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singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Jotkin arvioijat ovat nostaneet esille sen, että Sapkowskin tekstistä paistaa läpi seksistisiä asenteita. No, koska kirja alkaa seksikohtauksella, jossa toinen osapuoli on ilmeisesti melko nuori, en yhtään ihmettele mistä nämä mielipiteet kumpuavat. Mielestäni naishahmojen nuoruus on jopa silmiinpistävää, ja heihin viitataan usein sanalla “tyttö”, eikä nainen. Kirjan hirviöt ovat lähes poikkeuksetta naispuolisia. Ja jos kirjan naishahmot pelastetaan hirviön kynsistä, heidän odotetaan osoittavan asiaankuuluvaa kiitollisuutta.
Kirjan rakenne on melkoisen sekava. Viimeinen toivomus koostuu useasta Noituri-tarinasta. Sen sijaan että ne olisi esitetty kokonaisena ja peräkkäin, ne on pilkottu toistensa lomaan kummallisena sillisalaattina. Tämä ehkä toimii sarjassa, mutta kirjassa lukijan täytyy olla todella hereillä.
Sapkowski lainailee elementtejä kansantaruista ja saduista. Tämä tuntuu hieman jopa laiskalta, sillä odotin, että kirjassa olisi enemmän keskitytty hirviöihin ja ylipäätänsäkin toimintaan. Sen sijaan Viimeinen toivomus on erittäin dialogipainotteinen. Voitaisiin jopa sanoa, että kirja on monologipainotteinen. Äänikirjaformaatissa se jollain tasolla toimii, koska mitä muutakaan äänikirja on, kun jonkun tyypin kertoman tarinan kuuntelemista. Yleisesti ottaen pidän silti enemmän siitä, että dialogi, toiminta ja kuvailu on enemmän tasapainossa.
Sapkowski lainailee elementtejä kansantaruista ja saduista. Tämä tuntuu hieman jopa laiskalta, sillä odotin, että kirjassa olisi enemmän keskitytty hirviöihin ja ylipäätänsäkin toimintaan. Sen sijaan Viimeinen toivomus on erittäin dialogipainotteinen. Voitaisiin jopa sanoa, että kirja on monologipainotteinen. Äänikirjaformaatissa se jollain tasolla toimii, koska mitä muutakaan äänikirja on, kun jonkun tyypin kertoman tarinan kuuntelemista. Yleisesti ottaen pidän silti enemmän siitä, että dialogi, toiminta ja kuvailu on enemmän tasapainossa.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sunn_bleach's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
"The Last Wish" is a compilation of short stories with a small framing device of Geralt recovering from the trauma of a hunt that almost went wrong. I read this because I needed something light after "Book of the New Sun", and I've wanted to see where it all began regarding the video games.
It's easy to see how this adapted perfectly to games, as each short story acts as a standalone quest much like what's in a standard epic fantasy game. But otherwise, I find this very difficult to go back to, and I would only recommend it for someone like me who's interested in the background of The Witcher series rather than these actually being good. The games sanded off much of the roughness of the 90s, fixed the writing issues, adapted the best ideas, and forewent much of the poorly-aged aspect, like how every woman is either stupid or must be assaulted, like the insipid "realism" people point to in defense of Game of Thrones. It's not "real", it's just crass, and you should read an actual history book.
Overall a meh experience. The translator problems are real; Geralt pirouettes more than a Bolshoi Ballet prima, and everyone is always locking eyes with each other while sneering. The fractured fairytales approach is so ingrained in modern pop culture (and wasn't new back then) that I find it difficult to care or find subversive.
There's a small part of me that would read "Sword of Destiny" as the next short story compilation, but I could also be fine with leaving my book experience of The Witcher here and sticking to the games, which are simply better in every respect.
It's easy to see how this adapted perfectly to games, as each short story acts as a standalone quest much like what's in a standard epic fantasy game. But otherwise, I find this very difficult to go back to, and I would only recommend it for someone like me who's interested in the background of The Witcher series rather than these actually being good. The games sanded off much of the roughness of the 90s, fixed the writing issues, adapted the best ideas, and forewent much of the poorly-aged aspect, like how every woman is either stupid or must be assaulted, like the insipid "realism" people point to in defense of Game of Thrones. It's not "real", it's just crass, and you should read an actual history book.
Overall a meh experience. The translator problems are real; Geralt pirouettes more than a Bolshoi Ballet prima, and everyone is always locking eyes with each other while sneering. The fractured fairytales approach is so ingrained in modern pop culture (and wasn't new back then) that I find it difficult to care or find subversive.
There's a small part of me that would read "Sword of Destiny" as the next short story compilation, but I could also be fine with leaving my book experience of The Witcher here and sticking to the games, which are simply better in every respect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit and War
choukou's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A lot different than I remembered, must have read over all the "men writing women" moments the first time... I still love the witcher but some sentences and characterizations just gave me the ick.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
nyx_reads's review against another edition
Too much inappropriate content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual harassment
7hunder's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
aloy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
mcmeiss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
shelbyslifer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Cursing and Colonisation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Murder
ellahoward_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book throws you in at the deep end, immersing you in magic, mystery and monsters. It helped having context from the Netflix show, but I just loved the sarcastic one liners from Geralt. I would note that you should be aware that at some points there are references about sexual objectification of women that were uncomfortable, but overall was an interesting start to the Witcher world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Rape, and Sexual content
poisonenvy's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I ended up actually liking it, and that makes me sad. I'm not really sure how I felt about this book, to tell the truth.
