Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Baptism of Fire

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Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski

64 reviews

graceless_grace's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

4.75

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timmytunter's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Andrzej Sapkowski’s fifth Witcher novel (and third in the saga), Baptism of Fire, marks my favourite entry in the series so far, earning a rating of 4.25/5 stars. The story shifts from the tumultuous events of Time of Contempt to follow Geralt closely as he resumes his quest to locate Ciri. This installment focuses heavily on Geralt’s journey and the diverse group of companions he gathers along the way.

Among his companions are a dryad-sympathising human archer, a barber-surgeon with a sanguineous secret, a caravan of dwarves, a Nilfgaardian who denies his affiliation, and, of course, the ever-present bard Dandelion. Their dynamic is humorously highlighted in a memorable exchange:

‘What a company I ended up with,’ Geralt continued, shaking his head. ‘Brothers in arms! A team of heroes! What have I done to deserve it? A poetaster with a lute. A wild and lippy half-dryad, half-woman. A vampire, who’s about to notch up his fifth century.
And a bloody Nilfgaardian who insists he isn’t a Nilfgaardian.’
’And leading the party is the Witcher, who suffers from pangs of conscience, impotence and the inability to take decisions,’ Regis finished calmly.

The portions of the book detailing the group’s journey are particularly compelling, as we witness Geralt’s isolationist tendencies being challenged. He gradually comes to endure, if not embrace, his comrades. Special mentions must go to Milva and Regis, two characters who have greatly endeared themselves to me.

Aside from Geralt’s travels, significant insights are provided into the politics of the Lodge of Sorceresses and the movements of Ciri, still in the company of barbarous gang “The Rats.” The novel’s first half is a slow build, setting the scene for the action-packed second half. By the halfway mark, all relevant characters and locations have been introduced, and it’s just a matter of increasingly tempestuous events unfolding.

Sapkowski’s writing shines as we see significant growth in Geralt’s character. Regis’s observation about Geralt encapsulates this evolution:

‘For [Geralt]’ – Regis laughed – ‘the points of the compass have no great importance. It’s all the same to him which one he chooses, as long as he’s not idle. That is truly a witcher’s principium. The world is full of evil, so it’s sufficient to stride ahead, and destroy the Evil encountered on the way, in that way rendering a service to Good. The rest takes care of itself. To put it another way: being in motion is everything, the goal is nothing.’

This characterization, while perhaps true for witchers generally, becomes increasingly untrue for Geralt, whose paternal connection with Ciri (and perhaps his relationship with Yennefer) adds depth and purpose to his journey. Regis’s immediate recantation of his words underscores this transformation.

Overall, Baptism of Fire is a worthy addition to the Witcher series, with its rich character development and engaging narrative. Highly recommended.

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tdnan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The first half of this book was sooo slow, which was kinda crazy because I felt like things were ramping up in the last one. Once again, I enjoyed how much these characters discuss their own philosophy driving them through the tumultuous political climate of war they find themselves in. I finally felt like Geralt was pushed to develop a bit more, while Ciri just sort of got sidelined. The whole vampire blood-drinking as alcoholism bit was legitimately making me laugh. There were a certain amount of twists I truly was surprised by, which I loved. I feel like this book continued to have an atmosphere and messaging that I really enjoyed, but the plot itself didn’t hold up as much for me.

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geekmom's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

This was probably my favourite of these books so far. A well-paced story that is moving forward after seeming to meander in the last couple of instalments in this series...

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obsidianchainsaw's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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akkalabuns's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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bellemarier's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.75

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sage_bee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love this series very much but I don't think this was ass good as the previous ones.

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skitch41's review

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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breamfish1138's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Sapkowski walked so George R.R. Martin could run. If you've not read the previous Witcher books you'll be lost as hell, but if so, you'll likely bloody love it. Closest thing I can describe it as is Apocalypse Now with swords.

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