Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Last Wish

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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indianagranger's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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auti_hippo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.0

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sharebear431's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.75

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burnt_milk's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

Fun and interesting in places. However. I got up to Renfri and I adore her but I'm so sick of how they write female characters. In-between complex discussions of monsterhood it rly has the gall to say 'Renfri was silent for some time, fiddling with a string of pearls wound three times around her shapely neck before falling teasingly between her breasts, their curves just visible through the slit of her jacket.' like what the hell? it takes me out every time and is more often than not entirely unnecessary. Apart from that some cool folklore concepts explored and I love the base concept of witchers and their roles in society, just hard to stomach the misogyny.

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ailsaod's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.0

I am a bit conflicted about this book as while I think the way it is set out with non-linear storytelling that tells the reader exactly what they need to know exactly when it becomes relevant is very impressive I did not enjoy some of the actual content that much.

I watched the first season of the witcher a while ago and it was interesting seeing the differences - in particular the fairy-tale influences the show omitted. Reading a revenge story featuring aspects of both Rapunzel and Snow White was certainly an experience! I also thought Sapkowski incorporated such topics as colonialism in an interesting way but it was a bit too dark for me and everyone seemed to constantly be thinking about sex which is not something I prefer in books (although I should have seen it coming so that is definitely on me!).

I can see why people like this and it is well constructed but not to my tastes.

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