A review by literalottie
Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski

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

2.5

It took way too bloody long for me to get through this. Part of that is because I've suddenly gotten a lot busier in my life, and I tend to slack off a bit on my reading when that happens. But unfortunately, another part of it is that I just didn't find Baptism of Fire to be as engaging a read as the previous Witcher books.

There were still aspects of it that I enjoyed, of course. The biggest strength of this series remains the characters, and the new ones we meet here are for the most part delightful and add greatly to what would otherwise be an extremely dull adventure. But overall, I found the main plot dragged and we didn't see enough actual progression - and I say this as someone who up until now has been loving the slower pace that this series takes. Also, as much as I love Geralt, I also love Ciri and Yennefer, and it didn't feel like we got to see as much of them in this book. A shame, because the parts where they did get their POVs shown were some of the more exciting parts for me. Alas, I'll just hope they return to a more prominent role in the last couple of book.

I will say, the ending put a smile on my face. A bit random in the grander scheme of things, but little moments like that are always fun.