Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

86 reviews

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. 

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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

wishbea's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Incest and Infertility

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

Minor: Vomit and War

bfreeman0's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The first book of the Witcher. Introduces you to multiple mini adventures that Geralt is involved in. Providing an overview of the world and how it functions. It's a great prologue to the main series and introduces you not only to Geralt but a few other main characters that will become important throughout the series. 

It is a real page turner once you get going and couldn't put it down. (Having the OST of the Netflix series helps). And builds up my excitement to read the next in the series as well as the games and TV series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and War

nyx_reads's review against another edition

Too much inappropriate content. 

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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

divinereader's review against another edition

Disgusted by the author's misogyny and constant SA references, just wasn't that good either

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

nos22's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Rape

nicklybear's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Sexual content

bxnnny's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i've always wanted to read this series after having played the witcher 3: wild hunt and i finally started it and am pleased to find that it wasn't as dense as i was worried it would be and as a lot of fantasy books typically are. i don't know if it's because i already have a good understanding of the world as it is but i found it to be an easy, fun read. each chapter felt like a little quest! i do feel like this would be a good read for someone who may not know much about the witcher or might find fantasy books somewhat intimidating. you're given just enough information to understand the world, the politics, and the characters without it being overexplained and complicated or underexplained and confusing. i'm excited to read more of this series and might consider a replay of the game when all is said and done!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual content

grayreadsmanga's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Medical content

Minor: Body horror and Vomit

fantasy discrimination