The Witcher series

[Michele]

I couldn't bring myself to spend $13 on this month's pick (The Traitor Baru Cormorant - too much for one book and it didn't sound like my cup of tea) so instead I'm reading the Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski, since I picked up the first couple really cheap a while ago and it's been sitting on my Kindle.

I guess I'm wondering if people want to talk about these as an unofficial alt book for October.

So far I've read the two collections The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny and last night I finished Blood of Elves which is the first novel. Oh, and I managed to get a copy of the Polish TV series which is pretty awful but fun to watch.

I'm loving this series. The first two collections have been put together with a frame so that they read almost like novels (I'm not much of a short story reader, so this was good for me) and the first novel was really good.

It's interesting - the overall tone is pretty much grimdark in a LotR setting, but doesn't feel too dark, if you get what I mean. Dandelion (just this name cracks me up) is good for raising the spirits when he shows up.

Geralt is a great character, I liked the gradual revealing of his personality, which is much more complex that you might think from the first few stories.

Anyways - anyone else want to talk about these?

[Kristina]

I've read the Last Wish and Blood of Elves and enjoyed them both. I'm a huge fan of the games and as I read Last Wish it was cool to see bits they used in quest lines in the first game. I keep meaning to pick up more of those books, but I havent gotten around to it.

[Michele]

I bought the first game from Steam, but my laptop is apparently too old and it won't start :( I'm mad, I can still play WoW, I thought it would be okay for the first game at least.

[Icia]

My husband is fully immersed in the Witcher 3 game and I have to say the storylines keep distracting me from my own book. The world is rich and very submersive, I didn't know they were books. This could be a potential Christmas present for him.

[Joseph]

I've enjoyed all of the books and was very happy when they announced that the full series was going to be making it into English.

And I'm just making it into the home stretch of Witcher 3, which I've been putting an embarrassingly large number of hours into.

[Michal]

I have all the books in Polish; I was obsessed with them as a teenager.

The short stories are definitely my favourite and I still revisit them every once in a while. I have...feelings about the novels, not always good ones.

[Kdawg91]

The Witcher rocks! (just so you know Michele, the traitor Baru Cormorant is a bit slow, but its good and brutal as hell)

[Darren]

I've been enjoying these books of late, as well. I think it's more sword & sorcery than grimdark personally.