賯賱丕貙 賲孬賱 氐丿丕蹖 蹖讴 趩賵亘亘乇 賲賵賯毓 賯胤毓 丿乇禺鬲貨 丕賲丕 丕蹖賳 趩賵亘 賳蹖爻鬲貙 亘乇禺賵乇丿 丌賴賳 乇賵蹖 丌賴賳 丕爻鬲貙 賮乇蹖丕丿蹖 禺賮賴 賵 亘毓丿 趩蹖夭蹖 亘夭乇诏 賵 爻蹖丕賴 亘丕 賮賵丕乇賴 丕蹖 丕夭 禺賵賳 亘蹖賳 诏賱 賵賱丕蹖 讴賳丕乇卮 爻賯賵胤 讴乇丿貨 倬丕蹖蹖 夭乇賴 倬賵卮 賱乇夭蹖丿 賵 亘丕 賲賴賲蹖夭卮 夭賲蹖賳 乇丕 禺乇丕卮蹖丿
蹖讴 丨乇讴鬲 爻乇蹖毓貨 賳蹖乇賵蹖蹖 丕賵 乇丕 亘丕賱丕 讴卮蹖丿 賵 乇賵蹖 夭蹖賳蹖 丿蹖诏乇 诏匕丕卮鬲貨 賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳! 丿賵亘丕乇賴 爻乇毓鬲蹖 讴賴 丕爻鬲禺賵丕賳賴丕蹖卮 乇丕 賲蹖賱乇夭丕賳丿 賵 趩賴丕乇賳毓賱 乇賮鬲賳 丿蹖賵丕賳賴 賵丕乇貨 丿爻鬲 賵 倬丕賴丕蹖卮 賳丕丕賲蹖丿丕賳賴 丿乇 噩爻鬲噩賵蹖 鬲讴蹖賴 诏丕賴 亘賵丿賳丿貨 丕爻亘 乇賵蹖 丿賵 倬丕 亘賱賳丿 賲蹖卮賵丿貨 賲丨讴賲 亘卮蹖賳!...貨 鬲讴蹖賴 诏丕賴蹖 賳蹖爻鬲貙 賳蹖爻鬲...貨 賳蹖爻鬲...貨 禺賵賳 賴爻鬲貨 丕爻亘 亘賴 夭賲蹖賳 賲蹖丕賮鬲丿貨 賮乇丕乇 丕夭 夭蹖乇卮 睾蹖乇賲賲讴賳 丕爻鬲貙 賴蹖趩 乇丕賴蹖 亘乇丕蹖 禺賱丕氐 卮丿賳 賳蹖爻鬲貙 賴蹖趩 乇丕賴蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賮乇丕乇 丕夭 丕蹖賳 亘丕夭賵賴丕蹖 夭乇賴 倬賵卮 讴賴 丕賵 乇丕 賲丨讴賲 丿乇 亘乇诏乇賮鬲賴 丕賳丿 賳蹖爻鬲貨 賴蹖趩 乇丕賴蹖 亘乇丕蹖 丿賵乇 賲丕賳丿賳 丕夭 禺賵賳蹖 讴賴 乇賵蹖 爻乇 賵 卮丕賳賴 賴丕蹖卮 賲蹖乇蹖夭丿 賳蹖爻鬲
蹖讴 鬲讴丕賳貙 氐丿丕蹖 趩賱倬 趩賱賵倬 倬賵鬲蹖賳 乇賵蹖 夭賲蹖賳 诏賱 丌賱賵丿貙 亘乇禺賵乇丿蹖 卮丿蹖丿 亘丕 夭賲蹖賳貙 爻讴賵賳蹖 賲亘賴賵鬲 讴賳賳丿賴 倬爻 丕夭 蹖讴 爻賵丕乇蹖 賵丨卮蹖丕賳賴貨 禺爻 禺爻 賵 卮蹖賴賴 賴丕蹖 丕爻亘 讴賴 鬲賱丕卮 賲蹖讴乇丿 丿賵亘丕乇賴 乇賵蹖 倬丕 亘丕蹖爻鬲丿貨 氐丿丕蹖 讴賵亘蹖丿賴 卮丿賳 賳毓賱 丕爻亘賴丕 亘乇 夭賲蹖賳貙 賲賵蹖 倬卮鬲 倬丕蹖 丕爻亘賴丕 賵 爻購賲賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 亘賴 爻乇毓鬲 乇丿 賲蹖卮丿賳丿貨 夭乇賴 丕爻亘賴丕 賵 卮賳賱賴丕蹖 爻蹖丕賴貨 賮乇蹖丕丿 夭丿賳
禺蹖丕亘丕賳 丌鬲卮 诏乇賮鬲賴 丕爻鬲貙 丿蹖賵丕乇蹖 爻乇禺 賵 睾乇丕賳 丕夭 卮毓賱賴 賴丕貨 噩賱賵蹖 丌賳貙 卮亘丨 爻賵丕乇蹖 毓馗蹖賲 丕賱噩孬賴貨 亘賱賳丿鬲乇 丕夭 爻賯賮 丿乇 丨丕賱 爻賵禺鬲賳賽 禺丕賳賴 賴丕貨 丕爻亘卮 讴賴 亘丕 夭乇賴蹖 爻蹖丕賴 倬賵卮丕賳丿賴 卮丿賴 乇賵蹖 丿賵 倬丕 亘賱賳丿 賲蹖卮賵丿貙 爻乇卮 乇丕 鬲讴丕賳 賲蹖丿賴丿 賵 卮蹖賴賴 賲蹖讴卮丿)貨 倬丕蹖丕賳
鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 01/08/1400賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
January 31, 2020
4.5/5 Brzydulko
October 26, 2020
Check out my review for Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski on Grimdark Magazine here:
Blood of Elves, the first 鈥榩roper鈥� book in the tale of The Witcher, is a story of extreme training, bards songs and of course, swords. You鈥檒l want to read this and the previous two instalments before you commence your journey into Netflix鈥檚 The Witcher.
鈥淲hen you know about something it stops being a nightmare. When you know how to fight something, it stops being so threatening.鈥�
