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.'
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.”
