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The Tower of the Swallow

(The Witcher #4)

Andrzej Sapkowski,

David French (Translator)

4.32 · Rating details · 29,817 ratings · 923 reviews

The world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life.
But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies determined to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her

...more

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Kindle Edition, 444 pages

Published May 19th 2016 by Gollancz (first published 1997)

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Start your review of The Tower of the Swallow (The Witcher, #6)

Nov 25, 2016 Evgeny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

How can I give an outline of the plot of the sixth book of a series without giving huge spoilers? So here you are, a huge spoiler:
Spoiler

Sufficient to say, the book picks up right where the previous left which is logical considering that nothing whatsoever was resolved by the end of that one - actually I had a feeling it ended practically in mid-sentence. Let me just say that we will see the fate of all interesting major people from the previous installment. None of them ended up with happily ever ...more

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Dec 19, 2018 James Tivendale rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I received a review copy of The Tower of the Swallow in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Andrzej Sapkowski and Gollancz. Minor spoilers may follow.

The narrative begins with a hermit called Vysogota finding what he believes is an injured boy in a forest. It transpires that this young gentleman is actually the girl, Ciri and she is very close to death. The hermit takes her to his shack which is untraceable unless you know it's there and prays that he can aid her recovery. He was I received a review copy of The Tower of the Swallow in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Andrzej Sapkowski and Gollancz. Minor spoilers may follow.

The narrative begins with a hermit called Vysogota finding what he believes is an injured boy in a forest. It transpires that this young gentleman is actually the girl, Ciri and she is very close to death. The hermit takes her to his shack which is untraceable unless you know it's there and prays that he can aid her recovery. He was formally a scholar and a medical practitioner which is fortunate.

"He involuntarily drew back and hissed at the site of the ghastly mask of dirt and congealed blood where the boy's face should have been."

After days of assistance, constantly watching and caring, Ciri slowly recovers. She wishes to leave straight away, to escape, as it transpires that a bounty hunter called Bonhart is tracking her. The former scholar guarantees that there is no possibility that they can be found and to heal first before venturing out. The duo get to know each other and exchange stories. Firstly, the Hermit explains who he is and why he lives in such isolation. Following that, Ciri - The Child of Destiny - explains what has happened to her since the ending of Baptism of Fire and this is where the story really starts. This is the main storyline for forty percent of the novel but is not all included at the beginning and after certain segments, they will conclude the story and reflect, and do chores.

"Had someone crept up after nightfall to the cottage with the sunken, moss-grown thatched roof, had they peered inside, in the dimly lit interior they would have seen a grey-bearded old man listening to a tale told by an ashen-haired girl sitting on a log by the fireplace."

Another frequent storyline that is presented is regarding Geralt and his band of companions including a vampire, an archer, a poet and a traitor swordsman as they aim to trace the druids who may know about Ciri's true whereabouts. These sections were brilliant. It's not just these two train of events that we follow, however. There is a large amount of point of view perspectives and occasionally after getting my teeth firmly set into a stunning set-piece or chuckling at some rollickingly good banter, Sapkowski would then throw us somewhere else in this extravagantly large and detailed world to follow individuals who I wasn't at all familiar with. Initially, it was a buzzkill - but in these segments, after two-pages of missing Geralt or Ciri, it actually seemed to make sense why this was presented in this manner, and I can conclude when the finale approaches - you will, or at least I was, very impressed with the overall structure. Although certain times the choice of the next point of view chapter did seem sporadic and slightly random.

I've mentioned previously that in this series I find the characters to be exquisite. Much has happened to the main two characters - Geralt and Ciri. They have developed spectacularly across these six novels and in a way have almost swapped places. I won't explain that statement as might approach spoiler territory but see if you agree after you've finished this narrative. Also, if you are thinking of approaching this series just because you enjoyed the Witcher games, since The Sword of Destiny, it is very rare that Geralt has actually just gone solo monster-hunting. If anything, as the saga progresses it's almost presenting the real monsters as being the politics, corruption, warring nations and all people involved. Geralt, who never ever questioned good or evil as long as he was paid for what he was doing is brooding a lot but also changing his outlook on the world. His number one objective is to find Ciri and will do all in his power to do that.

One of my qualms about previous entries was about needless information dumping sections about political happenings one hundred years ago or who married someone else previously and what effect it had on characters I don't know. They distracted from the main story and thus far haven't heightened my enjoyment at all. There is only one such section here and although I did want to skip past it, it was an okay read but still seemed a bit like a dull interlude.

