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.'
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.
