[Maark Abbott]

SoD is in English (hardback) now.

[Wolfdrop]

Really? I was sure the release date was given as May, amazons giving it as the 21st.

[Maark Abbott]

Right you are. I didn't clock that it was a preorder!

[QuickTidal]

Query: Can anyone tell me which character is on the new UK cover to SWORD OF DESTINY? I know LAST WISH is Geralt, and BLOOD OF ELVES is Dandelion, and BAPTISM IN FIRE is Yennefer...but I'm at a loss for who the guy with the armour and the winged helmet is (unless I've not yet met him in the book: on page 50 so far)...it's not Eyck is it? He's the only guy mentioned with plate armour so far.

Anyways, I liked LAST WISH a good deal...but so far SWORD OF DESTINY is kicking my ass with goodness. Everything established fleetingly in the first book is amped up to twelve in this anthology. Loving this series.

[Dadding]

 QuickTidal, on 25 May 2015 - 07:38 PM, said:

Query: Can anyone tell me which character is on the new UK cover to SWORD OF DESTINY? I know LAST WISH is Geralt, and BLOOD OF ELVES is Dandelion, and BAPTISM IN FIRE is Yennefer...but I'm at a loss for who the guy with the armour and the winged helmet is (unless I've not yet met him in the book: on page 50 so far)...it's not Eyck is it? He's the only guy mentioned with plate armour so far.

Anyways, I liked LAST WISH a good deal...but so far SWORD OF DESTINY is kicking my ass with goodness. Everything established fleetingly in the first book is amped up to twelve in this anthology. Loving this series.

You'll know him when you meet him, he's a pretty big part of the series, and his helmet is pretty iconic. If you don't know who it is yet, chances are you haven't met him.

[QuickTidal]

 Dadding, on 25 May 2015 - 08:19 PM, said:

 QuickTidal, on 25 May 2015 - 07:38 PM, said:

Query: Can anyone tell me which character is on the new UK cover to SWORD OF DESTINY? I know LAST WISH is Geralt, and BLOOD OF ELVES is Dandelion, and BAPTISM IN FIRE is Yennefer...but I'm at a loss for who the guy with the armour and the winged helmet is (unless I've not yet met him in the book: on page 50 so far)...it's not Eyck is it? He's the only guy mentioned with plate armour so far.

Anyways, I liked LAST WISH a good deal...but so far SWORD OF DESTINY is kicking my ass with goodness. Everything established fleetingly in the first book is amped up to twelve in this anthology. Loving this series.

You'll know him when you meet him, he's a pretty big part of the series, and his helmet is pretty iconic. If you don't know who it is yet, chances are you haven't met him.

Cool, thanks for letting me know!

[Dadding]

 Briar King, on 25 May 2015 - 10:01 PM, said:

Are the games separate stories from books or are you playing book events?

All the novels and short stories occur before the books. You then lose your memory and start with the Witcher 1, which continues to the second and third games as you gradually regain your memory. Each game is progressively more intertwined with the books (i.e. the first game rarely references the novels, whereas the second and third games involve a lot more characters and events from the books).

[Mentalist]

 Dadding, on 25 May 2015 - 10:25 PM, said:

 Briar King, on 25 May 2015 - 10:01 PM, said:

Are the games separate stories from books or are you playing book events?

All the novels and short stories occur before the books. You then lose your memory and start with the Witcher 1, which continues to the second and third games as you gradually regain your memory. Each game is progressively more intertwined with the books (i.e. the first game rarely references the novels, whereas the second and third games involve a lot more characters and events from the books).

Game 1 is chock full of references to "Last Wish" and "Sword of Destiny". Less so about the novels.

All of these references are fairly minor though, so if you don't understand a random name-drop it's not a big deal. But it's so much cooler when you do.

Also, to QT: Sword of Destiny is probably the best short story collection ever. So much concentrated awesomeness it's not even funny.

[Maark Abbott]

 Dadding, on 25 May 2015 - 08:19 PM, said:

 QuickTidal, on 25 May 2015 - 07:38 PM, said:

Query: Can anyone tell me which character is on the new UK cover to SWORD OF DESTINY? I know LAST WISH is Geralt, and BLOOD OF ELVES is Dandelion, and BAPTISM IN FIRE is Yennefer...but I'm at a loss for who the guy with the armour and the winged helmet is (unless I've not yet met him in the book: on page 50 so far)...it's not Eyck is it? He's the only guy mentioned with plate armour so far.

Anyways, I liked LAST WISH a good deal...but so far SWORD OF DESTINY is kicking my ass with goodness. Everything established fleetingly in the first book is amped up to twelve in this anthology. Loving this series.

You'll know him when you meet him, he's a pretty big part of the series, and his helmet is pretty iconic. If you don't know who it is yet, chances are you haven't met him.

Is it that utter, utter dick of a knight who I punched out in one of the games?

