The Witcher
by Andrzej Sapkowski
- Series
- 2 short story collections, 5 novels and 2 standalone novels
- Genre
- Dark fantasy for adults
- Age
- adults
About the series
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a monster hunter who was trained as a child and changed with herbs and mutations, so he is faster and stronger than humans. He travels from town to town killing monsters for money, but most people fear and despise him.
The series begins with short story collections, in which Geralt meets the sorceress Yennefer and hears of a child he is bound to by destiny. In the novels, that child, Princess Ciri, becomes the centre of a war between kingdoms. Sapkowski borrows from Polish and European fairy tales and often turns them on their heads, so the monsters aren’t always the worst of the lot.
The books are known from both the games and the TV series, but the books are chattier and more ironic than many people expect.
The books in the series
- The Last Wish (Ostatnie życzenie, 1993)
- Sword of Destiny (Miecz przeznaczenia, 1992)
- Blood of Elves (Krew elfów, 1994)
- The Time of Contempt (Czas pogardy, 1995)
- Baptism of Fire (Chrzest ognia, 1996)
- The Tower of Swallows (Wieża Jaskółki, 1997)
- The Lady of the Lake (Pani Jeziora, 1999)
- Season of Storms (Sezon burz, 2013) (standalone novel)
- Crossroads of Ravens (Rozdroże kruków, 2024) (prequel)
The first two books are short story collections. Books 7 to 9 are not yet available in Danish.
My thoughts
I like that the world of The Witcher is grey. Geralt tries to keep out of politics and morality, but he never manages it, and that’s where the stories get good.