b) Sept Oct 2019 - Sapkowski's Witcher

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series is coming to Netflix soon. Are you prepared?

[Richard]

Looks like I'll be brushing up on my Witcher!

[Richard]

Let it begin...Blood of Elves.

[Jason]

I'm going to try this one, been wanting to read THE LAST WISH and get this series started.

[Matt]

I'm totally psyched for The Witcher. It looks like it just may work, but we have to wait and see. I liked the first 3 books well enough but enjoy the stories and characters more than the prose, if that makes sense. Loved the Witcher 3. So I'm cautiously optimistic.

[NekroRider]

Read the entire Witcher series two years ago I believe (except for Season of Storms). The Last Wish and Baptism of Fire were definitely my favourites. Also enjoyed Blood of Elves a lot. The rest I found decent enough except for the last book in the series, Lady of the Lake, which was definitely my least favourite and a bit of a struggle to get through. I wish I could find more books with the same vibe as the Last Wish though...may just have to reread it!

[Richard]

I just finished Blood of Elves. While I love the characters, I didnt expect this to become an epic fantasy. And mostly about Ciri. Everyone else gets regulated as support; epecially in book two Time of Contempt.

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

Yeah, that was the thing that surprised me most about the series -- Geralt didn't get nearly as much screen time as you'd expect, and in several of the books he wasn't even really the focus.

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

(Having said which, I did enjoy the series.)

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

I needed a refresher on the reading order and figured others could benefit.

Grabbed this from a nice site:
https://booksreadingorder.com/the-witcher/

The Witcher Books in Order of Reading
The Last Wish (short story collection), published in Polish in 1993, translated in 2007
Season of Storms (The Witcher #1), published in Polish in 2013, translated in 2018
Sword of Destiny (short story collection), published in Polish in 1993, translated in 2015
Blood of Elves (The Witcher #2), published in Polish in 1994, translated in 2009
Time of Contempt (The Witcher #3), published in Polish in 1995, translated in 2013
Baptism of Fire (The Witcher #4), published in Polish in 1996, translated in 2014
The Tower of Swallows (The Witcher #5), published in Polish in 1997, translated in 2016
Lady of the Lake (The Witcher #6), published in Polish in 1999, translated in 2017"


The Witcher Books in Publication Order
To read the Witcher novels in publication order, follow the list below.

The Last Wish (short story collection)
Sword of Destiny (short story collection)
Blood of Elves (The Witcher #1)
Time of Contempt (The Witcher #2)
Baptism of Fire (The Witcher #3)
The Tower of Swallows (The Witcher #4)
Lady of the Lake (The Witcher #5)
Season of Storms (The Witcher #6)

[Richard]

I didnt realize Season of Storms took place in the middle of the series, thought it was the last book.

[Jason]

S.E. wrote: "I needed a refresher on the reading order and figured others could benefit.

Grabbed this from a nice site:
https://booksreadingorder.com/the-wit..."

Nice, thanks Seth. I found this too late though, and after reading several recommended reading order lists I'm not sticking Season of Storms in early - pretty much every review/list I saw said it contributes not much and should only be read by completists.

[NekroRider]

Joseph wrote: "Yeah, that was the thing that surprised me most about the series -- Geralt didn't get nearly as much screen time as you'd expect, and in several of the books he wasn't even really the focus."

I'd go as far as to say that he isn't the focus in most of the saga proper, sadly. One of the reasons The Last Wish and Baptism of Fire are my favourite Witcher books. Because of the Geralt focus and what that focus brings with it. For me that's the main reason Baptism of Fire was so good, mostly about Geralt and his traveling companions (who are themselves more interesting than Yennifer, Ciri etc imo). Wish I liked Ciri's character better but truth is I started finding her obnoxious the minute she came into contact with Yennifer and Triss :s

[Elmon]

NekroRider wrote: "Joseph wrote: "Yeah, that was the thing that surprised me most about the series -- Geralt didn't get nearly as much screen time as you'd expect, and in several of the books he wasn't even really th..."

I found this to be the case, as well.

I actually read a few of the novels after playing the video game, and found Ciri more likeable in the game.

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

For me, I came to the books after playing the games, so I already kind of knew who Ciri was, so she didn't bother me as much in the books. But it was still odd, given that Geralt is ostensibly the main character.

[Richard]

Onward to Baptism of Fire

[Richard]

So...I cannot keep focused on Baptism of Fire. I'm bored with it. I'm only 112 pages in and I'm making very little progress.

[Richard]

Lol
I really wanted to like the series, but I'm just not making a connection.
I'll eventually finish it...maybe.

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Jack, you are getting terse in your old age.

[Jason]

Agreed, lost interest after books .5 & 1. Expected to be reading them all, now... nah.

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Dec 20th 2019 is the release date on Netflix

https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/31/2...

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

I'll watch it.

[S.wagenaar]

I’ll give it a chance for sure.

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

>300 helpful votes!

Turns out the recent Netflix Witcher series spurred interest in Sapkowski's novels. I reviewed The Last Wish in 2016 as part of this Goodreads group.

Anyway, it turns out the review is the top review right now on Amazon (US)!
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Wish-Intr...

So we can have an impact. Please review as often as you can.

[Robin]

I've played a good portion of the first PC game and enjoyed the Netflix show, so I started reading The Last Wish. I'm enjoying it so far.

The series does feel a great deal like a sword & sorcery hero dropped into a more high fantasy (or Grimm's fairy tales, as suggested in S.E.'s review) setting.

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

I swear the rat-faced prince (Law of Surprise guy) had his costume/special effects taken from the TV show Grimm

[Robin]

A lot of reviewers compare the show to Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, which I can kinda see if I squint a bit...

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Of course, Hercules and Xena were much sillier and YA appropriate (closer to situational comedy). Witcher has more of a soap opera vibe.

Btw, it’s great to see you again Phil!

[Robin]

Thanks! I'm finally starting to read fantasy again after the 1184 page epic that is Stephen King's "It."

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Lol. Maybe its better in polish...
That’s poignant.

[Jason]

Jack wrote: "S.E. wrote: ">I liked your review, S.E., but I have to admit, the title of the review a few down from yours made me laugh: "Maybe it's better in Polish..."..."

Saw that, and it is also a favorite review title of mine! :)

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Great post by Greg Mele on Blackgate about Geralt's fighting style as depicted in the Netfkix show. https://www.blackgate.com/2020/03/11/...

[Gregory]

Glad you liked it!