All in all, this was an extraordinary tale which highlights Sapkowski's masterful character creation - many of who will stay in my mind long after I complete this saga - and often astonishingly exciting set pieces. Especially the scene including ice-skates! The storytelling is also top-notch barring the occasional hiccup I've mentioned in my reviews thus far. Only one book remains for me now - excluding Season of Storms which is set prior to the main set of novels - and I'm intrigued to see how this can all be wrapped up in just one book. It seems like a phenomenal ask but I'm going to jump in straight away and see if Sapkowski can fulfill the promise he has flaunted thus far of being able to make this one of the best fantasy sagas of all time. Conclusions are very important to me so I'll let you know if I believe he succeeds in my next review. ...more

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Mar 28, 2017 Joey Woolfardis rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, myths-magic-and-mordor, masculine, ce20, bloody-cack, bookshelf, polish

This review can be found on Amaranthine Reads.

The Witcher series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski continues, with the Child Surprise Ciri travelling around with a bunch of thieves and bandits called the Rats, whilst Geralt, sorcerers and the Emperor send out people to find her.

This series has plummeted to the very depths of tedium. Every book has melded in to one and it's difficult for me to remember this particular one, though I do recall my consternation at the random change of narrative This review can be found on Amaranthine Reads.

The Witcher series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski continues, with the Child Surprise Ciri travelling around with a bunch of thieves and bandits called the Rats, whilst Geralt, sorcerers and the Emperor send out people to find her.

This series has plummeted to the very depths of tedium. Every book has melded in to one and it's difficult for me to remember this particular one, though I do recall my consternation at the random change of narrative style. Geralt is still not doing any Witchering, there is still monumental bitching between all the female characters and the dialogue is still pitiful.

I complained during a review of an earlier book in this series that we rarely had other points of view during the narration, which seemed to slow down the entire thing. This book rectifies that, but in such a way that it may as well have not happened. We have around five POVs during any given chapter, which confuses things incredibly and don't actually improve the plot or pace of the action. We also, for some reason, begin to get excerpts from Dandelion's little memoirs, which add nothing to the plot except a general feel that perhaps this is something Sapkowski should maybe try out because it's cool, yo.

The plot is also the same as it was in the previous three books. This series, a five book series discounting the first two short story collections, is definitely two books too long and probably four books too long. Everything seems to take around two chapters to tell. A journey that could be told in one sentence ends up taking approximately half the book and we are left wondering why. Nothing particularly exciting happens during these journeys, except meeting new characters that add nothing to the story because the characters we already know are weak and two dimensional. Their interaction is always so false and incredibly immature.

Speaking of the characters, the protagonists known as Geralt and Ciri have become cantankerous and pathetic. They whinge and moan and act like little children not getting their own way. And yet no-one minds because one is a part of a prophecy and the other characters are all in love with the other. It is as if nothing can touch them-which is apparently the case since they elude capture, maiming and death numerous times through no reason other than they must to keep the story going.

There is also far, far, far too many mentions of genitals. I have never read a book that is so obsessed with genitals and sex. I'm sure HBO would love to turn this in to a TV series-and a successful one at that-due to the sheer amount of tits and sex. Someone is either aiming to stab someone else in the penis or a man is wanting to shove his penis in a woman's vagina. This is basically all that happens, with some killing in between.

And there is still endless bitching between the female characters. I'm not sure there is a single woman who have anything nice to say about another woman, except Ciri but she's basically just a child anyway. And all women love all children. It's a fact.

I don't know why I felt the need to finish this series. There is one book to go after this and whilst I found this particular instalment as boring as any book can be, I find I've invested so much I need to know. Belzebub knows I will be disappointed: I can feel it with this book as the plot meanders, the characters flatten out even more and the dialogue improves by a hair's breadth. It is my own fault for wasting my own time. ...more

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May 31, 2017 Michelle rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: witcherverse

I really really want to love this book, but the honest truth is that --this one is really not that great. “The Tower of Swallows is a difficult book to define, or even to recap. The writing feels lost: ambling around without direction, constantly jumping scenes, and forgetting about Geralt altogether about half-way through the book.

Of note, “The Tower of Swallows” isn't really about the eponymous witcher, Geralt of Rivia. Most real estate is devoted to Ciri telling the story of how she escaped I really really want to love this book, but the honest truth is that --this one is really not that great. “The Tower of Swallows is a difficult book to define, or even to recap. The writing feels lost: ambling around without direction, constantly jumping scenes, and forgetting about Geralt altogether about half-way through the book.

