The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
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Book Reviews of The Last Wish
Book Review: Better than the Video Game
Summary: 5 Stars
Since I saw a few ppl write that the video game was better than the book, I figured that I would write a counter to those. First let me say that I've played well over 5,000 video game and read well over a 1,000 books. So I have a good basis to say that the book was much better than the video game.
The book was ver vivid and it almost took you into the story, you could almost picture what he described. And the only way was to take some reference from the actual video game monster that you fought. (I played the video game first, but loved Geralt, found out books were involved so I gave them a shot).
I bought both the "the last wish" and "The blood of evles" as they were the only current English installments. Although I will say Blood of evles was even better than this book.
So having played the video game, it let my imagination wander with the characters into the book. Don't get me wrong the video game wasn't horrible by any means but it was marred by bad coding, glitches, horrible combat styles. (And this was the enhanced version).
If you were to fix the many problems with the game and spruce up combat a little bit, it would be on par or better than the books. We'll see how The Witcher 2 does.
Book Review: Dark, deep, funny and also sexy.
Summary: 5 Stars
It is so refreshing to read a realistic fantasy novel. Is that an oxymoron?
Most of the fantasy stories on sale at bookstores are generally aimed at the young adult market; now, young adult is a misnomer since many of the readers are under 18. As a result, most of the books are let's say PG rated. Some are even simple retelling of the latest D&D module.
That is not the case in this book. It is a collection of short stories linked together by a central story which also provides the main theme for the book. It is dark, as the hero, wounded, recovers in a temple. It's mood is ominous as the main theme is the waning of the monsters the witchers were developed to hunt, and the eclipse of the non-human sentient beings that are displaced by human expansion and even climate change.
The characters in this story are much more complete than the usual suspects in a fantasy novel. They have actual human desires, and face real decisions, which are not the simple good guy-bad guy encounters we see in usual fantasy fiction.
In some of the stories you actually feel for the "bad" guys, and understand their motives.
I can't wait for the next book to come out.
Book Review: A UNIQUE fantasy novel - seriously!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was really impressed with this book. I wasn't sure what to expect of it, and I was a bit nervous that some of its charm would be lost in translation. My fears were groundless and the book was outstanding!
This is not an epic fantasy series. Geralt isn't on a quest to save the world or find some special magic item. Instead it's a series of short stories focusing on Geralt's various adventures as a Witcher, as he fights monsters and the occasional human in order to pay the bills and get by in the dark world he occupies.
Geralt is a very endearing and surprisingly complex character. In fact, this entire series is surprisingly deep. Not all monsters are evil, and not all the humans Geralt should be working for are good.
The book is mostly somber, but with some good doses of humor. The world Sapkowski has constructed here is interesting and unique, and he's given some thought to the social structures there and how they operate.
I read the entire book in a couple of days - even though I was on vacation at the time, I couldn't put it down! I'll be looking forward to reading the second book when it's released.
Book Review: A great read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow. I got this book for my hubby for Father's Day, since he enjoys the PC game based on this book. I was literally in the middle of quite a large fictional novel when I picked up his book, this book, and read a few pages. I was hooked on the main character, Geralt, immediately. I took a wonderful liason from my current book, and the streets of NYC, and went directly into a medieval, magickal world full of monsters and sorcerers. The author is great with his adjectives and after a few sentences you really can imagine for yourself what the author is describing. Also, Sapkowski gives us humor and that humor doesn't encroach into the seriousness of the tone in the entire story. I absolutely LOVE that the author mixed in some of the older faerie tales, old wives tales and even some general well-known stories into the story. This is a quick and amusing read with some ancient 'history' intertwined. I loved this book! I want more! You will too!Book Review: Geralt is a monster hunter, but he kills people too.
Summary: 5 Stars
So I read this book after playing the PC game "The Witcher", which is based on the Witcher novels. I really liked the Last Wish a lot, and even if you're not into fantasy genre books I think you'll enjoy this book just for the great plots. The stories don't have the typical good/evil dichotomy either, they are more morally cloudy and focus on consequences and making judgements about situations. The book consists of short stories about Geralt the witcher, who is a trained monster hunter. But it turns out sometimes he has to kill a person here or there if they give him trouble. Each chapter is a different short story that Geralt is reminiscing about, and each chapter begins with him in a setting that throughout the book forms its own story and plot. I highly recommend this book, and if you're into video games give the Witcher pc game (it's a great game) a shot too. I hope that all of Sapkowski's Witcher books eventually make it to the US.