[Gothos]

 Maark, on 26 May 2015 - 07:21 AM, said:

 Dadding, on 25 May 2015 - 08:19 PM, said:

 QuickTidal, on 25 May 2015 - 07:38 PM, said:

Query: Can anyone tell me which character is on the new UK cover to SWORD OF DESTINY? I know LAST WISH is Geralt, and BLOOD OF ELVES is Dandelion, and BAPTISM IN FIRE is Yennefer...but I'm at a loss for who the guy with the armour and the winged helmet is (unless I've not yet met him in the book: on page 50 so far)...it's not Eyck is it? He's the only guy mentioned with plate armour so far.

Anyways, I liked LAST WISH a good deal...but so far SWORD OF DESTINY is kicking my ass with goodness. Everything established fleetingly in the first book is amped up to twelve in this anthology. Loving this series.

You'll know him when you meet him, he's a pretty big part of the series, and his helmet is pretty iconic. If you don't know who it is yet, chances are you haven't met him.

Is it that utter, utter dick of a knight who I punched out in one of the games?

No, that's Tailles I think (if you refer to the guy you punch in the Solar), and he's present in one of the short stories in Last Wish.

In any case, if you want to know who the guy is, that's
(spoilered name)

Spoiler

Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach

and he shows up in the books. One of my favourite characters of the series. A rather tragic character.

EDIT: TW1 is packed full of quotes taken raw out of the short story books. I think it was a good choice.

I'd like to take this space here to ask about the english version of TW2: the second guy you can fistfight in Flotsam... in the polish version, he's called Naizdup, the guy that does everything in reverse - and his name in reverse is Pudzian - Mariusz Pudzianowski. How was translation handled in that case?

This post has been edited by Gothos: 26 May 2015 - 08:03 AM

[QuickTidal]

 Mentalist, on 26 May 2015 - 01:03 AM, said:

Also, to QT: Sword of Destiny is probably the best short story collection ever. So much concentrated awesomeness it's not even funny.

Yup, so far I'm pretty blown away by the quality. A GREAT book.

[Dadding]

 Gothos, on 26 May 2015 - 08:00 AM, said:

I'd like to take this space here to ask about the english version of TW2: the second guy you can fistfight in Flotsam... in the polish version, he's called Naizdup, the guy that does everything in reverse - and his name in reverse is Pudzian - Mariusz Pudzianowski. How was translation handled in that case?

I tihnk his name is Fliparse if I remember correctly

[Maark Abbott]

 Gothos, on 26 May 2015 - 08:00 AM, said:

 Maark, on 26 May 2015 - 07:21 AM, said:

 Dadding, on 25 May 2015 - 08:19 PM, said:

 QuickTidal, on 25 May 2015 - 07:38 PM, said:

Query: Can anyone tell me which character is on the new UK cover to SWORD OF DESTINY? I know LAST WISH is Geralt, and BLOOD OF ELVES is Dandelion, and BAPTISM IN FIRE is Yennefer...but I'm at a loss for who the guy with the armour and the winged helmet is (unless I've not yet met him in the book: on page 50 so far)...it's not Eyck is it? He's the only guy mentioned with plate armour so far.

Anyways, I liked LAST WISH a good deal...but so far SWORD OF DESTINY is kicking my ass with goodness. Everything established fleetingly in the first book is amped up to twelve in this anthology. Loving this series.

You'll know him when you meet him, he's a pretty big part of the series, and his helmet is pretty iconic. If you don't know who it is yet, chances are you haven't met him.

Is it that utter, utter dick of a knight who I punched out in one of the games?

No, that's Tailles I think (if you refer to the guy you punch in the Solar), and he's present in one of the short stories in Last Wish.

In any case, if you want to know who the guy is, that's
(spoilered name)

Spoiler

Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach

and he shows up in the books. One of my favourite characters of the series. A rather tragic character.

EDIT: TW1 is packed full of quotes taken raw out of the short story books. I think it was a good choice.

I'd like to take this space here to ask about the english version of TW2: the second guy you can fistfight in Flotsam... in the polish version, he's called Naizdup, the guy that does everything in reverse - and his name in reverse is Pudzian - Mariusz Pudzianowski. How was translation handled in that case?

Yeah I remember Tails from TLW. He didn't fly no more after that.

I've not actually encountered Welshy van Welshington at all yes. I never got far in W1 (just up to that ridiculous plant that one shots you).

[amphibian]

Gothos, did you know Pudzianowski just obliterated one of the mediocre Gracies in KSW's version of MMA? Overhand right finisher in about 40 seconds.

[paradanmellow]

Oh, I've read them all and I must say they're the s$#t!! Especially Sword of Destiny and Last Wish. I even went as far as translating The Road of no Return with google translate, what a mess that was, unbelievably screwed up everything, I don't recommend it, unless you plan on being a linguistic detective. Imagine "scabbard" being translated as

Spoiler

vagina

for example or

Spoiler

Dandelion as Glaucoma.

