A review by onthesamepage
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

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

3.0

Reading this was a mixed bag. The parts that focused on Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer, I really enjoyed. Even the politics of the world and the commentary on racism was interesting. The problem is that it's impossible to read this without constantly getting slapped in the face with casual misogyny. 

You have Dandelion who puts all women into categories related to whether or not he would have sex with them, mentions of kings considering marrying Ciri, because her mother and grandmother were both eager for sex so surely she will be too, women having long hair being considered a symbol of them being either free or a whore, Shani who mentions she's "afraid for her maidenhood" when walking certain streets, but not for her life, because surely their maidenhood is women's primary concern. Honestly, I could keep going, because there was plenty of it. It's a classic example of white mantasy in my opinion, and if I didn't already have an attachment to Geralt and Ciri because of the game, I think I would have DNF'd this.

I'm still deciding what to do about the rest of the series, but I might just read a summary and call it a day.
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