The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
FALL CHALLENGE 2020
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Group Reads Discussion - The Last Wish
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Starting this today - I held off watching the TV show because I wanted to read the book(s) first
I found it on storytel! So I started reading it today :) Looking forward to it, heard quite some good comments about the show and the game.
I chose this book as it fulfilled a task for another challenge. I needed to read a book written by a Polish author. I am a fan of fantasy and also a medieval historian so this book was an excellent choice. It is full of adventure and monsters and yet the human element is not overlooked. It is written as a series of flashbacks that could each stand on their own as a captivating short story. I especially enjoyed the use of 'retelling' of well-known fairy tales such as Snow White. I will definitely add this series to my TBR.
Wanda wrote: "I especially enjoyed the use of 'retelling' of well-known fairy tales such as Snow White. "I am also enjoying this aspect of the book. The twists on the traditional tales are original and engaging.
i feel like i'm missing something with this - maybe because i'm doing the audiobook - but i'm struggling - definately not finding it that engaging - i have about 3hrs left i think (i'm on part 8 of 12 but parts seem to be varying in length)
Dee wrote: "i feel like i'm missing something with this - maybe because i'm doing the audiobook - but i'm struggling - definately not finding it that engaging - i have about 3hrs left i think (i'm on part 8 of..."I mostly have troubles with the translation. I read the Dutch e book, and the scentences aren't really going smooth.
I can look past it with the e book but if I would have it as audiobook I would struggle as well.
And it might be the voice as well.
I do enjoy the book, it isn';t the best 'retelling' i ever had, or best fairy tale but i do enjoy it so it makes an easy read.
i think it also doesn't feel unique or different to me - paranormal beings like the witcher hunting others isn't anything new - which may also be why i'm struggling
Dee wrote: "i feel like i'm missing something with this - maybe because i'm doing the audiobook - but i'm struggling - definately not finding it that engaging - i have about 3hrs left i think (i'm on part 8 of..."I'm also listening to the audiobook. Peter Kenny's narration is excellent.
I think one of the problems with listening is the fact that there is a frame story interspersed between the individual tales. This makes it more difficult to keep track of which section s are the frame story and which are the various parts (not chapters) of the stories.
Nonetheless, I am enjoying the retellings and the action. Geralt is an appealing character.
I finished reading this morning and enjoyed it overall. I watched the first episode of the show a couple of months ago and was left feeling very confused due to the lack of exposition and context. Reading the book provided the necessary information and I feel more comfortable continuing with the show now. The story itself is quite straightforward with the Witcher recalling some of his adventures. Each one is a retelling of a familiar fairytale and I enjoyed the twists on these traditional stories.
Peter Kenny's narration of the audiobook is excellent as his diverse accents and intonation are immersing. The frame story structure does make it difficult to follow at first but it becomes easier once the book progresses.
I probably won't continue with the series immediately, but will likely read more if the opportunity arises.
I'm halfway and am also enjoying the retelling part of this book. But if I hadn't watched the serie on Netflix I would probably really be struggling on how these stories fit together. I agree that they alsmost feel like short stories.
i finsihed this up tonight - i ended putting the last couple hours of the audiobook on 1.25 to get it over with. i think my biggest issue was that it was hard to tell the difference between the framework and the stories - this is where maybe a second narrator might have worked or something more unique to identify - 2 stars
I read this yesterday and I enjoyed it more than any other Fantasy series I've read recently. I was skeptical at first about reading a translated fantasy book as I thought that some of the magical writing would be lost in translation but my worries quickly melted away as I got into it.I'm already sixty something pages into the next book in the series and I am looking forward to devouring the rest of the series.
Dee wrote: "i ended putting the last couple hours of the audiobook on 1.25 to get it over with."This is actually my default speed for listening. My brain works faster than the narrator speaks otherwise.
I finished the audiobook this afternoon while doing some work in the garden. Overall I liked the book, but I think I would have liked it even more if I would have actually read it.As an audiobook (as stated above) I had some trouble distinguishing the main story from the side stories, and as the names are quite uncommon, I had a hard time remembering who was who (for me it works better to see them written out).
I enjoyed the combination of retellings within the bigger story, and am looking forward to seeing the tv series soon!