The 3rd instalment into The Witcher moves away from the prior collections of short stories, and shifts into gear for the grand arc that is sure to come in the remaining 5 instalments. Where The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny focused on monster-slaying contracts, Blood of Elves has character development at the fore. It was my main gripe with the previous two stories, how there did not seem to be an over-arching scheme that would link everything together.
I highly suggest that you begin your journey into the realm of The Witcher with The Last Wish, and then Sword of Destiny as they subtly introduce a vast range of characters. I was pleasantly surprised with the return of minor characters that had quirks and personality enough for me to distinctly remember them.
鈥淭o be neutral does not mean to be indifferent or insensitive. You don't have to kill your feelings. It's enough to kill hatred within yourself.鈥�
It is through Geralt鈥檚 interaction with other characters where the books come alive. The vast variety of dialogue sequences and subjects allows everyone to have their own voice, pardon the pun. Their voices and styles are distinct, if a lot of the time very wordy, which I will blame on the translation鈥aybe.
If you鈥檝e played the games, you鈥檒l notice lots of references the makers made in honour of the books. Particular scenes, such as the training of a young 鈥榃itcher鈥�. There is a surprise as Geralt is not the only POV. The most notable addition is Ciri鈥檚 side of things, which I wasn鈥檛 keen on at first (everyone always wants more Geralt,) but in the end really enjoyed it. She is a character that is growing on me and I am really looking forward to seeing where the story takes her.
鈥淚 know you鈥檙e almost forty, look almost thirty, think you鈥檙e just over twenty and act as though you鈥檙e barely ten.鈥�
The world building is solid, and gives the impression of a vast and well thought out world, from the Witcher haven of Kaer Morhen to the busy city of Novigrad. Characters that drift between places are met and so are characters that are key parts of regions. I鈥檇 have loved a map to go with the various names, which would have given me a real scope of the world, but I used my knowledge of the games (which is albeit probably slightly different to how Andrej Sapkowski imagined the world).
