Reviews

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

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whokayy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

4.75

enbyglitch's review

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2.0

This book sets up an interesting world and group of characters, but offers little in the way of plot or pacing. I was disappointed by how little time we actually spend with Geralt, let alone with him tracking and dealing with monsters. I enjoyed most of Ciri's stuff, but her sexualization and the cattiness between her and Yennefer was annoying.

The biggest flaw for me was the nearly endless political explanations and discussions. Maybe fantasy books can get away with this in sequels, but dumping it on me in the first book often led to me putting it down for long stretches.

Also, I really hope 'Lady Magician' is a strange translation choice given that almost all wizards we meet in the book are female, but I'm not confident about it.

readersjournal's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.5

enchanteurlitteraire's review against another edition

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4.0

Quelle belle surprise!

J’ai vraiment aimé ce tome III qui nous plonge enfin dans la réelle intrigue de cette saga.

Entre révélations, actions, changements de personnages que l’on suit, on ne s’ennuie pas!

Je suis vraiment heureux d’en avoir appris davantage sur l’univers et notamment sur l’ordre des Sorceleurs.

L’écriture est fluide, c’est agréable et rapide à lire.
Cependant il est vrai que Andrzej Sapkowski a son style bien à lui et son récit peut paraître un peu décousu, rappelant davantage les petites nouvelles composant les deux premiers tomes.

Je fonce vers le quatrième tome!

amunent's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

magdoll's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

not bad but kind of boring

brettpet's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed the first two entries in The Witcher series, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, but Blood of Elves hits an unavoidable wall with it's introductory nature. While it's predecessors have the luxury of being short story collections, Elves bears the brunt of setting up the politics and warfare angles of the plot. For example the scene between the rulers of the Northern Kingdom discussing the conflict was interesting at first, but went on way too long considering what could have been spelled out naturally.

The scenes with Geralt and Ciri at Kaer Morhen were no surprise after the second season of the TV adaptation, and I especially liked their dynamic with Triss. The introduction of the Scoia'tael and expanding on Elvish society was interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they're expanded on. I liked some parts of the flashback sections with Ciri and Yennefer, but I wish it had been interspersed more with the rest of the plot (maybe the conflict with Rience and Geralt being moved towards the end). Overall Blood of Elves sets up effective hooks for the overarching series, but suffers a bit from a lack of action.