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sanza7x's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: War and Violence
Minor: Torture
jesserbessers's review against another edition
3.0
This book wanders quite a bit and has a lot of filler. The ending just fizzled off and didn't have a good close for how great the series was. Still feel content with the Witcher series as a whole.
tupsukorva's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
3.0
With all the buildup, the ending sort of fell flat, and was too cliché. Maybe ending with Ciri, Geralt and Yen leaving on the boat would have given an open end, which would ave given some room for interpretation.
jhouses's review against another edition
3.0
Final artúrico un poco metido con calzador y buscando la lagrimilla. Kilos y kilos de historia que no son sino un tampantojo de personajes secundarios para cubrir y alagar una historia simple como ella sola pero enfangada en meandros espaciotemporales. Aun así la lectura se disfruta por que está bien estructurada y los pequeños episodios son entretenidos. Gran trabajo del traductor. No me arrepiento de haberlo leido pero tampoco era para tanto.
decayedcell's review against another edition
2.0
Let me go into history as a contrarian yet again with this rating, rating which I will apply as a whole for the entirety of the series.
maurits's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? No
3.0
mgregg28's review against another edition
1.0
Everyone does and Ciri lives. Save yourself 400 pages of erroneous bullshit to accomplish that short sentence. What a horribly written ending to an otherwise satisfying series.
aekre's review against another edition
5.0
After thinking about this book for a few days, I believe I have found what I want to say.
First of all, the book, considered by itself, is really just a 4, maybe a 4.5. But in a broader view, the saga as a whole delivered an unforgettable experience, warts and all, and for that I have to bump it up to a 5.
Sapkowski's style of writing has a unique polish, possibly as a result of its translation into English. Regardless of how it got there, the narrative flow in each book is so energetic that at times it feels like it's trying to wrestle its way out of the pages. When I say flow, I mean that distinctively from pacing.
The first two books, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, take on an episodic approach, telling short stories that are more of a crash course in the personality and abilities of our main cast, with the latter book weaving in a background narrative that ties everything together in a pleasant way. The main saga novels, beginning with Blood of Elves, take on a completely different structure.
I imagine that the format of these saga entries has caused numerous people to put the books down, too frustrated to keep up. The energy that I mentioned in the flow of the stories before comes from the fact that, within the lengthy chapters, time and perspective jumps backwards, forwards, sideways, and every other way at a frantic pace.
The latter books especially like to begin the novel just before the end of the story, where one of the characters seems to be recovering from a terrible ordeal, only to hit the big rewind button by telling a nearby stranger with an open ear how they came to be where they are now. Then, within said flashback that is 95% of the remaining novel, chapters bounce back and forth even more - sometimes going so far as to jump forward hundreds of years to more modern times, where people treat the events of the story like a legend to be studied, or find relics left behind from characters that we know. At other times, characters will recount their own memories of a recent event, triggering another flashback.
And these flashbacks are more often than not the reason for another one of Sapkowski's tricks: his mad love for switching points of view. Many books out there already do this - you've seen books with chapters that bounce between two or three characters, or in the case of Song of Ice and Fire books, many more. But THESE books like to do things differently.
Have you ever read a story that follows a character as he grows into his hero's clothes, only for a sequel to switch to a whole new character, where the original main character suddenly looks, sounds, and feels more like an untouchable legend rather than a regular human whose shoes we walked in not that long ago?
Sapkowski likes to dabble with this style of storytelling by employing the perspectives of so many tertiary and insignificant characters, that at times I felt like I was stalking the main characters rather than following along right beside them. And this particular feature is what fascinates me so much in how these stories are written.
The perspectives of these characters aren't simply cameras on legs with varying colors of paint slapped on to tell them apart. Each character, down to the (seemingly) lowliest mage who happens to be wandering through the same town as Geralt or Yennefer, brings their own flavor and understanding to what is happening in the world.
When we're treated to a chapter told through Geralt's eyes, everything feels normal - our hero is talking to us, doing his thing, and being cool. But when a regular human stumbles across his path, everything turns around. Geralt is a freak, barely human at all. Everybody either fears the guy or hates him in their own way, because they don't understand the man.