I still managed to find the examples of a gender imbalance, which unfortunately I鈥檝e come to expect from a Sapkowski book about the Witcher. Geralt is a good man, and someone who tries to treat everyone equally, but there were still instances in the general writing of it. Still, I was pleasantly surprised with Ciri鈥檚 POV and really enjoyed her portrayal.
Now one thing I need to say is that I was desperate for more sword and sorcery. Geralt is one of the coolest guys and he has some really cool swords and I really wanted some cool swordplay and casting of signs and monster heads to go flying and鈥� I could go on for a while. I would have enjoyed some more action. And some more classic fairy tale re-tellings. There was certainly enough talking in Blood of Elves, there could have been a few more instances of bloody fighting and some twists and turns. Hoping I鈥檒l get my silver sword fix in the next instalment, Time of Contempt!
鈥淣ight and day the streets resounded with music, song, and the clinking of chalices and tankards, for it is well known that nothing is such thirsty work as the acquisition of knowledge.鈥�
3/5 - Hoping for something better, but still enjoying what I received. This lukewarm dish is warming up and I have high hopes for the continuation of The Witcher Saga. The preparation for Netflix鈥檚 The Witcher is enjoyable, and I am sure will sweeten the TV show and Henry Cavill鈥檚 lovely wig. More swords next time, please! Igni!
Blood of Elves, the first 鈥榩roper鈥� book in the tale of The Witcher, is a story of extreme training, bards songs and of course, swords. You鈥檒l want to read this and the previous two instalments before you commence your journey into Netflix鈥檚 The Witcher.
鈥淲hen you know about something it stops being a nightmare. When you know how to fight something, it stops being so threatening.鈥�
The 3rd instalment into The Witcher moves away from the prior collections of short stories, and shifts into gear for the grand arc that is sure to come in the remaining 5 instalments. Where The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny focused on monster-slaying contracts, Blood of Elves has character development at the fore. It was my main gripe with the previous two stories, how there did not seem to be an over-arching scheme that would link everything together.
I highly suggest that you begin your journey into the realm of The Witcher with The Last Wish, and then Sword of Destiny as they subtly introduce a vast range of characters. I was pleasantly surprised with the return of minor characters that had quirks and personality enough for me to distinctly remember them.
鈥淭o be neutral does not mean to be indifferent or insensitive. You don't have to kill your feelings. It's enough to kill hatred within yourself.鈥�
It is through Geralt鈥檚 interaction with other characters where the books come alive. The vast variety of dialogue sequences and subjects allows everyone to have their own voice, pardon the pun. Their voices and styles are distinct, if a lot of the time very wordy, which I will blame on the translation鈥aybe.
If you鈥檝e played the games, you鈥檒l notice lots of references the makers made in honour of the books. Particular scenes, such as the training of a young 鈥榃itcher鈥�. There is a surprise as Geralt is not the only POV. The most notable addition is Ciri鈥檚 side of things, which I wasn鈥檛 keen on at first (everyone always wants more Geralt,) but in the end really enjoyed it. She is a character that is growing on me and I am really looking forward to seeing where the story takes her.
鈥淚 know you鈥檙e almost forty, look almost thirty, think you鈥檙e just over twenty and act as though you鈥檙e barely ten.鈥�
The world building is solid, and gives the impression of a vast and well thought out world, from the Witcher haven of Kaer Morhen to the busy city of Novigrad. Characters that drift between places are met and so are characters that are key parts of regions. I鈥檇 have loved a map to go with the various names, which would have given me a real scope of the world, but I used my knowledge of the games (which is albeit probably slightly different to how Andrej Sapkowski imagined the world).
I still managed to find the examples of a gender imbalance, which unfortunately I鈥檝e come to expect from a Sapkowski book about the Witcher. Geralt is a good man, and someone who tries to treat everyone equally, but there were still instances in the general writing of it. Still, I was pleasantly surprised with Ciri鈥檚 POV and really enjoyed her portrayal.
