Having found the first season of The Witcher forgettable and generic fantasy fare (yes, even with Henry Cavill, I wasn’t planning to read the series. However, Season 2 came around and I was totally drawn into the lives of Geralt, Ciri & Yennefer. I felt invested in the myths, the relationships and this weird, monstrous world and wanted to know more.
I started my Witcher journey with The Last Wish, the first novel of this series. The Last Wish is a collection of stories from the life of the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia. The novel opens with ‘The Witcher’ where Geralt, recovering from his wounds in the temple of Meitele. Through flashbacks, we discover he is a witcher, a human mutant whose job is to rid the world of monsters.
Each story that follows takes us back to a specific adventure Geralt has had on his travels. Perhaps the most important event in Geralt’s life happens in ‘A Question of Price’, in which as payment for his service, he invokes the Law of Surprise. An ancient law, often invoked by the Witchers lays claim on the firstborn of the one who owes. This law is magically enforced and by claiming this law, Geralt forever ties his destiny to this unborn child.
The Last Wish’s non-linear narrative is like a puzzle where each story brings together information about Geralt — how did he become a Witcher, why does he do this job, does he have friends, can he fall in love, why do these monsters inhabit the world, who decides the monsters need to die and so on.
Sapkowski does detailed world building of this fantasy Slavic landscape with marshes, meadows, strigas, bruxas, bogs, fortresses, witches and elves. It’s not all just monster slaying, there are larger political stratagems at work too. There are kingdoms at stake, and the manipulative hands of the mages who act as advisor to the rulers are everywhere.
“Lesser, greater, middling, it’s all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I’m not a pious hermit, I haven’t done only good in my life. But if I’m to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish
The stories are surprisingly philosophical with discussion on morality, life and love. They are also hilarious — I wasn’t expecting that. The Last Wish nails it with intriguing characters with even more mysterious motivations and good narrative pace overall. I know I will pick the other books in the series.
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