Reviews with content warning for Incest - The Last Wish

For a male power fantasy, it's not a bad book. The lore is fairly interesting. I enjoyed the retelling of fairytales. I am sure I"ll continue reading the saga at some point.

But GOD, the absolute lack of sexual morals and the full objectification of women. WOW. Not only does this take place in a fantasy medieval period, it feels as though it was written in this period too. I'm going to need at least half a year to recover from all the misogyny.

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padme's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.0

This book was a complicated one to review because I love TW3 and I've really enjoyed the Witcher on Netflix, despite its flaws. So many people have told me to check out the books, but I've always hesitated because I've also heard that the depictions of women in the books.... aren't great.

So I went in knowing what to expect. And I've got to admit, it was mostly a fun read! I liked getting more insights into Geralt and the other characters, and reading the original source material was really entertaining. But, unfortunately, the other side of it was also true. The female characters were not very well handled, which hampered my enjoyment as a female reader. I can see why guys (and plenty of girls) can read this series without any issue, but it took me aback after reading a lot of female-written fantasy novels over the past few years. There are sections of this book that are serious contenders for "she breasted boobily down the stairs" awards, not to mention the amount of unnecessary violence against women. Rape is mentioned in nearly every single one of the short stories, and that takes its toll on me mentally.

I have a lot more to say about each of the stories individually, but I think I'll leave it at this for now.

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pvbobrien's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.75

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nichole_of_numenor's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

This is my second reading of this book and I like it SO MUCH MORE, espeically now that I know more about Geralt/Yennifer and Geralt/Dandelion. I took a quarter of a star off because I think some of the sentences were a little awkward, but that might be a translation issue. Hard to know since I don't speak or read Polish!

I'm a huge fan of the format of this book: short stories with interludes rooted in Geralt's stay at the Temple of Melitele, where is he is recovering from an injury that would have been lethal to anyone but a witcher.

This is a fantastic introduction to the world of Geralt: why and how he carries his two swords, what the swords are for, the societal conditions and introduction to the politics of the world, the varying degrees of magic present, and so much more!

I'm sure I'll read it again!

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