Now one thing I need to say is that I was desperate for more sword and sorcery. Geralt is one of the coolest guys and he has some really cool swords and I really wanted some cool swordplay and casting of signs and monster heads to go flying and鈥� I could go on for a while. I would have enjoyed some more action. And some more classic fairy tale re-tellings. There was certainly enough talking in Blood of Elves, there could have been a few more instances of bloody fighting and some twists and turns. Hoping I鈥檒l get my silver sword fix in the next instalment, Time of Contempt!
鈥淣ight and day the streets resounded with music, song, and the clinking of chalices and tankards, for it is well known that nothing is such thirsty work as the acquisition of knowledge.鈥�
3/5 - Hoping for something better, but still enjoying what I received. This lukewarm dish is warming up and I have high hopes for the continuation of The Witcher Saga. The preparation for Netflix鈥檚 The Witcher is enjoyable, and I am sure will sweeten the TV show and Henry Cavill鈥檚 lovely wig. More swords next time, please! Igni!
June 12, 2020
This is the first full length instalment in The Witcher series, but does follow from two prequel short story collections and .
Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a magically-enhanced individual paid to slaughter the beasts that prey on the humans of the land. His current task involved the transportation and ensured safety of Ciri, the child of his destiny and the individual in which his future lays. Enemies lie on every side of them, keen to either abduct Ciri for their own evil gain or abolish the threat she poses altogether.
Despite this being the first series instalment, I can't imagine finding much enjoyment or understanding without previously having read the prequel short story collections. They both contain a multitude of individuals that also feature here and do the job of explaining their nuanced relationships and interwoven backstories.
Although this is titled the Witcher series, not much Witcher antics actually occurred and Geralt himself did not receive the majority of page time. This was dedicated the Ciri, the child of destiny. The reader largely follows her growth as a magical individual, first under the care of Geralt and then with his former-maybe-also-future love interest, Yennefer.
Whilst Ciri remained a favourite of mine I was always keen to discover where Geralt was and found the pacing, when following all of the characters, a little slow. My interest remained high and I am looking forward to discovering where the story will continue, after the slight cliffhanger this closed on.
Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a magically-enhanced individual paid to slaughter the beasts that prey on the humans of the land. His current task involved the transportation and ensured safety of Ciri, the child of his destiny and the individual in which his future lays. Enemies lie on every side of them, keen to either abduct Ciri for their own evil gain or abolish the threat she poses altogether.
Despite this being the first series instalment, I can't imagine finding much enjoyment or understanding without previously having read the prequel short story collections. They both contain a multitude of individuals that also feature here and do the job of explaining their nuanced relationships and interwoven backstories.
Although this is titled the Witcher series, not much Witcher antics actually occurred and Geralt himself did not receive the majority of page time. This was dedicated the Ciri, the child of destiny. The reader largely follows her growth as a magical individual, first under the care of Geralt and then with his former-maybe-also-future love interest, Yennefer.
Whilst Ciri remained a favourite of mine I was always keen to discover where Geralt was and found the pacing, when following all of the characters, a little slow. My interest remained high and I am looking forward to discovering where the story will continue, after the slight cliffhanger this closed on.
January 14, 2022
This is the first full-length novel in the Witcher universe. The previous two books, that I've read in January, were collections of short stories.
Ciri is now with Geralt and at the Witcher settlement where she is trained despite being a girl. And I celebrated her fighting windmills, carrying a sword and turning from damsel-in-distress-with-a-twist to a determined warrior-to-be who won't take shit from anyone.
The problem is that she's not just a princess whose fate is intertwined with Geralt's - she has powerful magic her current companions can't teach her anything about. So the enchantress Triss is asked to help. But her power has limits so the trio soon sets out to get Ciri to a save place where she can train all of her skills while Geralt goes off wandering again.
Along the way, they encounter the political problems of this world: the races are as good as at war with one another, sometimes they even kill their own kind for being too friendly to another race.
So we get to marvel at old ruins of elven palaces and weep for the story of their demise. We witness dwarves killing each other. We're also fighting alongside Geralt and his convoy, experience first-hand the horrors of war (burnt corpses, tortured creatures, death and fire).
As a contrast, we also get to know about places such as the University of Oxenfurt that shows us a different aspect of this world that is no less important.