Of note, “The Tower of Swallows” isn't really about the eponymous witcher, Geralt of Rivia. Most real estate is devoted to Ciri telling the story of how she escaped Bonhart, a deeply menacing bounty hunter of unclear motivations; his erstwhile employer, Nilfgaardian coroner Stefan Skellen; and the Archmage Vilgefortz, who appears to be the series' main antagonist. Eventually she leaves her hiding place to make her way to the tower, followed by said pursuers, who are determined to catch her before she can enter the tower and reassume her powers. Geralt and his companions, meanwhile, are trying to make their way to Ciri or to where they believe she might be. Yennefer and Triss are also on Ciri's path, albeit on different timelines, and likely for different reasons.

The character narratives are not always linear, or even told straightforwardly in the close third person favored by the genre. Yennefer's story, for example, is told over several timelines, with crucial parts related by individuals who may not be reliable narrators. More often than not, the stylistic gambit works, but there are instances in which “The Tower of Swallows” would have benefitted from more conventional plotting. For example, there is far too much space given to the spy Dijkstra's visit to a far-flung (and newly introduced) kingdom--a plot point that doesn't really develop and, frankly, isn't necessary. Sometimes the same event is narrated by different narrators from different times. Then there's this build up that always starts with the same words and goes nowhere: "if someone looked into the cottage, they would have seen an ashen haired girl…” It says it like 7 times, and it's a full paragraph of text. Every time I read it, it heightens my anticipation for bigger things to come -- but nothing ever happens! It feels like Andrzej Sapkowski got bored, and just decided to jump around and experiment with the story from different angles --then decided to throw the whole mess together and call it a book.

It's also worth noting the gratuitous violence --the most I have encountered in series so far. Without spoiling too much, there's a great deal of focus on torture and humiliation during certain sequences, and though it has its purpose -- was uncomfortable to read.

Just as it gets interesting, it abruptly ends. There's little resolution, and half the characters are lost in limbo. Who knows where the hell Geralt is?! I get that it's trying to set up the next book, but the ending scene is strangely flat. There's little to suggest doom or hope --it just ends. This is, by far, the weakest book in the series. “Time of Contempt” was another tier of quality. I still think this is a superb series, and I hope “Lady of The Lake” will be a worthy finale. ...more

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Nov 19, 2017 Sr3yas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Believe it or not, the hero of this installment is not the Witcher, Yennefer or Ciri. It's Andrzej Sapkowski and his masterful storytelling technique, which utilizes various POVs, narrative styles and multiple timelines across the centuries and locations. He weaves a narrative yarn which should have been confusing but surprisingly turns out to be fresh, sharp and fun to read.

I bow down before you in supreme awe.

Mild spoilers are the necessary evil, they are necessary.
----------------- Sreyas, ...more

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Jul 27, 2017 Markus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, the-white-wolf, 2017

Buddy read with Celise!

"I'm Ciri from Kaer Morhen. I'm a witcher. I came here to kill."

Daaaamn.

Quite possibly the best book in the main saga.

Ramblings to come.

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May 09, 2016 Mogsy (MMOGC) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, review-copy, fantasy, action-adventure

3.5 of 5 stars at the BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/05/24/...

I am so in love with these audiobooks. Peter Kenny is the incontrovertible voice of this series, making all my favorite characters come to life with his authentic reading style and superb acting. Fan translations of these books have been around for a while, but I don’t mind waiting longer if it means I can enjoy the audio editions; every time I jump into a new book, it’s like coming home to old friends.

The Tower of 3.5 of 5 stars at the BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/05/24/...

I am so in love with these audiobooks. Peter Kenny is the incontrovertible voice of this series, making all my favorite characters come to life with his authentic reading style and superb acting. Fan translations of these books have been around for a while, but I don’t mind waiting longer if it means I can enjoy the audio editions; every time I jump into a new book, it’s like coming home to old friends.

The Tower of Swallows picks up from the end of Baptism of Fire, where the search for Ciri continues. The story begins by mirroring the intro of the previous book with a long convalescence of one of our characters, this time Ciri instead of Geralt. The young princess-turned-Witcher has adopted a new identity and settled into life with a party of young rebels who call themselves the Rats. Something happens, however, leading to her being found unconscious and gravely injured in the middle of a swamp by an old hermit named Vysogota. The old man nurses her back to health, and during her recovery Ciri tells him what happened.

Meanwhile, Geralt and his companions are still traveling together trying to find Ciri, but their precarious alliance keeps coming under fire from distrust and infighting, not to mention plenty of bad decisions. There’s also a lot of political intrigue happening in the background as their enemies keep plotting against them, and a new face of evil enters the field.

While I really enjoyed The Tower of Swallows, I have to confess it wasn’t my favorite. In fact, this was the first full-length Witcher novel in which I felt the pacing stumbled a little. After an incredibly strong beginning, the story loses steam around the halfway point when it takes a very sudden turn in a new direction. We go abruptly from fast-paced action and adventure to convoluted politics, which made the end of the book tedious and hard to understand when compared to the first half.

