My journey with The Witcher, Andrzej Sapkowski’s super-popular fantasy series, got off to a bumpy start when I read The Blood of Elves. I understood it to be the first book of the series and assumed that the short story collections (including The Last Wish) were extra, optional prequel stories. Boy, was I wrong! Without the easy start of the stories from this collection, I was very confused and lost, giving up on The Blood of Elves very quickly. Though these stories still didn’t really give much background before dropping me into the situation that Geralt the Witcher finds himself in, thankfully this time I knew to start from The Last Wish. I also have the benefit of the Netflix TV series now, so as I read the first story, I was reminded of that episode in the show featuring those same events with Henry Cavill donning Geralt’s grey-white locks/wig. I felt much more comfortable getting reacquainted with the characters and world with that context to help me. Because The Last Wish is a collection of various tales of Geralt as he slays monsters for coin, it usually didn’t take long before getting the idea of the story and going with it. I enjoyed the writing, which was a nice blend of action scenes and also the gradual unveiling of a complex world of wizards, sorceresses, politicians, nobles, royalty, clergy, minstrels, and plenty of common folk. As expected, there are monsters as well, though it is rather interesting how the monsters are almost never depicted as purely evil, carnage-carrying creatures of destruction. It’s usually Geralt’s job to kill them, but it’s also a complicated thing for him to do so.
Since this book is a collection of stories, it is intentionally episodic, which is both good and bad. On one hand, it’s easy to get quick glimpses into Geralt’s life and the world we’re in by having different flavours of episodes: monster hunting, wedding banquets, helping out townsfolk, etc. However, it also meant that without an overarching story, it was difficult for me to stay on track. After reading each story, it was too easy for me to forget what just happened, as there was little connection to the next story. Also, it was jarring to have to get acquainted with a new setting, some different characters, and not know the time setting of the next story in relation to the previous one. The lack of continuity meant that I had little to carry me from story to story, and less incentive to think of them all together.
Nevertheless, there were a lot of details that made the stories enjoyable. Though Geralt himself was a bit of a strong, silent type — so his various grunts would have to suffice at allowing me to get to know him. I expect that it will take a bit longer (i.e. more books) for him to win me over. As of this book, he seems like someone who has a pretty healthy sense of morality and is willing to help others even at his own expense — despite seeming kind of put-upon and grumpy about it. His occasional travelling companion, the minstrel Dandelion (pronounced “Dan-dilly-un” rather than like the weed) is fun because he’s an eternal optimist, who seems undeterred, even in the most extreme, life-threatening circumstances, from being cheerful and lighthearted. Finally, there’s Yennefer — unfortunately only introduced in the final story, “The Last Wish”. I don’t really like her, but I don’t know that we’re supposed to yet. Also, her relationship with Geralt seems contrived and unbelievable at this point.
Sapkowski’s world that he’s created for Geralt definitely feels rather full already. Not only are there deadly creatures (many of which have complicated backstories and are never as heinous as they appear) but there is a wide world of people, many of whom seem nuanced and intriguing already, and I expect (partly because of the TV series) that many will be returning in future stories. Another fun element are the fairy tale Easter eggs. They are relatively insignificant, but it was cool to be able to spot references to various tales that have appeared in Grimm’s and in Disney’s repertoire. It’s as if this world is where the fairy tales spend the weekend, while the songs and filming are on break.
My favourite story of the collection was the one that I remembered most from the TV series: “A Question of Price”. It had a lot of interesting characters, including Queen Callanthe (I am pretty sure she plays a much bigger role in the later stories). Also, there were a number of twists and surprises that I enjoyed. Geralt had to fight, along with everyone else, but there was not really a monster that needed slaying so it was a bit different from his standard workday. I liked how full, including full of themes, this story felt. In contrast, my least favourite was “The Last Wish”, for almost the opposite reasons. It seemed like it was meant to be important, but I had a hard time following from scene to scene. I liked that it had a sort of monster battle, but I found it was also confusing to follow what was happening and why. (Plus, I’ve already mentioned how peeved I was by the way the story handled the relationship between main characters Geralt and Yennefer.)
As an introduction to the Witcher and his world, I found this book of stories to be quite good. But as a satisfying book in its own right (imagining there were no other Witcher books, shows or games), I did not think this one was good enough to stand on its own. Plus, I haven’t even mentioned how annoying the audiobook narrator was in his voicing of a goat-man character, which sadly made me want to fast-forward every time. An uneven start, but after this I am looking forward to revisiting this world for more (and longer) stories. Bring on the law of surprise!
3.5 stars
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