When somebody encounters the beautiful witch Yennefer, they see a callous woman who bends men and nature itself to her will with a lust for power and sex. Yet when we actually get a Yennefer chapter, we see the quarrel within, the love she has for the world, for Geralt and Ciri, and the gut-wrenching self-loathing that consumes her anytime she remembers that when she became a witch.
The characters in these books feel fleshed out in ways that I haven't felt before. They certainly make stupid mistakes, Ciri more than anyone else, but we *know* why they do what they do. These are characters that feel like real human beings.
Before I move on, I have to mention one last quirk of Sapkowski's. The man likes to let his characters talk. I don't just mean long run-on sentences and boring monologuing sessions. I mean, while these characters talk, stuff is happening. Come hell or high water, this guy will not let anything break a character's thought process.
I really don't know how to describe it, so let me try to illustrate.
"You're a fool, Geralt. You always were, and always will be. You trusted her when I told you that she could not be trusted, and what did you get? Don't look at me like that. No, don't try to interrupt. You are a fool, and you deserve what you got. Now, lighten up, see, the food is here. What are you looking at? Oh-ho! Look at that. A fight has broken out at the table over there. That dwarf is grabbing the knight by his mustache! What a lively little--Look out! Crikey, that was a close one. Is your beer still on the table? That plate almost took my nose with it. Anyway, where was I? Oh, of course. You're a fool, Geralt."
I made that up, but I think you can see what I'm talking about.
Now, with all of that said about the narrative flow, let me get to the pacing of the story.
Oh man do these books drag sometimes.
There are mannnnny chapters that are completely removed from the main cast, acting as a more realistic way of offering the reader a way of seeing what is happening beyond the cast's reach of influence. These chapters add structure, flavor, smell, and color to the world.
But sometimes it is so. hard. to. care.
In the end, it pays off, but the reader does have to invest a little from time to time to get to the payoff.
In many ways, Lady of the Lake is that payoff. For better or for worse, every important character finds an ending to their arc. Thankfully, those endings feel true to where their arcs were headed, even if the pill is a little tough to swallow.
The saga of the Witcher feels old, but new. The unusual writing almost makes them feel like they were written around the time of Tolkien, then locked away and rediscovered decades later. The world feels truly medieval, with rough edges on display everywhere. Yet as I reach the end, every single facet of these books feels carefully polished, only leaving the rough edges where they are supposed to look rough.
If you're looking for a long, rich fantasy story to sink your teeth into, give these books a try.
First of all, the book, considered by itself, is really just a 4, maybe a 4.5. But in a broader view, the saga as a whole delivered an unforgettable experience, warts and all, and for that I have to bump it up to a 5.
Sapkowski's style of writing has a unique polish, possibly as a result of its translation into English. Regardless of how it got there, the narrative flow in each book is so energetic that at times it feels like it's trying to wrestle its way out of the pages. When I say flow, I mean that distinctively from pacing.
The first two books, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, take on an episodic approach, telling short stories that are more of a crash course in the personality and abilities of our main cast, with the latter book weaving in a background narrative that ties everything together in a pleasant way. The main saga novels, beginning with Blood of Elves, take on a completely different structure.
I imagine that the format of these saga entries has caused numerous people to put the books down, too frustrated to keep up. The energy that I mentioned in the flow of the stories before comes from the fact that, within the lengthy chapters, time and perspective jumps backwards, forwards, sideways, and every other way at a frantic pace.
The latter books especially like to begin the novel just before the end of the story, where one of the characters seems to be recovering from a terrible ordeal, only to hit the big rewind button by telling a nearby stranger with an open ear how they came to be where they are now. Then, within said flashback that is 95% of the remaining novel, chapters bounce back and forth even more - sometimes going so far as to jump forward hundreds of years to more modern times, where people treat the events of the story like a legend to be studied, or find relics left behind from characters that we know. At other times, characters will recount their own memories of a recent event, triggering another flashback.