Still, this is a book you won’t want to miss, especially if you’ve been following along with the series, and the good parts made it all worth it. One of the things I admire most about Andrzej Sapkowski’s storytelling is the way he experiments with different narrative styles, which sometimes involve sudden jumps in the timeline and frequent switches in points-of-view. Normally I am not a fan of this; however, I love the interesting and engaging way Sapkowski does it, as illustrated at the beginning of the novel, where the events that befell Ciri are unraveled by having her share her story with Vysogota. Narrative threads are picked up, dropped, picked up again by different characters, but done in a seamless way that flows well and is easy to follow, even in the audio format.

The characters are also evolving nicely with each installment. Notably, Ciri has come of age and she is settling in as one of the series’ major characters. She’s still finding her way in this book, both literally and figuratively. Torn between her old life as a princess and her new one as a rogue Witcher, she’s frequently waffling on what she wants, and like many troubled teens she is quick to anger especially when confronted with hard truths. She may be an expert fighter, but at the end of the day she’s still just a lost young girl. Geralt is of course the other central figure, and here he suffers his own crisis of confidence, beating himself up for not doing all he can to find Ciri, at some points even convincing himself that she is dead and that his quest is futile. He also clashes with his companions, in particular with Cahir the Nilfgaardian, whom Geralt does not trust. Overall, lack of success has demoralized the party, causing rising tensions and fraying nerves. It almost makes you want to break out the popcorn and watch the fur fly.

Even though the second half is slow, the book does ends with a bang, making me excited for what’s coming next. In total, there are currently six books translated into English and produced in audio, including two that are story collections. I have a feeling all the questions will be answered and everything will come together as the series heads towards its conclusion.

Narration-wise, I really have no complaints. Peter Kenny has already won me over, and he’s probably the biggest reason why I’m such a diehard fan of the Witcher audiobooks, to the extent now where no other format will do. I’m just sad knowing that the next book will be the final entry in the saga. Regardless, I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s all going to end. ...more

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Feb 23, 2019 Samir rated it liked it · review of another edition

Actual rating: 3.5 stars.

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Jul 11, 2017 Celise rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-read, fantasy-adult

Buddy read with Markus, who actually led me to discover this amazing series in the first place.

The previous book in The Witcher series was a little bit choppy, with each change in point of view requiring some adjustment. By comparison, The Tower of Swallows is like a river being fed by a bunch of little streams. All of the different characters' scenes flow easily together to tell the larger story, and as a reader it's so easy to be carried along the current while observing all of the terrible Buddy read with Markus, who actually led me to discover this amazing series in the first place.

The previous book in The Witcher series was a little bit choppy, with each change in point of view requiring some adjustment. By comparison, The Tower of Swallows is like a river being fed by a bunch of little streams. All of the different characters' scenes flow easily together to tell the larger story, and as a reader it's so easy to be carried along the current while observing all of the terrible things that happen on the banks. Real life seems far off when you're sucked into something like that, and that's what I look for in a good book!

As for the plot, I won't bother to summarize. This is the 6th book in the series, so if you're already reading them you'll get to this one on your own. If you haven't read any of The Witcher series, I recommend reading The Last Wish, the short story anthology that begins everything. If you're more interested in jumping to the novels, here is my review for Blood of Elves.

If you're a Ciri fan and felt like she was sorely missed in Baptism of Fire, here's one for you! Her parts were ace. (view spoiler) Ciri begins this novel in the company of an interesting character named Vysogota, to whom she reveals the story of her recent encounters, and so reveals them to the reader. Vysogota himself, while not focused on too much, still has a big impact and his parts are so poetically written.

This installment in particular feels very high fantasy with how much it covered both geographically and story-wise.The imagery is also inspired and vividly described. The forests are wet and covered in colourful mushrooms, the caves are decorated with rose-coloured stalactites. Most of the fantasy I've read tends to get stuck with the good old green, brown and grey palette, but it's nice to change it up sometimes. I think it will be easy to remember the really good scenes from this book due to the fact that they all are described with such different and colourful visuals.

I think this one is probably my favourite book in the saga after The Time of Contempt.

And just a quick note to say I started the next book, Lady of the Lake and at about 5 pages in my mind was already blown. ...more

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Nov 20, 2019 Caro the Helmet Lady rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-urban-fantasy, and-reread, holy-fucking-grail, polish-lit, 2019-reads

I'll put it simply - this book was great, maybe even somewhat better than the ones before. And it made me a bit sad because I know it's all almost over and I know HOW exactly it all will end... I wish I could take a break from reading for a while but now I simply can't!

This is where you adore Yennefer.
This is where you have mixed feelings for Geralt.
This is where your fingers hurt from crossing them for Ciri.
This is where you start thinking of all possible sequels and prequels never written...

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Feb 04, 2019 Lesa Divine rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, read-it, february-2019

3 or maybe 3.5

I have to admit Yennefer to me make me be bored. Hate reading from her point of view it takes away my excitement of the storyline even though her storyline fits in I just don't like her.

Hate there wasn't enough chapters with Geralt ugh. It's like just a chapter and two had him in it. Other important characters and Ciri and Yennefer had lots more chapters.
That ending though. Watch how Ciri growth has improved a lot.
Enjoyable but not the best in the series. ...more

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Nov 30, 2019 Franzi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, 4-stars, read-in-2019, owned-read, fantasy

4 Stars

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as Baptism of Fire, but it's still a great addition to the story (especially since there is a lot more of Ciri in here!).

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Apr 27, 2019 Corinna rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I continue to be confused by this series. It's like having that moody coworker, and you never know which mood they'll be in when they show up in the morning. Will they be the life of the party, and you'll have the best shift ever? Will they show up grumpy and make you want to leave in ten minutes?

I never know if the next book I open will be full of adventures and delightfully horrifying creatures that Geralt and Ciri beat against all odds OR if we're going to have a dry, pointless installment ...more

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Oct 26, 2019 Jarek "the Mistborn" Dąbrowski rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2019

The story of Geralt,Ciri,Yenefer and Dandelion keeps getting better and more complicated with each book. Character growth is really good and the worldbuilding expands everytime showing us some new and interesting places. These books have a habit of being a 4 star read up until like the last 50 or so pages and then "wow" happens and I have to give it 5 stars. Slowly getting ready for the last book and the grand finale. Hopes are high:)

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Nov 07, 2017 Anirudh rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

When I began reading the Witcher Saga, as I made progress through the series a fear began to grow in me. Although I dismissed it at first, now I've come to the realisation that it was true. Sapkowski had a story big enough for a novella and stretched it over five books.

Even though the book starts well and one gets the false sense of hope that the book is finally getting somewhere after the disaster of the previous books. But one soon realises that despite turning page after page we get no where ...more

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Jul 29, 2019 Jessica {Litnoob} rated it liked it · review of another edition

I was very frustrated by the fact that we are all still separated here. Like it drives me nuts. Also the complete lack of foreshadowing about certain revelations can be annoying. But beyond that I enjoyed being able to see everyone and touch base with where they are. Also the lack of rats here made me happy because I didn’t like they one bit lol.

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Apr 10, 2018 Rich Hackford rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, adult-fiction

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the illustration on the cover contains almost as much excitement as the entire 400+ page novel.

I will finish this series because I'm already six books deep, but I will do so begrudgingly. The Witcher stopped being fun about three books ago and instead became a massive (and tedious) fake history lesson.

I don't care about the politics anymore. It's not intriguing. It's not interesting. It's work; it's work remembering everyone's names, it's work keeping ...more

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Oct 29, 2016 Kat Hooper rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

3.5 Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com

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Sep 11, 2017 Thomas Stacey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The best Witcher book so far.

After being absent most of the last book, it's good to see Ciri take centre stage. She becomes a much darker character as the story progresses, thanks to the brutal mercenaries sent from different sides of the conflict to hunt her down. Definitely still my favourite character and I can't wait to learn her fate in the final book.

There's a lot more plot progression compared to Baptism of Fire which, while very well written and entertaining, seemed to suffer from ...more

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Dec 04, 2016 Mizuki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: chinese-translation, pretty-good, fairies-related, supernatural-stuff, fantasy

The more I read into this series, the more I have doubts with it. For example, why the people in this high fantasy 'swords & magic' world are using terms which are very similar with us modern men and women's? Why they seem to know about genetic engineering? Does this mean the humans in this world had once come from our world, somehow?

Still, aside from my doubts and the lack of explanation, I still found myself enjoying this series. The characters are still going strong whilst the political ...more

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Dec 22, 2018 Wayne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

5 stars

Sometimes with a long series I can struggle as I am nearing the last few books.
Not this time however as this book really kept my interest and brought in some new plot points.

The world building too is just fantastic. It perfectly evokes the period of the time but does bounce back and forward in time a bit (as a book of the Witcher should). It's very vivid and really evokes a strong sense of what is happening with the plot. Also I haven't mentioned it before but the creature descriptions ...more

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Jul 14, 2017 Marquise rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, arthuriana, unbelievability-is-a-plot-killer, epic-fantasy, plot-elements-from-ludicrousville, twistiest-plot-twists, set-in-multiple-periods, legend-retellings, needs-an-editorial-red-pen

Leave it to Mr Sapkowski to grant your wishes with a bucketful of lemons to suck on! Not enough POVs, you said? Here, have half a dozen of theem in every single chapter. Too many jumps back and forth in the timeline, you said? No, there wasn't enough of them. Here, have some more jumps back and forth . . . And so on.

Personally, what I found most jarring was the late introduction of a certain revelation that came completely out of the blue, without the remotest of remote hints in any of the Leave it to Mr Sapkowski to grant your wishes with a bucketful of lemons to suck on! Not enough POVs, you said? Here, have half a dozen of theem in every single chapter. Too many jumps back and forth in the timeline, you said? No, there wasn't enough of them. Here, have some more jumps back and forth . . . And so on.

Personally, what I found most jarring was the late introduction of a certain revelation that came completely out of the blue, without the remotest of remote hints in any of the previous books, and that screws up the worldbuilding and the "alternate Medieval times" feel of the series that gave it the same sort of credibility and plausibility that worlds like Tolkien's Middle-earth or Martin's Westeros have, in the sense that if you struck through "fantasy" from the genre category, this could be totally passed off as a bonafide historical novel. You get my point? Now, imagine (and before you read what I'm going to tell you to imagine: spoiler alert!) finding a surprise like discovering midway through LOTR or ASOIAF that(view spoiler) More I'm not saying, you'd have to read it to understand the context of my vexation. But, in short, this is the book where the Witcher series finally and definitely jumps the shark and, I'm afraid, this is the point of no rebound, no coming back...

And now I'm sad. And cross. But it's too late for giving up, so I'm rating this 3.5 stars and it's continue with lemon-sucking for me. ...more

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Aug 29, 2019 Simon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really like this book. And I guess that's a problem.

The Tower of the Swallow is a book that isn't particularly concerned in taking the reader forward. It's questionable whether it stands on its own or as part of the wider series*. Imagine a collection of slice of life stories if the proverbial loaf was shuffled, squashed, and thrown to the ducks for nibble. There's call backs, call forwards, irrelevant asides**, narrative dead ends, meanderings, and unrhythmic repetitions***. There's ...more

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Feb 20, 2017 Julie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, in-translation

‘I have enormous eyes, all the better to see you with!’ shrieked the great, iron wolf. ‘I have enormous paws, all the better to seize and hug you with! Everything about me is enormous, everything, and soon you will discover it for yourself. Why are you looking at me so strangely, little girl? Why do you not answer?’

The witcher girl smiled. ‘I have a surprise for you.’

- Flourens Delannoy, The Surprise, from the book Fairy Tales and Stories

I finished this last night and then fiiiinally started the

‘I have enormous eyes, all the better to see you with!’ shrieked the great, iron wolf. ‘I have enormous paws, all the better to seize and hug you with! Everything about me is enormous, everything, and soon you will discover it for yourself. Why are you looking at me so strangely, little girl? Why do you not answer?’

The witcher girl smiled. ‘I have a surprise for you.’

- Flourens Delannoy, The Surprise, from the book Fairy Tales and Stories

I finished this last night and then fiiiinally started the first Witcher game from 2007, so basically everything is ALL WITCHER ALL THE TIME.

And at last, things are moving again in this series, with Geralt and Ciri and Yennefer's storylines actively propelling forward -- the book is greatly aided by this increased presence of Ciri & Yen, as opposed to Baptism of Fire. These reviews are a bit hard to write though, because I'm simultaneously a) reluctant to talk too much about the plot in these later books, since I am now six books in and don't want to spoil anyone; but also b) the arc & pacing of these feel like One Very Long Story rather than individual installments, so it's hard for me to remember precisely what happened in each one after the fact.

Regardless, Geralt's ragtag party is fun, with their entire shambolic chasing of the druids. Cahir remains one of my new favourite characters. SPOILERIFFIC DISCUSSION OF HIM: (view spoiler)

It's funny how I just did not expect the plot to last this long, either; I thought all the necessary reunions would have happened long ago, but instead it's continuing straight to the last book. The effect of this long separation on Ciri is upsetting; it's painful watching this trauma, and what's happening to her psychologically, the dreadful things she's undergoing. But I do love her revelation: she was bitter at her family for not coming for her quickly enough, but now she realises she needs to go and rescue them. (FISTPUMP.)