I was also very pleased that there weren鈥檛 only Ciri and Geralt (plus a few other players) but that we got a bit more of Yennefer as well when she became Ciri鈥檚 teacher. Yep, I really like her.
Other than that, we sadly didn鈥檛 get too many creatures (read: monsters) as Geralt had no time to follow his original profession as monster hunter since everyone and their mothers were after Ciri and he needed to keep her safe and her whereabouts secret.
There was a bit of a lull in this book from time to time. The short stories got to the point much more quickly, of course. However, we trade the snappiness of the action for beautiful worldbuilding. Some details might seem random at first but the author has strewn them about purposefully and picks up the strands later to weave a gorgeous albeit grim and dark tapestry of a world where magic and fantastical creatures still roam the earth and every breath could be your last.
In the middle of such a turmoil, the author asks important questions such as the meaning, purpose and consequence of neutrality in a conflict. Or the motivation of different factions, the complex aspects that often have to come together in just the right way to spark war. How and why some individuals are trying to prevent it. The devastating results and how to pick up the pieces afterwards.
Some elements resonated more with me than others, as is to be expected. One such element suckerpunched me right at the beginning of the book when Triss contemplated collective responsibility, guilt for something that happened long before one鈥檚 birth, and refused it. I happen to be a person supposed to accept such a collective responsibility and I, too, refuse it. Thus, there was an instant connection I hadn't expected. Just one more example of deep thoughts being implemented into an action-fantasy story.
Yes, this is fantasy. But it is SMART fantasy. Very well written in a wonderfully detailed as well as fast-paced way that has only few equals.
I sure as hell hope that the second or any subsequent seasons of the Netflix adaptation will feature this story or aspects of it at least. We've seen the motives being addressed in season one already but I definitely want to see the Witcher settlement / school (and more Witchers).
Ciri is now with Geralt and at the Witcher settlement where she is trained despite being a girl. And I celebrated her fighting windmills, carrying a sword and turning from damsel-in-distress-with-a-twist to a determined warrior-to-be who won't take shit from anyone.
The problem is that she's not just a princess whose fate is intertwined with Geralt's - she has powerful magic her current companions can't teach her anything about. So the enchantress Triss is asked to help. But her power has limits so the trio soon sets out to get Ciri to a save place where she can train all of her skills while Geralt goes off wandering again.
Along the way, they encounter the political problems of this world: the races are as good as at war with one another, sometimes they even kill their own kind for being too friendly to another race.
So we get to marvel at old ruins of elven palaces and weep for the story of their demise. We witness dwarves killing each other. We're also fighting alongside Geralt and his convoy, experience first-hand the horrors of war (burnt corpses, tortured creatures, death and fire).
As a contrast, we also get to know about places such as the University of Oxenfurt that shows us a different aspect of this world that is no less important.
I was also very pleased that there weren鈥檛 only Ciri and Geralt (plus a few other players) but that we got a bit more of Yennefer as well when she became Ciri鈥檚 teacher. Yep, I really like her.
Other than that, we sadly didn鈥檛 get too many creatures (read: monsters) as Geralt had no time to follow his original profession as monster hunter since everyone and their mothers were after Ciri and he needed to keep her safe and her whereabouts secret.
There was a bit of a lull in this book from time to time. The short stories got to the point much more quickly, of course. However, we trade the snappiness of the action for beautiful worldbuilding. Some details might seem random at first but the author has strewn them about purposefully and picks up the strands later to weave a gorgeous albeit grim and dark tapestry of a world where magic and fantastical creatures still roam the earth and every breath could be your last.
In the middle of such a turmoil, the author asks important questions such as the meaning, purpose and consequence of neutrality in a conflict. Or the motivation of different factions, the complex aspects that often have to come together in just the right way to spark war. How and why some individuals are trying to prevent it. The devastating results and how to pick up the pieces afterwards.
Some elements resonated more with me than others, as is to be expected. One such element suckerpunched me right at the beginning of the book when Triss contemplated collective responsibility, guilt for something that happened long before one鈥檚 birth, and refused it. I happen to be a person supposed to accept such a collective responsibility and I, too, refuse it. Thus, there was an instant connection I hadn't expected. Just one more example of deep thoughts being implemented into an action-fantasy story.
