The Last Wish

DE: Nach Serie und Spiel gebe ich mich nun auch mal an die Bücher. Band 1 der Vorgeschichte hat mir gut gefallen, auch wenn natürlich einiges in den Grundzügen bekannt war. Es ist eher eine lose Sammlung an Kurzgeschichten, was ich vorher wusste und dem Lesen keinen Abbruch tut. Einzig mit dem Schreibstil (bzw. der deutschen Übersetzung) werde ich nicht ganz warm.

EN: After the TV show and the game, I will now delve deeper into the Witcher saga by reading the books. I really liked Part One of the prelude, even though most of the general story was already known. It is more a collection of short stories than one continuous story, but I knew that beforehand and enjoyed it nonetheless. Just the writing style (or at least the German translation) is not quit my cup of tea.

So, this is a good book, to get this straight right away. It's well-written, the stories are off the beaten path of generic fantasy. Their grittiness reminds me of stuff from the Warhammer universe, lacking completely any sort of pink elven shininess. Sapkowski occasionally borrows from common fairy tales and other well-known material, but he does so in an entertaining way, that strangely fit this world.

However: If, like me, you played the games, saw (at least some of) the TV show, this might well be less enjoyable. Practically everthing in this book is stuff that has "happend" in other media. It's kind of nice to get this "oh, here's where it all comes from" feeling, but it also means that really nothing is fresh. Still, it was a decent read.

The Last Wish is a collection of short stories, revolving around Geralt of Rivia, and his adventures with the troubadour Dandelion and sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg.

I enjoyed reading this, as there were some witty jokes, and insults being traded. Additionally, this also includes some interesting themes, such as racism at the Edge of The World, and truth in A Grain of Truth. This book is funny, yet contains some important concepts.