bigbookslilreads's review against another edition
4.0
My feelings were shattered tenfold with this book. If [b:The Last Wish|40603587|The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5)|Andrzej Sapkowski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529591917l/40603587._SX50_.jpg|2293675] starting pecking at my heart, this book just tore it open and left it bleeding. Could I love these characters more? Could this world be even more interesting? I'm pretty sure it can and will, but with the level of quality so far, colour me impressed.
This collection has no major narrative structural frame like The Voice of Reason in The Last Wish. The cronology seems pretty linear in this one however, even though there are a few moments of dream-like states where a reader might be confused. Besides that, the writing has significantly improved from the first instalment, and I don't know if that's due to the improvement of the writer's technique or the translator's habituation to the style. Exposition is a lot more subtle, characters have grown from the first to the second collection, or grow tremendously in this instalment itself, and descriptions and style are even more beautifully crafted. I had a lot more awe by Sapkowski's dark retellings and short stories in The Last Wish, perhaps because it was the first time I was exposed to his writing. In Sword of Destiny I found some stories not as crucial to the overall plot (e.g. Eternal Fire, A Little Sacrifice), so my fascination was deemed a wee smidge. However, all of them were a pleasure to read and tugged on my emotions. Those that had significant plot-weight and world building potential left me floored and begging for mercy because my feels were hit HARD ().
The set-up in The Last Wish paid off in this second short story collection of the Witcher series. We continue to follow Geralt and learn of what became of his entanglement with Yennefer, of his foray into the Law of Surprise in the kingdom of Cintra, among other things. What unites these stories is not just Geralt being tugged back and forth in the war between good and evil, chaos and order... it's also him learning to accept his destiny.
If there is anything that this series is succeeding at is building up its characters and the interactions between them. While there are some action-packed moments that the author is skillful in writing, this is mostly still a character-based series and I believe it will continue to be so. I felt deeply connected to Geralt's struggles and fears, but also empathised with those of other characters. I even grew more attached to Dandelion, who I found profoundly irritating in The Last Wish (he is still irritating, just now I find him more loveable).
Besides the slight less engagement I had with some of the stories in this instalment, if there is anything else negative that I can point out, it's the blatant sexism in some parts. While less frequent than in The Last Wish, there were some moments where women were assaulted and objectified for no good plot-reason. Just because. Sapkowski also seems to have an obsession with describing breasts. Alas. Not a fan of that.
But hey, if you can look past it, the rest of the story is amazing. And Geralt is a joy of a character to be in the head of. He's kind of an anti-hero, but deeply attached to a code of honour and to his morals, and he respects others to a fault.
I am even more excited to see what Sapkowski can pull off in novel form, so you can catch me reading [b:Blood of Elves|6043781|Blood of Elves (Witcher, #1)|Andrzej Sapkowski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443278828l/6043781._SY75_.jpg|1877722] soon!
This collection has no major narrative structural frame like The Voice of Reason in The Last Wish. The cronology seems pretty linear in this one however, even though there are a few moments of dream-like states where a reader might be confused. Besides that, the writing has significantly improved from the first instalment, and I don't know if that's due to the improvement of the writer's technique or the translator's habituation to the style. Exposition is a lot more subtle, characters have grown from the first to the second collection, or grow tremendously in this instalment itself, and descriptions and style are even more beautifully crafted. I had a lot more awe by Sapkowski's dark retellings and short stories in The Last Wish, perhaps because it was the first time I was exposed to his writing. In Sword of Destiny I found some stories not as crucial to the overall plot (e.g. Eternal Fire, A Little Sacrifice), so my fascination was deemed a wee smidge. However, all of them were a pleasure to read and tugged on my emotions. Those that had significant plot-weight and world building potential left me floored and begging for mercy because my feels were hit HARD (
Spoiler
I had to cry every time Ciri begged for Geralt to stay with her T__T, when Geralt found himself feeling lonely, when he couldn't stop thinking about Yennefer evenThe set-up in The Last Wish paid off in this second short story collection of the Witcher series. We continue to follow Geralt and learn of what became of his entanglement with Yennefer, of his foray into the Law of Surprise in the kingdom of Cintra, among other things. What unites these stories is not just Geralt being tugged back and forth in the war between good and evil, chaos and order... it's also him learning to accept his destiny.
If there is anything that this series is succeeding at is building up its characters and the interactions between them. While there are some action-packed moments that the author is skillful in writing, this is mostly still a character-based series and I believe it will continue to be so. I felt deeply connected to Geralt's struggles and fears, but also empathised with those of other characters. I even grew more attached to Dandelion, who I found profoundly irritating in The Last Wish (he is still irritating, just now I find him more loveable).
Besides the slight less engagement I had with some of the stories in this instalment, if there is anything else negative that I can point out, it's the blatant sexism in some parts. While less frequent than in The Last Wish, there were some moments where women were assaulted and objectified for no good plot-reason. Just because. Sapkowski also seems to have an obsession with describing breasts. Alas. Not a fan of that.
But hey, if you can look past it, the rest of the story is amazing. And Geralt is a joy of a character to be in the head of. He's kind of an anti-hero, but deeply attached to a code of honour and to his morals, and he respects others to a fault.