Yes, this is fantasy. But it is SMART fantasy. Very well written in a wonderfully detailed as well as fast-paced way that has only few equals.
I sure as hell hope that the second or any subsequent seasons of the Netflix adaptation will feature this story or aspects of it at least. We've seen the motives being addressed in season one already but I definitely want to see the Witcher settlement / school (and more Witchers).
January 17, 2020
4.5 stars
I believe I did a bad decision when I started the series with The Last Wish. May be I have to read the novels after I read all the main books. I believe I did a bad decision when I started the series with The Last Wish. May be I have to read the novels after I read all the main books. Long story short: I picked The Last Wish after I hear Daniel Greene ( )on you tube that he is reading The Witcher and is so good I have to try, but I did not like the book. Most of the time we have similar tastes and exactly the things I find annoying in a book, he also highlights them, so it surprised me a little that the book didn't captivate me. After Cavil got the role of Geralt I have to see the tv show, so in my characteristic style I cannot see a movie if it is made after a book until I read the book, and here I am!
Blood of Elves I like it a lot. I really loved the characterization. Both in our main characters Geralt of Rivia and Ciri, and all their supporting characters. The dynamics of relationships between characters in this book are complex and full of history. brought together by destiny, but emotionally stunted towards each other. Geralt, Yennefer, Triss, and Ciri all have emotions that will captivate your heart and you will root for them in different ways. What I love about Yennefer and Triss is that they have both a sharp tongue, that "woman in control" attitude I like to see more in feminine characters.
This book has a perfect balance between action, dialogue and description, and when conversation take over, is so well written that does not fill pages just for the sake of making the book thicker, but simply provides information for the reader to understand this world. It was a struggle for me and a little confusing because of the similar names, and when it鈥檚 not entirely made clear who it talking .
So, overall, I really really enjoyed the read and want to certainly continue the series.
I believe I did a bad decision when I started the series with The Last Wish. May be I have to read the novels after I read all the main books. I believe I did a bad decision when I started the series with The Last Wish. May be I have to read the novels after I read all the main books. Long story short: I picked The Last Wish after I hear Daniel Greene ( )on you tube that he is reading The Witcher and is so good I have to try, but I did not like the book. Most of the time we have similar tastes and exactly the things I find annoying in a book, he also highlights them, so it surprised me a little that the book didn't captivate me. After Cavil got the role of Geralt I have to see the tv show, so in my characteristic style I cannot see a movie if it is made after a book until I read the book, and here I am!
Blood of Elves I like it a lot. I really loved the characterization. Both in our main characters Geralt of Rivia and Ciri, and all their supporting characters. The dynamics of relationships between characters in this book are complex and full of history. brought together by destiny, but emotionally stunted towards each other. Geralt, Yennefer, Triss, and Ciri all have emotions that will captivate your heart and you will root for them in different ways. What I love about Yennefer and Triss is that they have both a sharp tongue, that "woman in control" attitude I like to see more in feminine characters.
This book has a perfect balance between action, dialogue and description, and when conversation take over, is so well written that does not fill pages just for the sake of making the book thicker, but simply provides information for the reader to understand this world. It was a struggle for me and a little confusing because of the similar names, and when it鈥檚 not entirely made clear who it talking .
So, overall, I really really enjoyed the read and want to certainly continue the series.
January 3, 2023
3.5 Stars
I don't think I would have enjoyed this novel as much if I wasn't already a fan of the video games and tv show. This has a fairly classic European setting, although I appreciated the eastern Polish influences. I hated Triss' sections and wished Yennifer had showed up earlier. Ciri was awesome. While I found some of the political intrigue parts dry, I want to see where the story will go from here.
I don't think I would have enjoyed this novel as much if I wasn't already a fan of the video games and tv show. This has a fairly classic European setting, although I appreciated the eastern Polish influences. I hated Triss' sections and wished Yennifer had showed up earlier. Ciri was awesome. While I found some of the political intrigue parts dry, I want to see where the story will go from here.
