The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher (The Witcher, #0.5)

by Andrzej Sapkowski

Geralt is a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent. He roams the country seeking assignments, but gradually comes to realise that while some of his quarry are unremittingly vile, vicious grotesques, others are the victims of sin, evil or simple naivety. One reviewer said: 'This book is a sheer delight. It is beautifully written, full of vitality and endlessly inventive: its format, with half a dozen episodes and intervening rest periods for both the hero and the reader, allows for a huge range of characters, scenarios and action. It's thought-provoking without being in the least dogmatic, witty without descending to farce and packed with swordfights without being derivative. The dialogue sparkles; characters morph almost imperceptibly from semi-cliche to completely original; nothing is as it first seems.Sapkowski succeeds in seamlessly welding familiar ideas, unique settings and delicious twists of originality: his Beauty wants to rip the throat out of a sensitive Beast; his Snow White seeks vengeance on all and sundry, his elves are embittered and vindictive.
It's easily one of the best things I've read in ages.'

• ISBN10: 0316055085
• ISBN13: 9780316055086
• Publish Date: 14 December 2008 (first published 7 June 2007)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nessa Luna]

Lately, there has been a huge hype surrounding the Witcher books. Netflix made a series, there have been games and honestly, everyone’s been raving about the Witcher for the past year or so. I never played the games and I have yet to watch the series, but I did decide to pick up this book when it got the most votes for G’s Patreon book club. I loved the first couple of stories, especially when I realised they were based on fairytales I knew (Beauty and the Beast, Snow White). But halfway through the book, I started to get a little bit bored. I think it was the fourth story that made me kind of reluctant to read on and after that, I kind of just skimmed the rest of the book. I loved Dandilion as a character, but that was kind of the best thing about the latter part of the book. Not sure if I’m going to continue reading the series, but I think I will definitely check out the Netflix show!

CAWPILE: 7 | 6 | 6.5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 (Avg: 6.50)

[jamiereadthis]

Thanks to my friend Dominika for this one, and since she’s from Poland, she was able to guide me through a bad English translation. Eastern European folktales— yay! The weirdo male-gazey thing— boo.

[remo]

Tras ver con gran interés la primera temporada de la serie homónima decidí asomarme a los libros. Éste en concreto contiene, creo, el 80% de la primera temporada de Netflix (falta la historia del dragón y gran parte de la historia de Yennefer), y algún relato más. Son relatos cortos sobre aventuras del protagonista, más o menos relacionadas, que van dándonos una idea de la vida, obra y pensamientos de Geralt de Rivia, un brujo (Witcher) en un mundo mágico y a la vez tan familiar.
El retrato que se hace de Geralt no es monorrasgo. A veces es un hombre (llamémosle así) resignado con la fatalidad de su destino, otras es un tío insensible y pasota, y otras vemos que es alguien que observa el mundo a su alrededor y decide tomar partido. Son pinceladas de la personalidad del protagonista que supongo que en futuras entregas se irán ampliando.

El libro es muy entretenido y deja con ganas de más. Hay una buena saga a la espera, que promete. Veremos.

[kimbacaffeinate]

The Last Wish is a series of short stories or adventures as Geralt of Rivia battles monsters, travels the countryside and meets all walks of creatures from Fae to monsters. We see him sit with the Queen, fall for a sorceress, and deal with the effects of his own transformation.

The author shares retellings of some famous fairytales and enlightens us with stories involving a strigoi, rusalka, and jinn. Even though I had just watched the first season, I found the story, characters, and narration refreshing.

Readers and listeners will find a pleasant mix. Some tales offered humor and others will make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. These are the tales one tells around a campfire intended to scare.

Andrzej Sapkowski is a brilliant storyteller and I can easily see why this series became a video game and now a series.

Peter Kenny did a fantastic job with the narration capturing the characters and creatures we met along the way.

Now you ask me why should I listen or read it, I watched it? Ah, my friend listen for the details and the untold stories. While Henry does a brilliant job capturing Geralt of Rivia, I truly appreciated getting his inner thoughts, understanding his conflicts and there is a theme here. Geralt very much wants to feel and I think you will be surprised at what you discover. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[bumblingbookworm]

This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Bookworm

Yes, I joined The Witcher craze in January!  I decided to read these short stories before watching the series, and now I can't wait to jump into the Netflix series.  I loved these short stories, they were so much fun to read - which is a bit odd I suppose when they're all about a cold-blooded killer!  I particularly enjoyed the overarching short story told throughout the whole book, spliced with other short stories over Geralt's life.

As someone who hasn't played the game or watched the series, I didn't really know what to expect and I'm so glad I went in blind.  Geralt's sarcastic tone spoke to me, I could feel his exasperation!  I commend Sapkowski for maintaining a lighthearted feel across the collection, particularly given the violence throughout.  My only criticism, and it's a slight one, is that the short stories just never felt like enough - I always wanted more.  Loved this, and can't wait to experience more of this world!

[adastra]

This was just a s incoherent as the TV show.

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog coming soon!

The Last Wish is less of a novel with one ongoing story but more of a collection of short stories. Therefore, it really is the perfect entry-point to check out whether the books are for you or not.
Well, I feel a little ambivalent about the whole thing but who am I kidding? I will most definitely read all the other books as well.
If you are into fantasy, this is the book for you. It ticks off all the boxes: monsters, magic, medieval times. The concept of the Witcher is rather interesting otherwise the world-building so far doesn't feel too different from your other epic fantasy stuff.
You will, however, soon see that many aspects of the story (and monsters) were inspired by fairy-tales and myths. It's cool to see what Sapkowski did with that!
Furthermore, I was surprised how funny this book was! I laughed out loud several times and found it to be far more humorous than your other regular fantasy book. Honestly, it's worth reading for that alone, Geralt actually is hilarious.
However, the one thing that irritated me is the treatment of women in this book. Many somewhat misogynistic things are said and I know many people like to chalk that off to authentically representing the dark ages but it did annoy me a bit. But whenever I got too bothered by that, a super badass and a kick-ass woman would come along and I was happy again. The depiction is, therefore, kind of ambivalent and I am not yet sure how to feel about that.

[HekArtemis]

Don't know what to say really. This is just some good old sword and sorcery really, and I really enjoyed the retelling aspect of it. I didn't enjoy the sexism throughout, pity that it's also displayed by Geralt. And while that misogyny might make me drop a star or two, I found myself thinking fondly of this book and the stories within multiple times during the day before I went back to finish it. So if it is good enough to make itself at home in my mind, and so quickly, then it must get all the stars. And so all the stars it now has.
Now to read all the rest of the Witcher books so I can watch the Netflix series.

[Katie King]

i read this after starting the tv series, but before playing any of the games. i was enthralled at first but by the end, i wished it would hurry up and be done. perhaps that is an effect of me reading in bed - i was tired - but i feel as though if i were more engaged then it wouldn’t have seemed to drag. probably just my fault....when i read it during the day it was enjoyable.

one thing i really liked was the showing not telling. there were lots of events that were only just implied, not explicitly told, and to me that was masterful. i wish i read more books like this and not “she picked up the brush. she combed her hair. she styled her hair up and looked in the mirror.”

the show is pretty faithful!

will definitely read the next book.

[moraa]

But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.

3.5 stars

It's been a while since I've read a book with such a rich and well-crafted world. I may have indulged a little and let myself watch the Netflix adaptation before reading the book(s) but it has (mercifully) not ruined the series for me.

The witty humour in this book had me laughing in very solemn situations in real life.

I look forward to the next.