I am even more excited to see what Sapkowski can pull off in novel form, so you can catch me reading [b:Blood of Elves|6043781|Blood of Elves (Witcher, #1)|Andrzej Sapkowski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443278828l/6043781._SY75_.jpg|1877722] soon!
chirson's review against another edition
3.0
Re-reading continues. The second volume of short stories has some real gems (Geralt meeting Ciri again and again - Ciri herself isn't that great there, but the people around these meetings, the dryads and the trader who asks Geralt to protect his goods and then takes care of him) but it's also significantly worse when it comes to gratuitous sexual content. Jaskier is an annoying lech (it's implied he has sex with at least one underage girl, Yennefer's single-minded pursuit of fertility renders her a two-dimensional stand-in for a character. The romance between Geralt and Yennefer is one of the weakest parts of this - the bones are good, particularly if we ignore the beginning (the author seems to) but then the realisation is not great at all. Yennefer in general doesn't seem to have a consistent characterisation, she's a cool girl and not a female character whose motivation I can buy.
But I did enjoy the story about the dopplers taking over town, and the Broceliad forest, and the ending. And now I am quite curious how the actual saga will stand up to my memories.
But I did enjoy the story about the dopplers taking over town, and the Broceliad forest, and the ending. And now I am quite curious how the actual saga will stand up to my memories.
the_escapement's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
gifcompatible's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
yiannakin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
scroggin_cooper's review against another edition
4.0
A pretty solid collection of short stories, some better than others.
Liked:
1. Geralt and Dandelion. These two are still the best written camaraderie duo that I have ever read. They still get each other into problems and their banter is just lovely.
2. Ciri and Geralt. Ciri was a character I was surprised was absent book, considering her prominence in the television show and games. She comes off as a bit of a brat, but it’s very understandable.
3. Stories 1, 5, and 6. This book was still a mixed bag. The three stories that I’ve mentioned are about the Dragon, Ciri’s introduction and Geralt accepting his destiny. The one with the dragon was plain fun, the second was a great way to show Geralt having to trust people. And the last one of him accepting his fate was great character growth.
Disliked:
1. The descriptions of female characters. You knew this was coming, it’s something Sapkowski is really bad at. I don’t need to know that the Mermaid had perfect breasts every five seconds.
2. Yennefer. Yennefer is rather bland in my opinion, she’s strong and all, but she still needs some development. Luckily, there’s six more books.
3. The Mermaid. Oh my Glob, this story was just painful. Dandelion’s a whiny creep and Geralt is just bland.
Liked:
1. Geralt and Dandelion. These two are still the best written camaraderie duo that I have ever read. They still get each other into problems and their banter is just lovely.
2. Ciri and Geralt. Ciri was a character I was surprised was absent book, considering her prominence in the television show and games. She comes off as a bit of a brat, but it’s very understandable.
3. Stories 1, 5, and 6. This book was still a mixed bag. The three stories that I’ve mentioned are about the Dragon, Ciri’s introduction and Geralt accepting his destiny. The one with the dragon was plain fun, the second was a great way to show Geralt having to trust people. And the last one of him accepting his fate was great character growth.
Disliked:
1. The descriptions of female characters. You knew this was coming, it’s something Sapkowski is really bad at. I don’t need to know that the Mermaid had perfect breasts every five seconds.
2. Yennefer. Yennefer is rather bland in my opinion, she’s strong and all, but she still needs some development. Luckily, there’s six more books.
3. The Mermaid. Oh my Glob, this story was just painful. Dandelion’s a whiny creep and Geralt is just bland.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 3.5 stars
I enjoyed Sword of Destiny more so than The Last Wish, which I see as a good sign for the rest of the series. Andrzej Sapkowski's writing style really shines through despite the translation into English.
I enjoyed Sword of Destiny more so than The Last Wish, which I see as a good sign for the rest of the series. Andrzej Sapkowski's writing style really shines through despite the translation into English.
miss_hva's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
znnys's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did The Last Wish. Most of the stories were kind of weak to me, except for the last two. The dated misogyny is kind of exhausting to trudge through. The whole "dopplers as marginalized people" metaphor was a bit clumsy and hamfisted but sort of a fun romp to read. Greatly underwhelmed vy the dragon story, as well as the mermaid story. Could not have given less of a shit about Geralt and Istredd's cat fight over Yennefer. Yennefer continues to be my favorite character but I really hate that trope that seems to think it's cute/funny when women hit men, and Sapkowski employs it in spades. The mermaid story almost endeared my to Dandelion but for the most part I find him insufferable.
I enjoyed the last two stories because they felt like a considerable amount of thought was put into actual story progression, character development, and world-building rather than yet another "Geralt goes to a podunk town and everyone there is shitty. He broods about yennefer and about being a witcher." It's sort of a tiring formula. Obviously not every story is going to hit the mark but for the most part this anthology felt like a step down from the previous one.
I will probably eventually read Blood of Elves but I'm not in a huge rush.
I enjoyed the last two stories because they felt like a considerable amount of thought was put into actual story progression, character development, and world-building rather than yet another "Geralt goes to a podunk town and everyone there is shitty. He broods about yennefer and about being a witcher." It's sort of a tiring formula. Obviously not every story is going to hit the mark but for the most part this anthology felt like a step down from the previous one.
I will probably eventually read Blood of Elves but I'm not in a huge rush.