Now for why they're as good, I could say because they're realistic and the author has extensive knowledge of politics, economics and history, being able to add credible flavor to the world he created. The fact that he uses some of the other folk tales for his own purposes is interesting also. But what I like most are his characters and the humor.

Spoiler

Does anyone recall the story with the "deovel"? Geralt and Dandelion are making fun of the elders of the village by making them repeat the word. Then there's the ball scene from Time of Contempt, with all the witches hitting on Geralt and making Yennefer jealous. And then I recall that time when Geralt was knighted and the queen couldn't speak properly because she'd gotten wounded in the war. Hell, there are so many nice scenes, I could reminisce on forever. Even Ciri's mishaps, especially with the king of elves, are quite engaging. Let's not forget Regis though, he's the most badass vampire ever.

If anyone wants to talk spoilers (as in praise the series in depth), I'm all for it

This post has been edited by paradanmellow: 04 August 2015 - 09:26 PM

[Wolfdrop]

I've only read up to and including Baptism of Fire, though I've got fan translations for the last 2.

It's a great series that I really enjoy but the quality of the official translations is pretty poor and inconsistent with spellings and place, character and monster names changing, sometimes even in the same book. While I appreciate that a translation will likely never do justice to the original Polish version, I think having the translation done by an author who treats it as an art rather than a science would have been far better. Or at least some collaboration with CD Project Red. As with all these things, a direct translation doesn't always work best. Ken Liu is a great example of translation done right.

I felt that they have been pretty rushed from the start, to release them in line with the games (which are fantastic).

If anyone hasn't checked out the House of Glass graphic novel I'd advise you too. It's around the same length in terms of story as one of the short stories from either of the first two collections and well worth a read. There's a second coming out in January called Fox Children.

This post has been edited by Wolfdrop: 05 August 2015 - 11:33 AM

[Gothos]

 amphibian, on 26 May 2015 - 02:30 PM, said:

Gothos, did you know Pudzianowski just obliterated one of the mediocre Gracies in KSW's version of MMA? Overhand right finisher in about 40 seconds.

I did not. I don't generally follow MMA at all, but that's... actually hillarious.

 paradanmellow, on 04 August 2015 - 09:24 PM, said:

Oh, I've read them all and I must say they're the s$#t!! Especially Sword of Destiny and Last Wish. I even went as far as translating The Road of no Return with google translate, what a mess that was, unbelievably screwed up everything, I don't recommend it, unless you plan on being a linguistic detective. Imagine "scabbard" being translated as

Spoiler

vagina

for example or

Spoiler

Dandelion as Glaucoma.

By the GODS that's hillarious! Also, I can see how someone might translate them as such with very poor knowledge of english... or Google Translator.

[Puck]

Fun fact: in German 'scabbard' and the above are actually the same word. Though it's possible to stick 'sword', 'knife', etc. in front to avoid that, many books don't bother. I had some fun back when I started reading fantasy in German, which coincided with sex-ed at school and my not-yet-perfect grasp of how a word can mean different things.

[Gothos]

 Puckstein, on 05 August 2015 - 06:04 PM, said:

Fun fact: in German 'scabbard' and the above are actually the same word. Though it's possible to stick 'sword', 'knife', etc. in front to avoid that, many books don't bother. I had some fun back when I started reading fantasy in German, which coincided with sex-ed at school and my not-yet-perfect grasp of how a word can mean different things.

Same thing for polish.

[paradanmellow]

 Wolfdrop, on 05 August 2015 - 11:32 AM, said:

If anyone hasn't checked out the House of Glass graphic novel I'd advise you too. It's around the same length in terms of story as one of the short stories from either of the first two collections and well worth a read. There's a second coming out in January called Fox Children.

Following your recommendation, I read House of Glass too.

Spoiler

The graphics are very good, especially for atmosphere, and the stained glass
secondary narrative is also compelling for puzzle lovers, but overall and by
the end, I was disappointed. The story was too thin for my taste. I mean, how
can you pretend to make a 5 volume comic book where the highlight is Geralt
getting laid? There's no greater challenge there, no surprise, no novelty. The magic
house was already used as a theme in The Last Wish, so there was no real need
to do it again. The mad man as the real monster has its merits; that theme
never gets old, and it seems to be a favorite subject for the game series too (which
is made perfectly clear in the Witcher 3 trailer).

Maybe I didn't respond so well to this comic because I went
in there with great expectations and instead I met an introduction to the
witcher's universe, an introduction which was already made in The Last Wish in
a similar magic house and in a similar dialogue with a monster who was in love
with another. Sort of a revamping for the sake of making it into a comic, but
it lacks the substance and subtlety of the book and I can't stop comparing the
two. So I guess mine is a hard core fan syndrome?

Yet thinking about it more, I figure that what bothered me
the most about HoG was that it was almost great, almost something to be proud
of, yet the attempt at explaining what Sapkowski tried to hide all throughout
his volumes, takes away the mystery of the witcher, defining him in a few words
which leave no doubt as to his hopeless cause and sad acceptance of it.