Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski

8 reviews

billyjepma's review

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

3.75

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump and wanted something light and easy to help me shake myself out of it, and this fit the bill. I enjoy the hell out of these books, even if that enjoyment includes a decent pile of caveats. Sapkowski isn’t the greatest writer, nor is the content of his writing unquestionable (just look at the content warning at the bottom 🙃). But other than that, the actual story and characters represent something pretty damn close to the platonic ideal of fantasy adventure for me. Swashbuckling action, dry humor, lots of lore, a side of politics, and a badass protagonist who is also an idiot—what more could you want?

This is a nice continuation for the series, too, even if it does march in place narratively. There’s very little new ground covered, and you can feel the gap left by the temporary sidelining of Yennefer and Ciri. But the books are also best when Geralt is front and center, as he’s the character Sapkowski’s dry, sarcastic voice is most suited for. It’s nice seeing Geralt develop a little as a leader, as he (very begrudgingly and with plenty of angst) develops camaraderie with some new allies who perfectly fit the vibe of the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

Moderate: War, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Cursing, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion, Trafficking, Animal death, and Vomit

belladonnashrike's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

RIP Roach #3,789 🙏🏼 you will be missed dearly🫶🏻

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Vomit, Murder, Blood, Miscarriage, Death, Animal death, and Abortion

starsfall's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, War, Rape, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal death, Misogyny, Blood, Child abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

excepto's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Wolniejsza od innych części, pokazuje dogłębnie okrucieństwo wojny, i to jak nawet w nim znajdywać momenty piękna. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Animal death, Murder, Blood, Alcohol, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Death, Cursing, Gore, Genocide, Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexual assault

bobstick's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful lighthearted reflective tense 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

A lovely book at a slower pace than the previous witcher books that almost solely focuses on building up characters and relationships, a lovely breathe of fresh air in the middle of the series, but not without some emotional moments.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Animal death, Vomit, War, Cursing, and Torture

kalisaur's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The first half of this was so slow, it felt like basically nothing happened the first 140 pages. There's so much Sapkowski just references during the first two books, it seems weird that this one is almost just a filler to put the players in the right spots for the next part of the story

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, War, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Blood, Cursing, Rape, Miscarriage, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Abortion, and Slavery

goizi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, and Violence

chronographia's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Where the earlier books set the scene, introduced our dramatic personae, and generally got the ball rolling, it is here that it starts to gain momentum. It will be helpful at this point in the story to start making a flowchart of different characters & their storylines. Also—despite Dianna Wynne Jones’ opinion about fantasyland maps—google the Witcher map that Netflix put out, it will be useful as everything starts to go into motion. And be sure to have Tower of Swallows on hand because you’re going to want to go straight on to the fourth book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence