Author: Andrzej Sapkowski
Series: The Witcher
Genre: High Fantasy
After procrastinating for a year, I finally decided to join The Witcher family. And, of course, the trigger was the trailer for the new Netflix original. I don’t enjoy reading the book after watching live adaptation; it ruins the whole experience. I am one of the believers of “books are always better than movie/show.”
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski, is a perfect place to start this epic. It’s a collection of short stories; stories on the adventure of the Witcher or Geralt of Rivia. His sole purpose in life is to kill the monsters. He follows the codes of witchers, which involves he cannot be hired to kill humans. But, almost all of the stories try to make the point, what actually looks like a monster is not always the most evil thing in the room.
“But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good. . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth. “
“People,” Geralt turned his head, “like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves. When they get blind-drunk, cheat, steal, beat their wives, starve an old woman, when they kill a trapped fox with an axe or riddle the last existing unicorn with arrows, they like to think that the Bane entering cottages at daybreak is more monstrous than they are. They feel better then. They find it easier to live.”
Essentially, each story is in the book is a retelling of either one or more fairy tales. I think few of these stories are local tales, but there are a few stories which are familiar to me. E.g., The beauty and the beast, Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs, Cinderella.
The author took the fairy tales and very smartly interweaved them into the world of The Witcher, and it never feels contrived. The world of Witcher is quite dark and grim, so are the stories. There is always a darker and more realistic twist in each story.
The Witcher, though a collection of short stories, is still a part of a larger universe. So, it’s not unnatural to go in with some expectation of world-building and character development. But it doesn’t deliver on any of those fronts. You’ll find yourself in the middle of the strange world of monsters, witches, and witchers, the book doesn’t explain much about the magic system or the strange creatures. I guess I have read too much Sanderson and I am used to of the worlds with a definite magic system.
The only character which will stay with you is Geralt himself. There are few glimpses of his past throughout the book, which creates a great mystery around him.
The Last Wish is short and a quick read. Because the original book was written in Polish, you might find a few strange names and lores, but the book is translated quite well. It seems to preserve the authenticity and simultaneously pulls the reader in the local landscape.
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