The Last Wish is a book consisting of seven short stories that follow the witcher, Geralt. One of the stories, "The Voice of Reason" is used as a framing device for the other six stories. So, there's no overarching plot in this book in particular, just a few episodes to give us an idea of Geralt's life as a witcher and to set up some other plot threads further down the line.
So, let's start:
The Prose: The prose in this novel is... not great. I don't know if it's the fault of the translator or not. I suspect it's a mix of both, but a lot of the awkwardness of the prose does seem to be in line with the stilted nature that some translations end up taking on.
Luckily, I read the majority of this book on audio, and Peter Kenny does an excellent job at narrating it. With his narration, a lot of the awkwardness of the text on paper seems to disappear (even if he pronounces Dandelion in... a way that I absolutely would not).
The Storytelling: While some of the later stories in the book are better for this, the first like, three, are pretty much exclusively told through dialogue? A lot of telling, very little showing, and it makes for some kind of frustratingly boring stories.
The Sexism: It's not much more egregious than a lot of 90s fantasy, but I just don't have the patience for that sort of thing anymore. Behind, the sympathetic rapist! Marvel at the pregnant 14 year old (but it's okay, because she's totally in love with the man who's likely in his mid-30s at the youngest who knocked her up). Look in awe as literally every single woman in this book wants to sleep with our macho protagonist whether it makes sense or not (though, lbr, if he looks like Henry Cavill maybe it does make sense no matter what the greater context of the story is. Even if he does act like a prepubescent boy any time a woman is naked around him, even if she is invisible).
The Plot: Like I said, there isn't much plot in this novel. It's very episodic in nature. BUT! I'm intrigued by the plot that it's setting up.
The Pacing: This is hard to place, really. Again, most of the early stories are told through dialogue, which makes them feel unbelievably slow.
The References: I enjoyed the occasional sprinkling of classic fairy tales in here. Seriously, it made me smile every time I noticed one.
I did very much enjoy The Last Wish, however. There were parts that were funny enough that I smiled at them. I'm not sure if <i>all</i> the funny parts were actually meant to be funny -- it's kind of a tonal shift from a lot of the rest of the book? -- but I'm going to give Sapkowski the benefit of the doubt in this.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book enough that I'm going to continue the series. I've got several of the books signed out from the library. I haven't decided yet if I like the series enough to actually purchase the rest of the books in it, nor am I sure if I'll see it through to the end of book eight. But I'm having fun with it.
The Last Wish is a book consisting of seven short stories that follow the witcher, Geralt. One of the stories, "The Voice of Reason" is used as a framing device for the other six stories. So, there's no overarching plot in this book in particular, just a few episodes to give us an idea of Geralt's life as a witcher and to set up some other plot threads further down the line.
So, let's start:
The Prose: The prose in this novel is... not great. I don't know if it's the fault of the translator or not. I suspect it's a mix of both, but a lot of the awkwardness of the prose does seem to be in line with the stilted nature that some translations end up taking on.
Luckily, I read the majority of this book on audio, and Peter Kenny does an excellent job at narrating it. With his narration, a lot of the awkwardness of the text on paper seems to disappear (even if he pronounces Dandelion in... a way that I absolutely would not).
The Storytelling: While some of the later stories in the book are better for this, the first like, three, are pretty much exclusively told through dialogue? A lot of telling, very little showing, and it makes for some kind of frustratingly boring stories.
The Sexism: It's not much more egregious than a lot of 90s fantasy, but I just don't have the patience for that sort of thing anymore. Behind, the sympathetic rapist! Marvel at the pregnant 14 year old (but it's okay, because she's totally in love with the man who's likely in his mid-30s at the youngest who knocked her up). Look in awe as literally every single woman in this book wants to sleep with our macho protagonist whether it makes sense or not (though, lbr, if he looks like Henry Cavill maybe it does make sense no matter what the greater context of the story is. Even if he does act like a prepubescent boy any time a woman is naked around him, even if she is invisible).
The Plot: Like I said, there isn't much plot in this novel. It's very episodic in nature. BUT! I'm intrigued by the plot that it's setting up.
The Pacing: This is hard to place, really. Again, most of the early stories are told through dialogue, which makes them feel unbelievably slow.
The References: I enjoyed the occasional sprinkling of classic fairy tales in here. Seriously, it made me smile every time I noticed one.
I did very much enjoy The Last Wish, however. There were parts that were funny enough that I smiled at them. I'm not sure if <i>all</i> the funny parts were actually meant to be funny -- it's kind of a tonal shift from a lot of the rest of the book? -- but I'm going to give Sapkowski the benefit of the doubt in this.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book enough that I'm going to continue the series. I've got several of the books signed out from the library. I haven't decided yet if I like the series enough to actually purchase the rest of the books in it, nor am I sure if I'll see it through to the end of book eight. But I'm having fun with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest