Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Pani Jeziora (Saga o Wiedźminie, #5)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Pani Jeziora

(The Witcher #5)

Andrzej Sapkowski

4.17 · Rating details · 43,159 ratings · 2,241 reviews

Jaki los czeka wiedźmina? Czy dane mu będzie połączyć się z miłością jego życia? Czy ziści się złowieszcza przepowiednia i czy przetrwa świat ogarnięty morderczą wojną? Świat elfów, ludzi i krasnoludów.

Ciri wpatruje się w wypukły relief przedstawiający ogromnego łuskowatego węża. Gad, zwinąwszy się w kształt ósemki, wgryzł się zębiskami we własny ogon. To pradawny wąż Urob ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 520 pages

Published 2001 by superNOWA (first published 1999)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Pani Jeziora, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Polish Books

537 books — 485 voters

Miecz przeznaczenia by Andrzej Sapkowski

Pan Lodowego Ogrodu. Tom 1 by Jarosław Grzędowicz

Best Polish Fantasy

89 books — 58 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.17 ·

Rating details

· 43,159 ratings · 2,241 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Pani Jeziora (Saga o Wiedźminie, #5)

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

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

This review can be found on Amaranthine Reads.

We come to the end of the Witcher series, and I say thank Belzebub for that. It is difficult to say why I kept reading to the very (very) bitter end, since the series was getting increasingly worse by every page. I suppose the time I had invested and a small spark of hope that the end may have been worth it all...

The Lady of the Lake is the final book and it brings the whole saga to an end, with Ciri finding herself in another world having gone throu This review can be found on Amaranthine Reads.

We come to the end of the Witcher series, and I say thank Belzebub for that. It is difficult to say why I kept reading to the very (very) bitter end, since the series was getting increasingly worse by every page. I suppose the time I had invested and a small spark of hope that the end may have been worth it all...

The Lady of the Lake is the final book and it brings the whole saga to an end, with Ciri finding herself in another world having gone through the Tower of Swallows and trying to get back, to find Geralt and somehow end the war that has been ravaging her home.

Oh, where to start. If you're wondering whether to read this series, or possible whether to continue reading this series, I will say now that you should not. There have been no improvements since the first few books, and the changes that were made to alleviate those disappointments were far too late and not particularly well done. I'll say now there may be slight spoilers here, but I won't hide the review.

We begin with Ciri, who is in "the land of the elves", which is spin-doctoring for our world. Ciri is in our world, being spoken to by Galahad and being forced to make love to Oberon (named Auberon here). This is not as far-fetched as the book gets, though it comes close. To make the plot go here is just insane: where did this come from? There has been no mention of our world, no subtle plot device to prepare us for this event and absolutely no indication that this would even be possible. There was never a mention of "other worlds" and to have Ciri just suddenly be able to do such a thing is terrible storytelling.

Ciri is also still the same pathetic, cantankerous, spoilt character she has always been. I see nothing special about her-except this ridiculous ability-and she hasn't changed during the course of this series. The other characters are also just as flat and two-dimensional as they've always been. It seems as if the plot moves along without them: as if even if they weren't there, what was happening would still be happening. They don't seem to influence much at all.

There's little else to say. The dialogue has not improved, the characters-as I said-have no improved and their reasonings and thought-processes are as dull as ever. There are still no women who get along with other women, they all wish to sleep with Geralt or kill any other woman who desires the same and the fact that we are supposed to believe that Geralt and Yennifer's "love" is true and wonderful is ridiculous considering that in The Last Wish (spoiler in the title, by the way) Geralt wishes for Yennifer's love. He wishes it in to existence. Their love is based on a pathetic genie wish made during the short story collection that came before this series, and therefore renders their feelings and motives null and void.

The ending was also exceeding disappointing and quite frankly pointless. There is also a moment where some characters actually ride off in to the sunset, as if that isn't the most clichéd thing that has ever existed as a plot device. I'm so unhappy with myself for letting me read the entire series, but I suppose I was just hoping and being annoyingly optimistic. And it is quite an easy read, once you get beyond every single man being obsessed with sex and rape. I hope some men who read this are actually offended by that, because if men aren't annoyed that the media think they're obsessed with sex and need tits and legs just to watch or interact with something, then there's no hope at all. ...more

flag 255 likes · Like · see review

Dec 08, 2016 Evgeny rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This is the final book of the series; spoilers aplenty!!! You have been warned and do not let anybody tell otherwise. The book begins with the retelling of the Arthurian legend, in particular the Lady of the Lake part (if you are surprised by this take a look at the title again). The problems are - there are always problems in Geralt's universe - the Lady was not exactly the ruler of Avalon, the coming knight was not Arthur, and nobody offered Excalibur or even an old rusty sword to anybody. The This is the final book of the series; spoilers aplenty!!! You have been warned and do not let anybody tell otherwise. The book begins with the retelling of the Arthurian legend, in particular the Lady of the Lake part (if you are surprised by this take a look at the title again). The problems are - there are always problems in Geralt's universe - the Lady was not exactly the ruler of Avalon, the coming knight was not Arthur, and nobody offered Excalibur or even an old rusty sword to anybody. The character impersonating the Lady was the old familiar though.
The Lady of the Lake

Whose that read the books of the series starting with the third one - the first one in the format of a novel - know that author likes jumping between POVs and time but somehow manages to make this not confusing. I think congratulations are in order as I finally was utterly confused by the first part here. Following second chapter gets my nomination for one of the most useless (in terms of influence on the plot) chapters of fantasy ever. Yes, I have read Steven Erikson's magnum opus. Yes, I agree that when it comes to useless chapters Malazan is light years ahead of everybody else leaving no hope of competing. Still if we disregard it the second chapter I mentioned would be among the top of contenders.

Finally the third chapter gets much better returning to Geralt and his sidekicks (see, I just spoiled you that the guy is alive in the beginning of the last book). His is bored out of his skull despite always doing what Geralt does best. No, I am not talking about monster hunters. People who played Witcher games know exactly what I am talking about. He is so bored he finally recalled he is supposed to hunt monsters and decided to do exactly that. And here ladies and gentlemen comes the biggest Deux Ex Machina of the series: of all the hiding places in the whole world some conspirators decided to hold a meeting in the ruins where Geralt came to do his work.

The rest of the book was fine (including probably the best depiction of a grand battle I ever saw in fantasy) except for the fact that the last two chapters felt stretched to the breaking point. The ending was so vague and confusing that I postponed writing my review until I read a short story taking place after the events of the series. This said story clued me in, but not where I expected. I realized that the series would be better off as short story anthologies like the first two books. The short stories have Geralt as a main character as opposed to novels where Ciri becomes one. I will talk about the main characters below.

Geralt. The guy is supposed to the a very interesting character and he is when he is not brooding or being in the bad mood - this always happens to him in books 3-7. Heck, Geralt of the Witcher game trilogy is more exciting.
Yennefer. Such a promising character was completely ruined in the end for me when I realized she managed to do nothing useful whatsoever in the series - except for getting some good people killed. She was playing a Damsel in Distress in the previous book and turned out completely weak-willed here.
Ciri. I could never make myself care about her. The fact that the story focus shifted from Geralt to her lowered my opinion of the series.
Triss Merigold. She had her bad moments, but I believe Geralt would be better off with her. Enough said.
Dandelion/Jaskier. His short but brilliant POV practically made the previous book. I wish we had more of this. He never failed to bring some humor.

Does it mean the series is bad? Not in the least. I wholeheartedly recommend it to all fantasy fans - read at least first two books and see how you like them. Author's writing quality is quite good and visible even in translations. My personal problem is that I really did not like the direction the tale was going. Sorry, I really wanted to like it more.
Broken Sword

...more

flag 150 likes · Like · see review

Jun 10, 2017 Michelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: witcherverse

Let me start by saying that “Lady of the Lake” is absolutely a bittersweet, yet fantastic finish to “The Witcher” series. I find it very entertaining, yet challenging and deeply rewarding. The major plot points of the series, specifically: Ciri's parentage, destiny, and fate are all addressed and wrapped up rather neatly. I don’t want to expound on the plot further than that, not without giving something away that's best left to the joy of discovery. Just read the book. It’s worth it!

Andrzej Sap Let me start by saying that “Lady of the Lake” is absolutely a bittersweet, yet fantastic finish to “The Witcher” series. I find it very entertaining, yet challenging and deeply rewarding. The major plot points of the series, specifically: Ciri's parentage, destiny, and fate are all addressed and wrapped up rather neatly. I don’t want to expound on the plot further than that, not without giving something away that's best left to the joy of discovery. Just read the book. It’s worth it!

Andrzej Sapkowski clearly draws from the darker side of Polish and European history, using his fantasy setting to explore various aspects of human behavior in a strikingly sophisticated manner. Though immensely gratifying, “Lady of the Lake” is deeply unnerving. There are moments when it’s touching, romantic, funny, and amusing . At others, it’s unbearably sad and utterly terrifying. It's a deeply political book like its predecessors, and racism plays a central role in the narrative, as does misogyny. Another appealing element of the book, and the series, is the moral ambiguity of its power-holders. Nilfgaard is an oppressive, autocratic and megalomaniacal power; yet the Northern kingdoms-- considered to be good, are monstrously violent and cruel places where non-humans are forced to live in ghettos and suffer a lot mundane indignities. Meanwhile, the Elven Scoia'tael, who resist by force of arms, are straight-up terrorists who seemingly take joy from violence against defenseless civilians. Does this dynamic sound familiar? It sure does to me.

The book, however, is not excessively grim. There is goodness in the world, as well as in all, but the very worst actors in this drama. And people surprise you -- just when you think you've got things figured out, someone does something unexpected. It may be an unexpected kindness from a character who has hitherto appeared cold and calculating; or someone Geralt or Ciri came to trust, demonstrating why trust, in this world, should be granted prudently.

The overarching theory is that the world isn’t inherently dark and foreboding --rather, it is corrupted by ignorance, jealousy and the pursuit of power; and human nature can be redeemed in the face of naked self-interest -- through personal bonds of friendship, love and loyalty. These are timeless concepts, and by no means original to the series; yet they are striking nonetheless, by virtue of their flawless execution, and the degree to which we come to care about what happens to Geralt, Ciri, Yennefer, and the others.

“The Lady of the Lake” is also stylistically daring. As in “The Tower of Swallows”, narratives are often fragmented across several timelines and character perspectives. However, it works better this time. The epic Battle of Brenna shifts between the perspectives of various combatants, and the doctor running a field hospital in its midst. Throughout, Sapkowski intersperses vignettes often centered on peripheral characters, which themselves may link back to events occurring elsewhere. Keeping everything straight can be a challenge, but when the book concludes, the payoff is considerable.

The book ends on a curious note but, suffice to say, it raises as many questions as it provides answers. (view spoiler) Some people may dislike the ending, but I really love how Sapkowski plays with the ideas and tropes around myths and legends. It evoked profound sadness and child-like joy, and I’ll be haunted by this myth for a very long time -- like Nimue.

I could go on and on, but really, it all just boils down to this: "The Witcher" has become one of my classic favorites alongside Tolkien's “The Lord of the Rings” and Rowling's “Harry Potter” series. ...more

flag 124 likes · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2017 Sean Barrs rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2-star-reads, reviewed-for-the-bookbag, fantasy, review-copies

This is the final tale in the dark fantasy series The Witcher, and all though it had a decent start the ending will, no doubt, disappoint many readers. The idea that the truths of ancient history and mythology can be unearthed by exploring them in the dreams of a talented sleeper is rather enchanting. It's an interesting idea, one that merges history and fantasy creating an almost dream like feel within the writing, though it never delivers what it promises.

The fantasy elements in here are pred This is the final tale in the dark fantasy series The Witcher, and all though it had a decent start the ending will, no doubt, disappoint many readers. The idea that the truths of ancient history and mythology can be unearthed by exploring them in the dreams of a talented sleeper is rather enchanting. It's an interesting idea, one that merges history and fantasy creating an almost dream like feel within the writing, though it never delivers what it promises.

The fantasy elements in here are predominantly dark and twisted. Not a bad thing of course. Just because it's a dream it doesn't mean it's going to be a pleasant one for the characters involved. This isn't a book about glorious forests and magnificent scenery in which good always conquers evil. No. This is a book about opportunists. It's a story about how people will always try to use others if it means they might have a chance for more power. Such is Ciri's strand of the story. She is entrapped by a group of elves who wish to harness the power of her ancient blood, by breeding her to create an offspring they can wield for their own advantage. Not very nice at all, though they have overlooked Ciri's own opportunist nature and her will to survive. She's not a woman to take this in her stride. Indeed, she bides her time and looks for an opportunity to escape.

Geralt, on the other hand, is enjoying life for the first part of the book. He has a new romance, though such a thing could only ever be temporary. There's only one woman he will truly love, and finding her again becomes his only purpose. But Ciri is far removed from his life and reuniting with her will lead him on a perilous journey. Fans of the video games will know all too well that his day job is hunting monsters; he puts this aside for a while and embarks on a bigger quest. The two separate strands drove the narrative forward as they grew ever closer. The relationship between the two characters was the strongest aspect of the book.

The events may seem far removed from the legend the title of the book references. It begins with a retelling of this element of the Arthurian myth, though Sapkowski gives it his own twist. He blends the history with the fantasy, creating a unique world. However, towards the end it did become a little confusing at points. It all felt vague and extremely fragmented, but I suppose that's what happens with dreams. The story telling was not as precise as the early books in the series, and the structure was a little clunky. It was hard to tell when events were happening in relation to each other, and at times the book felt like a series of connected short stories or novellas rather than the full novel it was trying to be this time round. The ending too will likely disappoint many readers with its sheer lack of punch and open ended nature.

I did enjoyed parts of this book, though it did have many problems. I only recommend this to those that have read all the previous books in the series; this is most certainly a conclusion, as weak as it was, rather than a stand-alone novel.

-I received an arc of this book from The Bookbag in exchange for an honest review. ...more

flag 78 likes · Like · see review

Aug 09, 2017 Markus rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, the-white-wolf, fantasy

Lady of the Lake is an unfortunately poor conclusion to one of the finest fantasy series ever written. Sapkowski attempts to mix in too many new things, his transitions between times and places are very poorly executed and quite overused, and everything about the ending itself is either too much of a cliché, or simply ridiculous.

I've stayed with this saga for many years now, and it remains one of my favourites. Especially the knowledge that the game series takes the franchise to perfection, is a ...more

flag 74 likes · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2020 Deborah Obida rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, adult

Interesting but slightly disappointing, after six books I expected more. The annoying thing is that it was something small that ruined this book, and that thing is ~~drum rolls~~ the story telling/ writing style. If the author had used the style he used in the previous book this would have been way better. There was well depicted fight scenes, new worlds, awesome characters and plot in this.

Verily do I tell you that whoever believes in dreams is as one trying to catch the wind or seize a shadow. Interesting but slightly disappointing, after six books I expected more. The annoying thing is that it was something small that ruined this book, and that thing is ~~drum rolls~~ the story telling/ writing style. If the author had used the style he used in the previous book this would have been way better. There was well depicted fight scenes, new worlds, awesome characters and plot in this.

Verily do I tell you that whoever believes in dreams is as one trying to catch the wind or seize a shadow. He is deluded by a beguiling picture, a warped looking glass, which lies or utters absurdities in the manner of a woman in labour. Foolish indeed is he who lends credence to dreams and treads the path of delusion.
Nonetheless, whoever disdains and does not believe them at all also acts unwisely. For if dreams had no import whatsoever why, then, would the Gods, in creating us, give us the ability to dream?

The world building is amazing, I really enjoyed the depiction. The writing oh Lord its the worst, the story was told was different sides, it started from the end, the beginning then what was supposed to be the middle of the story was at the end, why the author adapted this style I have no idea.

The characters as always are awesome with coo personalities, since this is a fantasy some of my well loved characters died. Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer finally lived up to my expectations for them. Cahir, Regis, Milva, Anglomelue and Dandelion were also here. I wish they have more page space than they did.

The plot that was supposed to be straight forward started with Ciri in a weird world then she started telling her story. Instead of the story to follow a normal progress the author changed POV to a new character hundreds of years later after Ciri's time. This new character is trying find out what happened to Ciri, Geralt and Yennefer. Once again POV was changed to a new character who is a soldier in the war with Nilfgaard, this part was slightly fun to read but again POV was changed. It was so sporadic that even though things came together in the end I did not appreciate it. I'd rather it was a conventional storytelling style.

I'm still confused about that ending. ...more

flag 64 likes · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2018 Kaya rated it it was ok · review of another edition

2.5 stars.

I am so disappointed and angry with how Sapkowski concluded the saga. Throughout the whole series, I’ve grown so attached to so many characters and I hate to see them stranded away because they couldn’t fit the author’s weak excuse for a plot. What I hate the most is what happened to Ciri in the end. It’s like a slap in the face.

This is the final book in the saga and it deals with Ciri finding herself in another dimension, trying to get back to where she belongs. Her focus is to find 2.5 stars.

I am so disappointed and angry with how Sapkowski concluded the saga. Throughout the whole series, I’ve grown so attached to so many characters and I hate to see them stranded away because they couldn’t fit the author’s weak excuse for a plot. What I hate the most is what happened to Ciri in the end. It’s like a slap in the face.

This is the final book in the saga and it deals with Ciri finding herself in another dimension, trying to get back to where she belongs. Her focus is to find Geralt and end the war with Nilfgard once and for all. Unfortunately, she is trapped by a group of elves who want to exploit the power of her ancient blood for their own agenda - which definitely won’t end up well for her.

This book is a devastating conclusion to one of the most interesting fantasy series I’ve ever read. It has never been the most innovative, but it had unique characters and intelligent humor. Sadly, Sapkowski attempts to bring too many new things on the table. Instead of focusing on the characters like Geralt, Yennefer and Tris who were shamefully neglected in the previous books, Sapkowski introduces new characters who hold no significance to the plot and live 1000 years AFTER the crucial event.

His transitions between times and places are so confusing and repetitive, that it seems like ANOTHER unnecessary filler. I feel betrayed because I have watched the potential of the series disappear without being able to do anything about it. I’m sure the author was quite aware that he couldn’t deliver a decent conclusion to that long-standing build-up and high expectations. That ending is an insult of its own with its vagueness and confusion and it’s completely ridiculous. The series would’ve been so much better if it just stayed in short story form.

I’ve grown attached to almost all characters, but by the end, most of them seem two-dimensional, passive and plainly dumb. Especially, I hate how the author decided to kill off some of the characters. He paid more attention to killing off the villains that to honor the characters who have been actively present in the last few books.

Even the main characters made so many out-of-character decisions. For example, Geralt and Yennefer have withstood inexplicable torture and sacrificed so much to protect Ciri and I’m supposed to believe they would just calmly take part in a suicide pact while Ciri gets raped and used? Or how the great emperor Emhyr has murdered countless men, destroyed countries, the world history as he knows it, literally pushed the whole continent into a war to obtain Ciri, just so he would give her up because Yennefer shed a tear? Does the author honestly believe we’re that dumb? Or how Ciri was the child of hope and throughout all books, everyone was making great plans for her to conceive a child and she ended up alone with some knight wanting her to become his wife? She deserved so much more. All in all, some plot twists started extremely good and exciting but ended terribly.

Geralt is supposed to be a fascinating character, and he is when he isn't brooding - which he is 90% of the time in books 3-7. He was so passive and ready to give up so many times, which is in contrast with everything the readers have seen of him in the previous books. The character development is inconsistent and makes it hard for me to remember why I even fell in love with him in the first place. ...more

flag 59 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2019 James Tivendale rated it it was ok · review of another edition

DNF'd at 55%.

A shame that I couldn't get through the final book in the series but the majority of this book was a chore to read. Too much time hopping, world swapping, new and boring characters and not enough time spent with the people I actually cared about. I'm sure I'll come back to this sometime when I have more patience and time but it just wasn't for me at the moment. I just wasn't excited about what I was reading. ...more

flag 56 likes · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2020 Bradley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-shelf, worldbuilding-sf, fantasy

I honestly tried to find the truly negative aspects about this book. I honestly did. But when it came to the dreamlike aspects, the tie-ins and total subversion of the tiny bits of the Arthurian Legend, or when it came to finding this to be a weak Witcher novel...?

Eh. No. It was very strong. Strong enough to keep my attention fully rapt from start to finish.

I mean, who DOESN'T like Ciri as a badass? She sure went through a ton of changes and misfortunes. All that extremely well done prophesy bui ...more

flag 48 likes · Like · see review

Feb 11, 2020 Dana Ilie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

As an individual novel, The Lady of the Lake is not the strongest book in The Witcher, but it is a well-written and thorough conclusion to this series. As you close the book and put it on the nightstand you might not feel that warm sense of satisfaction you get from a happily ever after, but you remain with the brilliant experience of a thoughtful and well-executed ending to an incredible story.

flag 50 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2019 Samir rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This book is a perfect example of how to end a series in the most boring and underwhelming way possible.

I don't think that introducing a bunch of pointless and boring characters in the last book of the series just for the sake of world-building is the way to go. And the ending was really bland.

I give myself five stars for resisting the urge to DNF this a couple of times and for not dying of boredom.
The book gets 1.5 stars, barely. ...more

flag 44 likes · Like · see review

Feb 14, 2014 Inbetweendimensions rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Prior to reading the first book in this series I was very, very convinced that these books would end up being among the best in the worst genre to pick books from. I finished the first three, and they were perfect. They had everything that a fantasy novel should have, maybe not could ever have, but I always put a lot of expectation on what I would read and the first three titles hit the mark. An interesting world, painted with vivid imagery without clunky paragraphs of overwhelming description, Prior to reading the first book in this series I was very, very convinced that these books would end up being among the best in the worst genre to pick books from. I finished the first three, and they were perfect. They had everything that a fantasy novel should have, maybe not could ever have, but I always put a lot of expectation on what I would read and the first three titles hit the mark. An interesting world, painted with vivid imagery without clunky paragraphs of overwhelming description, realism within fantasy, a lot of philosophy, of humor, of adventure, all presented with mind of the culture and the plotline that serves as a nice, neat framework for all that.
While those three were great, I can only say that the last two could be better. The last one, The Lady of the Lake, was disappointing.
The problem with this series is that it felt like one ENORMOUS tumour had begun to manifest in it by the end of the second book, and grew to full form at the fifth. That tumour's Ciri, by the way. I truly loved her character from the beginning, but by the end I felt like the author didn't even bother to sugar-coat the fact that she had evolved into a very obnoxious Mary-Sue. The thing is I wouldn't have minded any of that had her Mary-Sueness not manipulated the plot into something mundane, something dull and dulling and just so mundane.
Here is why- the plot was wrapped up only with Ciri in mind. I know she is supposed to be the main character from the very beginning, so no problem with that, but was it necessary to kill off anyone else who had no place in her "happy" ending? Was it necessary to reduce wonderful, intelligent, proud and charismatic characters to fools beneath her? Was it necessary to have every conflict in the books resolved or completely thrown away into disregard for her, because of her? That's just so pretentious.
It felt like the author wrote her with the intention of making her a legendary figure, but ended up making it look like generic self-insert fanfiction. Fanfiction written with increasingly faltering bouts of creativity, by the way, because you know, it's always great to draw from myth and folklore when writing fiction, but to do so in a way that it seems like copy and pasting, rather than re-telling or bringing new colour to the story, just honestly cheapens it. Or perhaps the mythic elements were cheapened because of the omnipresence of a flamboyant Mary-Sue? With the myth concerning the Elvenking, it felt like that. A legendary, otherworldly creature, so cold and powerful and proud, left to snorting crack and reading porn and (view spoiler) just to force himself to have sex with Ciri and beget the saviour and destroyer of worlds. (?????... ?????) Absurd, and frustrating...
It's disheartening, because I really, really wanted so much more for such a promising character and for such a promising end to a beautifully-written world. I adored and admired almost all the characters, an obvious indicator of skill on the author's behalf you know, but by the end they were made lame, "pathetic", simple and dumb. I fell in love with the world, but then you see at the end that the world actually sucks so bad that you wouldn't even want to live in it. Bad mistake in a fantasy book.
So yeah... here I lay my disappointment and my frustration, because I had so much hope, and so much admiration for these books. I do recommend these above the average fantasy novel, but I can only really allow praise to the first three, and indifferent grunts of recognition for the last two. ...more

flag 42 likes · Like · see review

Aug 24, 2017 Celise rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-read, fantasy-adult

And so it ends.

There’s nothing left to say, nothing that hasn’t been resolved or left me wondering, nothing that I can really put my finger on as being amiss. However, I feel like some untapped potential died with the end of this series, and I’ll carry that disappointment with me for a while.

There were so many new threads explored in the final novel of The Witcher saga that I wish had been left out in favour of more time spent with our favourite characters. I think that is mostly what feels unju ...more

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

Dec 19, 2020 Edward rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

A disappointing ending for a promising series. Tempted to go back and play the Witcher 3 to re-capture my love for the world.

flag 40 likes · Like · see review

Sep 30, 2016 Nikki rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I have so many thoughts after reading this final installment of the Witcher saga.

The beginning of this book dragged on forever. Ciri is running around in Avalon, an entire different universe. I could care less about Condwiramurs, a woman who dreams about the legends of the Witcher in the future, and yet we return to her chapter after chapter. This is one of my main complaints throughout the book. There is so much time dedicated to new and minor characters, while the main characters' lives (and I have so many thoughts after reading this final installment of the Witcher saga.

The beginning of this book dragged on forever. Ciri is running around in Avalon, an entire different universe. I could care less about Condwiramurs, a woman who dreams about the legends of the Witcher in the future, and yet we return to her chapter after chapter. This is one of my main complaints throughout the book. There is so much time dedicated to new and minor characters, while the main characters' lives (and especially deaths!) are glossed over. Less of Nimue, Pretty Kitty, etc... and more of Milva, Regis, Cahir, and even the sorceress's guild... would have been appreciated. A lot of time is also wasted on philosophical ramblings. While the gray morality theme has been enjoyably present in all of the witcher books, it has not previously been stated outright and over and over again by a slew of minor characters. The theme was just beaten to death in this novel.

Point of view switches non-stop. We jump to the past, to the future, to historical texts, and back again in an unconnected way. The story of the witcher has become legend instead of a straightforward story. Did Geralt die of a heart attack in old age? Or a pitchfork in the present?

Geralt's time with Fringilla Vigo does not fit his character. That he would waste away his winter in that castle and resume his activities as a witcher, even under enchantment, is slightly unbelievable. The way that he learns of Vilgefortz's location is pretty convenient and just serves to push the plot forward out of the mire.

Ciri is more and more unlikable. Her time with the elves is borderline bawdy and unnecessary to the plotline.

In the epic battle in Vilgefortz's hideout, many characters act...out of character. For example, Regis does not jump headfirst into anything. Geralt and Yennefer have withstood torture, grievous wounds, and much more in order to protect Ciri, so their easy, calm, and romantic suicide pact while Ciri gets dragged of to be raped by her father is just NOT plausible. Emhyr has murdered countless individuals and literally plunged a continent into war and more in order to obtain Ciri, so the site of tears changing his mind is mind-bogglingly unbelievable. What an odd way to get the characters out of the situation. The mushy and constant declarations of love being traded between Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer are also completely out of character.

And then... the final scene. It is written as to be undecipherable. I read it, reread it, and then closed the book with baffled question marks over my head.

Overall, just not the conclusion that I would have hoped for. Over time, the series lost its endearing wit and charm and became overly detailed, bleak, and ridden with political turmoil. This doesn't change the fact that Geralt, as well as many others, are great characters. I just wish the books would have progressed in the same vein that they started. ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2017 Mogsy (MMOGC) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/04/13/...

Eighteen years after its original publication in Polish, this concluding volume of The Witcher series finally has its official English translation. While fan translations have been around for quite a while now, honestly I thought it was well worth the wait, if nothing else because I got to enjoy the excellent audiobook edition. I started off by reading the books, but then on a whim decided to switch formats once I got to 3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/04/13/...

Eighteen years after its original publication in Polish, this concluding volume of The Witcher series finally has its official English translation. While fan translations have been around for quite a while now, honestly I thought it was well worth the wait, if nothing else because I got to enjoy the excellent audiobook edition. I started off by reading the books, but then on a whim decided to switch formats once I got to Baptism of Fire and never looked back.

Anyway, the final book of a series is always something special. By this time, the story has taken over your mind and the characters have wormed their way into your heart. While endings can be a delight, oftentimes they are also bittersweet, because you’ve had so much fun on this adventure but now it’s time to say farewell. You start to wonder to yourself what the long awaited finale might be like: will it be everything you ever wanted, or fall short of expectations?

Well, in the case of The Lady of the Lake, my thoughts were mixed. The story begins cryptically, with Sir Galahad of Arthurian legend fame stumbling upon Ciri bathing in a pond. After the knight mistakes her for the Lady of the Lake which causes Ciri to correct his error, the two of them start talking and she begins to recount the tale of what she has been up to since the Tower of Swallows. It seemed that the portal she entered there had taken her to a different world, one where the Elves reigned. Seeing that she was trapped and at his mercy, the Elven king had proposed a bargain: Ciri could have her freedom…but only if she would agree to bear his child.

Meanwhile, back in her home world, the northern armies and the Nilfgaardian forces are still at war. In the middle of all this, Geralt and his companions are also continuing their search for Ciri, but with the recent abduction and imprisonment of Yennefer, the Witcher now has even more troubles on his hands.

It vexes me admit this, but The Lady of the Lake was probably the most confusing of all the books. Not that any of them have shown much linear storytelling, but for this one Sapkowski takes devices like flashbacks, dream sequences, POV switches and time jumps to extremes. This not only made the book feel very disjointed and hard to follow, it also dampened my enthusiasm for the story especially when we went on wild tangents that added zilch to the main plot or followed characters I could not care less about. If it were up to me, I would also have axed much of the ending. In my opinion, too much of the fluff that came after the climax spoiled a lot of the impact.

Now that I’ve gotten my complaints out of the way though, here’s what I did like: 1) Pretty much any scene where Ciri or Geralt and any of his companions or key characters appeared was topnotch. These are the characters I’ve come to know throughout the series and I found it hard to stay focused whenever the attention shifted away to anyone else. 2) Despite all the jumping around we do, there was at least a sense that final volume was trying to pull everything together; whether it’s a nod to events in the previous books or tying up loose ends and bringing things full circle, the narrative made an earnest attempt at closure. 3) All the references to fairy tales, myths and legends. This was one of the aspects I fell in love with when I first picked up The Last Wish so long ago, and it just seemed so apt for this last book to bring me back to those memories. 4) The action sequences were amazing. Obviously, it’s great anytime we get to see Geralt or Ciri kicking ass, but there was also this one epic scene depicting a huge battle which I thought was really well done, transporting the reader into the thick of the fighting.

Overall the book’s strengths outweighed the weaknesses, ultimately making The Lady of the Lake an enjoyable if flawed read. It wasn’t my favorite book of the series, and as an ending, it definitely wasn’t as good as what I’d hoped for. Still, I don’t regret reading it at all. Taken as a whole, The Witcher is a superb series, and I would certainly not discourage anyone to try these books just because I wasn’t a hundred percent pleased with this concluding volume; after all, you’d be missing out on many more great moments on this epic journey. In spite of everything, it was well worth it to see this saga through to the end.

Audiobook Comments: As always, Peter Kenny brings his best. His narration was a big reason why I stuck with the audiobooks for this series, because when he reads he brings the stories and characters to life. The Witcher books are also generally pretty well suited for this format, I find, because of their nonlinear structure, and the stories just seem to flow more smoothly and are less distracting when I’m listening. So if you’re considering tackling this series with the audiobooks, I say go for it; truly I can’t recommend them highly enough. ...more

flag 39 likes · Like · see review

Aug 02, 2015 Yev rated it liked it

I'm disappointed. It took me a few days to reach that conclusion because I love The Witcher books, I tremendously enjoy Sapkowski's writing and I really did not want to be disappointed.

The whole book felt rushed, as if desperately trying to close all the plot lines. The result is some loose ends, some deus ex machinas (one particularly horrible - look below) and some plot lines that started with a bang and ended with a feeble voice.

Sapkowski is extremely talented at quickly introducing new chara I'm disappointed. It took me a few days to reach that conclusion because I love The Witcher books, I tremendously enjoy Sapkowski's writing and I really did not want to be disappointed.

The whole book felt rushed, as if desperately trying to close all the plot lines. The result is some loose ends, some deus ex machinas (one particularly horrible - look below) and some plot lines that started with a bang and ended with a feeble voice.

Sapkowski is extremely talented at quickly introducing new characters and their stories. You get interested and attached in just a few pages. That is what makes his short stories so great. But here he just overdoes it: It's the longest book in the series with many half-baked resolutions, yet so many pages are dedicated to new side-characters that are irrelevant to the main plot in all ways but adding atmosphere.

Now some grunts, beware of SPOILERS:

Geralt discovers the info he's been seeking for 3 books because he just happen to monster-hunt in a cave where Skellen and his co-conspirators are having a meeting?! In a remote corner of the world, entirely unrelated to the conflict? Because it is not involved in political affairs so there are no spies in it? Seriously?

What's with all the Falka build up from the previous books? nothing, we don't talk about it.

How come Emhyr did not initially know the location of Vilgefortz' hideout - he apparently visited it.

The battle of Brenna is a complete mess. Why did the north win? Numbers? Training? Brilliant tactics? I don't know, they just won. Menno Coehoorn, supposedly the greatest tactician that ever lived. Emhyr var Emreis, the white flame dancing on the barrows if his enemies, emperor of the greatest human empire to ever exist and a brilliant strategist. Somehow they both find themselves in the mud of the northern kingdoms with no plan. Lots of build up on those characters and poor resolution.

What really happened at Soden hill? Specifically to Triss. Again, lots of talk about her apparent resurrection in the previous books and not a word of explanation. ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Dec 01, 2019 Caro the Helmet Lady rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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

And again, I am at this point, where of course I can make a return, but something is definitely over. And as every time I'm sad because, as Ciri used to say, it's just not fair. It's over. But the war is not over, the evil is not gone and it will never be, but there will be no Witcher to fight it. Because that world didn't deserve that Witcher. Will Ciri come back to save it? I don't think so. The question remains unanswered. For you to guess.
While I understand some critics I can't do nothing el ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

May 12, 2020 Sara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, adult, audio, fiction

The final installment in the main Witcher stories starts right where we left off, with Ciri, Yen and Geralt separated. Each are searching for the other, and the conclusion will see worlds collide and destinies fulfilled.

Ciri is stuck in another world, one filled with Elves who hate humans yet still want to impregnate Ciri and keep her child because of a prophecy that her offspring will be the saviour of worlds. The one who will stop the white frost. In all honestly, it gets a bit weird and creep The final installment in the main Witcher stories starts right where we left off, with Ciri, Yen and Geralt separated. Each are searching for the other, and the conclusion will see worlds collide and destinies fulfilled.

Ciri is stuck in another world, one filled with Elves who hate humans yet still want to impregnate Ciri and keep her child because of a prophecy that her offspring will be the saviour of worlds. The one who will stop the white frost. In all honestly, it gets a bit weird and creepy given Ciri's age and the sexual tone these takes. Until we encounter Little Horse, my favourite unicorn, and his herd of badass unicorns who seem to have some kind of vendetta against the Elves. I loved seeing Little Horse (they're real name I can neither say nor spell) and I still think that Ciri's overall story ARC is the most interesting. She's grown into her abilities, and her experiences have made her compassionate yet with a steely undertone.

While Ciri is off exploring other worlds, Yen is still imprisoned and tortured by her enemies. Yen is such a strong character, one who believes whole heartedly in her beliefs and opinions. She's prickly yes, and hard to love, but she's never afraid to stand up for her principles and defend those she loves. She also gets some of the best lines. Geralt by comparison is shagging his way through the idyllic Toussant, while his motley crew are desperate for him to return to the search for Ciri. One chance encounter soon gets Geralt back on track, but I couldn't help feeling a little let down by Geralt and his plot. His story is by far the slowest, sometimes edging towards boring, and a bit meandering.

The plot does pick up after the halfway point, with a series of rather epic showdowns involving characters we've seen throughout the series coming back to face rather fitting conclusions. We have Sharni, Zolton, Dandelion, as well as the various ladies from the Lodge of Sorceresses. I do think most of them get a good send off (with a few tear filled massacres of well loved characters along the way). After this big build up howeverfrr, I found the last part of the book goes back to meandering and almost limps towards the end. Yen and Geralt get a Co clusion of sorts, but I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. I think I prefer the ending we get in the games.

That said, I'm sad that this series has ended (except for the prequel I have left to read) and I'll genuhuuinely miss Ciri, Yennefer and Geralt on their adventures. And I hope they're happy, wherever they are. ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Dec 13, 2019 Franzi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2019, owned, owned-read, audiobooks, fantasy, 3-to-4-stars

3.5 Stars

Unfortunately not as great of an ending as I was hoping for. I'm not completely disappointed but there was something missing to make me really like this. The beginning was kind of slow with too much world and time hopping for my taste. But the middle part was great! The ending though... There's nothing that hasn't been resolved but still I feel like there was something missing. I still like the ending itself but the book as a whole was underwhelming. ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Dec 25, 2018 Wayne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

5 stars

Well that was surprising and here I was thinking this would hold no surprises for me.

The world building was brilliant and while a feature of this series this took it to the next level. It was vivid and really brought you into the world as a whole. Toussaint in particular was exceptional as were some other places especially those frequented by Ciri. Just outstanding.

The characters were brilliant especially Ciri. This really was mostly about her which was great. She is by far the most inter ...more

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

Jan 06, 2020 Lance rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Greetings. Before I, in the spirit of Festivus, get to my grievances, I am going to first say that I really wanted to like the Witcher books. I absolutely loved the games and, so, I wanted to love the books, as well. And I did enjoy the first two books – the compilations of short stories. But then I started the five-book saga, and, man, did the series ever go downhill. I'm unsure whether I would have recommended the saga to others after reading the first four books. However, any doubt evaporated ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Feb 27, 2020 Laura ☾ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This was a disappointing finale to be honest.

There were far too many time jumps, and jumps between worlds, too many new minor characters, too exhausting to keep track of and not clear enough, creating a choppy disjointed narrative.

Like mixing in Arthurian legend - why now? It doesn’t fit with the rest of the series, and wasn't developed enough to really add anything other than breaking up the narrative. ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Nov 01, 2018 neuromancer rated it it was ok · review of another edition

A rather unsatisfying conclusion to an overall great series.

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Jul 25, 2011 Zuzanna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, want-to-own

For the past months I've been reading almost only fantasy books, starting with George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, rereading LOTR, 'chilling' with Trudi Canavan. But it's 'cos of Sapkowski I redefined fantasy. The series is wise, intelligent and at the same time it's funny and light (in writing style). It shows that fantasy doesn't have to be pompous. And Sapkowski's writing style is pure genius!!! ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Oct 01, 2014 Ilija rated it liked it

*Minor spoiler alert*

I dislike how the author decided to kill off some of the characters, i dont mind them dying , but you cant just kill one of the main characters who has been in at least 3 books , in 2 sentences. You have to have at least some buildup to it.

*Spoiler alert*

The deaths of Geralts litlle band of followers were so sudden and some just outright idiotic , that i was sure yenfer or ciri would revive them or that ciri would travel several hours in to the past and do it over again, ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2020 Amanda Hupe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am getting close to finishing all the Witcher books and my heart can’t take it. Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski is the fifth book in the Witcher Series.

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE SERIES, POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!

The last book in the series ends with Ciri walking through the portal of the Tower of Swallows. When she crosses through the portal she ends up in the Elven World. They make it possible for her to escape but she needs to get back to her own time. She needs to get back to Yennefer an ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Mar 03, 2020 Jen/The Tolkien Gal/ジェニファー rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Even though the games make a continuation for this series, and I dearly love those games, this just broke me.

I feel that I'm going to reread the series later in the year because these books fall into my top five fantasy series and I need to give reviews that do them justice.

All I'm going to say is that I really look down at A Song of Ice and Fire after this. Sapkowski knows how to balance politics, character interactions and development, tragedy and joy all in one messily wrapped gift.

A beauti ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2020 Anna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantastique, part-of-a-series, kindle-scribd-library, read-in-2020

Just finished the book and all I can think of is that I would like to go back in time and meet the past-me who thought she would never be interested in reading this series and hit her on the head with the books. All of them! This could have been a reread prompted by the newly adapted series, dammit!

I seem to love almost all of the things people complain about in their reviews. I finally got a series where the author does that thing™ I’ve always wanted in terms of character arc but never really ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Oct 23, 2015 Alex rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

As a lover of (what many would call) high-art literature and also (what many would call) low-brow populist fantasy literature, I don’t generally find that the two worlds collide. Or when they do, they tend to smash into each other like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. There are rare exceptions, of course, but those are generally swept under the carpet or treated with disdain or incredulity or are just plain ignored by most readers, because, when all is said and done fantasy nove As a lover of (what many would call) high-art literature and also (what many would call) low-brow populist fantasy literature, I don’t generally find that the two worlds collide. Or when they do, they tend to smash into each other like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. There are rare exceptions, of course, but those are generally swept under the carpet or treated with disdain or incredulity or are just plain ignored by most readers, because, when all is said and done fantasy novels are supposed to be EPIC and FUN. So they say.

I picked up the Witcher novels expecting them to be epic and fun, as it is commonly understood, because these are a bunch of books based on a computer game. No – wait - it’s the other way around. Weird. No-one had heard of the Witcher because Polish culture is not somewhere the west usually go for inspiration, but on this occasion there seems to have been some kind of breakthrough, even bigger than when those Russian Night/Day Watch movie/books almost became semi-popular. You seem, I work with a very nice Polish PhD student and she assures me that in Poland these books are a BIG DEAL and she got really excited when I told her that I was reading them. In England, however, they haven’t even all been translated yet, despite that phenomenally stupid success of the videogames. Still, how many people who really claim to like a movie go on to read the actual book it was based upon? (Lord of the Rings, I’m looking at you). Fewer people will probably make the leap to reading a long-ish series of as-yet-untranslated Polish fantasy novels.