September 10, 2019
This is such a conflicting read because I LOVED the first half of this but I could not focus on the second half and actually got to a point where I wanted it to be over. I guess I鈥檓 just Geralt and Ciri trash and only wanted to read about them XD
December 13, 2023
When I started this book I was under the impression that the fantasy genre may not interest me as much as it used to. Apparently not, a well written fantasy series does interest me still!. Had a great time with the first book. Picking the next right away!
March 29, 2020
My first Witcher book, and hey, it was a total success! I know that it is generally recommended to read The Last Wish first, but I don鈥檛 have that on me and going to the library or going out and buying it isn鈥檛 really an option in times like these where I am happily self-isolating. I do have the first three books of the Witcher however as some of the last few physical books I actual have at home(since I mostly rely on libraries) and have decided that I might as well binge read them. I do plan to get to The Last Wish eventually, which like, might be a while.
Like I said, it was a success and I did really enjoy it, however, I do also have some criticisms and other things that detail to personal preference that means that this book is a 4 star instead of 5.
One thing that I did really enjoy was all the characters and the many interactions that we saw between them. There is lots of dialogue in this book, and a lot of descriptions, which is very different for a fantasy novel, though since this is a translated work, and I don鈥檛 know anything about Polish Literature, it may be something more common in Polish works compared to English fantasy, which is basically known for having super long descriptions about everything while being slow. This book instead was honestly the opposite with minimal descriptions and a lot of dialogue, which truthfully, I didn鈥檛 mind that much, since it was written really well and some of these characters are plain awesome. Now, when I initially saw these books, I was quite surprised at how little pages it had for an Epic fantasy, but now that I have read this book and have noted that there aren鈥檛 that many descriptions, it makes a lot more sense, as most fantasy authors would have made this easily a good 600 pages.
There isn鈥檛 a map in this book, which I understand, not every author likes a map in their book, yet it also mentions lots of places geographically that I had no idea where they were in relation to the rest, yet thankfully, due to the internet, I did spend some time staring at the map Netflix made for the show, which honestly, is such a beautifully done map(if anyone鈥檚 wondering, I have not seen the Netflix adaptation).
I did like the world building in this book and at how the author gave us some background history to the current situation and hints of political intrigue as well, though there was not a lot of this. I would have liked to have learnt a bit more about each individual country and the culture behind it. We did get some decent information on Cintra and Nilfgaard, but would have liked a bit more on some of the other prominent nations in this book such as Redania or Kaedwen. I know that this is book 1 and it is very likely that we will get more worldbuilding in the near future.
It was interesting at how this book was laid out, since instead of having a direct goal or point of interest for the characters, each individual chapter was more like a short story of its own that joins to together to form the book. There are some chapters dedicated to Ciri and her training, yet there are other chapters which does not feature her at all and instead focusses on another plot line that has little relevance to her, even by the end of the book. Another thing to note about the ending is that there is no pay off at all, and largely consists of conversations and simply leads into the next book instead of the usual action packed ending of more traditional fantasies, which I found interesting as in reading a translated work, it sort of shows that different cultures have different ways I suppose in writing the same genres that I know and love, even though it is based roughly on the same ideals.
This is definitely a book that sort of highlights the transition in a way between traditional and modern fantasy, since while it features elves and dwarves, there are also lots of cooler newer aspects, the Witcher and world itself to mention some of them. I mean, overall, I thought that this was an awesome book and I can鈥檛 wait to start book to to see where my characters are off to in the uncertain times that they are in. 8/10
Like I said, it was a success and I did really enjoy it, however, I do also have some criticisms and other things that detail to personal preference that means that this book is a 4 star instead of 5.
One thing that I did really enjoy was all the characters and the many interactions that we saw between them. There is lots of dialogue in this book, and a lot of descriptions, which is very different for a fantasy novel, though since this is a translated work, and I don鈥檛 know anything about Polish Literature, it may be something more common in Polish works compared to English fantasy, which is basically known for having super long descriptions about everything while being slow. This book instead was honestly the opposite with minimal descriptions and a lot of dialogue, which truthfully, I didn鈥檛 mind that much, since it was written really well and some of these characters are plain awesome. Now, when I initially saw these books, I was quite surprised at how little pages it had for an Epic fantasy, but now that I have read this book and have noted that there aren鈥檛 that many descriptions, it makes a lot more sense, as most fantasy authors would have made this easily a good 600 pages.
