Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Tower of Swallows by Andrzej Sapkowski

12 reviews

timmytunter's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.25

The Tower of Swallows, the fourth book in The Witcher saga by Andrzej Sapkowski, continues to weave the intricate threads of Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer’s stories as their paths diverge and converge in a world teetering on the brink of chaos. Following my favourite entry in the series so far, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of Swallows may not quite reach the same heights but still stands as a worthy addition to the saga.

This installment is largely told from Ciri’s perspective, recounting her experiences to the old hermit Vysogota after a harrowing escape from her gang, The Rats, and a grisly encounter with the relentless bounty hunter Bonhart. Vysogota, with kindness and wisdom, offers Ciri shelter and care as she recovers from her wounds and unravels the events leading up to their meeting. The story also tracks the branching narratives of Geralt and Yennefer, maintaining the saga’s expansive scope and depth.

Sapkowski’s writing style shines, though it may not be to everyone’s taste. His narrative technique of jumping between storylines, time periods, geographical regions, and character recollections is both a challenge and a delight. As the series progresses, this complexity grows, mirroring the tangled web of Ciri’s own journey, which now includes

multiple trips through magical portals

by the book’s conclusion.

Overall, The Tower of Swallows is a compelling continuation of The Witcher saga, blending action, intrigue, and Sapkowski’s distinctive narrative flair. While it might not surpass Baptism of Fire, it remains a strong entry that propels the overarching story forward in satisfying, albeit sometimes dizzying, directions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, and War

breamfish1138's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

Such a confusion of plotlines that it's basically fantasy Pulp Fiction but if you can get past that it's an extremely well written dark fantasy (read the first books first, though, or you'll be confused). Also,

Leo Bonhart is one of the most compelling evil bastards in literature.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Miscarriage and Injury/Injury detail

comradehaasboy's review

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

mcmeiss's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit and War

Minor: Infidelity and Abortion

excepto's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Mam wrażenie że Sapkowskiemu, piszącemu książkę w której nic się nie dzieje, a czyny prawie wszystkich bohaterów nie mają wpływu na ostateczną sytuację, udaje się dalej opowiedzieć historię o wielu rzeczach.
Czuję, że im bardziej czytam tym bardziej wiem czemu mi nie leży adaptacja serialowa, wiedźmin to w małym stopniu historia o zabijaczu potworów, bardziej o politycznych intrygach, na szczeblu głów państw, jak i drobnych rzezimieszków. Najgorszymi potworami stałe są ludzie, którzy nie powstrzymują się przed niczym.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

saltylane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Despite how confusing the jumping around of the narration could be, I did quite enjoy the varying viewpoints used. It was interesting to be able to read all the different characters’ perspectives. There are a lot of cliffhangers and enough intrigue to make me want to keep reading all the way to the end of the story/series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol and War

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

bobstick's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A great story told in many flashbacks which can be hard to grasp the exact timeline, but still a rather simple story to understand as it's all explained and written quite well. This book mainly focuses on Ciri with Geralt only really being a side character, a complete switch on the previous book, but I think works in the series' favour.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

tilo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

Auch dieses Buch der Hexerreihe führt fort, was die Vorgänger geschaffen haben. Die Komplexität der Charaktere und wie sich alle Plotstränge in der Welt zusammenfügen sind unsagbar beeindruckend. 
Vysogota habe ich als neu eingeführten Charakter sehr lieb gewonnen und habe die Szenen mit ihm sehr genossen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Blood, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide, Transphobia, and War

upthestairs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

annick's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Fractured narrative from multiple perspectives (eg kenna to coroner). It helpfully disorients the reader and grasp at what they can to follow the present action. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment