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A review by jarvvis
Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Rating this one higher than the last, not because it’s necessarily that much better, but because I read The Last Wish casually enough and now with Sword of Destiny and far too many hours of the game behind me, I’m quickly turning into a full fledged Witcher fan.
The Bounds of Reason - easily my favourite short story out of all of them. It’s just the right mix of whimsical and serious, has all our major characters (three of them, sorry Ciri) and a really well balanced ensemble. The best parts of it were all the arguments and exposition of political intrigue - good twist at the end as well.
Shard of Ice - not bananas about this one, but honestly I’m still failing to find Geralt and Yennefer’s relationship believable as anything other than a super duper failed romance (maybe I’ll think differently later on). I do really like the conversations that Geralt and Istredd have though, where Istredd explains his disdain for provincial magic users and witchers: despite this series appearing as pretty standard pulp fantasy for fathers, the philosophising is the strongest part of it, and I really applaud Sapkowski for doing most of his worldbuilding through differing viewpoints and rhetorical arguments - it makes the world feel so much more real than if it was countless facts and dates and names, to have characters form real opinions on their society.
Eternal Flame - some people don’t seem to like this one, I have to say I disagree. It’s a little bit silly goofy but it’s sort of the definition of a lighthearted romp. Also any story with a prominent Dandelion feature gets a gold star in my book.
A Little Sacrifice - the more I think about this one the more I like it. Essi Daven and her inexplicable and overwhelming attraction to Geralt is tiresome (the misogyny rages on), but she’s not a completely flat character, and this story has plenty else going on - Geralt and Dandelion to name the most prominent aspect. Their relationship is really well written, in the sense that you never really get a full answer into how they became friends or what makes them click, it’s just something you’re expected to go along with. Their interactions are so fun to read, they bicker like people who’ve spend lots of time together, and know each other incredibly well. The fact that Dandelion knows that Geralt fumbled because he’s weirdly pissy is just funny as shit. Also liked the slight subversion where Geralt decides maybe monster killing isn’t the answer this time and the small very explicit reference to The Little Mermaid.
The Sword of Destiny - this story took a little while to get off the ground for me, and sort of lagged at the end, but the dryads are a really interesting group of people (especially how they how to phrase this delicately acquire young girls to raise into dryads without much care for the blood purity of the race, just the spirit of it. I also feel like a lesser story would have had Braenn go back to her human life and I liked that this one stuck to its guns there. She’s a dryad,
for better or for worse.) and it’s Geralt and Ciri for god’s sake. Their relationship is very sweet, Geralt stern and Ciri precocious, cute, very cute.
Something More - the least plotty of any of these, but a lot of Geralt angst, some backstory, and some solid themes. It also clarifies/ solidifies/retcons some of the more confusing aspects of A Question of Price and gives good reasons for Geralt claiming the Law of Surprise in the first place and then discarding it - he believes in destiny without really valuing it. It’s a good story to end on before the series proper begins.
Probably one of my longest reviews to date. It’s what I’m really growing to love about the Witcher, its ability to spin minor characters and plots into splendid brain worms - I’m sure my reviews will only get longer with time.
The Bounds of Reason - easily my favourite short story out of all of them. It’s just the right mix of whimsical and serious, has all our major characters (three of them, sorry Ciri) and a really well balanced ensemble. The best parts of it were all the arguments and exposition of political intrigue - good twist at the end as well.
Shard of Ice - not bananas about this one, but honestly I’m still failing to find Geralt and Yennefer’s relationship believable as anything other than a super duper failed romance (maybe I’ll think differently later on). I do really like the conversations that Geralt and Istredd have though, where Istredd explains his disdain for provincial magic users and witchers: despite this series appearing as pretty standard pulp fantasy for fathers, the philosophising is the strongest part of it, and I really applaud Sapkowski for doing most of his worldbuilding through differing viewpoints and rhetorical arguments - it makes the world feel so much more real than if it was countless facts and dates and names, to have characters form real opinions on their society.
Eternal Flame - some people don’t seem to like this one, I have to say I disagree. It’s a little bit silly goofy but it’s sort of the definition of a lighthearted romp. Also any story with a prominent Dandelion feature gets a gold star in my book.
A Little Sacrifice - the more I think about this one the more I like it. Essi Daven and her inexplicable and overwhelming attraction to Geralt is tiresome (the misogyny rages on), but she’s not a completely flat character, and this story has plenty else going on - Geralt and Dandelion to name the most prominent aspect. Their relationship is really well written, in the sense that you never really get a full answer into how they became friends or what makes them click, it’s just something you’re expected to go along with. Their interactions are so fun to read, they bicker like people who’ve spend lots of time together, and know each other incredibly well. The fact that Dandelion knows that Geralt fumbled because he’s weirdly pissy is just funny as shit. Also liked the slight subversion where Geralt decides maybe monster killing isn’t the answer this time and the small very explicit reference to The Little Mermaid.
The Sword of Destiny - this story took a little while to get off the ground for me, and sort of lagged at the end, but the dryads are a really interesting group of people (
for better or for worse.)
Something More - the least plotty of any of these, but a lot of Geralt angst, some backstory, and some solid themes. It also clarifies/ solidifies/retcons some of the more confusing aspects of A Question of Price and gives good reasons for Geralt claiming the Law of Surprise in the first place and then discarding it - he believes in destiny without really valuing it. It’s a good story to end on before the series proper begins.
Probably one of my longest reviews to date. It’s what I’m really growing to love about the Witcher, its ability to spin minor characters and plots into splendid brain worms - I’m sure my reviews will only get longer with time.