A blog about stories; preferably starring Hobbits, Witchers, or Star Turtles
As a longtime fan of The Witcher games and books, I heard about the Netflix adaptation early on. Initially, I was excited. By the time the trailer released, my hype had turned to indifference. I decided I wasn't going to watch it. Then the show exploded. Surprised and unsure, I thought maybe my initial impressions…
I really enjoyed my 2019 in books. Most of the books I've read this year have been good. Some were average. Many were fantastic.
The Lady of the Lake, the last book in The Witcher Saga, is a novel focused on concluding this intricate story. It’s one of the things I genuinely love about this series: The End isn’t hastily handled in a few short pages: it’s an entire book. All of the conflicts, schemes, confrontations, battles, and fights that have been plotted and foreshadowed will come to a close.
The world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life. But the net around her is closing.
Baptism of Fire is the fifth book in the story about the Witcher Geralt and his child of destiny, Ciri. When we left them at the end of Time of Contempt, both found themselves in less than ideal situations.
Aretuza will also be the place of a large political gathering, The Mages Conference, where most of the more powerful and influential sorcerers and sorceresses will gather. What occurs there will have harsh, long-lasting consequences and set the main characters on paths that will last throughout the series.
What I love about this book is that it is not afraid to take the time needed to establish essential relationships, while also being an action-packed, adult story. Sapkowski takes his time explaining why Ciri is unique, why everyone is interested in her; she not made into a "special girl with special powers" she's a person.
At the beginning of 2018, I decided to, once again, sign up for the Goodreads reading challenge. After successfully completing my 2017 goal of reading thirty books I challenged myself to read thirty-six books during 2018. On September 29th, I officially completed the challenge, and I'm ending 2018 with fifty-three books read.
Sword of Destiny is the second short-story collection in The Witcher Series. As with the previous book, The Last Wish, it provides worldbuilding and hints at things to come. At least two of these stories could be considered prologues to the following novel, Blood of Elves. Together, they provide a backstory that, although not strictly necessary to understand the plot, reading them will give you a much deeper and emotional connection to the characters.
Geralt was always going to stand out, with his white hair and piercing eyes, his cynicism and lack of respect for authority ... but he is far more than a striking-looking man. He's a witcher, with powers that make him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin - his targets are the vile fiends that ravage the land.