There isn鈥檛 a map in this book, which I understand, not every author likes a map in their book, yet it also mentions lots of places geographically that I had no idea where they were in relation to the rest, yet thankfully, due to the internet, I did spend some time staring at the map Netflix made for the show, which honestly, is such a beautifully done map(if anyone鈥檚 wondering, I have not seen the Netflix adaptation).
I did like the world building in this book and at how the author gave us some background history to the current situation and hints of political intrigue as well, though there was not a lot of this. I would have liked to have learnt a bit more about each individual country and the culture behind it. We did get some decent information on Cintra and Nilfgaard, but would have liked a bit more on some of the other prominent nations in this book such as Redania or Kaedwen. I know that this is book 1 and it is very likely that we will get more worldbuilding in the near future.
It was interesting at how this book was laid out, since instead of having a direct goal or point of interest for the characters, each individual chapter was more like a short story of its own that joins to together to form the book. There are some chapters dedicated to Ciri and her training, yet there are other chapters which does not feature her at all and instead focusses on another plot line that has little relevance to her, even by the end of the book. Another thing to note about the ending is that there is no pay off at all, and largely consists of conversations and simply leads into the next book instead of the usual action packed ending of more traditional fantasies, which I found interesting as in reading a translated work, it sort of shows that different cultures have different ways I suppose in writing the same genres that I know and love, even though it is based roughly on the same ideals.
This is definitely a book that sort of highlights the transition in a way between traditional and modern fantasy, since while it features elves and dwarves, there are also lots of cooler newer aspects, the Witcher and world itself to mention some of them. I mean, overall, I thought that this was an awesome book and I can鈥檛 wait to start book to to see where my characters are off to in the uncertain times that they are in. 8/10
December 17, 2018
REVIEW IZ 2018:
Jenefer je carica. <3
REVIEW IZ 2014:
艩ta sve donosi epska fantastika? Vilenjake, patuljke, magiju, seksi 膷arobnice. Koje sve motive mo啪ete o膷ekivati od epske fantastike? Pa, zasigurno neko Proro膷anstvo, pojavljivanje Odabranog, najmanje jednog super frajera mra膷ne pro拧losti i slomljenog srca, koji se pretvara da to je isto srce odavno skamenjeno.
I dete.
Slatko, pametno, 拧armantno do bola dete, koje, samo kako to deca umeju i znaju, svojom prostodu拧no拧膰u, brbljavo拧膰u, radoznalo拧膰u i hrabro拧膰u, le膷i to srce pretvoreno u kamen.
Suma sumarum: sve ono 拧to od epske fantastike ve膰 o膷ekujete i znate da 膰ete dobiti, ali bez suvi拧nog davljenja (da, D啪ordane, ni mrtvog ne膰u prestati da te prozivam!).
Jenefer je carica. <3
REVIEW IZ 2014:
艩ta sve donosi epska fantastika? Vilenjake, patuljke, magiju, seksi 膷arobnice. Koje sve motive mo啪ete o膷ekivati od epske fantastike? Pa, zasigurno neko Proro膷anstvo, pojavljivanje Odabranog, najmanje jednog super frajera mra膷ne pro拧losti i slomljenog srca, koji se pretvara da to je isto srce odavno skamenjeno.
I dete.
Slatko, pametno, 拧armantno do bola dete, koje, samo kako to deca umeju i znaju, svojom prostodu拧no拧膰u, brbljavo拧膰u, radoznalo拧膰u i hrabro拧膰u, le膷i to srce pretvoreno u kamen.
Suma sumarum: sve ono 拧to od epske fantastike ve膰 o膷ekujete i znate da 膰ete dobiti, ali bez suvi拧nog davljenja (da, D啪ordane, ni mrtvog ne膰u prestati da te prozivam!).
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