About the Rats and Mistle, picking up on my complaint from one of the earlier books (but spoilers below for Tower of Swallows): (view spoiler)

But! The Tower of Swallows is strong. I even enjoyed the tangents with side characters like Djikstra & Kenna; I was absolutely rapt at the worldbuilding as usual (psionics! Kovir!), and I'll be stoked to read the last book when it comes out next month. Here's hoping Sapkowski tied it all together satisfyingly. I just need the fam back together. ...more

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Mar 07, 2016 Jerry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I did not read the official translation. I read a fan translation. Was still very good. The tone was not lost from the "official" translations of the previous books I read. Grammar and slang are great too. Do not hesitate to read the fan translations. They are free to download all over the place. Just make sure to purchase the official copy later so Sapkowski and his translation team do not get shafted.

This is the darkest of the books in the series. Sapkowski adds a few new characters that you ...more

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Jun 02, 2017 Chris Thomas rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Not the best, but still pretty good. Lots of action, bit of intrigue and very little of the Witcher. This book focuses on Ciri and her quest to find the Tower of the Swallow. The Saga doesn't move on very much, but still an entertaining read. Suffers from the Sane thing book three suffers from, stretching a story out to fill more books. I feel we could have got to this point midway through book 3.

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Nov 30, 2019 Melinda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-november-read, favorites

4.5
That last chapter was everything!
Can’t wait to see how this will end... ...more

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Sep 27, 2019 M.S. rated it liked it

Shelves: sf-f

3,5 stars

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Jul 04, 2018 Kaya rated it liked it · review of another edition

I’m so tired of the stretched plot where for 80% of the book nothing significant happens. They’re all witty and willing to go places, but it looks like they’re stuck. I love Ciri and Geralt and admire Yennefer’s strength and bravery. She turns out to be the biggest hero of them all. Despite it, I fail to accept that four books can serve as complete fillers.

The series returns its focus to Ciri and her quest to find the Tower of the Swallow. She has adopted a new identity and settled into life I’m so tired of the stretched plot where for 80% of the book nothing significant happens. They’re all witty and willing to go places, but it looks like they’re stuck. I love Ciri and Geralt and admire Yennefer’s strength and bravery. She turns out to be the biggest hero of them all. Despite it, I fail to accept that four books can serve as complete fillers.

The series returns its focus to Ciri and her quest to find the Tower of the Swallow. She has adopted a new identity and settled into life with a criminal gang who call themselves the Rats. Something happens leading to her being found unconscious and injured by the old fella Vysogota. The old man nurses her back to health, and during her recovery Ciri tells him what has happened to her.

The scene where Geralt accuses Cahir of betrayal and everything that comes next was golden and brought me hope that Geralt might once again be an interesting character on his own. Still, Ciri was the one who stole the show with that glorifying fight on the ice. Her story was quite compelling and her bond with Vysogota. And that’s where the part ends and I was brought back to reality. The sad truth is the author had a story big enough for one novel and still stretched it over seven books, for the money, I suppose. Despite the fact the book starts strong and my hope the necessary reunions would finally happen, once again we went nowhere.

I liked how Ciri developed. She suffered so much and still managed to end up victorious. At some moments, I was literally petrified of her, as she was pushed beyond her limits like never before. She’s still a puzzle and the reader is never sure what her real destiny is and what she’s supposed to do next, but at least she has her growth.

We finally got Dandelion's point of view, in a form of his memoirs and they really bring some fresh voice to a bit of a repetitive melody. Like in every previous book, he truly is the most colorful character and makes me laugh in every scene he appears. If it weren’t for him, this series would’ve been a whole different experience for me. ...more

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Jun 30, 2018 Plots and Points rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Squeaked the re-read in at the last minute! I had forgotten how fantastic Tower of the Swallow is but damn it all if this isn't a strong candidate for the overall best book in the Witcher series.

Picking up some time after end of Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow follows Ciri's story much more than Geralt's and really brings her character development to a head.

At this stage it's imprudent to discuss any sort of plot summary but rest assured all of the plot threads that have been ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Fantasy Book Club...: The Witcher #6–The Tower of the Swallow: Finished Reading Spoilers Allowed	3	9	Oct 31, 2019 10:56AM
Fantasy Book Club...: The Witcher #6—The Tower of the Swallow: Roll Call & First Impressions NO Sploiers	1	3	Oct 01, 2019 06:46AM
Fantasy and Manga...: The Tower of Swallows Discussion - Spoilers Allowed	1	8	Dec 12, 2018 07:33AM
Fantasy and Manga...: The Tower of Swallows Discussion - No Spoilers!	1	1	Dec 12, 2018 07:32AM
Fantasy Buddy Reads: Tower of Swallow [Oct 23, 2018]	16	44	Nov 01, 2018 08:19AM
Goodreads Librari...: Please fix	4	28	Mar 24, 2017 09:09AM

