eleniphant's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
I have such conflicted thoughts on this book and the series moving forward.
What I liked:
What I liked:
- I loved the sequence of the banquet and the day that follows with the coup- these chapters with excellent and filled with intrigue, pieces came together for a larger picture and strongest part of this book so far
- I loved the snippets we got of the Yennefer, Geralt, and Ciri family dynamic, I like the subversion of expectations and Ciri’s whole narrative.
- His women aren’t the best written no idea how he managed Yennefer who is a favorite of all time to me- and Ciri because everyone else hahah yikes
- But I love geralt and his philosophizing and the highlight about neutrality not really being an option.
- I’m curious to see where the series goes but-
What I did not
- So I don’t know if I should blame the translation but this book had chunks, far too many rambling descriptions easy to get lost in, and the politics at points got way too deep and unfocused from the heart of the narrative
- Sometimes I wish the major events would be seen rather than casually monologued about.- second half of the book lost major speed
- Ciri’s final plot points upset me. Greatly. I really don’t know what the intent was and if Sapkowski is commenting on the SA tropes in fantasy at the time- but it was disturbing, I don’t think I’m putting down the series but may need a little break- I know ciri is put through horrific things throughout and it deconstructs chosen one tropes and the costs but man… idk the was going from 4-5 stars to me kind of :/ at the last parts. May need to think on a bit- see where it leaves me in a few days
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
Moderate: War
hazelloretta's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, and War
battlefieldpoet's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, War, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
bongvolio's review against another edition
1.0
The ending was horrible and bad enough that if I didn’t already have Baptism of Fire in my possession, I wouldn’t have picked it up.
tw sexual assault
tw sexual assault
Spoiler
Something about Ciri being sexually assaulted by a woman feels insanely malicious and unnecessary. There is an air of Sapkowski waiting for Ciri to be old enough to have her assaulted— It left a bad taste my mouth that reminded me far too much of reading/watching Game of Thrones, and not in a good way. Ciri’s youth and teenagedom is enforced through the entire series by her actions and the care taken towards her, calling her a Lion Cub, etc. It feels as if I’m reading this horrific event happen to a child. After Ciri being saved and saving a unicorn in the previous moments, there is something so sinister about her avoiding being sexually assaulted by men only for it to happen from a woman. It feels a little like Sapkowski is trying to make a “not all men” statement by having Ciri assaulted by a woman.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
thenearestdream's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.5
quick shoutout to my boy dandelion before my rant. love that bitch.
everything having to do with the rats was a slog. i didn’t care and it was boring. my biggest problem, however, was with the awful sexual assault scene.
content warning for details below.
ciri is nearly assaulted by a male member of the gang, who is driven away by a woman… who then sexually assaults ciri in turn. its extremely uncomfortable and almost framed as a positive because hey at least shes not alone anymore!
only paragraphs after the assault scene, we find out that the woman in question was a noblewoman who was kidnapped along with other girls and raped repeatedly. she was the only one that survived this torture. so of course she then goes on to… rape ciri. i know that its possible that mistle’s actions were because of her own trauma, but im being completely honest, i dont trust sapkowski to explore that in a way that is anything but damaging.
i know that mistle is in the show and seems to be a romantic interest for ciri (i havent watched it). i dont know how i feel about that. I dont really trust them to deal with the weight of it. we all saw how GOT handled dany’s stockholm with drogo and i dont really have faith in netflix to do much better. would it be better to cut the scene? i dont know.
i have so many issues with how sapkowski writes women and this is no exception. multiple times throughout the book i was uncomfortable with his descriptions of ciri and the last half of chapter seven was a masterclass in how not to do it. her motivations are inconsistent at all times and she is so hard to read. it feels like he doesnt know what to do with a female character he cant just write off as an evil seductress like all of the mages.
i like the world building and i like the plot and i do plan on continuing, but man. yikes.
everything having to do with the rats was a slog. i didn’t care and it was boring. my biggest problem, however, was with the awful sexual assault scene.
content warning for details below.
ciri is nearly assaulted by a male member of the gang, who is driven away by a woman… who then sexually assaults ciri in turn. its extremely uncomfortable and almost framed as a positive because hey at least shes not alone anymore!
only paragraphs after the assault scene, we find out that the woman in question was a noblewoman who was kidnapped along with other girls and raped repeatedly. she was the only one that survived this torture. so of course she then goes on to… rape ciri. i know that its possible that mistle’s actions were because of her own trauma, but im being completely honest, i dont trust sapkowski to explore that in a way that is anything but damaging.
i know that mistle is in the show and seems to be a romantic interest for ciri (i havent watched it). i dont know how i feel about that. I dont really trust them to deal with the weight of it. we all saw how GOT handled dany’s stockholm with drogo and i dont really have faith in netflix to do much better. would it be better to cut the scene? i dont know.
i have so many issues with how sapkowski writes women and this is no exception. multiple times throughout the book i was uncomfortable with his descriptions of ciri and the last half of chapter seven was a masterclass in how not to do it. her motivations are inconsistent at all times and she is so hard to read. it feels like he doesnt know what to do with a female character he cant just write off as an evil seductress like all of the mages.
i like the world building and i like the plot and i do plan on continuing, but man. yikes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
blavikenbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Death
Minor: Rape and Domestic abuse
valkyri_anna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and War
Minor: Rape
blubbi's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Violence
katieismay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
meganeorcx's review against another edition
slow-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? Yes
2.0
I'm not quite sure why this book was written. The start had me slightly interested but then it felt like it went nowhere. The plot and storytelling is very fractured and just not exciting whatsoever. Geralt isn't very present in this sequel and instead, Ciri is pushed to the front which I liked but even that felt very weak towards the end. At this point, the series really isn't drawing me in anymore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual assault