[Werthead]

Gollancz sent me this book to review and I was intrigued, having never heard of the author or the series before. Apparently Sapkowski is a major fantasy author in this native Poland and this is the first English translation of his work.

Full review here. However, in summary, I think anyone who likes Jack Vance (and that should be everyone) will enjoy this book. It alternates between melancholy and comedy, with some witty, sparkling dialogue and some genuine laugh-out loud moments (such as the innkeeper curiously unmoved by the destruction of his inn by an enraged genie: we later find out he's insured for 'magical damage to the property'). Terry Goodkind will hate this book: the nobility of goats is harshly abused in a sequence where the semi-hero, Geralt, is forced to engage in battle with an evil goat-man hybrid thing whose preferred method of combat is to hit people in the face with iron balls.

This is the second in a series of eight books featuring the Witcher. A five-novel sequence will be publishd by Gollancz starting late next year, and there are two other mosaic novels as well to come (all of the books were completed and published in Poland long ago; The Last Wish was originally publishedin 1993, for example). Although only available in the UK at the moment, I imagine imports of the book will make their way across the Atlantic, and it is well worth checking out.

[Falco]

I think I heard about him from Gothos a while back...yeah G-man?

[Ellestra]

These are the first short stories. Although The Sword of Destiny was published earlier the stories in The Last Wish precede it. First four were the first written and the other two (plus the interludes) were written especially for this collection as a sort of prequels for other stories - you'll see . Anyway The Last Wish stories are chronologically first.

BTW I wrote my own review for English translation being published.

[McLovin]

Werthead;173577 said:

I think anyone who likes Jack Vance (and that should be everyone)

Yes my Fuhrer! Anything else we need to know about what we should think?

[Wiggles]

longhorn;176321 said:

Yes my Fuhrer! Anything else we need to know about what we should think?

is that some vance-hate i see twinkling in your little eyes? if so *kissses*

[Rakov]

Quote

Gollancz sent me this book to review and I was intrigued, having never heard of the author or the series before. Apparently Sapkowski is a major fantasy author in this native Poland and this is the first English translation of his work.

That was original published in '93, wasn't it? Strangely enough, I saw that same book - an uncorrected review copy - on the shelf in a charity shop today, for two quid. Someone keeps dumping these Not for Sale uncorrected review copies in that same charity shop, saw the second Abercrombie book there, too, previously.

[paladin]

i just ordered this.. hopefully its good

[Astra]

paladin;176374 said:

i just ordered this.. hopefully its good

Ditto.

[polishgenius]

I've got the first book of the long sequence (Blood of the Elves), but in Polish. Haven't read it though, being as my Polish reading skills are shamefully not up to scratch, I'm going to have to now.

Don't like reading translations of Polish books, so I'll have to brush up...

[Ellestra]

polishgenius;176720 said:

I've got the first book of the long sequence (Blood of the Elves), but in Polish. Haven't read it though, being as my Polish reading skills are shamefully not up to scratch, I'm going to have to now.

Don't like reading translations of Polish books, so I'll have to brush up...

You really should read the short stories first. The series starts where the last story left just few months later.
He is an easy read - it just flows - you should adapt quickly. Come on you will make it

[kcf]

I finally got around to reading this one, and really enjoyed it (full review). It certainly has a different flavor than the fantasy from writers further west.

I'm still laughing about the first wish.

[Mort]

Gothos used to rave about the Witcher - by memory he translated one of the stories and posted it in either the inn or the other fantasy sections...

Seems like an interesting concept. I definitely enjoyed the story G-man posted

[Tamilyrn]

I picked up this book a couple months ago and loved it. I heard that there were a dozen or so full length novels based on the same character in Polish - I'll be in the queue if/when they come out..

[Astra]

astra_lestat;176577 said:

Ditto.

I have cancelled my order in May. I have decided that I don't have enough patience to wait for 6 or 7 years. I will read all of them in Russian one day

[Mentalist]

ya... ditto... I've asked my relatives to buy them for me in Ukraine, and I'll get them when they come to visit....

[thrinidir]

Finished reading "The Last Wish"...it's nothing groundbreaking, but I liked it a lot. (review)

[Abyss]

Just picked this up (english mmpg), am about 30 pages in and enjoying.

I have to admit i was put off by the cover screeeaming 'Basis for a hit video game!!!!' but the pos buzz here made me apply my usual test, pick it up and read a random page and i was hooked enuf to drop dollars.

It's good fun - so far almost a well written faerie tale for adults type story. More when i finish it.

- Abyss, because Polish vodka is not sufficient export from that country....

[thrinidir]

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it Abyss and how it goes hand-in-hand with my review...

[Abyss]

Well, this was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise.

No spoilers in this post but happy to discuss later.

This book is at once fun, different, yet familiar - the fantasy trops are all there, but the author has some fun with them and turns them on their ear every so often. There's nothing strikingly novel in the content of the book so much as the way it's handled.

I understand AS is actually a well established author in Poland and now i'm looking fwd to reading more of his work as it's translated.

Let's get the obvious out of the way first - the translation is generally good. There's the odd turn of phrase or word here or there but nothing problematic. The average fantasy reader is used to a bit of fancy text and nothing here should challenge or stump anyone who's been thru GRRM, SE or Mieville.

AS's Witcher is a fun character - an near archetypical dark hero, with the mysterious past, the perpetual outsider, the mercenary no one wants to know until they need him, the moody man in black every other princess, bandit and sorceress seems to automatically want to bump uglies with... but he's fun. Ish. He has a source of humour, he laughs at himself and the situations he finds himself in, he gets hit in the head/gut and crotch an awful lot. He's also knowledgeable about his world and a nice touch is the way he investigates each target monster by asking questions that show his knowledge. His prep for each fight is a treat in itself.

The story also has a lot of fun with fairy tales - who knew Snow White's dwarves were actually kindly assassin gnomes?

The book is a series of small stories inside a longer narrative, but all very tidy and tied up by the end.

Anyrate, this was good fun and i do recommend it for a fantasy fan looking for something lighter than the average doorstop epic. It's a short read and an enjoyable one.


- Abyss, needs to get some of that magical disaster insurance...

[vaiski]

Just finished reading, this came with good recommendations and didn't disappoint.
Fast and easy read, but not lacking in content. Looking forward to Blood of Elves which I promptly pre-ordered.