And these flashbacks are more often than not the reason for another one of Sapkowski's tricks: his mad love for switching points of view. Many books out there already do this - you've seen books with chapters that bounce between two or three characters, or in the case of Song of Ice and Fire books, many more. But THESE books like to do things differently.
Have you ever read a story that follows a character as he grows into his hero's clothes, only for a sequel to switch to a whole new character, where the original main character suddenly looks, sounds, and feels more like an untouchable legend rather than a regular human whose shoes we walked in not that long ago?
Sapkowski likes to dabble with this style of storytelling by employing the perspectives of so many tertiary and insignificant characters, that at times I felt like I was stalking the main characters rather than following along right beside them. And this particular feature is what fascinates me so much in how these stories are written.
The perspectives of these characters aren't simply cameras on legs with varying colors of paint slapped on to tell them apart. Each character, down to the (seemingly) lowliest mage who happens to be wandering through the same town as Geralt or Yennefer, brings their own flavor and understanding to what is happening in the world.
When we're treated to a chapter told through Geralt's eyes, everything feels normal - our hero is talking to us, doing his thing, and being cool. But when a regular human stumbles across his path, everything turns around. Geralt is a freak, barely human at all. Everybody either fears the guy or hates him in their own way, because they don't understand the man.
When somebody encounters the beautiful witch Yennefer, they see a callous woman who bends men and nature itself to her will with a lust for power and sex. Yet when we actually get a Yennefer chapter, we see the quarrel within, the love she has for the world, for Geralt and Ciri, and the gut-wrenching self-loathing that consumes her anytime she remembers that
Spoiler
she lost the ability to have childrenThe characters in these books feel fleshed out in ways that I haven't felt before. They certainly make stupid mistakes, Ciri more than anyone else, but we *know* why they do what they do. These are characters that feel like real human beings.
Before I move on, I have to mention one last quirk of Sapkowski's. The man likes to let his characters talk. I don't just mean long run-on sentences and boring monologuing sessions. I mean, while these characters talk, stuff is happening. Come hell or high water, this guy will not let anything break a character's thought process.
I really don't know how to describe it, so let me try to illustrate.
"You're a fool, Geralt. You always were, and always will be. You trusted her when I told you that she could not be trusted, and what did you get? Don't look at me like that. No, don't try to interrupt. You are a fool, and you deserve what you got. Now, lighten up, see, the food is here. What are you looking at? Oh-ho! Look at that. A fight has broken out at the table over there. That dwarf is grabbing the knight by his mustache! What a lively little--Look out! Crikey, that was a close one. Is your beer still on the table? That plate almost took my nose with it. Anyway, where was I? Oh, of course. You're a fool, Geralt."
I made that up, but I think you can see what I'm talking about.
Now, with all of that said about the narrative flow, let me get to the pacing of the story.
Oh man do these books drag sometimes.
There are mannnnny chapters that are completely removed from the main cast, acting as a more realistic way of offering the reader a way of seeing what is happening beyond the cast's reach of influence. These chapters add structure, flavor, smell, and color to the world.
But sometimes it is so. hard. to. care.
In the end, it pays off, but the reader does have to invest a little from time to time to get to the payoff.
In many ways, Lady of the Lake is that payoff. For better or for worse, every important character finds an ending to their arc. Thankfully, those endings feel true to where their arcs were headed, even if the pill is a little tough to swallow.
The saga of the Witcher feels old, but new. The unusual writing almost makes them feel like they were written around the time of Tolkien, then locked away and rediscovered decades later. The world feels truly medieval, with rough edges on display everywhere. Yet as I reach the end, every single facet of these books feels carefully polished, only leaving the rough edges where they are supposed to look rough.
If you're looking for a long, rich fantasy story to sink your teeth into, give these books a try.
winterfairy100's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this series. My problem with this book is that it’s the final in the series and the ending isn’t satisfying. It’s a little confusing and feels rushed.
I do feel as though I need to read the series again because I believed I missed a lot of the details around who the auxiliary characters are and what they add to the story.
I do feel as though I need to read the series again because I believed I missed a lot of the details around who the auxiliary characters are and what they add to the story.