I’m special though and I do that kind of thing – and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were not only epic and fun, but a little bit literarily minded too. That is to say, they are quite different in style and construction from other fantasy novels that I’ve read. There’s also a lot of pathos and an attempt at some kind of deeper meaning, though ultimately, even though the former was a huge success I’m still unsure about the latter. Sapkowski knows his fantasy tropes, of course. There’s a brooding loner hero, a comedy sidekick, a mysterious knight and crackshot archer. There are sorceresses, a chosen child, political machinations, racial tensions and war on an epic scale. You name the trope and you’ll probably find it in here faster than you can say “Daenerys Targaryen”.

But Sapkowski is only interested in those things in passing and his main plot motivators, the finding of the chosen girl Ciri so that she can be used as a pawn to marry off to a powerful family and cement a dynasty, is only ever of passing interest. Get too caught up in that and you’re likely to be disappointed – because Sapkowski is primarily interested in his protagonists as people and there are far more scenes and exchanges that explore what motivates one character as they interact with one another than there are battles or magical artefacts or plot twists - those things are there, but at times Sapkowski is so interested in colouring in the tale to make those interactions meaningful and interesting, that I wondered why he’s telling it at all instead of attempting a piece of realist fiction.

As I polished off the third book (I wrote mini-reviews to this point, I think) and progressed onto the last two seemingly controversial novels in the series, this question of fictional identity started to bother me more and more. The story became less and less about Geralt and more about Ciri, the chosen one and the layers of abuse she has to go through as she tries to run from her destiny and meet up with her friend and protector again. Every scene in the last two novels is beautifully written but for a time it read badly to me and I put the books down, tired of what I began to see as an easy cliché. But ultimately I think that judgement was unfair. I kept asking myself why the last novel is called The Lady of the Lake since Ciri is not the mover of the plot and if anything she’s more of a Holy Grail than a motivator for change. It’s not really until the final pages that there’s a clue to the meaning behind her identity as the Lady of the Lake as, after a little inter-dimensional hopping (less cheesy than it sounds. This is no Stephen King) she eventually walks off with Galahad to visit the Knights of the Round Table, presumably to start a new life. It struck me that the Ciri we see in the novels is not the Lady of the Lake but her journey towards becoming such and ultimately our perception of her as a character shifts from her as pursued object of desire (Holy Grail) to prime motivator of myth and legend.

Because, the other interesting thing about these books is Sapkowski’s stylistic shifting that I’ve mentioned elsewhere; but this is possibly at its strongest and most beguiling in the final novel as we move from scenes of relaxed camaraderie/falling in love, to lengthy descriptions and historical discussions on the methods and reasons for victory in war, the above mentioned dimension-hopping, and thrilling scenes of confrontation and death. There’s little narrative progression between them, rather, what Sapkowski does is constantly reset the scene with differing framing devices, often introducing characters from different time periods or locales to comment on the action from a historical or literary perspective, and in the case of Ciri, from a mythological one. These framing devices are, initially irritating, but upon reflection incredibly intriguing as they allow Sapkowski not only to confound the reader by jolting them out of their narrative comfort zone, but also to comment himself on the nature of the story that he is telling. For instance, the (second) tour de force of the book, the long sequence where the events of war are brought to a close, are told in a style that eschews excitement and drama for debate and discussion allows us as readers to both be filled in on events we need to know, but as if we were historians looking back on the tale. The perspective shift is particularly clever because the scene then hops to the final showdown where we learn of the fates of our main characters with the added aforementioned pathos. People die and their deaths rank among the most meaningful and well written in fantasy literature, because again, Sapkowski employs some nice viewpoint shifting where lesser authors would milk the gratuity of the moment.

The books are not without their faults and are perhaps not quite as deep and meaningful as the author would have you think. It’s tough to assert the idea that their main character has obtained the status of an Arthurian legendary figure without risking pretention. We’ve only Sapkowski’s word for it that Ciri is that interesting, and the Witcher novels will never rank alongside Mallory in influence, but they do a lot remarkably well and they do so with ambition; and when they got it right I was pushed intellectually and moved to tears emotionally. These are books that proved to be hard to read in one swallowing (pun intended) – as I’d attempted to do - as they are a lot meatier and chewier than you’d initially expect and when they take a sideways jolt into conventionality it’s unexpected and disappointing, and I’m still not sure that Book 4, The Tower of Swallows, will ever be my favourite in the series. And I’m still not sure if I’m not tired already of seeing women overcoming victimhood and finding themselves post- rape and abuse (although this book may have been written towards the beginning of that particular cycle, I’m not sure). But the pros clearly outweigh the cons. It’s not often that an unstoppable force can smash its way through an immoveable object but I think that overall this series of novels does an excellent job of marrying the literary and the popular in a very unique and tasty way. All we need now is a spinoff series about Regis the Vampire, please (to be translated circa 2030).
...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Gilded Compas...: The Witcher Series	1	2	Dec 06, 2020 12:56PM
Gilda del Corvo: 1° GdL - The Witcher libro 7	6	29	Apr 24, 2020 08:23AM
Fantasy Book Club...: The Witcher #7–Lady of the Lake: Finished Reading Spoilers Allowed*	2	37	Nov 27, 2019 12:49PM
Fantasy Book Club...: The Witcher #7–Lady of the Lake: Roll Call & First Impressions NO Spoilers	1	10	Oct 31, 2019 06:43PM
Fantasy and Manga...: The Lady of the Lake Discussion - Spoilers Allowed	5	42	Jan 25, 2019 08:09AM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Fantasy

2,723 users

Fiction

394 users

European Literature > Polish Literature

139 users

Adventure

78 users

Audiobook

77 users

Fantasy > High Fantasy

74 users

Fantasy > Epic Fantasy

51 users

Fantasy > Magic

46 users

Adult

45 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

42 users

See top shelves…

About Andrzej Sapkowski

Andrzej Sapkowski

11,485 followers

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, #0.7)

More…

Want to know which adult fantasy books are trending now with your fellow readers? We dug into the genre's current movers and shakers to see what's...

Trivia About Pani Jeziora (Sag...

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Pani Jeziora

“Nie damy rady zrobić dużo więcej, niż będziemy w stanie. Ale postarajmy się wszyscy, żeby to nie było dużo mniej” — 16 likes

“We were all just as brave,’ finished Julia Abatemarco. ‘Neither of the sides had the strength to be braver. But we … We managed to be brave for a minute longer.” — 11 likes

More quotes…