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About Andrzej Sapkowski

Andrzej Sapkowski

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Andrzej Sapkowski, born June 21, 1948 in Łódź, is a Polish fantasy writer. Sapkowski studied economics, and before turning to writing, he had worked as a senior sales representative for a foreign trade company. His first short story, The Witcher (Wiedźmin), was published in Fantastyka, Poland's leading fantasy literary magazine, in 1986 and was enormously successful both with readers and critics. Andrzej Sapkowski, born June 21, 1948 in Łódź, is a Polish fantasy writer. Sapkowski studied economics, and before turning to writing, he had worked as a senior sales representative for a foreign trade company. His first short story, The Witcher (Wiedźmin), was published in Fantastyka, Poland's leading fantasy literary magazine, in 1986 and was enormously successful both with readers and critics. Sapkowski has created a cycle of tales based on the world of The Witcher, comprising three collections of short stories and five novels. This cycle and his many other works have made him one of the best-known fantasy authors in Poland in the 1990s.

The main character of The Witcher (alternative translation: The Hexer) is Geralt, a mutant assassin who has been trained since childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters. Geralt exists in an ambiguous moral universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler's signature character Philip Marlowe. The world in which these adventures take place is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology.

Sapkowski has won five Zajdel Awards, including three for short stories "Mniejsze zło" (Lesser Evil) (1990), "Miecz przeznaczenia" (Sword of Destiny) (1992) and "W leju po bombie" (In a Bomb Crater) (1993), and two for the novels "Krew elfów" (Blood of Elves) (1994) and "Narrenturm" (2002). He also won the Spanish Ignotus Award, best anthology, for The Last Wish in 2003, and for "Muzykanci" (The Musicians), best foreign short story, same year.

In 1997, Sapkowski won the prestigious Polityka's Passport award, which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success.

In 2001, a Television Series based on the Witcher cycle was released in Poland and internationally, entitled Wiedźmin (The Hexer). A film by the same title was compiled from excerpts of the television series but both have been critical and box office failures.

Sapkowski's books have been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. An English translation of The Last Wish short story collection was published by Gollancz in 2007.

The Polish game publisher, CD Projekt, created a role-playing PC game based on this universe, called The Witcher, which was released in October 2007. There is also a mobile version of the game which has been created by Breakpoint Games and is being published by Hands-On Mobile in Western Europe,Latin America and Asia Pacific.

The English translation of Sapkowski's novel Blood of Elves won the David Gemmell Legends Award in 2009. ...more

Other books in the series

The Witcher (5 books)

Books by Andrzej Sapkowski

Miecz przeznaczenia (Saga o Wiedźminie, #0.75)

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Quotes from The Tower of Swal...

“Lepiej bez celu iść naprzód niż bez celu stać w miejscu, a z pewnością o niebo lepiej, niż bez celu się cofać.” — 41 likes

“Why should I give up revenge? On behalf of what? Moral principles? And what of the higher order of things, in which evil deeds are punished? For you, a philosopher and ethicist, an act of revenge is bad, disgraceful, unethical and illegal. But I ask: where is the punishment for evil? Who has it and grants access? The Gods, in which you do not believe? The great demiurge-creator, which you decided to replace the gods with? Or maybe the law? [...] I know what evil is afraid of. Not your ethics, Vysogota, not your preaching or moral treaties on the life of dignity. Evil is afraid of pain, mutilation, suffering and at the end of the day, death! The dog howls when it is badly wounded! Writhing on the ground and growls, watching the blood flow from its veins and arteries, seeing the bone that sticks out from a stump, watching its guts escape its open belly, feeling the cold as death is about to take them. Then and only then will evil begin to beg, 'Have mercy! I regret my sins! I'll be good, I swear! Just save me, do not let me waste away!'. Yes, hermit. That is the way to fight evil! When evil wants to harm you, inflict pain - anticipate them, it's best if evil does not expect it. But if you fail to prevent evil, if you have been hurt by evil, then avenge him! It is best when they have already forgotten, when they feel safe. Then pay them in double. In triple. An eye for an eye? No! Both eyes for an eye! A tooth for a tooth? No! All their teeth for a tooth! Repay evil! Make it wail in pain, howling until their eyes pop from their sockets. And then, you can look under your feet and boldly declare that what is there cannot endanger anyone, cannot hurt anyone. How can someone be a danger, when they have no eyes? How can someone hurt when they have no hands? They can only wait until they bleed to death.” — 21 likes

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