The Last Wish
by Andrzej Sapkowski
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Book Summary Information
Author: Andrzej SapkowskiEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-01
ISBN: 0316029181
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Orbit
Book Reviews of The Last Wish
Book Review: Unusual take on traditional stories
Summary: 5 Stars
While The Blood of Elves won't be released for another month, Sapkowski's fantasy series can be begun thanks to the previous release of The Last Wish. The Last Wish is a collection of short stories featuring Geralt the Witcher.
Geralt is a trained monster-hunter, and the book takes him from one adventure to another. As the Witcher fights ghouls, vampires and djinni, the reader quickly learns that nothing is what it seems. The beasties are often the good guys and the humans the predators. Geralt is operating in a world in a state of change - the old ways are dying out, and the classical races like Dwarves and Elves are being pressed to extinction. As a Witcher, Geralt has adapted to the new world, by helping humans kill the monsters that prey on the outskirts of towns - but he doesn't do this without a twinge of guilt. More often than not, Geralt looks to cure, not kill - often to the disappointment of his bloodthirsty employers.
Set against this slightly angsty background, the short stories blatantly explore the familiar tropes of monster and fairy tales. Throughout the course of the book, Sapkowski retells the story of Snow White and Beauty and the Beast, and there are several other hauntingly familiar encounters.
Unlike The Blood of Elves, Geralt is actually front-and-center in all these stories. He holds up well under the added scrutiny. He's wise, but not annoyingly so, and competent, but not invincible. Although his distinguishing white hair and skill with the blade are slightly on the side of fanboy nonsense, Geralt is a well-considered and well-developed character.
A few of the characters from The Blood of Elves do make appearances, including Dandilion (still my favorite), Ciri's parents and, finally, the long-anticipated Yennefer. Unfortunately, the enchantress and love-interest of Geralt falters a bit. Although Sapkowski tries to imbue her with a bit of emotional depth with a melodramatic backstory, she's a overpowering brat, and Geralt's attraction to her is inexplicable. The idea that she just needed to be 'tamed' by Geralt's understanding is frustrating, offensive and surprisingly unoriginal.
Still, the Yennefer story (the title story of the collection) is the only place where this book falters. Geralt's adventures are exciting and unusual - an unexpectedly enjoyable combination of The Blade Itself and The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse.
-- PORNOKITSCH
Summary of The Last Wish
Geralt de Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin.And a cold-blooded killer.
His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.
But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good
. . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
The international hit that inspired the video game: The Witcher.
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