I'm also struggling with it. I didn't know much about it when I picked it up, but had heard good things about the show. I almost thinking watching the show first would be helpful. There are so many different characters due to it being more like many short stories instead of one flowing story. I'm hoping I can finish it soon.
Full disclosure that this is my first encounter with the Geralt the Witcher. I have not watched the show but I am curious about it now. I really appreciate the seamless weaving in of folk/ fairy tales throughout but told with a very unique spin. It was fun to recognize the tale and the new perspective. I did not love Geralt. He was just a bit too much, on the one hand his voice and everything about him is supposed to be unpleasant yet people are constantly throwing themselves at him. Secondly, many of the women are not real people. They are there to heal and comfort/ have sex with him. The powerful ones are only powerful because they were unwanted and needed to create their own power but still sad, ugly girls trying to prove themselves. And Geralt is a bit too preachy and judgmental for me. It was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I'm still interested as to the rest of the story thought. I may consider watch the show for a smoother more stylized Geralt to like him a bit better. Could happen.
I didn't know about the show when I chose this to read, and I'm not inspired to watch it. I did like the change in perspective on the fairy tales, but overall I found the characters to be cardboard rather than fleshed out and I never felt engaged with the protagonist
I'm not much of an epic fantasy reader but I enjoyed this short story collection. I thought it was a really good introduction to the Witcher and his world. I'll likely continue reading this series and might even watch the show.I also listened to the audiobook and would have been confused as all get out if I hadn't realized it was a short story collection before I started listening. I agree with Dee, though, a second narrator or an announcement or something would have really helped. It was very difficult to tell where one story ended and the next one started until I realized we'd switched fairytales.
I just finished reading this. I was hoping for more from the reviews I've seen and the high ratings it shows here on Goodreads. It didn't seem unique enough for it to stand out like so many people have the opinion it is. I am usually a lover of stories that sound like fairytales, but this just missed the mark. The one thing I did enjoy about it, is it did remind me of Beowulf which I read back in high school. Reading on quests, as this had that attribute is something I enjoy. I doubt I will read anymore in the series.
One of my friends once commented about playing The Witcher 3 that a lot of the storyline depended on running into women Geralt had slept with subsequently abandoned. Considering that the stories in this collection include three (3!) women who fall into bed with him within hours of meeting for the first time - one who never speaks to him; one that (view spoiler); and one that essentially magically roofies him, resulting in his arrest - it seems like the games may be a pretty faithful adaptation of the source material. Anyway, the stories were fun, I'm planning to continue the series and see where the saga goes.
I enjoyed this one, with the updating of classic fairytales and putting them into a new context. The deeply unpleasant elves were enjoyable.Definitely happy to spend some more time in Geralt's world - to find out how Yennefer continues to mess with him if nothing else!
I finished this yesterday. I'm not sure I can tell you much about what happened except I seemed to like the personality of the Witcher. I may give the tv series a try.
Truthfully, I wouldn't have got into this series at all if it isn't because of hubby. He's not a reader but he loved playing this game and as a result, got me to watch the Netflix series with him last year. I have since read the first book, Blood of Elves, which picked up directly after the Netflix adaptation (based on The Last Wish) and really enjoyed that one. I actually found myself a bit disappointed in this book. Geralt just wasn't as funny and being a collection of short stories that were actually being told/remembered as he was recovering from an injury (with short segue in between), plus the fact that I've already watched the screen adaptation, made me very impatient with the book. The only thing I appreciated was the twists on traditional fairy tales which I somehow missed on the screen?!
I wanted to watch this on Netflix, cause Hello -- hot guy!, but hate to watch an adaptation of a book before I've read it, so I was glad that this came up as a community read this round -- even if it took me until the last minute to finish! I was glad that I knew that it was short stories going in, otherwise I would have been even more confused at the beginning than I was. I'm sure that was even harder as an audiobook. I liked the short stories and the retellings were interesting. I'm planning to continue the series, but I hope the author gives the MC a little more depth in future books than just the guy that goes around killing stuff and sleeping with whoever is around.
Stacey wrote: "I wanted to watch this on Netflix, cause Hello -- hot guy!.."This made me snort! Lol!
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Blood of Elves (other topics)The Last Wish (other topics)
The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.