Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - The Time of Contempt

The writing style is interesting. A lot of the action happens on the periphery of the narrative. That makes the world feel very alive. A lot happens away from the main characters. But that also makes it very complicated and difficult to keep track of what’s happening. The cast of characters is also very large, so keeping everyone straight can be tough. The plot is interesting and the characters are cool. I definitely want to know what happens next.

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puzzle_ad's review against another edition

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1.0

So I decided to give this series another shot and boy do I regret it. And the funny thing is I was going to give it 3 stars. Like was it a sexist garbage, yes, but no more so than the previous instalments and I could possibly ignore that for the story right up until the last part and more on that at the end. Overall the structure of this book was really weird. The culmination happened like in the middle and then the rest of the book was weird and downright offensive and disgusting the last 20%, I increased the speed for the audio to like 1.75 for it to be over finally so that I can move on with my life. There was barely any Yennefer or Jaskier in this, and they are mostly the reason I even decided to read the series in the first place. There isn't a single woman in this series that's hasn't been sexually assaulted. Here are my random notes, taken while listening:

• Someone is actually called Fabio lmaoo
• I am at the age where I am very fucking annoyed with stupid teenagers in fantasy, Ciri please everyone wants to kill you be a bit more fucking careful
• The author managing to describe a woman extremely male-gazy from the literal POV of Cirila a child, a talent truly
• Wow the women slut-shaming for the clothes they wear Jesus, and being absolutely disgusting to each other awful.
• The fuck kind of important women obedience is Vilgeforz on about??
• I swear the word contempt is repeated so many times in this book. Like every second page, no I did not fucking forget the book is called Time Of Contempt you can fucking stop beating me over the head with it.
• Wow Ciris entire importance being bottled down to who she marries and her future sons and nothing about her at all is so stupid and sexist.
• The narrator singing is still the most awful thing.
• Oh wow love the "if you rape any women do it quietly" advice simply fucking love that
• This whole spiel about unicorns thinking it's suspicious for older women to be virgins and preferring young virgins is the most ridiculous sexist thing this book has thrown at me yet. Ofc it's female virgins only. Have male virgins ever been offered in sacrifice in any form of media in the world, I am genuinely asking?
• Why the fuck does Ciris crotch hurt?? Uhh I honestly don't want to go back and check anymore, I don't need to know.
• Rapefest in the last 20ish % of the book singlehandedly made this from 3 to 1 star.

So this is what happens in the end:

Ciri is captured by a band of I believe Nifgardian soldiers who threaten to rape her multiple times. She escapes and is rescued by a band of vigilantes. A boy from the band tries to rape her and is stopped by a girl that helped rescue her. And then that same girl proceeds to rape Ciri who finally "resigned" to being raped and even sleeps in the arms of the girl. The next day Ciri is so traumatised she tries to "wash away something that can never be washed away"(this specific part is giving me flashbacks to Mat being raped in Wot) but still she stays with this band. Oh and after that, we are also given a description of how the girl that raped Ciri was also sexually assaulted. Oh and Ciri is fucking 13 this entire fucking time.

Like what the fuck??? What the actual fuck!??! Fuck this book, fuck this series, fuck Andrzej Sapkowski and everything he stands for I am fucking done. I will only watch the show and they can make it as fucking fanfiction and made up as they want I don't fucking care as long as there isn't a sexual assault every 5 min I will be fine.

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bookaholic_in_wonderland's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.0

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fiveredhens's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

favorite quotes:

CW: sexual harassment
'Right, then,' said that smile, 'what are we going to do now? You'll blush sweetly and that'll be the end of it, won't it?' It was clear the priest had never had to deal with one of Yennefer's pupils. 'Keep your hands to yourself, baldy!' yelled Ciri, white with rage. 'Grab your own arse, you … You whitewashed tomb!'

'What are we going to be doing, Yen?'

"Circulating around the hall, greeting people, paying them compliments, engaging in conversation ... Stop tugging your doublet and flattening your hair.'

'You wouldn't let me wear a headband.'

'Your headband's pretentious.'

'I'm dreaming of a painting in the Gallery of Glory. The two of us seated at a table and on a brass plaque the title: Vilgefortz of Roggeveen entering into a pact with Geralt of Rivia.'

'That would be an allegory,' said the Witcher, 'with the title: Knowledge Triumphing Over Ignorance. l'd prefer a more realistic painting, entitled: In Which Vilgefortz Explains To Geralt What This ls All About.'

'Enough,' said Geralt. 'Not another word. When I hear the word "game"I feel like killing someone. Oh, give me that razor. I want to have that shave at last.'

'Now? It's still dark.'

'It's never too dark for me. I'm a freak.'

'No!' she cries. 'Be gone! You are corpses!' The King of the Wild Hunt laughs, the rotten teeth snapping above his rusted gorget. The skull's eye sockets glitter lividly.

Yes, we are corpses. But you are death.

Yes, he answered in his thoughts, you're not mistaken. There is only she, Yennefer, at my side, here and now, and only she matters. Here and now. And what she was long ago, where she was long ago and who she was with long ago doesn't have any, doesn't have the slightest importance. Now she's with me, here, among you all. With me, with no one else. That's what I'm thinking right now, thinking only about her, thinking endlessly about her, smelling the scent of her perfume and the warmth of her body. And you can all choke on your envy.

Geralt knew that, in moments like this, the enchantress's telepathic abilities were sharpened and very powerful, so he thought about beautiful matters and beautiful things. About things which would give her joy. About the exploding brightness of the sunrise. About fog suspended over a mountain lake at dawn. About crystal waterfalls, with salmon leaping up them, gleaming as though made of solid silver. About warm drops of rain hitting burdock leaves, heavy with dew. He thought for her and Yennefer smiled, listening to his thoughts.

He was quiet. He was angry with himself. As he had been thinking for her, he had accidentally allowed her to read a thought about herself.

'A pretty dream,' said Yennefer, stroking him lightly on the shoulder. 'A home. A house built with your own hands, and you and I in that house. You would keep horses and sheep, and I would have a little garden, cook food and card wool which we would take to market. With the pennies earned from selling the wool and various crops we would buy what we needed; let's say some copper cauldrons and an iron rake. Every now and then, Ciri would visit us with her husband and three children, and Triss Merigold would occasionally look in, to stay for a few days. We'd grow old together, beautifully and with dignity. And should I ever get bored, you would play for me in the evening on your homemade bagpipes. Playing the bagpipes – as everyone knows – is the best remedy for depression.'

'Ciri was right,' whispered the Witcher. "Neutrality... Neutrality is always contemptible.'

'Geralt … Listen to me—'

'Listen to what?' shouted the Witcher, before his voice suddenly faltered. 'I can't leave—I can't just leave her to her fate. She's completely alone ... She cannot be left alone, Dandelion. You'll never understand that. No one will ever understand that, but I konw. If she remains alone, the same thing will happen to her as once happened to me... You'll never understand that ...'

it's all right

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alaa_ilikecats's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

These books could have been really something worthwhile. The strongest part of these books are their characters but the book is too focused on politics and other things that aren't the author's strongest skill clearly. I hate how the women are also written in this book. After having read four books so far, I decided to stick to it because I wanted to see more of Geralt and Ciri's relationship which we don't get. But after

Ciri gets raped

I give up. It was not necessary and after reading reviews of later books, it's clear I am not going to enjoy this series at all.

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